What happens when breast health advocates from two different countries sit down to share ideas? They discover they have a lot more in common than they expected.
Eileen Pillitteri, Program Director at The Maurer Foundation, speaks with Gergana Bogdanova, Executive Director of Nana Gladwish One in Eight, a Bulgarian patient organization supporting women with breast cancer and their families. Gergana recently completed The Maurer Foundation’s Advanced Certification for Breast Health Educators, bringing the Foundation’s breast health education and training to a new community across the globe.
Their conversation is a powerful reminder that while healthcare systems, resources, and communities may look different from country to country, the need for reliable breast health information is universal. Through education, collaboration, and the sharing of knowledge, breast health advocates can learn from one another and help more women feel informed, empowered, and confident about their health.
Transcript
Eileen Pillitteri: I’m Eileen Pillitteri, Program Director at the Mora Foundation, and today we’re taking our conversation across the globe. One of the most rewarding parts of our work is seeing breast health education reach communities far beyond Long Island. Through our online training workshops, we’ve had the opportunity to connect with passionate advocates from around the world who are really making a difference in their own countries. I’m thrilled to be joined by Gergana Bogdanova. Gergana is the executive director of the Nana Gladwish One in Eight. A patient organization supporting women with breast cancer in Bulgaria. Gergana, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re excited to hear about your work, your experience, with The Maurer Foundation and the impact you’re making in your community.
Gergana Bogdanova: Hello, thank you so much for the invitation. I’m happy to be with you today.
Eileen: Absolutely. So let’s just jump in a little bit. I know you worked in the corporate world for many years before going to Nana Gladbush. What made you pivot and start to dedicate your life to breast health advocacy?
Gergana: Okay, I was nearly 40 years old, so I need change, I added value to my work. I just needed to do more than just go to work every day
Eileen: What does breast cancer awareness and early detection currently look like in Bulgaria? And how has that changed in recent years?
Gergana: For sure there is a significant change in the past 20 years. More and more women go to check themselves every year. And our national insurance funds covers the examination, ultrasound, 2D mammography, but still we don’t have an organized national screening program for breast cancer. There is no national informational campaigns. There is no health education at school. I think that is the main reason that still in Bulgaria breast cancer is often diagnosed in third and fourth stage and survival rate is lower. However, the prices for imaging in Bulgaria is affordable. A self-responsible and well-educated woman can go and do the examination without a large financial burden.
Eileen: Right, and that’s great because we know that financial barriers are a major obstacle, right, for early detection. And that’s really the key to survival. So we really want or encourage people to get their screening and without having a national campaign. That’s really a large part of what you’re doing with the foundation, which I know we are going to talk about. But before that, let’s kind of talk about for those who’ve never been to Bulgaria, what do you wish that people understood about the breast health challenges women face there?
Gergana: First of all, there is a lack of reliable information and there is a need from 30 years ago like radiation from mammography causes breast cancer and etc. A large part of women do not know what examination exactly have to do in which year. Actually, the examination covered by our National Insurance Fund, they don’t take in account the physiologicalRelating to the way in which a living organism or bodily part functions. characteristic of the women, like breast density or personal risk. So I think that 99 % of the women in Bulgaria, do not think about their breast density. So it’s very important to be educated. There is a lack of clear paths in cases suspicious formation was found. And because of this, we often observe a deviation of modern breast cancer diagnostic and treatment standards. And…I think that we still don’t have equal distribution of equipment and specialists in the country. So a lot of women from the countryside have to take a day off from work and go to the next town to have this examination.
Eileen: I think one of the things I found so interesting during our training together is how many similarities there are between Bulgaria and what women in the United States are facing. The same myths that existed as you mentioned 30 years ago are still pervasive today. and certainly where our office is, it’s a pretty well-resourced area. But again, in more remote areas of the country, whether they are traveling hours to be able to get care. And be able to do that follow-up, and that’s a challenge for here as well. So, as much as people think we may not be so similar, the reality is we’re much more similar than we are different. Can you tell me a little bit more about One in Eight? What inspired its creation, and how does the organization support women throughout their breast health journey?
