Triple Negative Breast Cancer, "I Won't Back Down!": Inside Look at Komen's Blogger Summit 2014...

What is TNBC

WHAT IS TRIPLE NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER?

Just in recent years, Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) has sparked interest in the news where instead of calling the tumor as ER-negative, PR-negative, and HER2-negative; researchers began using the shorthand term, "Triple Negative," dubbed the "new type" of breast cancer. Being Triple Negative, you don't have a targeted therapy and your only treatment option is chemotherapy.

Triple Negative Breast Cancer is seen in about 15% of all breast cancers. TNBC is a very aggressive cancer that tends to strike younger women, pre-menopause, especially among African-American women and women who have BRCA1 mutations. The tumor tends to be fast growing and is less likely to show up on an annual mammogram. TNBC is more likely to metastasis early on; has a high rate of recurrence in the first 2-3 years from diagnosis and has a poorer prognosis than other types of breast cancer due to lack of specific, targeted treatment for TNBC.

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Inside Look at Komen's Blogger Summit 2014...

Nancy Brinker and me

A day with some awsome bloggers Amanda Hudson, Barbara Jacoby, Nicole Mclean, Renée Ross, Rene Syler, Samantha Schuerman, Janice Lynch Schuster and Debbie Wodbury. I received an earful of inspiring details of how Komen impacted the breast cancer awareness movement and their continued quest to end breast cancer forever. Komen's digital marketing manager, Tracy Muller and others from her mission team did an incredible job in hosting all of us and was so much fun being their guests at the blogger summit. We had a very nice dinner reception with Komen CEO and President, Dr. Salerno who addressed their mission to us. When I first got the invitation, I was thinking to myself, that I would really love to meet Nancy Brinker, Founder of Susan G. Komen... Well, at the dinner, casually in walks Nancy Brinker and her son Eric Brinker whom I had conversed with on the Komen Facebook's page. Of course, I was thrilled since Nancy Brinker had always been my "personal hero" for making that promise to her dying sister to do everything in her power to find a cure for breast cancer. I admire Nancy for standing behind her promise through the success of Komen in community outreach programs and funding research breakthroughs on breast cancer. It really was an awesome experience and am grateful for this opportunity.

Komen's Ceo, Dr. Judy Salerno spoke of her hopes and concerns in moving forward in where Komen can really make a difference. Komen wants to be there for all people and help them through their journey and had put about half a billion dollars into community health, screening and patient navigation.
Salerno's main goal is to support the best research, Komen really want's to eliminate breast cancer so there is not another generation that will need those services. Salerno's goal is to attempt to build relationships with the other 1400 plus breast cancer organizations out there and to work together to help the people with disease, help people get early diagnosis treatments and support the research that will put an end to breast cancer... "I truly believe that we are stronger together than we are alone."
Also, Solerno hopes that together with the other organizations, to understand health disparities with the greater chance of dying from disease among women of color. Komen states that we need to take responsibility for these disparities issues, further saying, it's unacceptable anywhere and we have to address it.

As the federal government research funding becomes tighter, the future for breast cancer researchers is narrowing. This is an area that Salerno feels strongly about and hope that Komen can make a difference in protecting the next generation of researchers as the funding environment become tougher.

"Experiencing the Komen Mission."

"Photo-bombing bloggers!

Nuvea Vida provides cancer support services
to Latina families

Komen Scholars, Dr. Neil Spector,
Dr. Priscilla Brastianos and Peggy Johnson

Dr. Brastianos focus her research on metastasis
to the brain and finding new therapeutic
targets to treat it. "Up to 30 to 40% of
advanced breast cancer metastasize
to the brain especially among Her2 and
TNBC patients.

DC Pink Divas and survivor, Dr. Michelle Craig
Educating and Empowering Women who are
at-risk and of low-income.
Conversation on breast health doesn't
start an average until age 40... "Fear of it."
"Think breast cancer is a death sentence."

Me speaking to Komen CEO and President, Dr. Judith
Salerno about Komen funding Triple Negative Breast
Cancer Research and thanking her for their support.