Rockingham Times

The 2022 National Cancer Prevention Workshop will be held virtually this year from Wednesday, Feb. 2 to Friday, Feb. 4, with a focus on the connection between alcohol consumption and breast cancer.

The workshop will include a number of speakers and presenters and will be live-streamed on demand on Coursera and through Less Cancer’s social media outlets, according to Cision PR Newswire.

Dr. Priscilla Martinez is a scientist with the Alcohol Research Group at the Public Health Institute who will discuss evidence that links alcohol use to breast cancer, as well as the lack of awareness around the subject. She will highlight the “Drink Less for Your Breasts” campaign that raises awareness with young women that the two are associated with each other.

“The Less Cancer National Cancer Prevention Workshop is a highly impactful venue where we can call attention to the research demonstrating the clear relationship between alcohol consumption and breast cancer," Martinez told Cision PR Newswire. "By bringing together all the key stakeholders from academia, government and medicine, Less Cancer's unique focus on prevention can have a meaningful effect on reducing the incidence of cancer.”

According to a women’s health report by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, 4 to 10% of breast cancer cases in the U.S. are attributed to drinking alcohol, which is between 9,000 and 23,000 new cases each year. Compared to other organs, the breast appears to be more at risk for the carcinogenic effects that alcohol poses.

Research has shown that drinking alcohol increases the risk of breast cancer by as much as 16%, but in 2019, a study in the journal Preventive Medicine showed that only a quarter of women aged 15 to 44 were aware of this statistic.

“Our bipartisan focus is on cancer prevention," Less Cancer founder Bill Couzens told Cision PR Newswire. "We have one of our most dynamic lineups ever with nearly 70 presenters focusing on prevention, public health, risk-reduction strategies, healthy lifestyle choices and much more.”

The event was previously held on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and the hope is for it to return in 2023 as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. The workshop will be available on YouTube and Coursera after Feb. 4. For additional information, visit LessCancer.com.