Hundreds gathered Sunday, June 6, at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn to recognize this fact and celebrate life as part of "National Cancer Survivors Day 2004" (NCSD).

NCSD at Lutheran Medical Center is part of the world's largest celebration of cancer survivorship and was observed as A Celebration of Life for cancer survivors. The June 6 event honored cancer survivors who live with the disease and recognized professionals helping to fight the battle against cancer.

New York area media personalities Bill S. Ritter, anchor, WABC-TV 7; Lauren DeFranco, reporter, WABC-TV 7; Lyn Brown, anchor, Good Day New York, Fox 5 TV; Shon Gables, anchor, CBS 2 News This Morning; Itay Hod, health reporter, NY1 News, and Karen Hepp, weekend anchor of Today in New York, WNBC, spoke to attendees about the deadly disease. 

Isamettin A. Aral, M.D., M.S., chair of Radiation Oncology at Lutheran Medical Center said, "The presence of the media people as well as that of all attendees underscores our role in addressing the battle against cancer."

Other guest speakers included health and medical workers who provided their insight.  But perhaps the most touching moment of the day was when two cancer survivors, Manuel Rodriguez and Michelle Mone, shared their personal first-hand experiences with the life-claiming ailment.

"Recently, cancer care in Brooklyn took a significant step forward with the introduction of Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) at Lutheran Medical Center," said Wendy Goldstein, president and chief executive officer of Lutheran Medical Center. IMRT is one of the newest and most advanced forms of radiation therapy for cancer patients. IMRT delivers a more precise, highly targeted dose of radiation to cancer tumors while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

"Additionally, Lutheran Medical Center has now positioned itself ahead of the rest by offering the largest brachytherapy [a type of internal radiation therapy that uses seed implants to more effectively target cancerous tumors while sparing adjacent normal tissue] program and the largest team of doctors working on prostate cancer in Brooklyn," she added.

Medicaid managed care provider Health Plus was a sponsor of the day's event.  Ada Rodriguez, Chief Marketing Officer for the company stated, "Health Plus is proud to participate in such an inspiring event.  Listening to survivors tell their stories of success is encouraging to everyone, especially those struggling with the disease.

"Health Plus believes that the greatest contribution we can make to National Cancer Survivors' Day is to pledge to work hard to provide the best healthcare to our neighbors, and our community, that we possibly can," she added.