tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88107898367639586472024-03-18T23:04:59.596-04:00Lucy's Mom Fights CancerLiving with Stage IV (Metastatic) Triple Negative breast cancer (TNBC) and BRCA1+Lucy's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14238400606359604897noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-20644620180415920002020-02-02T11:07:00.002-05:002020-02-02T11:07:51.067-05:00Groundhog Day - 12 months to live or not!?Groundhog Day – 12 months to live or not?<br />
<br />
On this day in 2017, I was told, in the worst way (if that is even possible) my breast cancer had metastasized to my liver. While I had a pet scan that morning and we knew that we could hear that my cancer had returned, I just had thought recurrence not metastatic. I really did not understand.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, my oncologist was off that day, so when we returned to receive the results of the Pet Scan, we were met with a Fellow, who we had never met before. Admittedly, that meeting is a blur, but I do recall that English was not his first language and we had difficulty understanding him. What I heard – the cancer has metastasized to my liver, this was really bad, and would have 6 to 12 months to live. What he actually said, who knows, but this is what I heard. He had no plan or next steps to offer, just that our oncologist would follow up with us. Of course, it was a Friday.<br />
<br />
In July 2014, I was diagnosed with Stage 2B, ER/PR positive – Her2 Negative Breast Cancer. During my treatment, I found out that I was positive for the BRCA1 gene. I did chemotherapy, bilateral mastectomy and 35 radiation treatments. After this, I was declared “Cancer Free” in March 2015. However, there were no more scans, apparently this is standard protocol to not confirm this. Just 90 days checkups with my oncologist and an aromatase inhibitor daily to keep the cancer away. These checks up consisted of a physical exam and blood work. Thank goodness my oncologist believes in monitoring tumor markers in the blood work too, many do not.<br />
<br />
I wish I knew about my BRCA1 status before I started my treatment, I have so many regrets about the decisions I made during this time. But I learned a lot and did not make those same mistakes this time around. Biggest lesson learned was RESEARCH and get several opinions and options, do not accept the status quo AND advocate and educate myself on what is the best plan for me.<br />
<br />
When I was finally able to meet with my oncologist the following week, we did a biopsy and determined that my cancer had not only metastasized, but the characteristics changed. The cancer was now Triple Negative, the most aggressive form of breast cancer along with now being Stage IV Metastatic, the only breast cancer that KILLS.<br />
<br />
There were 4 presented options for my cancer now, approved by the FDA, which all came with horrible percentage of success rates and quality of life. Kent and I just did not could not decide which path to go on, they all seemed bad with limited guarantees of giving me more time to live, while offering me possible limited quality of life.<br />
<br />
We decided to seek out a second opinion. This was the best decision of my life so far. The oncologist at Dana Farber, Dr. Erica. Mayer presented us with the same 4 options previously offered PLUS 11 possible clinical trials that were open or opening that I would qualify for. Clinical Trials are not only competitive as there are only so many spots available, but very targeted not just your type of cancer, stage but also how many lines of treatment you have had.<br />
<br />
Triple Negative Breast Cancer has a lot of trials available now as the “standard of care” options had such bleak outlooks and other cancers had already found better options for metastatic due to clinical trials, like Herceptin for Triple Positive Cancers.<br />
<br />
We thoroughly went through all the trials available, possible side effects and quality of life. We picked the one we thought would have the best results. BUT it was not available to me in Jacksonville, my hometown, but it was open at Dana Farber. To join this trial, I would need to travel, every 3 weeks to Boston, for 2 nights, and receive treatment there. Lucy, our daughter, was 5, and we had no family that lived locally. We decided to make this commitment to try and add more time to my life. Our family, friends, nanny and even strangers, stepped up and helped us with our daughter to allow us to do this. Without this amazing support, we could not have done this. Yes, there were people in our lives, who let us down and were not there for what we needed. We know though, everyone deals with this in their own way, and everyone has something they are facing, we try not to judge, be disappointed and expect nothing more.<br />
<br />
In August of 2018, the trial actually opened up at my local hospital, Mayo Clinic, in Jacksonville and I was allowed to move my trial, eliminated our need to travel for treatment, a game changer.<br />
<br />
The trial, TOPACIO, is the best decision I made, no regrets. It is saving my life. I am still on trial and will be for the rest of my life, unless it stops working, but I refuse to consider this. I would rather say, until science catches up and there is a CURE. The drugs I am on are brand names, Zejula, made by Tesarso (Now owned by GSK) and Keytruda, made by Merck. Zejula is a PARP inhibitor and I take it daily. Keytruda is immunotherapy and I receive an infusion, every 3 weeks. I have a CT Scan with contrast, every 9 weeks, to confirm it continues to work.<br />
<br />
In March of 2019, the trial is working so well, that I am considered NEAD (No Evidence of Active Disease), this means that my tumor has shrunk so much that it is impossible to find on the scans. It does NOT mean that the tumor is gone, it does NOT mean that I cured from Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer. It is important to know that there is NO CURE. I will never hear those words or even “Cancer Free” but that does not mean I won’t have a long life to live. I believe I will.<br />
<br />
The drugs I am on, while FDA approved for other cancers, are not approved for Breast Cancer. I do not know the status or plans by Merck to get Keytruda approved for certain Breast Cancers by FDA, but based on how generous Merck is by providing access to many breast cancer patients through compassionate use, outside FDA approval and free to the patients aa insurance cannot approve the use of non-FDA approved drugs and pay for it. I do know that while GSK has obtained approval for Zejula for Ovarian Cancer, they will not be moving forward and get it approved for Breast Cancer. Triple Negative breast cancer characteristics closely align with Ovarian cancer, so the treatments that work are similar. I cannot tell you why they will not try for FDA approval but there other 2 similar drugs on the market that have already been approved for Triple Negative by the FDA, so PARPs are available.<br />
<br />
For me, while they will close my trial, Tesaro has guaranteed me access to Zejula for as long as it continues to work for me. I am grateful for that. Merck is providing me Keytruda through compassionate use now and I have no expectations that they will end this program until/if it becomes available through FDA approval.<br />
<br />
Where am I on Groundhog Day, 3 years after being told that I had 12 months to live? I am raising my beautiful 7-year-old daughter with my incredible supportive husband, Kent. I am so lucky! Yes, I said LUCKY, many, many women are not having the success in their treatment that I am especially in the first line of treatment, and many do not have supportive husbands or even families. I work full time, have not ever had to take a break from work. I build an amazing career and am passionate about what I do. Without the support of my friend, mentor, boss and partner in my business, this would not be possible. Is it as important to me as it once was before cancer, no. At one time in my life, my career, had little work/life balance by my own choice. This is not the case today. I am not sure how I feel about this, as my career is a big part of my life and very important to me. I work with many people who remind me every day why I dedicated my career to this path, and I am grateful for them too.<br />
<br />
I am passionate now about correcting wrongs about Breast Cancer Awareness. There is so much misinformation out there. I am dedicated to advocate for a cure. I will do this with by dedicating my time, my money (my friends and supporters’ money by fundraising) and staying vocal and LOUD about the truth.<br />
<br />
Here is what you need to know about Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer. This is cancer that has moved out of the breast and into other areas of the body – liver, brain, lungs, skin and bones are the most common areas it will metastasize to. It IS breast cancer in these areas, not a new cancer.<br />
<br />
Metastatic breast cancer is the ONLY breast cancer that KILLS. 42,000 women and men in 2019 died from this disease and in 1989, the SAME NUMBER died from this disease. This is so unacceptable. We need to save all these lives. I do not want to be a part of this statistic in the future nor do I want anyone with this disease to be a part of it either.<br />
<br />
The only path to a cure is RESEARCH! And research costs money. Research has to include Clinical Trials so that they FDA can approve these drugs to make them available for “standard of care” What does not lead to a cure… PINK RIBBONS; BS messaging that women are being cured from this disease. Yes, Stage 0 to Stage 3 diagnosed women are told they are CURED, and this is amazing BUT 1 in 5 of those women will later hear that their cancer has metastasized to somewhere else in their body and their outlook will change.<br />
<br />
Thank you for staying with me, if you are still reading - remember:<br />
#PINKisaCOLORNOTACURE #StageIVneedsmore BRCA needs more publicity so more understand their risk and can test if they want #RESEARCHNOTRIBBONS<br />
<br />
Follow more of my story on Facebook at LUCYSMOMFIGHTSCANCER<br />
<br />
Stacy Hanson AKA Lucy’s Mom Stacy HansonLucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-52337926774835254862019-04-29T09:50:00.002-04:002019-04-29T09:50:20.839-04:00Event Chair- Making Strides Against Breast Cancer<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Unfortunately with my amazing personal news comes the unfortunate stark reality of Metastatic Breast Cancer #MBC aka Stage IV.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
7 people, 1 of whom I consider a personal inspiration and part of my inner support group of friends (on Facebook, across the world) that communicate and share the good, bad and ugly of living with Stage IV breast cancer on a daily basis, have died from this horrible disease in the past 48 hours.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
I am devastated and back to reality, and why my advoca<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">cy will never stop! Approximately 40,000 women DIE everyday from #mbc in just the United States alone, that is 110 women EVERY DAY!!</span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px;">