Gergana: K1 innate was founded by Mrs. Nana Vladovich. She’s a two-time breast cancer survivor and she’s a recognizable TV host in Bulgaria and one of the first public figures that share about her diagnosis on television. I will never forget the first conversation with Nana and the love and the passion that she taught me how during the first treatment she dreamed to organize a foundation in Bulgaria for support and how much effort is needed from her and from her family to become reality, one in eight. So, yeah, 13 years now, we have been developing our programs for support, both for breast cancer patients and their families and for healthy women. For the patients, we offer emotional, psychology support, informational and practical support about the patient’s journey, side effects of treatments, and etc. We also work in the field of advocacy and to raise the patient literacy about the disease and treatments and actually the life with breast cancer.
Eileen: I think that’s amazing. And to be able to translate that information to really accessible language so people understand it, we start to remove that fear factor, that anxiety that exists around breast cancer and breast health. What led you to pursue the Maurer Foundation’s advanced certification for breast health educators?
Gergana: Okay. Three years ago, I attended a lecture on breast cancer prevention and early detection, leading by doctor. So after the ending, I spoke with the women and…The feedback was that the lecture scared them instead of encouraging them to check their breasts every year. So in this moment I decided to create motivational training with reliable information and understandable language to give practical advices, talk about myths about breast cancer. I tried to put a little bit of funny element because we talked about why don’t we go to the doctor.
Eileen: Right.
Gergana: Many women said, okay, it’s expensive. Yeah, but in the beauty studios, we spent a lot of money or we are smokers in Bulgaria, most of the women. yeah, it’s a lot of money. Okay, it’s not a good excuse. So yeah, I have this element of ice breaking and everybody can find himself in this.
Eileen: Right. So important, right? We really have to be relating to our audience. And I love that part about we’ll spend money on our on our hair and our nails. And I think oftentimes women don’t make themselves a priority, right? And especially our health. Our kids never miss our medical appointments. Our family, we’re right there for. But when it comes to us, we’re never putting ourselves first. So I really love that. Was there anything you learned during the training that surprised you
Gergana: Actually, the training showed me that I’m on the right way with the information that I provide. Of course, I upgraded. Maybe the surprising thing is something that you mentioned. I realize that we are from two different countries, in a different continent, and different in scale, like territory, population, economical development, two different types of health systems. In the end, we work on the same problems. We are breaking myths about breast cancer and fighting the same fears that women experience. it was mind blowing for me. Bulgaria
Eileen: Absolutely, for me as well.
Gergana: is a small country in Europe and you are United States.
Eileen: Again, always more alike than we are different.
Gergana: Yes.
Eileen: Did was has any of the feedback about your programs changed since going through the training?
Gergana: Actually, yes, because I immediately update the information, structure it more user-friendly, if I can
Eileen: Mm-hmm.
Gergana: use this term. when my colleagues last month, here the lecture, they hear this lecture, two years now, they said, okay, something has changed, you’re more clear and more consistent. with the information and of course much more confident yes because the training
Eileen: I so appreciate hearing that and how rewarding. I know that you know you you put so much time and energy and and the passion was there during the whole training process. And I know that I received a lot of information from you and gave me different perspectives. So certainly there’s some things that I want to incorporate in what we’re doing.
Gergana: It’s not just the training, it’s actually exchange of information. was very helpful for me. And now I don’t have doubts. I covered all the information that women have heard. So I’m so happy.
Eileen: Wonderful. How do you hope that this knowledge that you now have will start to change the lives of the women in Bulgaria?
Gergana: I hope my educational session can give them valuable and reliable information and confidence that regular breast exams should be part of our routine healthcare because breast cancer is curable if it detected early. So I hope.I can change your attitude.
Eileen: Absolutely. Gergana, thank you so much for taking the time to share your story and the incredible work you’re doing in Bulgaria. It’s inspiring to see how breast health education can transcend borders and empower communities around the world.
Your passion, dedication, and commitment to supporting women, and raising awareness is just a powerful reminder that education truly has the power to save lives. If you’d like to learn more about the Mora Foundation, our breast health programs, or our online training workshops, we invite you to visit our website and follow us on social media. Thank you.
Gergana: Thank you.