Patty Brisben, CEO and founder of Pure Romance, has been educating and empowering women about sexual health and relationship enhancement for over two decades. Recently, Ms. Brisben has chosen to step back from her role as a corporate leader to focus on philanthropic initiatives, including Pure Romance’s cancer support program, Sensuality, Sexuality and Survival. The program aims to help women recapture their sensual and sexual selves through education, empowerment and products designed specifically for women following cancer diagnosis or treatment. Ms. Brisben also has taken steps to educate medical practitioners and cancer survivors through involvement with research studies at the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University.

Anita Broxson, RN, MSN, OCN, is the program director of the Beth Sanders Moore Young Breast Cancer Survivors’ Program at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Her research interests include survivorship, identifying and addressing quality-of-life issues and meeting the educational needs of young women with a current or past history of breast cancer. Ms. Broxson has served as an Anderson Ambassador since 1996. In that role, she has educated the public and other healthcare professionals about a wide variety of cancer-related topics. Her affiliation with the Young Breast Cancer Survivors’ Program has resulted in invitations to speak about the program locally, nationally and internationally. 

Powel Brown, MD, PhD, is the Dan L. Duncan professor in the department of medicine and molecular and cellular biology at the Baylor Breast Center. He is a breast medical oncologist and molecular biology researcher who has been caring for women with breast cancer for over 25 years. His research focuses on targeted medications for breast cancer prevention and treatment. Dr. Brown has conducted a clinical trial testing a synthetic form of vitamin A for cancer prevention in women at high risk for developing breast cancer. He also has developed a trial to study the growth and progression of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Dr. Brown is interested in studying genes and proteins to identify safe and effective targeted therapies, particularly for triple-negative breast cancers.

Rowan T. Chlebowski, MD, PhD, is a professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and chief of the division of medical oncology and hematology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. He acts as a Women’s Health Initiative representative to the National Cancer Institute Cohort Consortium and serves on the steering committees for multiple studies focused on breast cancer and women’s health, including the Women’s Health Initiative and the Women’s Intervention Nutrition Study. His major research interests include prevention and treatment. He has published extensively in major journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, The Lancet, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. He was a presenter at the 2005 and 2006 annual meetings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Melissa A. Crosby, MD, is an assistant professor in the department of plastic surgery at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Her research interests are directed at improving outcomes in reconstructive surgery for women affected by breast cancer. Dr. Crosby received the Academic Achievement Award in General Surgery from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in 2001. She has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals. She also serves as a collaborator and principal investigator on several clinical trials, including a trial on the detection of recurrent cancer following breast reconstruction.

Christine Duffy, MD, MPH, is an assistant professor of medicine at Brown University Medical School and a practicing women’s health physician at Rhode Island Hospital. She was awarded a career development grant from the National Cancer Institute in 2007 so she could study the decision-making process regarding fertility preservation in women with breast cancer. She is in the process of developing a tool to help women diagnosed with breast cancer to make fertility decisions. Dr. Duffy’s research interests include communication between oncologists and women diagnosed with cancer regarding fertility issues, as well as the general follow-up and care of people diagnosed with cancer.

Generosa Grana, MD, is director of the Cooper Cancer Institute and head of the division of hematology/medical oncology at Cooper University Hospital. She is an associate professor of medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and an adjunct assistant professor at the Coriell Institute for Medical Research. She focuses her clinical practice, community education efforts and research on breast cancer, cancer and genetics and cancer prevention. Dr. Grana serves as vice chair of the Breast Health Task Force of the American Cancer Society New Jersey Division and on advisory groups for the New Jersey State Commission on Cancer Research. She has received the Johnson & Johnson Community Health Crystal Award and the American Cancer Society Silver Chalice Award. She also has been named as one of the region’s “Top Doctors” by Philadelphia Magazine.

Janet Gray, PhD, is a faculty member in the department of psychology at Vassar College. She is active in the Neuroscience and Behavior program and directs the Science, Technology and Society program. Dr. Gray’s research focuses on the intersection of environmental and women’s health issues, especially environmental risks and breast cancer. She is project director for the Vassar College Environmental Risks and Breast Cancer Project and editor of the Breast Cancer Fund’s State of the Evidence: The Connection Between Breast Cancer and the Environment. Dr. Gray’s past laboratory research focused on neural and peripheral metabolic mechanisms by which estrogens and mixed antiestrogens affect eating, body weight regulation and metabolic activity. As tamoxifen became a more widely used treatment, she focused on how tamoxifen affects neural (especially hypothalamic) cellular activity.

