NORFOLK, Va. - More than 100 gathered at the Downtown Norfolk Sheraton on Saturday to advocate for the health of postmenopausal women.
The Awards Breakfast is part of a weekend-long Seasoned Women's Health Summit organized by nonprofit Project Nana. The summit aims to spotlight a heightened cancer risk for women after menopause.
At the breakfast, Project Nana founder Vanessa Hill gave out the inaugural Gwen Ifill Seasoned Women’s Champion Award to AARP CEO JoAnn Jenkins.
Ifill was a groundbreaking journalist who made a career covering U.S. Politics, moderating presidential debates and hosting several programs for PBS, including Washington Week and PBS Newshour. Ifill was just 61 when she passed away from endometrial cancer in 2016.
“It reminds me of how a person of consequence can make a difference for so many people in the world," Ifill's brother, Dr. Roberto Ifill, said to the crowd before revealing his sister's cancer was stage 4 by the time she was diagnosed.
It's the same cancer that took Hill's grandmother, for whom Project Nana was founded. Hill says her 'Nana' was also diagnosed at stage 4, as are many women who are postmenopausal.
She spent much of the Awards Breakfast calling on women to continue seeing a gynecologist regularly, even after menopause, and to report postmenopausal bleeding. Earlier in the week, doctors told News 3 anchor Jessica Larche that bleeding could be a sign that something is wrong in the uterine cavity.
Larche hosted the Awards Breakfast, speaking with Dr. Ifill for several minutes about his sister and her impact.
“I think the great honor for me was all the people in the room," he told her afterward. "All these extraordinary women, seasoned women, I would say extraordinary women that were here to celebrate, not only her legacy, but really what they do in their lives to raise awareness to advocate for health.”
Hill says events like the breakfast and Gwen Ifill's story will continue to save lives.
“She was in her late 50s and early 60s changing people’s minds in their living rooms from her camera and we have a lot of “nanas” that want to have a voice like that too," she told News 3. "But we have to make sure that they’re healthy and living and thriving for that to happen.”
Upon announcing that Jenkins had received the first Seasoned Women's Champion Award, Jenkins appeared via a recorded video to offer her thanks and support.
To learn more about the remaining summit events this weekend, visit the Project Nana website.
