Voices Newsletter                February 2015   
Greetings!

 

The 2015 Metastatic Breast Cancer Forum at the Susan F. Smith Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston will be presented this year in conjunction with the Metastatic Breast Cancer Network. Save the date for Saturday, October 17 with a welcome reception on Friday evening, October 16. (There will be no Sunday session.)

   

We are very excited to be working with Dr. Eric Winer and the excellent staff at Dana-Farber.

 

We will be offering a limited number of scholarships, with preference given to those who have not attended previous conferences.  

 

If Boston is an inconvenient location for you, please keep in mind we are currently planning on having Metastatic Meet-Ups (shorter half day programs) in a number of other cities.

   

For those of you out West, please note that the Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) Annual Fall Conference will offer a metastatic track and will be held this year in Denver on September 19 and 20.

Stay tuned for more details to come!

Good news for ER+/HER2- post menopausal women: FDA grants accelerated approval to Palbociclib (trade name= Ibrance). Although approval is for first line treatment, ask your oncologist, as once a drug is approved, it can often be prescribed and insurance will pay for other situations as well.  

 

Warmest regards,

 

Shirley

MBCN President

 

 
HELP WANTED!
    
You can help! We are currently updating the Support and Resources sections of our website.
SUPPORT
Are you in a metastatic breast cancer support group? Check out our list. If your group is not included, please email the information to mbcn@mbcn.org

RESOURCES
We are asking for a few volunteers who would be willing to verify the links and phone numbers of the resources we have listed. Each volunteer will be asked to check on 3 entries. We want to weed out old ones that are no longer active and correct where information or the description of their services is incorrect. If you'd like to help, please email: mbcn@mbcn.org

Do you know of additional resources (financial, legal, support,etc) that you would recommend MBCN add to its current list?

Thank you!
 
 
REMINDER: Writing Your Memoir: 2 part Webinar
Want to beat the winter blahs? Have you always wanted to write your life story but didn't know how to start?  Tune into this 2 part WEBINAR Tues Feb 17 and Tues Feb 24 from 1:30-2:30pm EST with noted author Abigail Thomas.
 
FDA Hearing:
Patient Focused Drug Development Meeting for Breast Cancer

April 2, 2015, Thursday 1:00pm to 5:00pm

FDA White Oak Campus Great Room (Rm. 1503)

10903 New Hampshire Ave.
Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002  

 
Do you live in the Maryland-Washington DC area? Are you interested in advocacy for metastatic breast cancer patients?

Consider joining several MBCN members who will be speaking at this FDA meeting on April 2. The FDA will ask for patient comment on important breast cancer questions (treatment symptoms, downsides to treatments, supportive care treatments, goals for treatment, prolonging life versus improving the symptoms, factors considered when making decisions about using treatments, weighing potential benefits of treatments vs. common side effects of treatments and serious risks associated with the treatments).  

Currently, there is the opportunity to attend in person or through a webinar connection. Comments may be submitted in person or in writing to the FDA. The following is a link to the meeting information/registration:

Note: this is a great opportunity to participate in a fact finding FDA forum and is not a call for protests or demonstrations.
  If you are planning on attending in person, please let us know, so we can meet.  Email us at  
 
Vera's Story:  Learning to Fight



"Metastatic breast cancer has brought me into some precious relationships. I am humbled by the opportunity to meet tremendous and valiant women (and men) who are living fully despite metastatic breast cancer."




MBCN is a national, independent, nonprofit, all volunteer, patient-led advocacy organization dedicated to the unique concerns of the women and men living with metastatic breast cancer. We strive to help those living with metastatic breast cancer be their own best advocate through providing education and information on treatments and coping with the disease.

© 2015 Metastatic Breast Cancer Network. All rights reserved.

MBCN is a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit organization.   

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MBCN PO Box 1449 New York, NY 10159