Wendy S. Harpham, MD, FACP, is a doctor of internal medicine, best-selling author, long-term cancer survivor and mother of three. Diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 1990, Dr. Harpham redefined her career by turning to writing as a way to continue to educate, comfort and inspire others.  She has written six books for people dealing with illness or injury and their families. Her book set—When a Parent Has Cancer with the children’s book Becky and the Worry Cup—was awarded 2006 Consumer Book of the Year by the American Journal of Nursing. Her newest book, Happiness in a Storm, is about getting good care and finding happiness when you are sick or injured. She also has her own regular column in Oncology Times, entitled View From the Other Side of the Stethoscope, which received the 2006 Silver Award from the American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors for “Best Regular Column: Contributed.”

Betty M. Harris, WHNP, is a midlevel provider supervisor at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. She has extensive experience as a nurse practitioner. She is the principal investigator for the Retrospective Study: Weight Gain in Women on Tamoxifen vs. Aromatase Inhibitors. Ms. Harris was a speaker for M.D. Anderson Ambassadors in 2007 and 2008 and is a member of the credentialing committee at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. She is a member of the Oncology Nursing Society, the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, the Louisiana Nurse Practitioner Association and Houston Area Nurse Practitioners. She received the Integrity Award from the M.D. Anderson Breast Medical Oncology Department in 2008.

Marc Heyison is the president and co-founder of Men Against Breast Cancer, the only national nonprofit organization designed to educate and empower men to be effective caregivers for family members with breast cancer. He also founded The Gloria Heyison Breast Cancer Foundation in honor of his mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer. Mr. Heyison has received many awards for this commitment, including the Columbia Hospital for Women’s Outstanding Individual Commitment Award and the Thomas Jefferson Award from the American Institute. He collaborated on the publication “For the Women We Love: A Breast Cancer Action Plan and Caregiver’s Guide for Men,” which uses a problem-solving model to help men support the women they love with breast cancer. He is a member of the District of Columbia’s Cancer Consortium Community Agency Committee and the Howard University Cancer Center Community Advisory Board.

Gabriela E. Höhn, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and associate professor at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus. She specializes in the neuropsychological assessment and treatment of people living with medical conditions, neurocognitive disorders and emotional distress. After being diagnosed and treated for breast cancer, Dr. Höhn combined her personal experience with her professional interests by developing and facilitating a “chemobrain” psychoeducational support group series at Beth Israel Phillips Cancer Center in New York City. She received her PhD in clinical psychology at Columbia University Teachers College, and she completed post-doctoral training at the University of Medicine and Dentistry-New Jersey Medical School.

Mary K. Hughes, RN, CNS, has been a clinical nurse specialist in the psychiatry department at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center since 1990. She helps people diagnosed with cancer who have depression, anxiety or other conditions that require medication or therapy. She also serves on the clinical faculty of Texas Woman’s University in Houston and The University of Texas Houston School of Nursing. Ms. Hughes has won numerous awards for her work with quality-of-life issues for people with cancer, including the 2007 Supportive Care Award from the Oncology Nursing Society. She speaks internationally, nationally and locally on quality-of-life issues that affect people diagnosed with cancer.

Noah D. Kauff, MD, FACOG, is the director of the Ovarian Cancer Screening and Prevention Program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He is a gynecologist and geneticist who specializes in the care of women who may have an inherited predisposition to cancer. He evaluates and treats all hereditary cancer syndromes, including those that cause an increased risk of breast, ovarian, colon, uterine, thyroid and other cancers. His clinical areas of expertise include cancer risk counseling, screening for and prevention of inherited cancers and providing gynecologic care to women with cancer. Dr. Kauff’s research interests include the effects of genetic counseling on the evaluation and treatment of women with an inherited predisposition to cancer and the effect of risk-reducing surgery for the prevention of breast and ovarian cancer in these women. He is a member of Living Beyond Breast Cancer’s Medical Advisory Board.

