The First National Male Caregivers Conference:

Men Empowering Men to Care for Women with Breast Cancer

August 18–19 in Baltimore, MD

The conference will focus on educating and empowering men to be effective caregivers when breast cancer strikes a female loved one. MABC will provide a forum for men in similar situation to get to know each other and share their real life experiences.

Conference Objectives

1. Focus on navigating the crisis of breast cancer with a proven problem solving technique.
2. Provide an ongoing forum for men in similar situations to get to know each other and develop a support network.
3. Improve the quality of survivorship of the patient.

To learn an innovative proven problem solving technique tailored especially for men supporting women with cancer, which will improve the quality of survivorship of the patient.

Extra Benefits

• Attendees will receive a scholarship for their travel, hotel accommodations, and meals.
• Attendees will receive a stipend at the conclusion of attending the full conference.
• Attendees will enjoy an evening baseball game and a plenary session in a skybox at the Baltimore Orioles’ Camden Yards.

Conference Agenda

Partners In Survival™

Partners In Survival™ is an educational workshop designed, developed, and facilitated by Men Against Breast Cancer in conjunction with physicians, social workers who specialize in breast cancer education, other health care professional, as well as breast cancer patients and family members. The objective of Partners In Survival™ is to provide information and education in a manner that breast cancer patients and their partners find easy to use and apply to their lives so that they can more effectively manage the breast cancer crisis. Partners In Survival™ workshops focus on how breast cancer impacts individuals as well as the family unit. The workshops include practical tips to help manage the many elements of the breast cancer crisis, including, doctor's visits, household responsibilities, children, intimacy, communications, and more. Specific emphasis is placed on men understanding the physical and emotional needs of their female partners.

Staff

In 1992, Mr. Heyison’s mother, Gloria, was diagnosed with breast cancer. To date she has remained cancer free. Since his mother’s diagnosis, Mr. Heyison’s passion has been to eradicate breast cancer. Marc has created two 501 (c) 3 non-profit organizations, The Gloria Heyison Breast Cancer Foundation and Men Against Breast Cancer.

In 1994, in conjunction with the American Cancer Society, Marc began a golf tournament in honor of his mother. In 1996, Marc founded his first non-profit in honor and in love of his mother, The Gloria Heyison Breast Cancer Foundation. In 1999, with Stephen Peck he co-founded Men Against Breast Cancer. Mr. Heyison is the Executive Director of The Gloria Heyison Breast Cancer Foundation and President of Men Against Breast Cancer.

Mr. Heyison is the 2000 recipient of The Columbia Hospital For Women’s Outstanding Individual Commitment Award in the fight against breast cancer. In 2001 he received one of WUSA’s TV 9 “Nine Who Care” Awards for community service in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area. In 2003, Mr. Heyison was honored by Washington Life Magazine as of one its “Men of Substance and Style” for his commitment to breast cancer. Mr. Heyison was named the 2004 Male Speaker of the Year by Women of Virtue. He was the recipient of The 2004 Bess Cohn Humanitarian of the Year Award given annually by the Advertising Specialty Industry, which has over 10,000 members.

R. Clinton Crews, MPH, is a graduate from Hampton University, BA in Psychology; a graduate from the University of Michigan, School of Public Health in the area of health policy and administration, Masters of Public Health. He is employed by Eastern Virginia Medical School since 1992. Positions held over the past fourteen years include: Epidemiologist, Health Planner, Epidemiology Research Coordinator, Senior Research Coordinator, Project Coordinator, and is currently the Project Director/Trainer for Men Against Breast Cancer’s Partners In Survival National Project. Mr. Crews has utilized his training in Public Health Policy and Administration from the University of Michigan with the Office of the Surgeon General, the Virginia Department of Health’s Division of Maternal and Child Health, local health departments and health coalitions in Virginia. He has served as a consultant coalition development focuses on the area of needs assessment, health planning techniques and evaluation.

Matthew J. Loscalzo, MSW has over 26 years experience in palliative care and is internationally recognized as a pioneer and expert in the clinical, educational, and research domains of psychosocial aspects of chronic life-threatening illness. Mr. Loscalzo provides ongoing crisis intervention, counseling, skills training, and advocacy for complex patients and families.

Mr. Loscalzo has held leadership positions in many health-related organizations and is presently the President of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society. Trained as an oncology social worker at the New York University, he was hired upon completion of his internship on the Neurology Service as a founding member of the Supportive Care Team at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City in 1981. In 1993, Mr. Loscalzo was recruited to the faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center in Baltimore, Maryland. Mr. Loscalzo was the Director of Patient and Family Services and the Co-director of the comprehensive cancer pain service.

In 2002, Mr. Loscalzo at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia became Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Medicine. In 2004, Mr. Loscalzo at UCSD School of Medicine California became Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine(Hematology Oncology)and the Director of Patient and Family Support Services in the Moores UCSD Cancer Center in La Jolla, California, and Co-director of Palliative Care for the UCSD Health System.

Dr. James Zabora, the Dean of the National Catholic School of Social Service and Associate Professor of Social Work, came to the Catholic University of America after a 20 year career at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. There, he was an Assistant Professor of Oncology in the School of Medicine with two secondary appointments as an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences & Health Policy and Management. Currently, Dr. Zabora maintains a Visiting Professorship at Johns Hopkins, and his research continues to focus on psychosocial screening, problem-solving education, and quality of life among cancer patients and their families. Dr. Zabora is the Editor of the Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, and the author of more than 60 papers and book chapters on cancer prevention, psychosocial screening and program development, quality of life, and problem-solving education. His research has won a number of awards at Johns Hopkins, and recently, his research team received the Annual Quality of Life Research Award from the National Office of the American Cancer Society.

Accommodations

The Tremont Plaza Hotel is an all-suite hotel located in downtown Baltimore, MD. The Inner Harbor is within walking distance, with attractions such as Walter's Art Gallery, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and the M&T Bank Stadium. Baltimore-Washington International Airport is 15 miles away. The property has a well-equipped fitness center with flat-screen television. Guest suites at the Tremont Plaza Hotel are fully-equipped with kitchens, contemporary décor and complimentary high-speed Internet access. A complimentary newspaper is delivered to the room each morning. Men Against Breast Cancer will make and pay for your hotel reservation. As a means to maximize the number of men at this conference, attendees will be asked to share rooms.

Travel Information

Men Against Breast Cancer will pay for your travel to attend this first ever conference. You will receive the travel information with your acceptance package.

Special Gift

As an acknowledgement of our gratitude, at the conclusion of the conference all attendees will receive a $200 gift card for completing the workshop. The workshop must be completed to receive the gift card.

Applying

Please note that due to the overwhelming response to the Conference we are no longer able to accept applications at this time as all available spaces have been filled. MABC greatly appreciates your interest.

If you would like to be put on the email list for future events, please email info@menagainstbreastcancer.org.

Funding generously provided through  
a charitable contribution from