Letter from the President
Kelly Shanahan, M.D.
I write this from the hotel lobby, after a week of representing METAvivor through our Sea to Sea program and the Stage IV Stampede and Summit in D.C. All I can say is WOW!
In Pittsburgh, I and some area people with MBC were able to meet with METAvivor funded researchers Drs. Steffi Oesterreich and Adrien Lee. We learned about the work they are doing on brain metastasis (Adrian) and lobular breast cancer (Steffi). We also met with the young PhD candidates and post-doctoral fellows working I their labs, and let me just say the future is bright with these young and enthusiastic people!
Thank you to Sea to Sea sponsors Lilly and Pfizer. Former board member Barbara Bigelow and her husband Tim were able to go to Lilly HQ in Indianapolis and meet with one of the researchers involved in the development of palbociclib (Ibrance). I stopped by Pfizer’s Pearl River, NY site and believe me, my heart was filled with joy at seeing research being done.
This year’s Stage IV Stampede and Summit was incredible. Huge thank you to our advocacy committee, headed by board member Alpha Lillstrom Cheng, and consultants The Federal Group– they had plans B and C in place because of the government shutdown, but thankfully most of our in-person meetings took place, much to the surprise of most of us. Thank you to our executive director, Crystal Moore, and program manager, Xena Zupan, for their hard work . We added a full day of programming to day 1, with a session on MBC 101 and an update on our research program, in addition to the usual session about the bills and other “asks” we had for our Congresspersons and Senators. Another huge thanks to Dr. Stuart Martin, who serves on our Scientific Advisory Board, for driving down from Baltimore to tell us about his fascinating METAvivor funded research on circulating tumor cells. Finally, thank you to the sponsors of this year’s Stampede: Lilly, Menarini-Stemline, and Pfizer.
But mostly, thank you to everyone that arrived by plane, train, car, or bike – your stories and passion for the issues are what will move our elected officials to increase research funding; modernize the SEER database to capture ALL of us with MBC; pass the MBC Access to Care Act, so we don’t have to wait to receive SSDI benefits and enroll in Medicare when this disease disables us; and pass the Oral Drug Parity Act, so that no matter where or how our drugs are given, they are covered the same way.
Now, it’s on to the train station to visit my daughter in NY and tour the lab of another of our Scientific Advisory Board members, Dr Jill Bargonetti, before heading home to California. I’m exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. Our work at METAvivor is more important than ever, and we need your support more than ever to keep advancing our efforts – until no one dies from MBC.
-Kelly