We need to change this. I will again post the graph from the CDC that shows that with all the strides made with Breast Cancer research, the number of BC deaths has not changed annually in over 25+ years! This is unacceptable. As Beth Fairchild (the founder of <a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=284627404925886&extragetparams=%7B%22__tn__%22%3A%22%2CdK-R-R%22%2C%22eid%22%3A%22ARDYCHv5uoK00IkDgYFU7Kus0h44sEPqLZJxpHXZ2TiUOsjHKb2JA--49eJQtM4HJQ51doxdE7UDHKod%22%2C%22fref%22%3A%22mentions%22%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/METAvivor-284627404925886/?__tn__=K-R&eid=ARDYCHv5uoK00IkDgYFU7Kus0h44sEPqLZJxpHXZ2TiUOsjHKb2JA--49eJQtM4HJQ51doxdE7UDHKod&fref=mentions&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARB0sACkpsQj01kHLHGYXNhD5G2rgoCscPn1Olpql_D2cFdmgSgmkGx9W7i8QK0masI4yxn-igpJSEQ_VmB7GerYcbmr8DZVfAehjhTsCMgGXYxOy5Gcl471NRslJeHt87YAX5OkrZWjtyKL2h_8Ugl_gEszOmyy_VmNVWC8DLcWQwHV620ZiSluJjXlIeSiKGHzNO9mKav7VUgwXJ7OjWB-vP_s_hLWkBQbj2FCn6xp12zZYdi-t3o8Ek6JLi7tY9teDOWdccNkJXMcVRqYa7GhvXp4zZvYPJBtDMr_SYfCEneaxc9H5fznRM7c43tixIZTGcms7VKfYJDHPfdfC3I" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">METAvivor</a>) started 5 years ago #stageivneedsmore</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
This is so unfair, my friend who passed was under 40 years old and had 3 young sons, deserved so much more. Through it all she blogged about her journey, educated, raised awareness and funds for research and finding a cure, advocated for change and her story was even told by People Magazine less than a year ago.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Please continue to support the charities you KNOW make a change, there are many out there, but a limited number, who really fight to find a cure for Stage IV breast cancer.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
While the official announcement has not been made yet, I have agreed to come back at the event chair of the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event on October 19, 2019 in Jacksonville, FL. Any doubts I had about signing up again for this commitment are now gone and we will make this the best fundraising year this event has ever seen <a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=174278309372133&extragetparams=%7B%22__tn__%22%3A%22%2CdK-R-R%22%2C%22eid%22%3A%22ARD73B5KCTe6crSK10TUZgdAYUyVHk569wHHkSTPBnyt76Ub-FljIIEW3nIEgQOp7-nNDn13M6aw2B6F%22%2C%22fref%22%3A%22mentions%22%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/MSABCJax/?__tn__=K-R&eid=ARD73B5KCTe6crSK10TUZgdAYUyVHk569wHHkSTPBnyt76Ub-FljIIEW3nIEgQOp7-nNDn13M6aw2B6F&fref=mentions&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARB0sACkpsQj01kHLHGYXNhD5G2rgoCscPn1Olpql_D2cFdmgSgmkGx9W7i8QK0masI4yxn-igpJSEQ_VmB7GerYcbmr8DZVfAehjhTsCMgGXYxOy5Gcl471NRslJeHt87YAX5OkrZWjtyKL2h_8Ugl_gEszOmyy_VmNVWC8DLcWQwHV620ZiSluJjXlIeSiKGHzNO9mKav7VUgwXJ7OjWB-vP_s_hLWkBQbj2FCn6xp12zZYdi-t3o8Ek6JLi7tY9teDOWdccNkJXMcVRqYa7GhvXp4zZvYPJBtDMr_SYfCEneaxc9H5fznRM7c43tixIZTGcms7VKfYJDHPfdfC3I" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Jacksonville</a>. I know the <a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=115009231926966&extragetparams=%7B%22__tn__%22%3A%22%2CdK-R-R%22%2C%22eid%22%3A%22ARAkT8yQ_2CQ0n0f85TM1ugIQno_1WVvey9M691ltQe2cSoaBnVRDJJ052iO_jn3ZkIsuhfTqjZlgMaB%22%2C%22fref%22%3A%22mentions%22%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amercian-Cancer-Society/115009231926966?__tn__=K-R&eid=ARAkT8yQ_2CQ0n0f85TM1ugIQno_1WVvey9M691ltQe2cSoaBnVRDJJ052iO_jn3ZkIsuhfTqjZlgMaB&fref=mentions&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARB0sACkpsQj01kHLHGYXNhD5G2rgoCscPn1Olpql_D2cFdmgSgmkGx9W7i8QK0masI4yxn-igpJSEQ_VmB7GerYcbmr8DZVfAehjhTsCMgGXYxOy5Gcl471NRslJeHt87YAX5OkrZWjtyKL2h_8Ugl_gEszOmyy_VmNVWC8DLcWQwHV620ZiSluJjXlIeSiKGHzNO9mKav7VUgwXJ7OjWB-vP_s_hLWkBQbj2FCn6xp12zZYdi-t3o8Ek6JLi7tY9teDOWdccNkJXMcVRqYa7GhvXp4zZvYPJBtDMr_SYfCEneaxc9H5fznRM7c43tixIZTGcms7VKfYJDHPfdfC3I" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Amercian Cancer Society</a> will use the funds raised in last years event (over $570K) and this years event, make a difference in finding a cure by funding grants and clinical trials dedicated to #mbc</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Only we can make a difference, our voices needs to be heard. This is not about pink ribbons or runs, or even walks, this is about saving lives, I will not sit on the sidelines and allow Breast Cancer “awareness” be about partial truths and fundraising directed at these efforts.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
The truth is there is NO CURE for Stage IV breast cancer, any kind, and to quote Beth again from her appearance on the today show “no one dies from a lump in their breast” but 110 women die a day in the U.S.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
#tnbc #mbc #brca1 #allforlucy<a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stacy-hanson-chief-client-officer-of-coventbridge-group-to-serve-as-2019-making-strides-against-breast-cancer-event-chair-for-the-second-consecutive-year-300833416.html" target="_blank">Stacy Hanson, Chief Client Officer of CoventBridge Group, to serve as 2019 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event chair for the second consecutive year.</a></div>
</div>
Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-44799472663879406892019-04-29T09:46:00.003-04:002019-04-29T09:46:41.471-04:00Guest Blog on the BRCA Gene written by Stacy Hanson<br /><a href="https://jacksonvillemom.com/health-wellness/living-with-stage-iv-breast-cancer/%20via%20@jacksonvillem0m" target="_blank">Blindsided By Stage IV Breast Cancer </a>Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-33367013208919618802019-03-01T08:15:00.002-05:002019-03-01T08:15:37.426-05:00Update from Boston<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We had a great and informative trip to Boston. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 13.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Here are the highlights:</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 13.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Dr. Mayer reviewed my Feb 11th scans with her radiologist and the radiologist said to her that there is NO signs of cancer! 😳 </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Dr. Mayer then asked her to look at my Feb 2017 scans, from original diagnosis, and compare to these scans, at that point they were able to see the same small something in the area where we know the tumor was. She said it is most likely scar tissue but there is no way to know if there is any cancer cells in there without an MRI or PET but not worth doing.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">She puts me at NED and considers me at complete response on the trial to date! 💕💕💕💕💕*Note, my Mayo oncologist takes a much more conservative approach to this diagnosis, while the radiologist report at Mayo also states No Definitive Evidence of Metastatic Disease, Dr. Colon currently officially does not call it NED as while he agrees it is probably scar tissue, wants to be exact as I am in trial and would not want to risk my participation in the trial and reports accurately that we can still see this TINY spot on the scans where the known tumor was located.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 13.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Still lots of unknown about going off Keytruda at the 2 year mark. Overall, if I can find a way to get Merck to give me the drug off trial, I will but most likely I won’t have success in those efforts. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Bottom line, we are just data blind in Keytruda or any immunotherapy regarding length of time to be on it longer than 2 years especially for breast cancer and the FDA has only approved the drug for other cancers with the 2 year limit.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 13.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">With all that said, I am thrilled and beyond amazed at my progress on these drugs and will stay on trial and continue to pray and trust in my doctors at Mayo Clinic and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, as well as Tesaro. These drugs have given me much more than I could have hoped for with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer with the BRCA1 gene. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 13.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Thank you for following my journey and all your love and prayers! 💕💕💕</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 13.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></div>
<br />
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">#tnbc #brca1 #stageivneedsmore #allforlucy</span></div>
Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-53754113424849160902019-02-23T08:16:00.001-05:002019-02-23T08:16:24.146-05:00My Story with Dana Farber<a href="https://blog.dana-farber.org/insight/2018/12/living-with-metastatic-breast-cancer-one-moms-story/" target="_blank">https://blog.dana-farber.org/insight/2018/12/living-with-metastatic-breast-cancer-one-moms-story/</a>Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-49021125863594938232018-11-06T16:09:00.002-05:002018-11-06T16:09:38.362-05:00Where is the OUTRAGE???In 1995, if there was a terriorst attack in the United States, that slowly began to kill approximately 40,000 women annually and disabled approximately 150,000 women, who may die from this disability. AND this continued year after year for the next 23 years to today with no end in sight, no way to stop it. You can be sure everyone would be motivated to find a way to stop it immediately, before more women die and more are affected. Politians, celebrities, major corporations, Charities, and the public, would join together to find a way<span style="text-align: center;"> to stop it. These are huge numbers of people per year and is unacceptable in the United States to not do everything to stop it. </span><br />
<br />
However, this scenario exists, with these exact tragic number of deaths annually (approximately 40,000) and another 150,000 living with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer, dying for a cure in just the United States. The CDC has tracked and reported the cause of deaths since 1995 to date, and as you can see in the graph attached, these numbers have remained unchanged for breast cancer deaths for more than 2 decades.<br />
<br />
Where is the outrage? Where are the politicians, corporations, celebrities and just the citizens of the United States coming together to fund, research, and find a cure for those already effected and researching to create a vaccine to completely eradicate this horrible disease.<br />
<br />
I have sat in meetings and telephone calls with various “activists” over the past few weeks and am so discouraged and disappointed but also MOTIVATED even more to be a part of the change.<br />
<br />
I will be posting over the next few days, my thoughts on what needs to be done. I have struggled with my platform for my personal advocacy and I think I have some more clairty now.<br />
