Breast Cancer Task Force of the Greater Miami Valley

Our History

In 1993, the BCTF was formed by Jill Vaniman, Cancer Education Director for the American Cancer Society (ACS), Montgomery County Unit.

There appeared to be breast cancer education and/or support groups scattered throughout the county, but each one had their own agenda. It was difficult to determine where to send a new breast cancer patient calling into the American Cancer Society, or where to refer someone who wanted an educational program for their organization. After some research into the various organizations, it was determined that the individual groups did not really work together on programs, so the idea of inviting a representative from each group to help form the Breast Cancer Task Force, was born.

Today the organization has over 30 members representing area agencies, hospitals, medical facilities and individuals from the community.

How the BCTF Began

Past BCTF Presidents
2004 CJ Bruggeman
2005 Frankye Herald
2006 Sharon Kershner
2007 Ann Lensch
2008 Karen Pelfrey
2009 Kathy Haught
2010 Kay Parent
2011 Leigh Ann Fulford

The initial “goals” of the group were the following:

To have a written list of all breast cancer education and/or support groups within Montgomery County.
To list the services and contact person of each group.
To determine if there are any areas of patient services or educational programs not being addressed.
To share all the combined resources of the groups in order to better serve the women of Montgomery County.
To consider doing an annual breast cancer education program with the support of each BCTF organization and the assistance of each BCTF member.

The first 4 goals were realized rather quickly, as all of the organizations (hospitals, research centers, private support groups, etc.) sent representatives to join the group. The meetings were very successful, with the American Cancer Society furnishing most of the financial assistance for the Task Force.

Over the years, the Task Force members have changed – but always have included representation from the hospitals as well as other breast cancer organizations. Eventually, the Task Force became an independent group – no longer under the American Cancer Society umbrella. Additionally, the name has changed to the Breast Cancer Task Force of the Greater Miami Valley, in order to collaborate with even more organizations.

Some of the accomplishments of the Task Force can be seen on the "What we do" page.