Breast Cancer Global Scholars Program
The Avon Foundation for Women launched its Global Breast Cancer Clinical Scholars program to provide intensive training in the United States for specialists in the breast cancer field from around the globe.
At the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Forum in March 2012, the Avon Foundation announced its first class of Avon Breast Cancer Global Clinical Scholars.
This program brings physicians from countries outside the U.S. for intensive four-week to eight-week advanced training at one of 13 leading U.S. cancer centers. On Sept. 12, the first class of 25 Avon Global Scholars (including nine women) began their training "preceptorships" together in San Francisco. The program included lectures from world-class experts followed by the Breast Cancer Symposium co-hosted by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and other medical specialty societies. ASCO partnered with the Avon Foundation to help spread the word of this exciting new opportunity to its network of 50,000 oncologists throughout the world to help ensure the broadest possible pool of applicants.
The 25 Avon Scholars hail from 14 countries: Armenia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Croatia, India, Kenya, Nigeria, the Philippines, Serbia, Turkey, the Ukraine, Venezuela and Zambia. They represent widely diverse areas of medical specialties in which they will receive advance training during their time in the U.S. Their specialties range from breast surgery and reconstructive surgery, to medical oncology, pathology, and public health.
The Avon Foundation goal is for the scholars to bring new skills and information to their home countries that will improve the treatment and care of breast cancer patients. This first team of 25 Avon scholars will help tens of thousands of people through direct patient care, and will touch thousands more, now and into the future, by sharing their new knowledge and expertise with colleagues.
