Trying even hard to hope

This morning when I opened Facebook, the first post I read was that Holley Kitchen, another one of the "Pfizer Five" (my nickname), had died during the night.

Holley had been on a clinical trial which was too strong for her, and just a few days ago her oncologist told her she could try one more chemo or live without treatment for as long as she had left. Holley leaves behind a husband and two young sons. She was in her early forties and had much more life to look forward to.

Holley was in so many ways one of the the first new advocacy voices for metastatic breast cancer. In June 2015 she posted a video on Youtube which quickly went viral. Cancer organizations and media outlets both helped spread her voice near and far. She was loud and loving, organized and challenging.

When you express your sorrow over David Bowie's death at age 69, please remember that Holley, and more than 100 Americans like her, DIE EVERY DAY from metastatic breast cancer.

This is why Pfizer's commitment to sharing the realities of mets means so much to me. Not too many others promoting living with mets and doing research. Can we have more research asap please? Where else can our tax dollars better go than into saving the lives of our citizens?

Zichrona l'vracha -- may Holley's name be a blessing to all those who knew her, even virtually.