BCHS cancer director part of Komen mission trip to Egypt
 Wayne Young, director of The Cancer Care Center at Battle Creek Health System, recently returned from a trip to Egypt and the Middle East where he participated in Susan G. Komen for the Cure's mission trip called 'Breaking the Silence.' Young has been a long-time volunteer with Komen and attended Komen's first international summit to Budapest, Hungary in 2007.
The centerpiece of this trip was the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure event held at the pyramids outside Cairo. Although organizers had hoped for 2,000 participants might take part, they were overwhelmed with the turnout of close to 10,000 people. The majority of those were younger people who were willing to participate despite cultural beliefs.
Young noted that it is not uncommon for a woman diagnosed with breast cancer to be abandoned by her husband or even to have her daughters stigmatized to the point they may never marry because their mother has this disease.
"As a Komen volunteer for 13 years I have had the privilege to attend Race for the Cure events around the country to include the National Race for the Cure in Washington D.C.," says Young. "I can tell you that none have been more moving or impressive to witness than what I saw at the pyramids in Egypt. Even our race in Southwest Michigan which has significant personal meaning to me, pales in comparison."
Along with the Race for the Cure there were tours of a new children's cancer hospital which is comparable to any facility in the U.S., roundtable discussions with delegates from the Middle East, a tour of the National Cancer Institute in Cairo where almost all cancer patients in the country go for treatment, and meetings about how best to serve the population in need in a country of 80 million people.
"Egypt has its challenges in providing cancer care to its people, but this trip and these events helped to open many eyes about the need to speak out and ask for care," says Young. "There is great work being done by the Breast Cancer Foundation of Egypt, led by Dr. Mohamed Shaalan, but there are many challenges too. It was truly an eye-opening trip for me and I'm better able to understand what outstanding care our medical professionals are able to provide people dealing with cancer and how so many of us take for the granted the exceptional care we are able to provide and have available to us."
Although the trip has serious intentions, Young was also able to take part in some unique events like the Great Pyramid lit in pink the night before the race, a private tour of the Cairo Museum and King Tut's (Tutankhamen) tomb and possessions, dinner at the U.S. Ambassador's residence, and was even able to fly to the southern Sinai Peninsula and went to the summit of Mt. Sinai for sunrise prior to coming back to the United States.
More News | 
