Metastatic Breast Cancer Network

05/29/2021

Take an anonymous survey for MBC patients. Share your thoughts about clinical trials to help make life-saving research more diverse, and easier to access.

05/11/2021

Give input & connect to clinical trials through a patient-powered registry.

05/06/2021

The FDA granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in combination with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and chemotherapy as initial treatment for unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer.

More than two thirds of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer and brain metastases benefited from pertuzumab (Perjeta) plus high-dose trastuzumab, including two patients whose brain lesions remained stable for more than 2 years. (Journal of Clinical Oncology)

source: https://www.medpagetoday.com/hematologyoncology/othercancers/92458?xid=nl_mpt_SROncology_2021-05-06&eun=g1459386d0r&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=OncoUpdate_050621&utm_term=NL_Spec_Oncology_Update_Activehttps://www.medpagetoday.com/hematologyoncology/othercancers/92458?xid=nl_mpt_SROncology_2021-05-06&eun=g1459386d0r&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=OncoUpdate_050621&utm_term=NL_Spec_Oncology_Update_Active

05/06/2021

Behind the scenes with bone boosters...

There's a growing interest in the use of bone-modifying agents, or BMAs, known as bisphosphonates in the cancer patient population. But these agents can cause short- and long-term side effects. What’s the story with BMAs in breast cancer? We chatted with patients, cancer researchers, and clinician...

05/05/2021

“The treatment of HER2+ metastatic breast cancer is 1 of the success stories in oncology....”

https://www.cancernetwork.com/view/frontline-standards-of-care-for-her2-mbc

Adam M. Brufsky, MD, PhD: Welcome to this Cancer Network® presentation “Around the Practice: Relapsed/Refractory HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer.”

05/05/2021

Relapsed/Refractory HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer - Episode 1

Best Practices: HER2+ MBC With Brain Mets

https://www.cancernetwork.com/view/best-practices-her2-mbc-with-brain-mets

Adam M. Brufsky, MD, PhD: Let’s do a polling question for the audience. What factors are important when deciding whether to continue current systemic therapy vs switching or recommending local therapy for a patient who develops CNS [central nervous system] progression after starting frontline ther...

05/04/2021

Join Kelly Shanahanand Dr Ben Ho Park Tues 5/4 9 Pacific (10 min, 11 central, noon eastern) to honor the legacy of super advocate Sandi Spivey.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ais-coffee-chat-tickets-151858776689?fbclid=IwAR3DJPl-mBvjvrvr2b8p6c-jM9zkBhUhNpPjhrAl5SaYls3QgIGorfSrslw

Coffee Chats with Advocates and Researchers are casual conversations where advocates can connect directly with researchers and ask questions

05/03/2021

Share your experiences during the pandemic to help doctors provide better care. Together we can drive advances in metastatic breast cancer treatment & research.

Help us reach 500 survey responses: https://mbca.me/3tijm5N

04/27/2021

COMING SOON! Take two surveys about your experience during the pandemic to help doctors provide better care. Your voice can make a difference for metastatic breast cancer.

Join this patient-powered registry today: https://mbca.me/3tijm5N

04/23/2021

04/22/2021

Many people, and even doctors, are not familiar with the term oligometastatic breast cancer. Oligometastatic breast cancer is characterized by single or few detectable metastatic lesions at the time of diagnosis. People with oligomets may have improved outcomes and may even experience treatment as curative. In this interview, Debu Tripathy, MD, explains this relatively rare presentation of MBC, explores treatment approaches, and shares a look into the research.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II6cAdwqEi4

Many people, and even doctors, are not familiar with the term oligometastatic breast cancer. Oligometastatic breast cancer is characterized by single or few ...

04/18/2021

Casting for Recovery offers free retreats for all people with all stages of breast cancer. Learn more...https://castingforrecovery.org

Casting for Recovery focuses on enhancing the quality of life of women with breast cancer through a unique program that combines breast cancer education...

04/15/2021

Proud to call Carla a friend and even prouder to help share her story. Black women can get breast cancer earlier than white women. Do not wait until the “official” suggested mammogram age of 40. Be proactive..ask your doctor when YOU should start screening. Far too Black women are told, “You are too young for breast cancer.” Sadly that is not the case.

There is a perception that breast cancer is an old white woman’s disease. It is true that is the average “face“ of breast cancer in the US, where the median age of breast cancer is 61.

Unfortunately, young white and Black women DO get breast cancer. Cancer found earlier is easiest to treat...give yourself that chance. Know your family history...most cancer is NOT inheirited, but when it is it often strikes at an earlier age.

More white women get breast cancer, more Black women die from it. Please know your risk and never stop advocating for yourself.

I am a West Tennessee native currently residing in Maryland. I proudly served in the United States Army with various assignments in the US and across Europe. I received an Honorable Discharge and continued on to serve my country as a contractor at the Pentagon in Washington DC.

I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer (stage IV de novo) in May of 2014 at age 37, well before the recommended age to start receiving yearly mammograms. After completing the biopsies, CT scan, full body bone scan, and brain MRI, the results showed metastasis to the axillary lymph nodes, innumerable lesions scattered over my lungs and liver, and in multiple bones including my spine. My cancer was so extensive that I was administered the heavy chemotherapy, Taxol, for 38 weeks straight along with targeted therapy every three weeks! Yes, I was on weekly Taxol for 9 1/2 months! I still suffer from several side effects of Taxol including chemo induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN).