<br />
Know this, there are a lot of Breast cancer charities out there, many do great things for research and to help patients financially and emotionally while fighting this disease at all stages. However, the field is littered with charities all focused on the same features and getting on the “Breast Cancer Awareness” band wagon, accepting that what they are all doing today, as a group and individually, is making an impact. We have made huge strides in early detection but are leaving behind the Stage IV Metastatic women fighting, losing their lives and/or accepting a quality of life less than what they deserve. It seems to me that it has been decided that the numbers of people in this group of MBC, is not large enough to dedicate much more to. Only 5% of all the donations raised across all breast cancer charities are donated to Stage IV Metastatic research and a cure.<br />
<br />
Change is needed- who will be the first National Breast Cancer charity to step out of the pack, and focus on finding a cure and saving women! And take their research to the next step, Find a CURE AND develop a vaccine that can eradicate breast cancer, like we have done with other horrible diseases in the past. A cure and finding a way to eradicate the disease do not have to be mutually exclusive, we can and should be focused on both!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-87206367636738464142018-10-26T08:06:00.001-04:002018-10-26T08:06:05.067-04:00How does Breast Cancer Staging Work? <br />
<br />
Do you know what each staging of Breast Cancer means? How is it determined?<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/staging" target="_blank">How does Breast Cancer Staging Work? </a><br />
<br />
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
he stage of a breast cancer is determined by the cancer’s characteristics, such as how large it is and whether or not it has hormone receptors. The stage of the cancer helps you and your doctor:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">figure out your prognosis, the likely outcome of the disease</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">decide on the best treatment options for you</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">determine if certain clinical trials may be a good option for you</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Breast cancer stage is usually expressed as a number on a scale of 0 through IV — with stage 0 describing non-invasive cancers that remain within their original location and stage IV describing invasive cancers that have spread outside the breast to other parts of the body.</div>
<h2 style="color: #111111; font-family: Classico, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; padding: 0px;">
How a breast cancer’s stage is determined</h2>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Your pathology report will include information that is used to calculate the stage of the breast cancer — that is, whether it is limited to one area in the breast, or it has spread to healthy tissues inside the breast or to other parts of the body. Your doctor will begin to determine this during surgery to remove the cancer and look at one or more of the underarm lymph nodes, which is where breast cancer tends to travel first. He or she also may order additional blood tests or imaging tests if there is reason to believe the cancer might have spread beyond the breast.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
The breast cancer staging system, called the TNM system, is overseen by the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC). The AJCC is a group of cancer experts who oversee how cancer is classified and communicated. This is to ensure that all doctors and treatment facilities are describing cancer in a uniform way so that the treatment results of all people can be compared and understood.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
In the past, stage number was calculated based on just three clinical characteristics, T, N, and M:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">the size of the cancer tumor and whether or not it has grown into nearby tissue (T)</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">whether cancer is in the lymph nodes (N)</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body beyond the breast (M)</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Numbers or letters after T, N, and M give more details about each characteristic. Higher numbers mean the cancer is more advanced. <a href="https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/staging#tnm" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">Jump to more detailed information about the TNM system.</a></div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
In 2018, the AJCC updated the breast cancer staging guidelines to add other cancer characteristics to the T, N, M system to determine a cancer’s stage:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;"><a href="http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/cell_grade" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">tumor grade</a>: a measurement of how much the cancer cells look like normal cells</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;"><a href="http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/hormone_status" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">estrogen- and progesterone-receptor status</a>: do the cancer cells have receptors for the hormones estrogen and progesterone?</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;"><a href="http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/her2" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">HER2 status</a>: are the cancer cells making too much of the HER2 protein?</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;"><a href="http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/testing/types/oncotype_dx" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">Oncotype DX score</a>, if the cancer is estrogen-receptor-positive, HER2-negative, and there is no cancer in the lymph nodes</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Adding information about tumor grade, hormone-receptor status, HER2 status, and possibly Oncotype DX test results has made determining the stage of a breast cancer more complex, but also more accurate.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
“The updated guidelines mean that staging is now catching up to how people are actually treated,” explained Elizabeth Mittendorf, M.D., Ph.D., Rob and Karen Hale Distinguished Chair in Surgical Oncology and director of the Breast Immuno-Oncology Program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, who served on the expert panel that wrote the updated guidelines. “When developing a treatment plan, doctors always consider tumor grade, hormone-receptor status, HER2 status, and the Oncotype DX score, if applicable. So, a woman diagnosed with stage II disease that is triple-negative [estrogen-receptor-negative, progesterone-receptor-negative, and HER2-negative] will have a very different treatment plan than a woman diagnosed with stage II disease that is estrogen-receptor-positive. The staging guidelines now take into account what doctors have been doing all along.”</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
In general, according to experts, the new staging system classifies triple-negative breast cancer (estrogen-receptor-negative, progesterone-receptor-negative, and HER2-negative) at a higher stage and classifies most hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer at a lower stage.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
You also may see or hear certain words used to describe the stage of the breast cancer:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">Local: The cancer is confined within the breast.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">Regional: The lymph nodes, primarily those in the armpit, are involved.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">Distant: The cancer is found in other parts of the body as well.</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Sometimes doctors use the term “locally advanced” or “regionally advanced” to refer to large tumors that involve the breast skin, underlying chest structures, changes to the breast's shape, and lymph node enlargement that is visible or that your doctor can feel during an exam.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="#" style="color: #055d98; line-height: 1.46667em;"></a></div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Jump to a specific breast cancer stage to learn more:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;"><a href="https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/staging#stage0" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">Stage 0</a></li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;"><a href="https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/staging#stage1" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">Stage I</a></li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;"><a href="https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/staging#stage2" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">Stage II</a></li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;"><a href="https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/staging#stage3" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">Stage III</a></li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;"><a href="https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/staging#stage4" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">Stage IV</a></li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
The updated AJCC breast cancer staging guidelines have made determining the stage of a cancer a more complicated but accurate process. So, the characteristics of each stage below are somewhat generalized. To see all the possible characteristics of each stage, you can review the <a href="https://cancerstaging.org/CSE/Physician/Documents/AJCC_PPT%20-Breast%20Webinar%2011-8-17.pdf" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;" target="_blank">AJCC Breast Cancer Staging Guidelines</a> <strong style="line-height: 1.46667em;">(PDF)</strong> online.</div>
<h2 id="stage0" style="color: #111111; font-family: Classico, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; padding: 0px;">
Stage 0</h2>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Stage 0 is used to describe non-invasive breast cancers, such as DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ). In stage 0, there is no evidence of cancer cells or non-cancerous abnormal cells breaking out of the part of the breast in which they started, or getting through to or invading neighboring normal tissue.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Learn about what treatments you can generally expect for stage 0 in the <a class="IL_820cee41-a32e-4933-a190-866ac53fd5f9" href="https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/planning/cancer_stage/stage_0" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">Options by Cancer Stage: Stage 0</a> page in Planning Your Treatment.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/staging#" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">Return to top</a></div>
