Once again the American Society of Clinical Oncology held it's Annual Meeting at McCormick Place in Chicago, May 30 to June 3. This is an international meeting bringing together over 32,000 people from across the oncology community and covers all types of cancer.

There was one abstract specific to inflammatory breast cancer presented this year. This was a poster from a French group looking at non-metastatic IBC trends and survival over 21 years in one institution. As one would expect, there have been improvements in IDFS (invasive disease free survival) and OS (overall survival).

There were at least four other abstracts on IBC that were published but not presented at the meeting. These abstracts are available online only, please see the sidebar article in left column for links to these abstracts. One focused on molecular profiling of IBC in North Africa, another on CTC's (circulating tumor cells), IBC cases in the TNBC (triple negative breast cancer) population, and a retrospective study that once again showed that IBC patients tend to be younger and have a higher rate of recurrence than standard breast cancer. However, there were plenty of sessions, posters, and meetings to fill the days from dawn to dark.

In general breast cancer news the ALTTO trial showed that dual anti-HER2 therapy (lapatinib & trastuzumab) was no better than trastuzumab alone in early-stage HER2 positive breast cancer (note this trial was not in IBC, but in early stage BC). Another study showed Vitamin D appeared to play little or no role in breast cancer outcomes. Good news for those on Zometa (zolendronic acid).  Data showed that in metastatic breast cancer the dose can be reduced after the first year, resulting in less toxicity. Of interest was a phase II study showing that ginger extract is helpful in chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. One abstract looking at pediatric cancer survivors highlighted the impact of cancer and its therapies on accelerating the aging process. It stressed the need to address this issue for all cancer patients across their lifespan.

For the first time this year the Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation tweeted from the Annual Meeting. (@IBCResearch) Learning to share in 140 character sound bites is challenging but people were listening and we gained 30 new followers!! There's lots of information at #ASCO14 if you're interested.

The ASCO Annual Meeting also provided opportunities to meet with members of our Medical Advisory Board, attend meetings with pharmaceutical companies about potential projects, and network with other advocates. Attending the President's Reception and a meeting of the Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance were additional highlights. ASCO does a good job of making the Annual Meeting more 'advocate friendly' by providing a comfortable lounge, snacks, and late afternoon sessions featuring oncologists talking about the news of the day and answering questions. Thanks to the Conquer Cancer Foundation many advocates (like me!!) were fortunate enough to receive scholarships that helped cover the costs to attend the meeting.

For a source for 'patient friendly' information from the meeting go to http://www.cancer.net/research-and-advocacy/asco-annual-meetings, ASCO's patient website.

[Editor's note: 2014 is ASCO's 50th anniversary. ASCO was founded in 1964 by a small group of physician members of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) who recognized the need for the creation of a separate society dedicated to issues unique to clinical oncology]. 

With the 15th birthday of the Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation fast approaching (August!!), I've been thinking about our history and how we've been blessed to have the support and guidance of some amazing people in the oncology community. One of those people is Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade, MD, FACP, of the University of Chicago. After learning of her interest in aggressive breast cancer and young women, in 2002 a few of our Board members were able to meet with Dr. Olopade in her office at the University of Chicago.

During that visit we learned that Dr. Olopade came to the U.S., following her medical training in Nigeria, to pursue postgraduate training at Cook Country Hospital and the University of Chicago. Through this work she discovered an interest in genetics and has focused on the genetic basis of cancer, particularly breast cancer. At this time inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) has not been associated with any known mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2, but more research is needed. IBC is more common in African American women, as is triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), and usually comes with a poor prognosis. Because of her work with aggressive breast cancers, particularly in African American and African women, we were excited when Dr. Olopade accepted the invitation to join the Medical Advisory Board of the Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Dr. Olopade was recently featured in a special supplement to the ASCO Post, "Narratives in Oncology." We hope you'll take time to read the article "Internationally Renowned Oncologist Blazes a Trail in Breast Cancer Genetics and Risk Assessment" written by Ronald Piana to learn more about this outstanding clinician/researcher. She's won numerous awards such as the MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Fellowship in 2005, Doris Duke Distinguished Clinical Scientist & Exceptional Mentor Award (2000) and in 2011 was appointed as one of the five new members of the National Cancer Advisory Board by President Obama.

"It wasn't until the genomic revolution occurred that it was realized that physicians have treated breast cancer as a single disease when, in fact, from five to seven categories of breast cancer exist. Today, our focus is on individualizing breast cancer treatment and learning more about individuals and their specific cancers using genomic analysis."
---- Dr. Olopade 

As a follow up to recent articles "A Helping Hand: The Resource Guide for People With Cancer," published in May, and "Top 12 Things for Finding Financial Help," published in June, here are a couple of resources available through the Patient Advocate Foundation (PAN).

PAN's Financial Assistance Program for Metastatic Breast Cancer is accepting applications for new and renewal patients. If your application for assistance is approved you can begin receiving funding immediately. Maximum award level is $ 7,500 per year.

Eligibility Criteria 

• Patient must have Medicare insurance coverage.
• The medication must treat the disease directly.
• Patient must reside and receive treatment in the United States.
• Patient's income must fall below 500% of the Federal Poverty Level.

One easy way to keep up-to-date with cancer news and information is to download the free Cancer.Net mobile app.

For both English and Spanish speakers, this app is for for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. Cancer.Net Mobile also helps people with cancer and their families plan and manage their cancer treatment and care.

Here are just a few of the features: 

• An interactive tool to keep track of questions to ask healthcare providers and record voice answers;
• A place to save information about prescribed medications, including photos of labels and bottles (on camera-enabled devices);
• A symptom tracker to record the time and severity of symptoms and side effects.

If you're attending the National Women's Survivor Conference this month in Nashville you won't find an Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation exhibit.  We'd love for folks to know more about our work and educate about IBC but till we considered the minimum exhibit cost of $3,500, hotel $600, transportation & incidentals, the costs were just too high.

Participation would take away from funds earmarked for research. Our Executive Director submitted a "Second Act" essay.  We hope her story is chosen, allowing participants to learn that IBC doesn't have to be a death sentence but can be a path to new horizons.