CNN’s Sara Sidner, congressional spouse Charles Capito and University of Arizona Cancer Center Skin Cancer Institute honored by Prevent Cancer Foundation’s Congressional Families Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: Kyra Meister
703-836-1746
kyra.meister@preventcancer.org
Washington, D.C. – The Prevent Cancer Foundation’s Congressional Families® Program held its 31st Annual Action for Cancer Awareness Awards luncheon on Thursday, September 19 on Capitol Hill. The group honored CNN’s Sara Sidner with the Distinguished Service in Journalism Award, congressional spouse Charles Capito (married to Senator Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia) with the Congressional Families Leadership Award, and the University of Arizona Cancer Center Skin Cancer Institute with the Excellence in Cancer Awareness Award.
The Congressional Families Program’s signature event is widely attended by members of Congress and their spouses, as well as leaders in the cancer prevention community and Program supporters, to recognize the contributions of those using their platforms to educate the public about cancer prevention and early detection. The theme of this year’s event was “The Power of Community.” Jody Hoyos, CEO of the Prevent Cancer Foundation, said in her remarks, “The power of community leads to a community empowered. Empowered to check their health. Empowered to reduce their cancer risk. Empowered to stay ahead of cancer.”
Lisa McGovern, executive director of the Congressional Families Program, served as emcee. “This year’s honorees exemplify the strength of community in sharing messages of cancer prevention and early detection so that more Americans may stay ahead of cancer,” she said. “As pillars in their communities, they have built foundations of trust with their constituents, making them ideal ambassadors to inspire healthy actions for better outcomes.”
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi also joined the event and spoke on the power of unity against a common enemy: cancer.
More about the 2024 honorees:
Sara Sidner, Co-Anchor, CNN News Central
Distinguished Service in Journalism Award
In January 2024, Sara Sidner announced her stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis live during a CNN broadcast to both educate the public and inspire her audience to act. As she shared her personal story, she also stressed the racial disparity that exists among Black women in the U.S. with breast cancer and urged women to get their annual mammograms and pay attention to changes in their bodies.
Ms. Sidner received her biopsy results days after returning to New York from overseas work travel; the lump she had noticed months earlier and raised cause for concern in her mammogram was cancerous. Ms. Sidner has taken the public with her on her journey from diagnosis to chemotherapy to a double mastectomy. She has shared her experience with viewers and followers on social media in candid, educational and often humorous updates. We honor Ms. Sidner for using her platform as a journalist to educate her audience and for sharing her personal story to inspire action.
Charles Capito (married to Senator Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia)
Congressional Families Leadership Award
Charles Capito serves on the Congressional Families Program Executive Council, providing valuable guidance to strengthen and grow the bipartisan, bicameral program. In his home state of West Virginia, which has one of the highest rates of lung cancer in the U.S., Mr. Capito raises awareness to prevent the disease and detect it early for better outcomes. He has participated in numerous Program initiatives including the “Congressional Families: Voices for Cancer Prevention” video series, a bipartisan panel featuring First Lady Jill Biden, and a site visit to West Virginia University Cancer Institute’s mobile lung cancer screening unit, LUCAS. Like many, Mr. Capito’s family has been touched personally by cancer; he lost his grandmother, mother and father to the disease.
University of Arizona Cancer Center Skin Cancer Institute
Excellence in Cancer Awareness Award
Inspired by the success of Project Students Are Sun Safe (SASS), which annually trains 20-30 University of Arizona students how to teach skin cancer prevention messages to middle school and high school students, the Skin Cancer Institute (SCI) launched its community ambassadors program. In 2023 alone, SASS trainees presented to 16 schools and 815 middle and high school students, but demand for these presentations exceeded the number of trained student advocates. Community members expressed interest in wanting to help, thus creating the Community Ambassadors for Skin Cancer Prevention Program. Workshops teach community members about skin cancer and ways to be sun safe, while also training them to deliver these messages to others within the community. The SCI’s goal is to “spread the word” on how dangerous sun exposure and skin cancer can be, and to create a healthier community through education. The program is supported through a 2023 Prevent Cancer Foundation grant. The award will be accepted by Dylan Miller, MPH, SCI Outreach Program Coordinator.
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About the Congressional Families® Program
The Congressional Families® Program is a bipartisan, non-political initiative founded in 1991 to increase the public’s understanding of cancer prevention and early detection through education and outreach. Members of Congress and their spouses/partners are supported in using their unique platforms to raise awareness, highlight resources and inspire action in their home districts and states through site visits, op-eds and social media content, building a nonpartisan community focused on stopping cancer.
When the Congressional Families Program launched as a partnership between the Prevent Cancer Foundation and The Congressional Club, initial efforts focused on breast cancer. The success of the Program’s first five years led to the expansion of its scope to include colorectal, liver, lung, oral, prostate, skin, testicular and cervical cancers, as well as HPV-related cancers.
For more information, please visit www.congressionalfamilies.org.
About the Prevent Cancer Foundation®
The Prevent Cancer Foundation® is the only U.S. nonprofit organization focused solely on saving lives across all populations through cancer prevention and early detection. Through research, education, outreach and advocacy, we have helped countless people avoid a cancer diagnosis or detect their cancer early enough to be successfully treated.
The Foundation is rising to meet the challenge of reducing cancer deaths by 40% by 2035. To achieve this, we are committed to investing $20 million for innovative technologies to detect cancer early and advance multi-cancer screening, $10 million to expand cancer screening and vaccination access to medically underserved communities, and $10 million to educate the public about screening and vaccination options.
For more information, please visit www.preventcancer.org.