<h2 id="stage1" style="color: #111111; font-family: Classico, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; padding: 0px;">
Stage I</h2>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Stage I describes invasive breast cancer (cancer cells are breaking through to or invading normal surrounding breast tissue) Stage I is divided into subcategories known as IA and IB.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
In general, <strong style="line-height: 1.46667em;">stage IA</strong> describes invasive breast cancer in which:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">the tumor measures up to 2 centimeters (cm) and</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">the cancer has not spread outside the breast; no lymph nodes are involved</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
In general, <strong style="line-height: 1.46667em;">stage IB</strong> describes invasive breast cancer in which:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">there is no tumor in the breast; instead, small groups of cancer cells — larger than 0.2 millimeter (mm) but not larger than 2 mm — are found in the lymph nodes or</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">there is a tumor in the breast that is no larger than 2 cm, and there are small groups of cancer cells — larger than 0.2 mm but not larger than 2 mm — in the lymph nodes</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Still, if the cancer is estrogen-receptor-positive or progesterone-receptor-positive, it is likely to be classified as stage IA.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Microscopic invasion is possible in stage I breast cancer. In microscopic invasion, the cancer cells have just started to invade the tissue outside the lining of the duct or lobule, but the invading cancer cells can't measure more than 1 mm.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Learn about what treatments you can generally expect for stage IA and IB in the <a class="IL_c6ce26c5-b4e1-4d79-8542-508bcd69123c" href="https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/planning/cancer_stage/stage_i" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">Options by Cancer Stage: Stage IA and IB</a> page in Planning Your Treatment.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/staging#" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">Return to top</a></div>
<h2 id="stage2" style="color: #111111; font-family: Classico, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; padding: 0px;">
Stage II</h2>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Stage II is divided into subcategories known as IIA and IIB.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
In general, <strong style="line-height: 1.46667em;">stage IIA</strong> describes invasive breast cancer in which:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">no tumor can be found in the breast, but cancer (larger than 2 millimeters [mm]) is found in 1 to 3 axillary lymph nodes (the lymph nodes under the arm) or in the lymph nodes near the breast bone (found during a sentinel node biopsy) or</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">the tumor measures 2 centimeters (cm) or smaller and has spread to the axillary lymph nodes or</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">the tumor is larger than 2 cm but not larger than 5 cm and has not spread to the axillary lymph nodes</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Still, if the cancer tumor measures between 2 and 5 cm and:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">has not spread to the lymph nodes or parts of the body away from the breast</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">is HER2-negative</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">is hormone-receptor-positive</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
it will likely be classified as stage IB.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Similarly, if the cancer tumor measures between 2 and 5 cm and:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">has not spread to the lymph nodes</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">is HER2-negative</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">is estrogen-receptor-positive</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">is progesterone-receptor-negative</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">has an Oncotype DX Recurrence Score of 9</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
it will likely be classified as stage IA.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
In general, <strong style="line-height: 1.46667em;">stage IIB</strong> describes invasive breast cancer in which:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">the tumor is larger than 2 cm but no larger than 5 centimeters; small groups of breast cancer cells — larger than 0.2 mm but not larger than 2 mm — are found in the lymph nodes or</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">the tumor is larger than 2 cm but no larger than 5 cm; cancer has spread to 1 to 3 axillary lymph nodes or to lymph nodes near the breastbone (found during a sentinel node biopsy) or</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">the tumor is larger than 5 cm but has not spread to the axillary lymph nodes</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Still, if the cancer tumor measures between 2 and 5 cm and:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">cancer is found in 1 to 3 axillary lymph nodes</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">is HER2-positive</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">estrogen-receptor-positive</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">progesterone-receptor-positive</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
it will likely be classified as stage IB.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Learn about what treatments you can generally expect for stage IIA and IIB in the <a class="IL_5473f899-4cd5-441b-9938-6d1845270ee6" href="https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/planning/cancer_stage/stage_iia_iib" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">Options by Cancer Stage: Stage IIA and IIB</a> page in Planning Your Treatment.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/staging#" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">Return to top</a></div>
<h2 id="stage3" style="color: #111111; font-family: Classico, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; padding: 0px;">
Stage III</h2>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Stage III is divided into subcategories known as IIIA, IIIB, and IIIC.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
In general, <strong style="line-height: 1.46667em;">stage IIIA</strong> describes invasive breast cancer in which either:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">no tumor is found in the breast or the tumor may be any size; cancer is found in 4 to 9 axillary lymph nodes or in the lymph nodes near the breastbone (found during imaging tests or a physical exam) or</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">the tumor is larger than 5 centimeters (cm); small groups of breast cancer cells (larger than 0.2 millimeter [mm] but not larger than 2 mm) are found in the lymph nodes or</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">the tumor is larger than 5 cm; cancer has spread to 1 to 3 axillary lymph nodes or to the lymph nodes near the breastbone (found during a sentinel lymph node biopsy)</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Still, if the cancer tumor measures more than 5 cm across and:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">is grade 2</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">cancer is found in 4 to 9 axillary lymph nodes</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">is estrogen-receptor-positive</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">is progesterone-receptor-positive</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">is HER2-positive</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
it will likely be classified as stage IB.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
In general, <strong style="line-height: 1.46667em;">stage IIIB</strong> describes invasive breast cancer in which:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">the tumor may be any size and has spread to the chest wall and/or skin of the breast and caused swelling or an ulcer and</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">may have spread to up to 9 axillary lymph nodes or</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">may have spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Still, if the cancer tumor measures more than 5 cm across and:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">is grade 3</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">cancer is found in 4 to 9 axillary lymph nodes</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">is estrogen-receptor-positive</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">is progesterone-receptor-positive</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">is HER2-positive</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
it will likely be classified as stage IIA.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Inflammatory breast cancer is considered at least stage IIIB. Typical features of inflammatory breast cancer include:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">reddening of a large portion of the breast skin</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">the breast feels warm and may be swollen</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">cancer cells have spread to the lymph nodes and may be found in the skin</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
In general, <strong style="line-height: 1.46667em;">stage IIIC</strong> describes invasive breast cancer in which:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">there may be no sign of cancer in the breast or, if there is a tumor, it may be any size and may have spread to the chest wall and/or the skin of the breast and</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">the cancer has spread to 10 or more axillary lymph nodes or</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">the cancer has spread to lymph nodes above or below the collarbone or</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">the cancer has spread to axillary lymph nodes or to lymph nodes near the breastbone</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Still, if the cancer tumor measures any size and:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">is grade 2</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">is estrogen-receptor-positive</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">is progesterone-receptor-positive</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">is HER2-positive or negative</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
