October 05, 2010

2% to research B Ca mets?

I read today that only 2% of USA breast cancer research funding helps people like me, who live with metastatic breast cancer.

Then I read about one small nonprofit that funds research solely devoted to B Ca mets: METAVivor Research and Spport Inc, where I read about a 2004 study by Fortune Magazine which "found that METASTASIS RESEARCH RECEIVES ONLY ABOUT 1% OF THE $5 BILLION ANNUAL NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE FUNDING. Metastatic breast cancer research receives even less."


Here are some statistics from their web site:

*  In 2008, 40,930 Americans, including 450 men, died of metastatic breast cancer. (American Cancer Society – 2008 Statistics)  Worldwide, roughly 465,000 die annually of the disease (2008 Global Survey by Pfizer Oncology).
* There has been no reduction in the number of annual deaths from breast cancer since the late 1980s (Cancer World article by Marc Beishon).  
*  Five-year survival is generally said to be 27% and 10-year survival roughly 10% (Silent Voices, an LBBC publication).
* 2-3% are considered "cured" of the disease.  Most of these individuals fall into one of two categories:  1) young people who responded well to their initial BC mets treatment and never again recurred, and 2) persons diagnosed with a single, isolated lesion that was surgically removed and who never again recurred (Journal of Clinical Oncology - 2002).

So if you really want to make a donation to cure breast cancer, and you want to find a cure for people like me who have metastatic breast cancer, please donate to METAVivor, the only USA charity exclusively funding research into B Ca mets.

3 comments:

  1. It does seem somewhat appalling that the number is so low for mets research. But maybe it is because the premise is if they solve breast cancer, they will also solve mets. However, why do some cancers spread and others dont??? Thats what we all want to know.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous3:43 PM

    You made some excellent points in that last post on the subject.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Should increase the budget for this type of cancer and many die from this disease and the priorities of health care.

    ReplyDelete

Contributors