Fourteen years ago, Barbara Bigelow couldn’t have imagined she’d raise more than $30,000 for metastatic breast cancer research. Sixteen weeks ago, her friends weren’t sure she’d live to see it happen. What happened fourteen years ago? Barbara was diagnosed with breast cancer. She beat back the frightful diagnosis during a difficult year of treatment, then watched it shrink in her rear-view mirror as she resumed her busy life. But in 2014, the cancer returned, this time in her liver and under a kidney. It was officially metastatic breast cancer (MBC).
Last year, Kelly Brabants, fitness fashionista and a friend of one of Barbara’s two grown daughters, kicked off a fundraiser to honor Barbara. Called Bootys for the Battle—think sweaty Brazilian-inspired workout to live music followed by dancing, drinks, and auction—pulled in thousands of dollars for MBC research. Making it an annual event was an immediate no-brainer, and this past June, the second annual Bootys for the Battle raised more than $25,000 for metastatic breast cancer research. Barbara lived to see it happen despite being in a coma in the weeks prior. Yes, a coma.
After learning in 2014 that her cancer had grown metastatic, Barbara went through three grueling chemotherapies, all without success. So, when she was invited to participate in a clinical trial to test a new immunotherapy not yet available for breast cancer patients, she accepted. The results were initially devastating, landing Barbara in the hospital for the better part of a month this past summer, some of that time in a coma. When she woke, she was on hemodialysis. Then she spent three weeks in an acute rehab facility learning again how to walk, sit up, swallow, roll over, and even use her hands.
The excruciating battle was as worth it as they come, because the same immunotherapy that nearly killed her eventually started saving her. Barbara’s cancer began regressing and is continuing to regress today. It’s how she recovered in time to bear witness to the fundraiser started in her honor, the sort of fundraiser that makes possible clinical trials like the one that’s making her stronger today. Barbara is a living, breathing, walking—and, recently, vacationing-in-Aruba—testament to the importance of funding MBC research.
“Currently less than seven percent of funds raised for breast cancer are devoted to MBC research,” Barbara says today. “There has been no change in MBC statistics in 20 years. Every day, 113 women (and men) die of MBC with no cure in sight. This has to change, for my daughters and your daughters, wives, and sisters. I share my story on my blog, barbigwire.com, so that I can educate people about MBC and raise awareness about the need for money for research for a cure to make this a chronic, not deadly disease. METAvivor is the organization I support because they are committed to this as well. They give 100 percent of the money they raise to MBC research.”
We believe—we know—that there is hope, whether it’s a treatment or a cure. Whether it extends life or saves it, MBC research is underfunded, under-researched, and due for serious attention. Thank you to Barbara and Bootys for the Battle for helping to turn the tide.
