Latest advances in breast cancer treatment
focus of Sept. 20 medical symposium in Shelton

Some of the nation's foremost breast cancer experts will speak at the third annual Lee Ann Riley Breast Symposium sponsored by Bridgeport Hospital's Norma F. Pfriem Breast Care Center, 1:00–5:00 p.m. Sept. 20 in the Prudential Auditorium at Scinto Corporate Park, 3 Corporate Drive, Shelton.

Registration is $75 for physicians, and $50 for nurses and allied health professionals. Attendance if free for resident physicians-in-training and medical students who verify their status at the time of registration. The cost for Bridgeport Hospital employees is $25. Pre-registration is preferred.

For information contact Sally Cascella, the center's nurse educator and symposium program director, at 203-384-4817 or by e-mail at nscasc@bpthosp.

Speakers include:

• Marsha Moses, PhD, associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and a senior principal investigator in the Vascular Biology Program at Children's Hospital Boston
• Rache Simmons,MD, associate professor of surgical oncology at Weill Cornell Breast Center in New York
• Frank Vicini, MD, clinical associate professor at the University of Michigan and Oakland (Mich.) University, and chief of oncology at William Beaumont Hospital in Detroit
• Eric Winer, MD, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and director of the Breast Oncology Center at Dana Farber Cancer Center in Boston

Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993, Lee Ann Riley, a former Trumbull resident, made it her goal to establish a center for patients and their families that incorporated the best clinical care with a comprehensive network of support services. With the help of Bridgeport Hospital and benefactor Norma Pfriem, the Norma F. Pfriem Breast Care Center was established in 1999. Riley served as executive director of the Center until her death in 2003.

"Lee Ann would be proud of her legacy and the work being done at the center," says Donna Twist, PhD, the center's current executive director and vice president for development.

More than 5,000 women and their families have been served by the center during the last seven years.

A member of the prestigious National Consortium of Breast Care Centers, the Norma F. Pfriem Breast Care Center provides a wide range of diagnostic care and treatment at Bridgeport Hospital including medical oncology, surgical and chemotherapy services, as well as mammography and radiation therapy, genetic risk assessment and opportunity for clinical trials. The Breast Care Center office at 111 Beach Road in Fairfield provides surgical services, medical oncology, nutrition counseling, massage therapy, wig and prosthesis fitting, and other patient support activities.