In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Baystate Regional Cancer Program at
Baystate Franklin Medical Center will present its 8th Annual Evening for Women, Coping, Surviving & Thriving, Thursday, October 15, from 5:30 – 8:30 pm, at the Greenfield Grille, 30 Federal Street, in Greenfield. Baystate Health’s Rays of Hope Walk Toward the Cure of Breast Cancer and the Women’s Health Network of Franklin County Home Care Corporation will co-sponsor the program.

Don Dizon, MD, of Rhode Island, will be the guest speaker.  Over two million women in the United States are now living with breast cancer. One major concern is the many ways that breast cancer and its treatment affect intimacy and sexuality.  Dr. Dizon’s topic,“You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling:  Sexual Health for Women After Breast Cancer” will address that very issue, for breast cancer survivors as well as other women who face surgeries and treatments that  significantly impact their quality of life.

Dr. Dizon is an assistant professor of OB/GYN and Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.  He is also the director of Medical Oncology and Integrative Care; and co-director of the Center for Sexuality, Intimacy and Fertility Program in Women’s Oncology at Women and Infants’ Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island.

“We have been hoping to address this important issue for some time,” said Vicki Sutton, LCSW, BFMC Oncology social worker.  “It is one of the essential components of survivors’ quality of life and a topic not so easily or readily discussed.  Dr. Dizon brings with him both the expertise and sensitivity to speak to this most important and sensitive issue.”

The free program will include a light supper and a silent auction to benefit the Rays of Hope Walk Toward the Cure of Breast Cancer.  The auction will feature works by several local artists – potters, painters, photographers, etc., as well as gift certificates from local businesses.