it will likely be classified as stage IIIA.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Learn about what treatments you can generally expect for stage IIIA, IIIB, and IIIC in the <a class="IL_ed2616a7-75c9-4292-b9c7-092ed436aa65" href="https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/planning/cancer_stage/stage_iiia_op_iiic" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">Options by Cancer Stage: Stage IIIA, IIIB, and IIIC</a> page in Planning Your Treatment.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/staging#" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">Return to top</a></div>
<h2 id="stage4" style="color: #111111; font-family: Classico, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; padding: 0px;">
Stage IV</h2>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Stage IV describes invasive breast cancer that has spread beyond the breast and nearby lymph nodes to other organs of the body, such as the lungs, distant lymph nodes, skin, bones, liver, or brain.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
You may hear the words “advanced” and “metastatic” used to describe stage IV breast cancer. Cancer may be stage IV at first diagnosis, called “de novo” by doctors, or it can be a recurrence of a previous breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
Learn about what treatments you can generally expect for stage IV in the <a class="IL_114a6c1e-83e3-427d-8be1-d5945a38795d" href="https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/planning/cancer_stage/stage_iv" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">Options by Cancer Stage: Stage IV</a> page in Planning Your Treatment.</div>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/staging#" style="color: #880088; line-height: 1.46667em;">Return to top</a></div>
<h2 id="tnm" style="color: #111111; font-family: Classico, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; padding: 0px;">
More information about the TNM staging system</h2>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
The T (size) category describes the original (primary) tumor:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">TX means the tumor can't be assessed.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">T0 means there isn't any evidence of the primary tumor.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">Tis means the cancer is "in situ" (the tumor has not started growing into healthy breast tissue).</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">T1, T2, T3, T4: These numbers are based on the size of the tumor and the extent to which it has grown into neighboring breast tissue. The higher the T number, the larger the tumor and/or the more it may have grown into the breast tissue.</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
The N (lymph node involvement) category describes whether or not the cancer has reached nearby lymph nodes:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">NX means the nearby lymph nodes can't be assessed, for example, if they were previously removed.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">N0 means nearby lymph nodes do not contain cancer.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">N1, N2, N3: These numbers are based on the number of lymph nodes involved and how much cancer is found in them. The higher the N number, the greater the extent of the lymph node involvement.</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; padding: 0px;">
The M (metastasis) category tells whether or not there is evidence that the cancer has traveled to other parts of the body:</div>
<ul style="color: #111111; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.46667em; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px 1.5em 26px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">MX means metastasis can't be assessed.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">M0 means there is no distant metastasis.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.46667em; margin-bottom: 8px;">M1 means that distant metastasis is present.</li>
</ul>
Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-16092117617683944162018-10-23T08:38:00.001-04:002018-10-23T08:43:21.084-04:00How Breast Cancer Clinical Trials Work https://breastcancer-news.com/2016/05/23/breast-cancer-clinical-trials-work/<h1 class="entry-title">
How Breast Cancer Clinical Trials Work</h1>
<div class="qi-ad ad-posttitle">
</div>
<div class="entry-meta clear">
<span class="post-icon"></span> <span class="posted-on"><a href="https://breastcancer-news.com/2016/05/23/breast-cancer-clinical-trials-work/" rel="bookmark" title="1:11 AM"><span style="color: #bb5551;"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2016-05-23T01:11:24+00:00">May 23, 2016</time><time class="updated" datetime="2016-06-23T07:18:12+00:00">June 23, 2016</time></span></a></span> <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2vPyoT82qObEThDahmj_LOm0uiSPgGMjqe__LFLl_gaQdriM3-1lu4l5jCi4UDLEDBiGO6CMfjwsS_jRSwK1FJdpu2jBlAU0ESEDvGfGZ_AVwAzHGyp2CFaBwwvOuCJLFUEUlQz9ar49M/s1600/safe_image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="476" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2vPyoT82qObEThDahmj_LOm0uiSPgGMjqe__LFLl_gaQdriM3-1lu4l5jCi4UDLEDBiGO6CMfjwsS_jRSwK1FJdpu2jBlAU0ESEDvGfGZ_AVwAzHGyp2CFaBwwvOuCJLFUEUlQz9ar49M/s320/safe_image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Developing a new medical treatment for breast cancer takes many years. The process is intended to best improve the treatment of diseases and medical conditions without harming people. Here you can read about how new therapies are developed, tested in <a href="https://breastcancer-news.com/clinical-trials-2/"><span style="color: #bb5551;">clinical trials</span></a>, and eventually made available to patients with a wide range of diseases, including breast cancer.</div>
<div class="entry-content">
<div class="pf-content">
<h2>
Basic Research, R&D</h2>
Before clinical trials can begin, there needs to be evidence that a treatment is effective. Sometimes this evidence comes from academic labs that largely explore science for its own sake, not necessarily for the development of a drug. This is called “basic research.” From ideas generated in basic research or from company-sponsored “research and development” or (R&D), experiments typically proceed to pre-clinical research.<br />
<h2>
Pre-clinical Research</h2>
Pre-clinical testing is necessary before a medication or treatment proceeds to clinical trials. This testing involves experiments with animals, and also with cells in a dish (<em>in vitro</em> testing). While still necessary to advance potential therapies for diseases such as breast cancer, modern-day animal testing is generally governed by three principals: 1) reduce the use of animals to a minimum but utilize animal test subjects to collect data indicating that a treatment is safe and effective in people, 2) minimize animal suffering and assure animal welfare as much as possible, and 3) replace animal experiments with other alternatives when possible.<br />
A great deal of pre-clinical testing focuses on ensuring that a treatment is safe, for example, that the treatment does not cause birth defects (teratology) or other medical problems. Pre-clinical testing can also focus on how a treatment works and whether it is predicted to work effectively.<br />
<h2>
Clinical Trials Defined</h2>
Clinical trials focus on administering an experimental therapy in humans, as opposed to animals. Clinical trials are well-designed studies that collect information about new treatments for diseases and disorders. Most of the time, this means medications, but clinical trials can also test other things, such as stem cell therapies, surgical techniques, tests for diagnosis, and medical devices, to name the most common.<br />
<h3>
Clinical Trial Design</h3>
Often in a clinical trial, effectiveness is compared against a placebo (sugar pill with no medication in it), or another means of comparison. In the case of life-threatening diseases such as breast cancer, it is not acceptable to use a complete lack of real treatment as a comparison, so a comparison is typically made using another type of medication that is commonly prescribed and already approved for use in that particular indication or disease type. A comparison is needed to determine if the medication works (efficacy) and also to see if the medication is safe (adverse events). Researchers will design the clinical trial for a specific period of time, during which participants either get the treatment, or the comparison treatment. Sometimes the treatment is added on to the comparison as an extra treatment (add-on therapy).<br />
Typically, a study is conducted using the “double-blind” method. This means that neither the researchers giving the treatments nor the participants know who is getting which treatment. This prevents “bias,” or expectations that could influence the outcome of the study.<br />
Researchers providing the treatment will have a code that is later “unblinded” so that they find out what treatment they were giving. The researchers also record measurements while the participants are receiving the treatment. These measurements can be for different things, such as to determine if the treatment is working as well as to assess safety and side effects.<br />
Assessments in a breast cancer trial might include survival, how long a person is cancer-free (remission), or if a person experiences reduced cancer (partial remission). Other measurements might include blood levels of the medications. If someone participates in a clinical trial, that person will be informed about the measurements that will be taken before the trial starts. An “Informed Consent” document tells participants about the trial.<br />
<h3>
<b>Clinical Trial Phases</b></h3>
<b>Phase I testing</b> is the first step in studies involving humans. The purpose is to determine safety and to evaluate side effects. Phase I studies also test how the drug is absorbed, distributed and eliminated from the body. Often people who do not have the disease (healthy individuals) participate in Phase I. The number of people involved at this stage is usually small.<br />
<b>Phase II trials</b> are often divided into Phase IIA and Phase IIB. Sometimes these two sub-phases are combined. Phase II trials further assess dosing and are designed to determine the best drug dose to use and how much of a dose is safe. Phase II studies can also measure efficacy and safety testing in small numbers of participants. Often a treatment must pass Phase II in order to proceed to Phase III.<br />
Most reports of medical treatment studies focus on <b>Phase III trials</b>. These are the large trials that are required for a drug or other treatment to receive approval for use. The purpose of this phase is to test efficacy and safety as well as to monitor for side effects. The main drug effects are often called the primary efficacy endpoints. Other measurements may be called the secondary endpoints. Adverse events refer to the side effects that occur during a study. These are defined as being due to the medication or therapy given (treatment-emergent adverse events) or as simply things that occurred during the trial, whether they were due to the treatment or not (overall adverse events).<br />
