Together we can end breast cancer.

In Fall of 2023, the 25th anniversary of the Lynn Sage Symposium brought together over 600 attendees in the field of breast cancer at one of the largest meetings in the nation for breast oncologists. Doctors and clinicians from around the world gathered to learn from each other and the many experts provided by Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center at Northwestern Hospital. In 2011, the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundationpartnered with the Chicago Sister Cities Medical Initiative to fund the attendance of several key breast cancer doctors and researchers to the Symposium this year. 

We spoke with Dr. Huma Majeed Khan, a breast cancer surgeon from Pakistan and recipient of the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation travel grant. Leading a breast clinic in Lahore, Dr. Kahn emphasized the Symposium’s transformative impact on her practice. She passionately advocated for international collaboration in breast cancer research, envisioning a future where diverse global standards coexist. Read a portion of her words below. 

While I trained in the United Kingdom, I now practice general and breast cancer surgery at Ittefaq Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan, where I am also in charge of the breast clinic. I am a skilled and trained physician, but I am also a humanist, and I am deeply committed to bettering health care in Pakistan and improving access to treatment and care.

I recommended [the symposium] to one of my trainees and she attended last year. Because of her enthusiasm for the Symposium and her great experience, I applied for a [Sister City] travel grant for the meeting this year through Lynn Sage.The economic situation in Pakistan is not such that I would have been able to afford it on my own, so I am grateful to the foundation for its financial and educational support. 

I found out that the conference is much more holistic and relevant from a clinical perspective. It affects the day to day practice and detail in breast cancer management. I received a lot of evidence-based education that I now can tweak my practice back in Pakistan because of these findings. It’s so good to be able to continue to learn and think outside of the box.

At the conference, I realized how important it would be to bring together learnings and research on a multi-national level, especially in the multi-center trials in places like Pakistan and India, where there are a lot of hiccups. Even as an individual researcher, you can treat many people and collect a lot of data. Joining forces with other countries and hospitals might be a very good idea. 

Additionally, I would love to find ways to treat people in a way to honor their different ethnicities and backgrounds but not limit treatment because of them. It’s a global world, but we have to have the same standard of care for everyone to improve health care all over the world. It is a global responsibility to take everyone alongside them. 

We are so grateful to Dr. Khan and hundreds of other international awardees, who have come to Chicago to learn and collaborate, bringing the knowledge they gained back to their communities and countries.