Registration Open for MBCN's Conference, Barbara's Story and More

Voices Newsletter July 2015

Greetings!

MBCN President Shirley Mertz

Conference Registration is Now Open!

I'm delighted so many people have already signed up to attend our annual conference!

We'll be in Boston at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute on Friday October 16 - Saturday October 17 for the Metastatic Breast Cancer Forum 2015.

We are thrilled that the 9th annual MBCN conference is being offered in partnership with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers, and the EMBRACE program (Ending Metastatic Breast Cancer For Everyone). The Metastatic Breast Cancer Forum 2015 promises to be an outstanding program...and it is FREE. No registration fee is being charged.

Please note: We don't have a Sunday morning program this year. On Friday night, there is an optional welcome reception from 5:30-7:30. On Saturday, we have breakfast at 8:15 am; conference sessions begin at 9:00 am and we'll wrap the last session up at 4:30 pm; the optional reception then concludes 5:15 pm. You'll find more information here.

Heartfelt thanks to Dana Farber's Liz Frank and our MBCN board, particularly conference chair, Deb Tincher, and our webmaster, Ginny Knackmuhs, for all of their efforts. They truly go above and beyond to make this event a reality!

Wishing you well every day,

Shirley

P.S. On Thursday, July 23, Dana Farber will host a live webinar/web chat with Dr. Harold Burstein: "The Latest Developments in Metastatic Breast Cancer Research." Tweet your questions to #DFCIchat or email them to social@dfci.harvard.edu.

Good to Know. . .

This three-minute animation cleverly explains cancer. How do cancer cells grow? How does chemotherapy fight cancer? The answer lies in cell division. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmFEoCFDi-w

Advocacy in Action

This past April, Living Beyond Breast Cancer launched an advocacy training seminar ("Hear My Voice") for metastatic breast cancer patients as part of its annual conference. At that event, Jennie Grimes, Beth J. Caldwell and some friends asked 108 people to lie down along a hotel corridor to symbolized the 108 people we lose to breast cancer every day. MBCN was there--it was a powerful and moving demonstration.

Some of the April participants have gone on to create MET UP. As reported here, the organization plans a nonviolent "die-in" on October 13, which is Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day, in Washington, DC, on the lawn of the US Capitol with 1430 men and women to symbolize the daily death toll of the disease worldwide. Learn more at the group's Facebook page or its website: METUP.org.

On The Road With MBCN...

MBCN's Katherine O'Brien was among six bloggers who recently participated in the 3rd Annual AstraZeneca Blogger Summit. Three of the attendees are living with metastatic breast cancer--including Jen Campisano, a young mom who lives in Arizona.
Highlights included a lab tour as well as presentations on social media strategies, the basics of metastatic breast cancer, Dr. Sage Bolte's talk about sex and intimacy following a cancer diagnosis. Here's Jen's overview of Dr. Bolte's talk.

Barbara's Story: Accepting the Unacceptable

Barbara had Stage 2 breast cancer in 2002.

Barbara Bigelow

Boston

Age at metastatic diagnosis (2015): 57

My metastatic breast cancer diagnosis came as quite a surprise...it followed an MRI for back pain due to my spinal stenosis. If I hadn't had that MRI, I would never have learned about the mets.

I must admit that when I hit the ten-year post-diagnosis mark [from my original, early-stage diagnosis], I felt distanced and more detached from the breast cancer community-I sort of put it behind me although the threat was always there.

I woke up March 11, 2015 in a pile of rubble. This time my treatment team had shrunk to my elderly oncologist and his NP. Gone is the cavalry, leaving me standing alone as a treatment failure. I feel like I have somehow pissed my doc off for not staying in remission.

Read Barbara's complete story here.

Are you in the Boston area? Barbara's friends are hosting a fundraiser in her honor to support MBCN/metastatic breast cancer research on August 8. Learn more here.

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.

MBCN PO Box 1449 New York, NY 10159