Why Is Patient Advocacy Important During Breast Cancer Awareness Month?

Jennie Smythe was diagnosed with breast cancer at 41 while raising two young children and now serves as an advocacy ambassador for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, where she works to amplify patient voices and advance meaningful progress in breast cancer research and policy.

In an interview with CURE, Smythe explained that advocacy became a calling she felt compelled to embrace. Through her work with Komen and other coalition groups, she has pushed for legislation, research funding and greater representation for patients. Traveling to Washington, D.C., she has seen how bipartisan support can advance women’s health issues more broadly, reinforcing the power of advocacy during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Transcript

You’re an advocacy ambassador for Susan G. Komen. How has your advocacy work shaped your journey, and why do you think it’s important for patients to have representation during awareness months?

I feel like being an advocate was a job that I was signed up for that I didn't apply to, and I was so lucky to be connected with multiple verticals within the Komen organization. When I saw that there was an opportunity to be an advocate, I signed up for it right away, because as much as I love to be a part of the community, and I certainly took advantage of the support and the tools that Komen offers to patients, I believe with my whole body that we will see a vaccine in my lifetime for the type of cancer that I have unfortunately suffered from, and the way to do that is research and legislation.

Being able to fly up to Washington, D.C., meet people in my state, meet people in my region, meet people in my country, and see all of us fighting for something that is uniquely bipartisan and affects so many women and men and other cancers. I mean, it's not just breast cancer, it's women's health in general. And to see the level of advocacy that that organization and other organizations that are within that coalition, and how they're working together, I just knew I needed to be a part of it.

If you've never been to Washington and you've never sat in those meetings, but it's a pretty eye-opening experience about how our government actually works. And I will tell you, the night before, I panicked a little because I felt kind of ignorant about it, and I rewatched that old cartoon, the bill cartoon, you know, about how things get done. It was strangely comforting and also really entertaining. I think everybody should watch that. But I just felt like I had all this energy, and I have all this fight in me about it. Instead of turning that energy and that fight into anger and “why me?”, I just decided that I would use my voice to stand up for all of us.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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