Phase III trials can include additional testing time after the main measurements are taken. This is known as an “extension” or “extension study.”<br />
Occasionally, researchers conduct <b>Phase IV trials</b>, after a drug has been approved. These trials collect additional information about the drug or treatment. They are sometimes called “post-marketing” trials.<br />
<h2>
The Need for Clinical Trial Participation</h2>
Throughout the world, clinical trials are constantly recruiting patients and initiating studies to test investigational therapies and novel therapeutic options for diseases and conditions with unmet medical needs. Although people who are chronically ill or afflicted with a disease such as breast cancer participate in these trials, how clinical trials work or what they are designed to accomplish is not widely understood. However, as more people are made aware of the <a href="http://www.nih.gov/health/clinicaltrials/whyparticipate.htm"><span style="color: #bb5551;">critical importance of clinical trial participation</span></a> and how it advances research and the developing of next-generation therapies, increased support of the clinical trial process can potentially lead to accelerating the development of new treatments that can improve patient outcomes for diseases such as breast cancer.<br />
<em>Be sure to stay tuned to our exclusive, ongoing series of articles on clinical trials for breast cancer — exclusively at <a href="https://breastcancer-news.com/breast-cancer-news/"><span style="color: #bb5551;">Breast Cancer News</span></a>. Our next article will explore different <a href="https://breastcancer-news.com/types-of-breast-cancer/"><span style="color: #bb5551;">types of breast cancer</span></a> clinical trials, and what you need to know about how they are managed and what they seek to accomplish.</em></div>
</div>
Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-89144666247622505662018-10-21T09:27:00.000-04:002018-10-21T09:30:06.279-04:00<a href="http://https//nyti.ms/2AkbbNn?smid=nytcore-ios-share"></a>Hope for Triple Negative Breast Cancer 💕💕💕<br />
<br />
<a href="https://nyti.ms/2AkbbNn?smid=nytcore-ios-share" target="_blank">Triple Negative Hope</a>Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-12609070266116781382018-10-17T16:01:00.001-04:002018-10-17T16:01:33.542-04:00Exciting news about a Triple Negative Breast Camcer Vaccime in Clinical Trials #mayoclinic #tnbc #brca1 <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/51617358986/posts/10156842653748987/">https://www.facebook.com/51617358986/posts/10156842653748987/</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-68706611198371303192018-10-15T16:06:00.001-04:002018-10-15T19:04:23.631-04:00Making Strides Against Breast Cancer - JacksonvilleWe had an AMAZING event, almost 12,000 people came out to support this cause, While the final numbers are not in yet, we raised and continue to raise well over last years numbers.<br />
<br />
Thank you to the Jacksonville community for coming out strong for Breast Cancer.<br />
<br />
There is NO CURE for Stage IV (Metastatic) Breast Cancer - we need more research, funding and clinical trials to find a cure for the 150,000 women living with MBC in the US today.<br />
<br />
We lose 40,000 women a year in the US from this horrible disease and owe it to them to find a CURE!<br />
<br />
In 2018, there is no reason why anyone should die from Breast Cancer.<br />
<br />
I was honored to be the Event Chair for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer in Jacksonville, Fl. I used my role to educate about MBC and elevate the messaging to no cure for MBC! Note my team shirt is NOT pink, in the sea of pink shirts! The back of the shirt said Stage IV - Still No Cure! 💕💕💕<br />
<br />
#stageivneedsmore #tnbc #moreforMBC #dyingforacure #brca1 #clinicaltrials<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwH4LP3GRL7I3p_KVsmEuXcps-B6gSKAXkwaXIuCIClO8Ca4a1jnxm13uJ59vG9BULDylCBwYDrvqcKZTqQOpqbJNCVwnGqRPSP8jV7rZHsp3K4nFHyO3p90sCBMRUjNJgmQ_Gf8urIks/s1600/IMG_0010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwH4LP3GRL7I3p_KVsmEuXcps-B6gSKAXkwaXIuCIClO8Ca4a1jnxm13uJ59vG9BULDylCBwYDrvqcKZTqQOpqbJNCVwnGqRPSP8jV7rZHsp3K4nFHyO3p90sCBMRUjNJgmQ_Gf8urIks/s320/IMG_0010.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFEOvSwVPv0jYLN2e3G4AtW9WW5BLzVRlUNyeN2RHp_eqf04n2R6tr0uKYl5z2Kv5zyNXF2rKoIyRYP3PQRC4NNU5jTy1gyHDt33v2V8bMsNC4uX_zvA24GtKyH-5rqRmpirvFlaMWZ6ia/s1600/IMG_0026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFEOvSwVPv0jYLN2e3G4AtW9WW5BLzVRlUNyeN2RHp_eqf04n2R6tr0uKYl5z2Kv5zyNXF2rKoIyRYP3PQRC4NNU5jTy1gyHDt33v2V8bMsNC4uX_zvA24GtKyH-5rqRmpirvFlaMWZ6ia/s320/IMG_0026.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBoz5HtGJZFQJBz1TO4eDBjhjizLwKuCsHyIA2e7RXtXKzmvpZShJpzysA3I9tMTu9D_Ikmyq22wfkCvsQBleMapv3IWwOqdWke2WdAOQ-ykLTVEVm-adew7h74urRzD7XpFSLzgrpC35/s1600/IMG_0028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBoz5HtGJZFQJBz1TO4eDBjhjizLwKuCsHyIA2e7RXtXKzmvpZShJpzysA3I9tMTu9D_Ikmyq22wfkCvsQBleMapv3IWwOqdWke2WdAOQ-ykLTVEVm-adew7h74urRzD7XpFSLzgrpC35/s320/IMG_0028.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkwM19XNCNRmY_M9MJh2ZbM-ZyIMze_J2RmthncF8IogAed_Rj0mpYCXVppMnqaPyKUncHW9f3QyyYN8Y4Q1tGB59azD1s2bez-dUml2HQsXtldR5-lg-LWscFI0pyxu7JUAsPBieZp6w9/s1600/IMG_0034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkwM19XNCNRmY_M9MJh2ZbM-ZyIMze_J2RmthncF8IogAed_Rj0mpYCXVppMnqaPyKUncHW9f3QyyYN8Y4Q1tGB59azD1s2bez-dUml2HQsXtldR5-lg-LWscFI0pyxu7JUAsPBieZp6w9/s320/IMG_0034.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7b8DQEprZvY7OOPaumSDmSyUf483baR3GvCUKla1NeKQtjwTyYAp0DrwqPFOewi5hnkQy4dkXJEtYU-cX5RaD6oJ1VqoghMxq2BR6-WarrMzDXYdnnV6YX6olRPoSBQ8GAwKHmbIeKQWp/s1600/IMG_0045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1507" data-original-width="1600" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7b8DQEprZvY7OOPaumSDmSyUf483baR3GvCUKla1NeKQtjwTyYAp0DrwqPFOewi5hnkQy4dkXJEtYU-cX5RaD6oJ1VqoghMxq2BR6-WarrMzDXYdnnV6YX6olRPoSBQ8GAwKHmbIeKQWp/s320/IMG_0045.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-d8WtwqCxcyvgkqQKgFnAveFBRnDAQpumTSSNFAlCHUuhn8BkAYI87bLyHZwQ_QiYVL1xzhzof86t5zrh0bvV48Tk5_dBveqITk8OVPYaHBiPrfyY9qZZN4d2X1eHJ1l34wgxUhVB1F6/s1600/IMG_0047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-d8WtwqCxcyvgkqQKgFnAveFBRnDAQpumTSSNFAlCHUuhn8BkAYI87bLyHZwQ_QiYVL1xzhzof86t5zrh0bvV48Tk5_dBveqITk8OVPYaHBiPrfyY9qZZN4d2X1eHJ1l34wgxUhVB1F6/s320/IMG_0047.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-91031651552146917772018-10-15T15:53:00.003-04:002018-10-15T15:53:54.548-04:00<h2 style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #005dab; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 25px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px 0px 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
There is no cure for Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer but only 5-7% research is focused on finding a cure - AND only 2% of Breast Cancer Patients participate in Clinical Trials to help find a cure. </h2>
<h2 style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #005dab; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 25px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px 0px 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Estimates for funding for research for metastatic disease: LOW</h2>
<div style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); caret-color: rgb(128, 128, 128); color: grey; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
MBC focused research made up only 7% of the $15 billion invested in breast cancer research from 2000 to 2013 by the major governmental and nonprofit funders from North America and the United Kingdom.Metastatic (<a href="http://mbcalliance.org/docs/MBCA_Exec_Summ_Landscape%20Analysis.pdf" style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #50bbf4; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 300ms, background-color 300ms, opacity 300ms; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">MBC Alliance Landscape Report on Metastatic Breast Cancer</a>10/13/14)</div>
<div style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); caret-color: rgb(128, 128, 128); color: grey; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Only 5 Percent of Cancer Research Funds Are Spent On Metastases, Yet It Kills 90 Percent of All Cancer Patients [<a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100601101420.htm" style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #50bbf4; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 300ms, background-color 300ms, opacity 300ms; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Science Daily, 6/2010</a>]</div>
<div style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); caret-color: rgb(128, 128, 128); color: grey; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chart on Metastasis Funding:</strong></div>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_3980" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(243, 243, 243); caret-color: rgb(128, 128, 128); color: grey; float: right; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; margin: 5px 0px 20px 20px; max-width: 96%; outline: 0px; padding: 5px 3px 10px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; width: 310px;">
<a data-rel="fancybox" href="http://blog.mbcnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/metastasesfunding.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #50bbf4; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 300ms, background-color 300ms, opacity 300ms; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="metastasesfunding" class="wp-image-3980 size-medium" height="224" src="https://blog.mbcnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/metastasesfunding-300x224.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px none; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 98.5%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="300" /></a><br />
<div class="wp-caption-text" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 4px 5px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Click to enlarge</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); caret-color: rgb(128, 128, 128); color: grey; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Chart Source: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2709494/" style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #50bbf4; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 300ms, background-color 300ms, opacity 300ms; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Steeg, Patricia and Sleeman, Jonathan. “Cancer metastasis as a therapeutic target” European Journal of Cancer 46 (2010) 1177-1180</a>.</div>
<div style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); caret-color: rgb(128, 128, 128); color: grey; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Fewer than 8% percent of researchers mention the word ‘metastasis’ in their grant applications <a href="http://www.cancer.org/cancer/news/expertvoices/post/2013/01/23/unlocking-the-mysteries-of-metastasis.aspx" style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #50bbf4; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 300ms, background-color 300ms, opacity 300ms; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Unlocking the Mysteries of Metastases</span></a>, January 2013, ACS website</div>
