From the talk by D.G. Wilson Davis. A 10-year breast cancer survivor, D.G. is an advocate for patient empowerment and comprehensive cancer care. She was an early champion of breast cancer self-help awareness in Harlem and Washington Heights, New York. Among a long list of titles and achievements she has accrued, D.G. is currently community director for a program on cancer awareness and rehabilitation at the Harlem YWCA called Force. She's also a member of the National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer. She designed and created a post-mastectomy center that offers high-quality, culturally sensitive services to breast cancer survivors called With You in Mind. She's the recipient of the 2001 United Hospital Funds Volunteer Achievement Award, and she wants you to know that she's a happy and healthy person." MS. DAVIS: Good morning. I'm D.G. and I am a survivor of breast cancer. I'm an advocate of life, living, and loving. I was drafted into this battle against cancer, and I'm one of the soldiers, I'm one of the footsoldiers. My mission is to organize, target, and unite the communities that I live in and that I work in to bring cancer survivors together. There's a myth in communities of color that we do not come out, we do not organize, we do not listen to new therapies. New therapies are not given to us quite often, because no one brings that information. My job is to get the information, share the information, and show that alternative therapies do work. I am a 10-year breast cancer survivor. I was diagnosed at stage 3A. I was told that I only had 2 years to live. And he told me that in looking at my file after 10 minutes; I realized that he was not the one that I should really work with. That meant that he was only going to give me medicine for 2 years. (Applause) Complementary/alternative therapies do work. I can say that over and over again, because our mission is to focus on life, living, and getting as much knowledge as we can. The Force program stands for Focus On Rehabilitation and Cancer Education. It's just that simple. That's where our focus is: On rehabilitation through CAM practices, education, and nutritional counseling. It is a 16-week program that is a free program, and is being delivered through the YMCAs and the Encore (phonetic) program. It's based right now in Manhattan and in the Harlem community. It is 4 weeks of stress management, yoga, 4 weeks nutritional counseling, and 13 weeks exercise. And it's more than just doing aerobics. It's about exercising the mind and exercising our spirit in support group services. We work together as a family. Each woman that comes in there is allowed to also bring her family, and if they have questions, fears or concerns, we are to address them. If we don't have that information, we find other information. It is a family affair. Cancer will always be a family affair, but it must be a community responsibility. We must make our communities understand that we cannot do this alone. It is not fair for us to do this alone. We cannot heal alone. We must understand that at all times. And the Force program, it's a proven way to fight cancer through physical activity and exercise, and to boost your overall health and well-being and maximize your body's ability to fight the disease. As soldiers in this war, quite often, we lose body parts. We lose soldiers. But we cannot lose the spirit of survivorship. We have an award called SOS, which means Spirit of Survivorship. Within our first graduation, we had a group of women who wanted to do a special program, and their program was dancing. And they thought that dancing would bring laughter, happiness, to their friends and family, who could really understand that Mom was going to live, daughter was going to survive, girlfriends would be okay. And it works. And our men in the community have really just risen to the occasion to bring us together, to let us understand that we are really not in this alone. And I understand very well what you were saying, Bill, and I can really appreciate it, because tears also is a healing process. We must understand the healing process is twofold. It's for you and then it's for me. And then our responsibility is that each one must teach one. Whatever I learn, it is my given responsibility to share that with the next person that I encounter. Doctors, I believe, are really beginning to stretch out in an area where they really didn't think that they were going to tread before, and that's with alternative therapies. They are really beginning to finally get it. It does work. This group that I'm working with called Force, ------- magazine contacted us and they told us that they wanted us to pose for their fourth anniversary issue for October, National Breast Cancer Awareness month. So I called the women in the group and I said, "Look, ladies, I need you to come out and help me pose for a magazine." They came running in high heels, in lipstick, and head wraps, and they just wanted to be cute for the program. Well, the magazine came out, and they are really cute. And they're signing autographed copies and sending it to their friends in the family. But what had really happened in doing that was that it became an empowering tool for everyone who saw the magazine. They said, "Well, who are these ladies?" Why are they on the cover? They don't look like they're sick. What are they doing here?" And so we're not sick. We're healing. And that's the message, that there is life and love after a diagnosis of cancer. And it's not just for breast cancer. And in our support groups, unfortunately, they divide our illness among different cancers. We have a full circle at Norfolk General Hospital, and it's called the Circle of Support. It's open for all cancer survivors, men, women, and children. We come together once a week to let everybody know that there are special programs designed for the community. And we're trying to really focus directly to the media and try to get them to take some sensitive issues directly to friends and family, so they can really understand that we're out there, your family members do not have to go this alone. And it's working. And I'm happy and I'm proud and I'm loving and I'm living. And everything is really a beautiful journey for me. This cancer experience has been very humbling for me in many different ways, but the best thing that I've received from it has been love, directly from my community, directly from my friends and my family. And I really do believe that the oncologist who gave me that very poor, poor prognosis is someone who's now smiling at me from wherever he's at, and it doesn't really matter, because I know where I'm at, and I'm right in the center of healing. So, again, it's been my pleasure to be here. And if you need any information, it would be my pleasure to help you. Thank you. (Applause) Ann's NOTE: I have met DG and she is a terrific advocate and extremely dignified person. Her work is done in New York City primarily. Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.