This page is a list of Resources and links I can recommend as I have either had direct contact with individuals within the organizations, fundraised for, or attended events that the following organizations sponsored. This list doesn’t attempt to capture all those available, just those I know personally.
Metastatic Breast Cancer Network
MBCN is a national, independent, non-profit, all-volunteer, patient-led advocacy organization dedicated to the unique concerns of the women and men living with metastatic breast cancer, also known as Stage IV or advanced breast cancer.
Living Beyond Breast Cancer
Living Beyond Breast Cancer provides programs and services to help people whose lives have been impacted by breast cancer. Our goal is to provide information, community, and support that you can trust is easy for you to access and is respectful of you and your situation. All our resources are carefully and frequently reviewed by some of the country’s leading healthcare experts and informed by people living with breast cancer.
METAvivor
METAvivor is dedicated to the specific fight for women and men living with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. At the time of METAvivor’s founding, no organization was dedicated to funding research for the disease, and no patient groups spoke out about the dearth of stage 4 cancer research. While more and more people have taken up the cry for more stage 4 research, METAvivor is dedicated to awarding annual stage 4 breast cancer research grants.
The Cancer Couch Foundation
The Cancer Couch Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit corporation founded by the late Rebecca Timlin-Scalera, Ph.D., neuropsychologist, in 2016 to raise money exclusively for research on metastatic breast cancer. After her diagnosis in 2015, Rebecca quickly became aware of the dire need for more funding for this stage of the disease, the one that kills you.
While there are, thankfully, more and more treatments becoming available for metastatic breast cancer, there is still no cure, and the average prognosis remains at 2-3 years. Rebecca was on a mission to change those facts, accelerate, and substantially improve treatment and outcomes for those living with metastatic breast cancer. Rebecca carefully selected two of the most promising young scientists at two of the world’s leading cancer centers, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and The Dana Farber Cancer Institute, to fund their studies in this field. The Cancer Couch Foundation is privately funded and volunteer-run. Therefore, 100% of donations and event proceeds can go directly to these two institutions to support these cutting-edge research projects on metastatic breast cancer. Rebecca personally met with the scientists and their teams twice a year to get updates on currently funded projects, discuss projections for future studies, and relay the information directly to donors through this website. Furthermore, both institutions have committed to matching funds for these projects donated through this foundation!