<blockquote style="background-image: url("https://mbcn.org/wp-content/themes/charityhub/images/dark/quote@2x.png"); background-position: 20px 24px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: 24px 20px; border-color: rgb(243, 243, 243); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px; caret-color: rgb(128, 128, 128); color: grey; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 20px 20px 0px 60px; quotes: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“But as pointed out by ACS Scientific Council member Dan Welch, “Fewer than 8% percent of researchers mention the word ‘metastasis’ in their grant applications, in the context of actually working on the problem, …Figuring out how to prevent cancer – a key research focus today – would be the best approach, he agrees, but that’s of little help to patients who already have cancer. He further explains, “To prevent something, you have to know its cause. We have no idea why cancer cells spread, let alone what prompts them to disseminate throughout the body</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<h2 style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #005dab; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 25px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px 0px 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Estimates for funding for research for metastatic disease: LOW</h2>
<div style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); caret-color: rgb(128, 128, 128); color: grey; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
MBC focused research made up only 7% of the $15 billion invested in breast cancer research from 2000 to 2013 by the major governmental and nonprofit funders from North America and the United Kingdom.Metastatic (<a href="http://mbcalliance.org/docs/MBCA_Exec_Summ_Landscape%20Analysis.pdf" style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #50bbf4; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 300ms, background-color 300ms, opacity 300ms; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">MBC Alliance Landscape Report on Metastatic Breast Cancer</a>10/13/14)</div>
<div style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); caret-color: rgb(128, 128, 128); color: grey; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Only 5 Percent of Cancer Research Funds Are Spent On Metastases, Yet It Kills 90 Percent of All Cancer Patients [<a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100601101420.htm" style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #50bbf4; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 300ms, background-color 300ms, opacity 300ms; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Science Daily, 6/2010</a>]</div>
<div style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); caret-color: rgb(128, 128, 128); color: grey; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chart on Metastasis Funding:</strong></div>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_3980" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(243, 243, 243); caret-color: rgb(128, 128, 128); color: grey; float: right; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; margin: 5px 0px 20px 20px; max-width: 96%; outline: 0px; padding: 5px 3px 10px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; width: 310px;">
<a data-rel="fancybox" href="http://blog.mbcnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/metastasesfunding.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #50bbf4; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 300ms, background-color 300ms, opacity 300ms; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="metastasesfunding" class="wp-image-3980 size-medium" height="224" src="https://blog.mbcnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/metastasesfunding-300x224.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px none; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 98.5%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="300" /></a><br />
<div class="wp-caption-text" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 4px 5px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Click to enlarge</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); caret-color: rgb(128, 128, 128); color: grey; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Chart Source: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2709494/" style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #50bbf4; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 300ms, background-color 300ms, opacity 300ms; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Steeg, Patricia and Sleeman, Jonathan. “Cancer metastasis as a therapeutic target” European Journal of Cancer 46 (2010) 1177-1180</a>.</div>
<div style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); caret-color: rgb(128, 128, 128); color: grey; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Fewer than 8% percent of researchers mention the word ‘metastasis’ in their grant applications <a href="http://www.cancer.org/cancer/news/expertvoices/post/2013/01/23/unlocking-the-mysteries-of-metastasis.aspx" style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); color: #50bbf4; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 300ms, background-color 300ms, opacity 300ms; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="border: 0px rgb(243, 243, 243); font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Unlocking the Mysteries of Metastases</span></a>, January 2013, ACS website</div>
<span style="color: grey; font-family: "open sans"; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic;">“But as pointed out by ACS Scientific Council member Dan Welch, “Fewer than 8% percent of researchers mention the word ‘metastasis’ in their grant applications, in the context of actually working on the problem, …Figuring out how to prevent cancer – a key research focus today – would be the best approach, he agrees, but that’s of little help to patients who already have cancer. He further explains, “To prevent something, you have to know its cause. We have no idea why cancer cells spread, let alone what prompts them to disseminate throughout the body</span><br />
<br />
<br />
http://mbcn.org/research-funding/<br />
<br />
<br />Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-16203553480742887452018-10-11T08:35:00.000-04:002018-10-11T08:35:04.057-04:00#thinkbeforeyoupink this year!<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">#thinkbeforeyoupink this year!</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 13.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Be aware and help spread next level of Awareness:</li>
<li>Stage IV (also known as Metastatic) has NO CURE</li>
<li>40,000 women in the United State die every year from MBC (Metastatic Breast Cancer/Stage IV</li>
<li>Clinical Trials save lives but only 2% of Breast Cancer patients in the US participant due to many reasons, here are some, No access to clinical trials, many communities due not have facilities that participate, awareness, fear of trying untested drugs - not true- patients in trials are surveilled more than if in standard of care, and more.</li>
</ul>
Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-7824444677232458002018-10-03T15:35:00.002-04:002018-10-03T15:35:56.049-04:00October Awareness - Day 3 - There is NO CURE for Metastatic Breast Cancer<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A 2014 survey of more than 2,000 adults found that 72%
incorrectly believe that breast cancer in the advanced stages is curable if
diagnosed early *Source – Breast Cancer Survey – Sponsored by Pfizer Oncology,
April 2014<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Not true! There is no cure for Stage IV Breast Cancer. </span></div>
<br />Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-48291850310862052932018-10-02T08:45:00.001-04:002018-10-02T08:45:57.839-04:00October Awareness - Day 2 - #StageIVneedsacure<span style="font-family: helvetica, sans-serif;">There are
more than 150,000 women in the US living with Metastatic Breast Cancer – Source
– National Cancer Institute, May 18, 2017</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1 in 8
women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">30% of
these women will eventually progress of Metastatic Breast Cancer. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">40,000
women in the United State die every year from MBC (Metastatic Breast
Cancer/Stage IV</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-37946397125474646372018-10-01T17:53:00.000-04:002018-10-02T09:26:56.846-04:00Watch Video - How can you get involved? --#MSABCJAXStage IV needs a cure. What can you do to help? Get involved! Watch now to learn more!
<br />
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/292800224?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-49188168905573585752018-10-01T17:35:00.001-04:002018-10-01T18:24:50.873-04:00Watch Video- My Cancer Journey..... So FarMy Cancer Story video is a passion project, learn more about my story, Stage IV, Triple Negative, Clinical Trials, and my mission to help find a cure for breast cancer, by doing my part.<br />
<div style="padding: 56.25% 0 0 0; position: relative;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/292801372?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" style="height: 100%; left: 0; position: absolute; top: 0; width: 100%;" webkitallowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
<script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
With being positive for BRCA1+, my daughter has a 50/50 chance of having the gene too. I will do anything within my power to ensure that she does not have to face Cancer in her lifetime.<br />
<br />
To everyone who made this video possible, words cannot express my gratitude for this gift, that will not be wasted. I am forever in your debt.<br />
<br />
To everyone on my journey, from my doctors, the makers of Parp and Immunotherapy drugs, Clinical Trials, family, friends and strangers who have all become an important part of our lives, you have forever changed my life.<br />
<br />
Thank you for watching my story and sharing it with your friends, family and network. This message is so important.<br />
<br />
We need to change the focus on Breast Cancer Awareness to focus on finding a CURE for all Stage IV patients.<br />
<br />
40,000 women a year die in the United States of this horrible disease, while approximately 150,000 women live and cope with it daily, waiting for a cure before it takes us too.<br />
<br />
#stageiv #tnbc #brca1 #breastcancer #lucysworldLucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-51321639474265235222018-10-01T17:08:00.000-04:002018-10-01T18:25:10.273-04:00Got 2 minutes? Watch my video and Learn more about Stage IV Breast Cancer and My StoryThis video is short summary of my Cancer Story. #StageIV needs more - research, trials and a CURE!