Tami Lewis, RN, CCM, is the corporate trainer and senior clinical case manager for the Patient Advocate Foundation, headquartered in Newport News, Virginia. She earned her RN degree from Iowa Methodist School of Nursing, and she currently holds an active license to practice in the state of Iowa. Her fifteen-year bedside career was spent in critical care focusing on post open heart, pediatric and dialysis care. Ms. Lewis received certification as a case manager in 1998 while working at Principal Financial Group. Throughout her career, she has prepared training programs and been involved in training new employees.   

Marnie McHale, RN, MS, OCN, is the program director at Wellness House, a cancer support organization located in Hinsdale, Illinois. She is an oncology nurse in the Chicago area who has worked in a variety of clinical, administrative, educational and consultant roles. Ms. McHale has been an invited speaker at the local and national levels for both professional and lay audiences on subjects such as managing cancer-related fatigue, enhancing quality of life, dealing with the challenges of long-term cancer survivorship and exploring the caregiver role for family and friends. She is involved in leading educational programs designed especially for family caregivers as well as running support groups for people who have completed cancer treatment.

Beth E. Meyerowitz, PhD, is a professor of psychology and preventive medicine at the University of Southern California. For over 30 years, she has been conducting research with individuals diagnosed with cancer and their family members. This work has involved collaborations with physicians and other healthcare providers in the United States and Europe. The focus of her work, which has been published in major medical and psychological journals, is psychosocial adjustment and coping during and following treatment for cancer. Dr. Meyerowitz’s current research includes investigating the impact of quality of life and coping among women diagnosed with breast cancer and their partners.

Allison Rosen, PhD, is a psychologist at the Fertility Preservation Institute, where she does research and counseling. For 30 years, she has worked with individuals and couples who have fertility problems, specializing in general infertility counseling, third-party reproduction, pregnancy loss, fertility preservation for people with cancer and adoption. She co-founded the Special Interest Group of Fertility Preservation in Cancer Patients at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. This group now numbers more than 1,200 physicians and allied professionals. Dr. Rosen is the author of Frozen Dreams, which addresses the emotional needs of psychotherapists working with infertility and how to use their emotions to effectively treat the people they serve. Her research interests include adoption discrimination and the psychosocial needs of people with cancer.

Mindy R. Schiffman, PhD, is a senior staff psychologist at the New York University Fertility Center and a clinical instructor in New York University’s obstetrics and gynecology department. She has a private practice in individual and couple counseling and sex therapy. She specializes in helping people cope with the emotional stress of illness, including infertility, sexual dysfunction, grief and bereavement issues. Dr. Schiffman is certified in sex therapy by the American Board of Sexology. She edited a special issue of the Journal of Sex Education and Therapy on cancer and sexuality. Dr. Schiffman helped establish the NYC Lesbian Cancer Support Consortium with a good friend and breast cancer survivor. She has been a guest speaker at Gilda’s Club, the LGBT Center’s Lesbian Cancer Initiative, the Young Survival Coalition and SHARE.

Lynne I. Wagner, PhD, is a clinical research scientist at the Center on Outcomes, Research and Education and an associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Institute for Healthcare Studies at Northwestern University Feinberg Medical School. She is the director of supportive oncology and serves on the Clinical Protocol Scientific Review Monitoring Committee at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center. She also provides psychosocial clinical services through adult oncology clinics. Dr. Wagner serves on National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines panels, is a member of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and serves as co-chair of the Patient Outcomes and Survivorship Committee and the Symptom Management Consortium. Her research involves cancer symptom management, developing instruments to assess how people with cancer report the effects of treatment and implementing this information in clinical trials.

Eric P. Winer, MD, is chief of the division of women’s cancers and the Thompson senior investigator in breast cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Winer has authored over 200 articles, clinical communications, reviews, book chapters and editorials. He serves on the editorial board for several peer-reviewed publications, including the Journal of Clinical Oncology and Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. Dr. Winer is co-chair of Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) Breast Committee and chair of the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Cancer Communications Committee. He also serves on LBBC’s medical advisory board and is the chief scientific advisor and chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.