On March 19, 2020, Saint Luke’s Hospital Koontz Center for Advanced Breast Cancer conducted a special ABC Forum discussing COVID-19 as it relates to metastatic breast cancer. Timothy J. Pluard, MD, medical director at Saint Luke’s Cancer Institute And the Paul Koontz Endowed Chair of Breast Disease at the University of Missouri- KC School of Medicine spoke first. He discussed appropriate safety and isolation strategies for those with MBC and their support system. Dr. Savanah Geske, an oncology clinical psychologist with Saint Luke’s Cancer Institute,  then highlighted anxiety reducti ..read more

WHAT: Clinical Trial Overview PLUS Two New TNBC Trials WHEN: Tuesday, January 28, 2020; 2 to 3 PM CST REGISTER: https://researchadvnetwork.formstack.com/…/2020_01_28mbcn_r… MBCN, in collaboration with the Research Advocacy Network, is holding a webinar on Tuesday, January 28. This is a great opportunity for patients and their caregivers to learn more about clinical trials in general as well as two clinical trials for people with metastatic triple negative breast cancer. Both trials are for those with the TNBC subtype with specific biomarkers. One trial is currently open and one is forthcoming ..read more

“Practice Update” recently highlighted the results of a clinical trial involving stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR), a noninvasive approach for the treatment of oligometastases. The results are published in The Breast , Volume 49, Pages 55-62 (February 2020). Read the full article here: DOI: 10.1016/j.breast.2019.10.016 https://www.thebreastonline.com/article/S0960-9776(19)30590-9/fulltext OBJECTIVES To determine the safety and feasibility of single fraction SABR for patients with bone only oligometastatic breast cancer. Secondary endpoints were local and distant progression-f ..read more

We were happy to help Beth Greenfield with this Oct 13 article. In addition to commenting, we provided background material on metastatic breast cancer and helped Beth connect with other MBC advocates. Thanks to all who have shared their stories! A brief excerpt follows: Source: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/the-breast-cancer-nobody-wants-to-talk-about-if-i-dont-find-something-that-works-i-will-die-120003679.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw “People want to hear about success stories, survival stories,” Katherine O’Brien, 53, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. She’s an advocate with the Metastat ..read more

1.When you are diagnosed with MBC you are best served by a doctor who focuses on the treatment of MBC and treats a large number of MBC patients. You can find this out by asking questions when you call to make an appointment. 2. Be sure that there is mutual respect and trust between you and the doctor you choose. Does the doctor explain the results of your tests and welcome your questions and answer them in language you understand? Does the doctor care about you as a person and take time to understand your goals and values? If good communication is lacking, consider finding a different doctor ..read more

We are sorry to share that Rebecca Del Galdo, our fellow Chicagoan and MBC patient, died on August 8, 2019 in St. Augustine, Florida. Rebecca was 51 years old. I first met Rebecca at a Young Survival Coalition conference in Houston. Rebecca and I were both in our 40s and among the “older” attendees. Rebecca easily could have passed for someone ten years younger–in appearance and spirit! Most of the attendees were people with early stage breast cancer–I really appreciated the support and company of another MBC patient. Rebecca’s cancer story began in 2009. At age 41, she had her first mammogra ..read more

Health Central and journalist Sunny Sea Gold recently asked some MBC patients what they would like their loved ones and newly diagnosed patients to know about the disease.  Here is the respondents–who have been living with MBC—for three, six, even 23 years—had to say. Patient to Patient: Statistics Do Not Dictate Your Journey “What has stuck with me during my 16 years of living with metastatic breast cancer is ‘You are a statistic of one.’ I especially think of this when I hear that a friend with my type of metastatic disease has passed away,” says Shirley Mertz, chair of the Metasta ..read more

Here’s a new wrinkle on Herceptin… Potentially some patients could get a subcutaneous version (vs. the current infusion) The MBC-related part of the announcement is as follows: In addition, it is indicated for use in combination with paclitaxel for first-line treatment of HER2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer and as a single agent for treatment of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer in patients who have received 1 or more chemotherapy regimens for metastatic disease. Patients should be selected for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for trastuzumab. This raises a couple ..read more

NCCN Guidelines for Patients includes a metastatic breast cancer publication. You can access it online at this link: https://www.nccn.org/patients/guidelines/stage_iv_breast/index.html FYI: National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) is an alliance of 28 cancer centers in the United States, most of which are designated by the National Cancer Institute (one of the U.S. National Institutes of Health) as comprehensive cancer centers. NCCN was created in 1995. It is a national alliance that develops and institutes standards of care for the treatment of cancer and perfo ..read more

NEW YORK, Oct. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Today, the Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance launched MBC ConnectTM, a free mobile and web-based tool for patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) that will build a powerful database of patient information to help drive research, discoveries, and advances for the MBC community. MBC Connect provides access to an interactive patient registry and a research portal with opportunities to explore de-identified patient data. The tool will also create a link between patients and potential relevant clinical trials and research studies. “MBC Conn ..read more