On Wednesday, April, 11 Daisy Phipps Pulito invited her fellow Markey Women Strong members into her home for an inspirational and educational evening as the group celebrated not only her own accomplishment in conquering cancer (twice!), but her own doctor’s mission to help disadvantaged women in both rural Kentucky and in his home country of India have access to better care and early detection initiatives.
Dr. Aju Mathew, Assistant Professor of Medicine and a medical oncologist specializing in breast cancer, who treated Daisy during her battle with cancer, spoke to the group on the topic of “Neglected Breast Cancer: A Global Perspective with Local Implications.” His discussion centered around why the diagnosis of breast cancer in places like rural Kentucky and India is often late-stage and fatal due to the lack of resources, education or access to medical attention, as well as how these trends can be improved upon.
Also taking to the microphone that evening was Dr. Rina Plattner, one of two researchers who were awarded Markey Women Strong Distinguished Researcher Awards, each of which came with a $50,000 grant to further their research. Plattner updated the group on the recent breakthroughs accomplished by her team, which were recently featured on the cover of Science Signaling, a highly respected journal that publishes key findings on signal transduction. Many of the findings highlighted in the journal have key implications to cancer research.
Started in the summer of 2016, Markey Women Strong is a philanthropy group comprised of women who, together, fund female researchers focused on groundbreaking cancer research at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center. Each member of Markey Women Strong contributes $1,000 annually and together they select two female researchers whose research they will help to fund with a $50,000 grant for each. Through the year they will truly see their dollars at work, as their selected researchers will report back to the group on the progress of their research.
To learn more about Markey Women Strong or to become a member, go to www.ukmarkey.org/how-to-help/markey-women-strong/.