BHGI Home

Founding Organizations and Core Leadership

The Breast Health Global Initiative (BHGI) is an ongoing program, founded by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.

Leadership / Executive Committee

BHGI CO-FOUNDER, CHAIR & DIRECTOR
Benjamin O. Anderson, M.D.
Full Member, Division of Public Health Sciences at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Professor of Surgery and Joint Professor in the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington
Director of the Breast Health Clinic, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
Seattle, Washington

"We have a wealth of knowledge about saving lives from breast cancer when we have all the resources in place. The Breast Health Global Initiative addresses how to put into practice optimal breast healthcare measures in countries where healthcare resources, and awareness, are limited, and where cultural barriers need to be overcome."

Dr. Anderson is Professor of Surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle. He was recruited to join the University of Washington Breast Care and Cancer Research Program in 1994 and served as the breast program's Clinical Medical Director from 1998 to 2003. As the Director of the University of Washington's Breast Health Center, Dr. Anderson's has devoted his clinical practice to the care of patients with breast cancer and breast health issues. Dr. Anderson received the American Cancer Society Career Development Award for breast cancer research in 1995 and received a joint faculty appointment at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and from 1998 through 2001 served as Associate Program Head for the Hutchinson's Breast Cancer Research Program. Dr. Anderson is the President for the American Society for Breast Disease (ASBD), 2005-2007.

In 2002, Dr. Anderson founded the Breast Health Global Initiative, an international project to define guidelines for breast cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment in countries with limited health care resources. As the BGHI Chair and Director, Dr. Anderson has worked to integrate the development of practical breast health care guidelines into a research framework to promote health care outcomes analysis. He is now focusing BHGI on implementation and study of the Guidelines through international pilot projects to test and validate them, and create modular healthcare programs.

BHGI CHAIRMAN, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Eduardo L. Cazap, MD, PhD
President, Latinamerican and Caribbean Society of Medical Oncology (SLACOM), Buenos Aires, Argentina
President-Elect, International Union Against Cancer, Geneva Switzerland

“I am involved with the Breast Health Global Initiative because I have a special interest in the problem of global cancer control and, principally, in trying to solve the inequalities in the access to cancer prevention and treatment between the developed countries and the developing ones.”

Dr. Cazap is founder and present President of SLACOM. He graduated in medical oncology from the Universidad del Salvador in 1978. He obtained a fellowship from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) at Lombardi Cancer Center, Georgetown University in 1984; he was Principal Investigator, Collaborative Cancer Research Treatment Program (CCTRP), PAHO/NCI in 1984; he obtained a fellowship from the American Cancer Society in 1985 and the European Recertification in Medical Oncology, from ESMO in Copenhagen in 1991. He was professor of Clinical Oncology at the Universidad del Salvador in 1984-98 and professor of Medical Oncology I at the Universidad Católica Argentina in 188-2000. He was also founder of the Charter of Paris against Cancer in Paris, France in 2000. He has more than 150 papers published in the specialty.

BHGI Executive Committee Member
Joe Harford, PhD
Director, Office of International Affairs (OIA), National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Cancer recognizes neither political nor geographic boundaries. Throughout the world, cancer is becoming an increasingly serious public health issue, with malignancies now killing more people worldwide each year than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. By 2020, there are projected to be 20 million new cancer cases worldwide each year, with 70% of these occurring in developing countries. The National Cancer Institute is pleased to be a part of the Breast Health Global Initiative, which addresses the issue of breast cancer in low and middle income countries, and pleased to be a supporter of the next BHGI Global Summit on International Breast Health in Hungary in 2007."

Dr Harford has responsibility for a number of interactions involving the NCI and non-US cancer research institutions. He chairs the Strategic Advisory Group of the Ireland-Northern Ireland-NCI Cancer Consortium and is the NCI liaison to the Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC), the US-Japan Cooperative Cancer Research Program, the Afrrican Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), and the International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research (INCTR). For a number of years, he has represented the United States on the Governing Council of the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). In 2006. Dr. Harford was named the Strategic Leader for the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) in their strategic direction called Knowledge Transfer.

BHGI Executive Committee Member
Elizabeth Thompson
President, Susan G. Komen for the Cure®

Elizabeth “Liz” Thompson was named president of Susan G. Komen for the Cure® in September 2010 after serving as Komen for the Cure’s senior vice president of medical and scientific affairs. She is a highly respected leader in the global cancer community, recognized for her passion for driving innovation in science and medicine, and her expertise in formulating educational and public policy initiatives focused on quality and outcomes. As president, she is responsible for a global research portfolio that totals $685 million over Komen’s 29 years, and a community health outreach program that has invested $1.3 billion into thousands of programs that provide screenings, education, support and outreach programs throughout the U.S. and globally through partnerships in more than 50 countries.

A well-known expert in the cancer health arena, Thompson joined Komen in 2008 as managing director, public and medical affairs. She has overseen the organization's strategic relationships with large associations, community education and outreach programs, and global outreach strategies. She has excelled in initiating, developing and managing innovative programs in breast cancer research while maximizing the promise of Komen for the Cure.

Her oversight of Komen’s education portfolio has involved direct patient education and specific initiatives that impact patient care, access and outcomes, such as clinical trials, regulatory controls, FDA issue management and interfacing with the National Cancer Institute.

Thompson has a Bachelor of Science from the University of South Dakota where she was in the Tom Brokaw School of Communications. She reports to Komen founder and CEO Nancy G. Brinker.