A new face, a new future

By Susan Braun

Welcome to the Fall 2005 issue of CURE. Yes, this is a new face—and as the newest member of the CURE team, I send my warmest greetings and extend the hand of friendship. My name is Susan Braun, and I am delighted to have been named the president and CEO of the newly formed CURE Media Group, a company that includes CURE magazine and the Patient & Survivor Forums, with other patient-focused products to come.

What an honor it is to embark on a new journey to serve you! I’ve walked the path of cancer with many. My college roommate lost her life to cancer as a young mother at 36. My best friend is a 15-year survivor. My career has spanned many portals of service to survivors, from championing patient advocacy at Bristol-Myers Squibb to supporting the fight against breast cancer as the president and CEO of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. In all parts of life, I remain committed to honoring those we’ve lost and serving survivors as they heal.

There is much to do to overcome cancer and soften its blow. One step is to offer each person diagnosed with cancer, as well as each friend and family member, information that will empower them at their level of need, at their own pace and in their own, unique way.

CURE Media Group is dedicated to working with you in this way. CURE magazine will remain the terrific resource it has always been—alive, vibrant, informative, humane. As we grow and offer more services, we want to become your most trusted resource: providing accurate, targeted medical and scientific information just when you need it; offering thoughtful, compassionate suggestions that will ease your journey through cancer; telling the personal, heart-touching stories of fellow travelers to share comfort and hope.

In this issue we cover many critical issues and updates. Although most breast cancers are found in women older than 50, young women are diagnosed each day. Our cover story on young women with breast cancer explores their unique needs and concerns as well as treatment options. The very fact that a young woman can be diagnosed with breast cancer is a message we need to spread.

Cancers of the oral cavity may not make newspaper headlines, but treatments are improving. Nevertheless, these cancers pose significant quality-of-life issues for survivors. Obesity and cancer is another hot topic we cover for you in this issue. We used to think, “Eat right and you won’t get cancer,” but scientists now know it’s not that simple. Each cancer and each person is different, and the relationships between weight gain, obesity and cancer are complex. What do we know today, and what’s left to learn?

As you read this issue, as you think about your own life, let the ideas flow to help us light your path with knowledge and wisdom. Tell us what is important to you. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and dreams and wishes. Please go to www.curetoday.com to fill out a survey so that all of us at CURE will know how we can best serve you.

We cannot hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own.
—Ben Sweetland

Thank you for sharing your journey with us. Together we can grow, learn and heal the wounds of cancer.