This was my first and only diagnosis! I wondered how does someone go from being healthy one day and end up with terminal cancer the next! I attributed the aches, pains, and extreme fatigue to the wear and tear of being a Soldier in the Army, little did I know this silent killer was lurking throughout my body! It took a month or two for me to fully understand the severity of my diagnosis. As time went by I realized that I would receive some form of treatment for the remainder of my life, but the one thing I knew for sure was that God is in control! I am still here because of God’s tender grace and mercy along with the prayers of my family and close friends!

Cancer is still detected in my body and I'm still receiving intravenous treatment every three weeks. Also, I receive routine CT scans and bone scans along with routine MUGA scans. I receive the MUGA scans because the current treatment that I’m on has the potential to cause congestive heart failure. My cancer type is invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) which is the most common type of breast cancer found in approximately 80 percent of breast cancer patients and my cancer subtype is hormone receptor negative (HR-), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive (HER2+) which is found in only about 20-25 percent of all breast cancer patients and it is aggressive! Knowing your cancer type and subtype is very important.

We know the recommended age to start receiving yearly mammograms is age 40…I was only 37 at the time I was diagnosed. I encourage everyone (women and men) to perform breast self- exams and to also listen to your body which is how I discovered my cancer. Go get a second opinion...I'm glad I did because only five short months before my diagnosis, during a routine well-woman exam, I had a doctor tell me, "Oh you're only 37, you don't need a mammogram."

You are your own best advocate!

Lastly, I’ve had several people tell me that if I hadn’t shared my story with them they would not know I have terminal cancer because I don’t look sick (if they could only walk a mile in my shoes!) So, please be kind and love one another because you never know what the next person is going through. ~ Carla

04/13/2021

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/breast-cancer-update/id172326636 =7ECB3BBB-2D17-4896-92A0-4232BAA92763

04/02/2021

03/26/2021

03/26/2021

Olivia Franz walked out of her last chemotherapy session Thursday afternoon with her mother, her devoted cheerleader, at her side. She wasn't expecting a crowd. She got one.

03/26/2021

thanks for all you do, Sheila!

Sheila writes:

Haha I can't believe I said HOT STUFF but clinical trials are important. I recorded this video at the SABCS in December 2019. The same time the clinical trial I'm on was fast-tracked by the FDA and is now called ENHERTU. FAST TRACK means a process designed to facilitate the development, and expedite the review of drugs to treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need. I've been on a trial (DS8201A) since July 2018 and I'm very blessed that it is still working. Research saves lives and we need more black women to participate in clinical trials. We also need to be asked to participate in clinical trials. Advocate for YOURSELF. Ask your doctor about clinical trials. MYTH: Clinical trials are a last resort. FACT: They are not always a last resort because it wasn't a last resort for me. Thanks to Susan G. Komen for giving me a platform to share my story about clinical trials.

03/25/2021

New LBCA Scientific Blog ...
LBCA Scientific Advisory Board Member Dr. Rebecca Riggins Discusses the Challenges of ILC-Specific Research and Potential Solutions
..when ILC does recur, it can do so in unusual places (e.g. the ovaries, GI tract, and even the eye socket) where a woman and her primary care physician may not immediately think, “This could be breast cancer!”

In the lab, ILC’s relatively slow growth means our work takes longer. Other challenges include:

There are just a handful of cell line models that have been established from ILC, which means we are not capturing the full range of its genetic diversity in our experiments.

There are models of ILC-like breast cancer development in mice, but most of these are not ER+, so they don’t accurately reflect how ILC grows in women.

New methods allow us to grow samples of patient tumors in mice, as “avatars” of their patient, to support drug testing and development. However, ER+ ILC tumors have been hard to establish in these systems, so there are currently only two validated ER+ ILC avatars in regular use.

Unless we are privileged to research at one of those busy academic medical centers, we struggle to have access to ILC tumor tissue to confirm the new scientific findings we are making with the cell models we do have.

https://lobularbreastcancer.org/lbca-scientific-blog-rebecca-riggins-phd/

LBCA Scientific Advisory Board Member Dr. Rebecca Riggins Discusses the Challenges of ILC-Specific Research and Potential Solutions In 2004, I was a new postdoctoral fellow … LBCA Scientific Blog: Rebecca Riggins, PhD Read More »

03/24/2021

Martha Carlson, a Stage IV MBC patient shares the important role her primary care physician plays in addressing non-cancer health issues as well as interacting with her oncology care time. Choose wisely!

In this post, metastatic breast cancer survivor Martha Carlson shares why searching for the right primary care physician during cancer was so important for her and how this doctor helps her understand and address her overall health.

03/19/2021

https://www.everydayhealth.com/breast-cancer/women-with-metastatic-breast-cancer-videos/?fbclid=IwAR39NUNmQTBnqPjSX7eOAn8_JvI8nycFB4VfD0r2nh569d_wZuXMiSARw5k -black-with-metastatic-breast-cancer-its-a-disadvantage?jwsource=fb

Thanks friends, for sharing your MBC stories!

Metastatic breast cancer, or stage 4, isn’t curable, but it can be treated. These two women are doing everything they can to give others hope. Watch the videos on Everyday Health.

03/06/2021

Learn, reflect, and connect at Living Beyond Breast Cancer's annual conference for the metastatic community.

03/06/2021

03/05/2021

Natalie P.’s friend Mary writes:

😍 I'm so proud of my beloved Venezuelan twin, Natalia Padrón, who represents the Hispanic voice of the ′′ worst club with the best people ′′ in this beautiful project.

IV: Our Lives incluye una serie de testimoniales de pacientes y sobrevivientes de cáncer. Entre los participantes está Natalia Padrón, una venezolana de Florida Central quien lleva luchando años contra esta enfermedad.

02/24/2021