Metastatic Breast Cancer has affected my family!

Metastatic Breast Cancer is a cancer that sadly, many of us have come to know.  My aunt was diagnosed last year, today she wears her turban more stylish than anyone I know. Her smile is bigger than ever and you can’t help to be happy when you’re around her.

Let me say- I encourage you to read this post in its entirety. I’m sharing important information that will be beneficial.

You are taught to go for mammograms every year once you reach a certain age and although we all have “good intentions”. We sometimes put it off. My aunt has shown what it’s like to be a survivor but truthfully I would never want to go through what she went through emotionally and physically. She may not have dumped on her family and let her husband and daughter support her but I couldn’t imagine needing to be that strong. She encourages me to go after my dreams without saying a word and she makes the sun shine brighter on all of us by her being here with us. We are one of the lucky families.

So many families aren’t so lucky, metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is a killer, it dissolves familes and puts holes in them. We, you, and I need to get the conversation going year long, not just in October for breast awareness. Our breasts and our lives are worth more talk than one month out of the year!

MBC Facts

• There are currently 155,000 people in the United States living with MBC
• Unlike early-stage breast cancer, there is currently no cure for MBC
• 41,000 women die of MBC each year
• Some people with MBC will live for 10+ years battling the disease and receiving medicines for the remainder of their lives

About Metastatic Breast Cancer:

October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month and during that time we heard inspiring stories of survivorship, but there’s a side of breast cancer that’s rarely talked about — metastatic breast cancer (MBC) — an aggressive and fatal disease. Breast cancer is considered metastatic or advanced when it has spread from the breast to another part of the body, such as the bones, liver, lungs or brain. Those with MBC are facing a very different disease than women with early-stage breast cancer, and most will be on treatment for the rest of their lives. It’s important to keep the MBC conversation going beyond Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, partnered with Living Beyond Breast Cancer, Metastatic Breast Cancer Network, and MetaVivor to recognize the 155,000 people living in the US with MBC. The Faces of MBC campaign started in 2010 as an effort to learn more about how people living MBC identify with and feel about living with the disease.

“Faces of MBC: One Woman’s Story” Video

This new video is the third-in-a-series and takes a look at Diane, a 50-year-old florist and mother of two who has been battling breast cancer for more than 15 years. For Diane, it took a MBC diagnosis to make her decide she was going to live the time she had left exactly the way she wanted. Instead of just giving up, she made a drastic career change so she could spend each day doing work she truly loved. As Diane knows, being diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer means living with it for a lifetime. Although she was once told she had only months to live, Diane has persevered to see her children’s milestones, including her son’s junior high graduation and daughter’s wedding day. Diane’s hope is to “run the race as slowly as possible” so she can potentially live to see options change for those living with MBC.

Topline Survey Results

To help understand how the 155,000 people in the U.S. living with MBC want to be supported, Genentech created a survey (full results here) to find out. Here’s what we learned:

• 66% of women with MBC say it’s the little things that matter when it comes to support, like going out for an activity with friends.
• 77% say that simple words of encouragement are all they need to keep fighting day to day.