<br />
<div style="padding: 56.25% 0 0 0; position: relative;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/292801116?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" style="height: 100%; left: 0; position: absolute; top: 0; width: 100%;" webkitallowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
<script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-11100110134625838432018-10-01T06:31:00.004-04:002018-10-01T14:35:44.496-04:00Pink is not a Cure<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPXkeSuzQuzyP6Q2R5eHz3jKC6IAUdXqKsjv9-tHy6XCfut6k0_r2qHZ23KgP3yhnaPt3uzdgHhOuboOUAW5qurvfTdDHWn6tbPJFYzQlUJcen7e1uoIwxCLdkwEc-YG-TDAzuCVrXvnwE/s1600/pinkisnotacure.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPXkeSuzQuzyP6Q2R5eHz3jKC6IAUdXqKsjv9-tHy6XCfut6k0_r2qHZ23KgP3yhnaPt3uzdgHhOuboOUAW5qurvfTdDHWn6tbPJFYzQlUJcen7e1uoIwxCLdkwEc-YG-TDAzuCVrXvnwE/s1600/pinkisnotacure.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My passion project for October Awareness Month 2018 is to educate and motivate, get more than just the "awareness" message.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">October 1, 2018</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Stage IV
(also known as Metastatic) has NO CURE</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">MBC
(Metastatic Breast Cancer) is cancer that has spread outside the breast to
other organs, such as brain, liver, lungs, or brain. These tumors are Breast
Cancer that reside in these organs not a different cancer. The cells of the
tumors act and look like breast cancer and need to be treated as breast cancer</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When someone has Breast Cancer with "mets" to their liver or brain - it is NOT brain or liver cancer now - it is still Breast Cancer that has spread. This is also Stage IV.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-65346195459692357612018-09-29T15:31:00.001-04:002018-10-01T14:35:59.620-04:00PinktoberAs we are very close to “Pinktober”, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I am asking each of you (and to please share with your networks) to #thinkbeforeyoupink.<br />
<br />
You will be bombarded with opportunities to make donations at your local store, buy all kinds of “pink” items, t-shirts, ribbons, etc.<br />
<br />
Please make sure that at least a portion or all of the proceeds from your purchase or donation is earmarked to be donated to a certified charity, research facility, Breast cancer patients for assistance with access to care, etc, anything that benefits the goals of Breast Cancer Month.<br />
<br />
For me, it is We Need A Cure. Do you know that while Stage 0 to Stage 3 Breast Cancer patients can be cured, there is no cure for #stageivbc #stageivneedsmore.<br />
I will make sure when making my purchases the donations will go to research for a cure.<br />
<br />
Everyone’s reason for donations, purchases for this month, is personal and I am not asking to change that. I just believe that your reason is not to SOLELY increase the profits of the company selling the pink items. #knowledgeispower<br />
<br />
Thanks for listening to my opinion and hopefully #makeadifference this October.<br />
<br />
#allforlucy #tnbc #brca1Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-67702043547408771372018-09-29T15:30:00.001-04:002018-10-01T14:36:15.940-04:00Clinical TrialsSo much to share about my trip. It was so informative and educational. I am still absorbing and processing everything that was shared.<br />
<br />
I know this about my platform and how it needs to change:<br />
<br />
1) Clinical Trials for Stage IV breast cancer are essential to finding a cure - but without brave patients willing, able, and informed as well as having access to the trials, to be a participant, the trials will take longer or never get the needed data for FDA approval to get the drugs into community healthcare<br />
2) Clinical Trials need to be easier to find and access to the trials need to be expanded to community healthcare (I think they said) less than 2% of Breast cancer patients are participating in trials.<br />
3) Patient Advocates are needed in every area to promote trials and charitable organizations need to help patients find the trials that they are eligible for and access the trial treatment.<br />
4) I understand there are several in the works by private companies but clinical trials.org is not the answer for patients to try and do their own research to find trials that may work for them. We need easier websites for patients to try and advocate for themselves.<br />
<br />
More to follow<br />
<br />
#thinkbeforeyoupink #stageivneedsmore #clinicaltrials #lucysworld #msabcjaxLucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-39454771841348202032018-09-29T15:29:00.001-04:002018-10-01T14:36:38.988-04:00First View of Cancer StoryWow, can’t wait until I can share. I viewed the first cut of My Cancer Story, the long story, today. I am so impressed with the production team. Each and everyone of them is so talented and I am forever grateful to the people responsible for donating this special gift to me! There will be a long story and a short version. I am putting up a website that will be the main location where the video will he shared and will also become my video and written blog that I will update. This way I won’t fill you Facebook feed with my update and thoughts but you can check it whenever!<br />
<br />
More soon!<br />
<br />
#thinkbeforeyoupink #pinkisnotacure #stageivnocure #clincialtrials #tnbc #brca1 #msabcjax #lucysworldLucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-56613589480867171782018-09-29T15:28:00.002-04:002018-10-01T14:37:13.963-04:00Where do the proceeds go? "Pinkwashing"I was watching an ad last night for a “PINK” items where proceeds will go to “Clinical Research for Breast Cancer”<br />
<br />
Made me wonder, where exactly does this money go? To a specific research doctor? Specific research hospital? Specific research facility? Charitable organization that tracks and earmarks specific donations for research? Maybe a charitable organization that has research facilities as part of their organization?<br />
<br />
Why wouldn’t the ad state exactly where it goes? And why not state how much of the proceeds will be donated?<br />
<br />
Is anyone tracking these business commitments to make sure the monies donated are actually going to the designated location?<br />
<br />
I will be asking more in-depth questions before I make purchases again.<br />
<br />
You donation and money is so important and I appreciate every dollar you donate to Breast Cancer Research but let’s be informed! Ask questions! Know where you money will go!<br />
<br />
#thinkbeforeyoupink #pinkisnotacure #pinkribbonsdonotcurecancer<br />
#knowledgeispower<br />
#stageivnocure #tnbc #lucysworld #brca1<br />
#msabcjaxLucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-908958257634305632018-09-29T14:07:00.000-04:002018-10-01T10:44:13.015-04:00My Cancer Story -- Continues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDigvC6htgHyX5u7yPImH1swR6vbI51tZU3jG_BENa02Nlr7QXzwX5b4qSBG2bCciX_KWdl9N2mA7ByR2AX8e-jaz8u3JqFOT5c0VaqrmCis-jRRWs2UE_CyzRY5ebVE1hw1ih9HhhlI/s1600/Disney.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="133" data-original-width="200" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDigvC6htgHyX5u7yPImH1swR6vbI51tZU3jG_BENa02Nlr7QXzwX5b4qSBG2bCciX_KWdl9N2mA7ByR2AX8e-jaz8u3JqFOT5c0VaqrmCis-jRRWs2UE_CyzRY5ebVE1hw1ih9HhhlI/s200/Disney.gif" width="200" /></a></div>
My original diagnosis of ER/PR positive, Her2 Negative Stage2b - BRCA1+ with 5 positive nodes was in 2014. I had Chemotherapy, 4 AC and 4 Taxol, Bilateral Mastectomy, Oophorectomy, Hysterectomy, Expanders and full reconstruction - along with 35 radiation treatments. I was then declared "Cancer Free" in March 2015.<br />
<br />
I was on Letrozole, daily, which I was told I would remain on it for 5 to 10 years.<br />
<br />
However, on Groundhog Day 2017, I was re-diagnosed with Stage IV Triple Negative (TNBC) Metastatic Breast Cancer with a breast cancer tumor in my liver. As my first line of treatment, I joined a Clinical Trial - TOPACIO sponsored by Tesaro, which is a combined treatment of Immunotherapy and a Parp Inhibitor. The drugs are Niraparib (Parp) and Pemprolizumab (Immunotherapy). I have been on this trial since March 2017. As of today, September 2018, my tumor has reduced in size to 1.6mm. I am close to seeing it disappear.<br />
<br />
However, no matter what happens, there is NO CURE and I will never hear the words you are "Cancer Free" again unless science catches up in my lifetime. There is NO CURE for any StageIV Breast Cancer.<br />
<br />
My cancer life, which has lots of ups and down, has been shared by me on various social media sites throughout my story. I created this blog to help get the TRUE MESSAGE out about Breast Cancer. October Breast Cancer awareness month is important and has met it's original goal, Breast Cancer Awareness. BUT it needs to be so much more, we need to move past the awareness message, everyone is aware but are they aware of what is happening in the StageIV community?<br />
<br />
We need a CURE.<br />
<br />
40,000 women a year die from Stage IV (Also known as Metastatic) breast cancer in the United States. This number has not changed in decades. Clinical Trials and research has made strides in finding a cure but the steps being done are baby steps and slow to reach community healthcare. There are many reasons for this but none that cannot be overcome with Donations, Volunteerism, Advocacy, Knowledge, Fundraising and most importantly, your involvement. This is a marathon but there is no end in sight.<br />
<br />
I will share my thoughts, knowledge and advocacy on this site. Please join my story regularly and feel free to share with your networks. Help change the message!<br />
<br />
Love,<br />
<br />
Stacy Hanson (Mom to Lucy, Wife to Kent)Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8810789836763958647.post-71185898354474269782018-09-28T13:07:00.001-04:002018-09-29T13:37:54.522-04:00Please support me with a donation to my Making Strides Against Breast Cancer fundraising efforts.Hi! Please support me with a donation to my Making Strides Against Breast Cancer fundraising efforts. Visit my fundraising page: <a href="https://mobileacs.org/2lxMTax">https://mobileacs.org/2lxMTax</a>Lucy's Mom Fights Cancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031080881805165606noreply@blogger.com0