American Legion Haddonfield Post 38 will host a discussion on breast cancer at the First Baptist Church of Haddonfield at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
The conversation – “From Screening to Survivorship: A Community Conversation on Breast Cancer” – will also include a keynote speaker, Dr. Sramila Aithal, an oncologist and hematologist with Alliance Cancer Specialists, and three or four breast cancer survivors.
Legion Commander Rodney Thomas said early screening will be a focus at the event.
“Part of what we’re going to share is how to deal with it, how to be helpful,” he explained. “The whole idea is there’s so many new ways of screening that we’re going to talk about.”
Other discussion topics will include risk assessment, personalized treatment options and enhanced quality of life for survivors.
The Legion post has held several community conversations recently, including one on PTSD and trauma that drew about 60 people in September, and another that saw about 115 participants for a November session on the stories of three 100-year-old veterans as told by high schoolers who interviewed them. The post expects to discuss human trafficking in March.
Thomas, who became commander last May, said the post started the discussions to increase awareness of itself in the community.
“I really felt it’s important to do things where we’re reaching out and having discussions that align with the needs and the interests of Haddonfield and the neighboring boroughs,” he noted. “There were really three things in mind: increasing exposure, increasing membership and also to perhaps increase donations.
“It was less about donations and more about membership and more about just increasing exposure.”
One of the survivors who will speak at the post is someone Thomas met at a Camden County meeting where he sought volunteers to address breast cancer. He looks forward to hearing her story.
