Many men and women with metastatic breast cancer discuss various aspects of breast cancer research in terms of making it a chronic disease. That would be a good place to start, but my concern is that the expense of the drugs and the discomfort they cause may not be enough. Ultimately I would love to see:
- Solutions that make it so that breast cancer never comes back if you have it early stage.
- A cure if you are stage IV de novo (stage IV at diagnosis). Whether it is immunotherapy, combination therapy, or just something that stops it dead in its tracks. Breast cancer is tricky, there are several kinds (something you may not have known unless you follow my blog or other breast cancer bloggers).
I realistically expect organizations to have overhead cost. I worked at a nonprofit for several years as a marketing director. As much as I loved the company I worked for, what they did and making them be the best that they could be – I expected to be paid a fair salary for my skills and experience. The people that I worked for, realistically, hoped for the same. We did take lower salaries than we would have made at a for profit company, but we believe in what we were doing.
I also think that companies that help breast cancer patients should receive funding. The organizations listed on this page are ones that I prefer personally and recommend donating to.
Companies that do metastatic research:
- METAVivor – Run by metastatic volunteers (this one actually has low overhead. 100% of funds go into metastatic breast cancer research.
- Cancer Couch Foundation – Donations are matched by the foundations that they fund. Funds are focused on metastatic research.
- Komen – The national site donates to metastatic research if you choose this option when you select “Donate” Stage IV/ Metastatic Breast Cancer Research
- Huntsman Women’s Cancers – If there is a way to donate directly to Alana Welm’s team I would love the recommendation. They are doing great research for metastatic breast cancer.
Companies that I have benefitted from during my breast cancer treatment:
- Rack Pack Foundation
- Image Reborn Retreat
- Casting for Recovery
- DownEast Live for Pink
- LBBC Thriving Together Metastatic Breast Cancer Conferences
- Little Pink Houses of Hope