Methodist Healthcare Foundation receives $25,000 grant

Methodist Healthcare Foundation is proud to announce that it has been chosen as one of 23 grant recipients for the Avon-Pfizer Metastatic Breast Cancer Grants Program: Identify-Amplify-Unify. The funds will be used by the West Cancer Center to develop and implement a program for women with metastatic breast cancer.
 
"The Avon Grant is going to allow us to reach patients who do not always receive all the information they need regarding what the diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer may mean for them. Women are given all of the scientific information, but sometimes they don't receive information about what this might mean for themselves and their family,” said Kurt Tauer, M.D., chief of staff at the West Cancer Center. “This grant will allow us to give women who develop metastatic breast cancer the information they need regarding treatment and aspects of their breast cancer that might affect their personal lives."
 
The Avon-Pfizer Metastatic Breast Cancer Grants Program: Identify-Amplify-Unify, run by Pfizer Inc. and the Avon Foundation for Women, granted a total of $1 million to 23 organizations nationwide to support and educate more than 5,000 metastatic breast cancer patients, their caregivers, and their communities.  The program was created in June 2014 to support advocacy, academic and other nonprofit organizations that provide information and services to help people with metastatic breast cancer navigate the medical and emotional challenges associated with their disease.
 
“To date, the majority of public attention on and funding for breast cancer has centered on early-stage disease – such as screening strategies and survivorship – not on late-stage diagnosis. As a result, the Avon-Pfizer Metastatic Grants Program was established to  address the gaps in support available to women and men living with metastatic disease, and to create  new services  for metastatic patients so they do not have to face this disease alone,” said Marc Hurlbert, executive director of the Avon Foundation for Women Breast Cancer Crusade.  “Our hope is that one day, all patients can access the unique care and support services they need, regardless of their ability to pay.”
 
Metastatic breast cancer is the most advanced stage of breast cancer and occurs when cancer spreads beyond the breast to other parts of the body, including the bones, lungs, liver and brain. Nearly three in 10 women who have had early breast cancer will eventually develop metastatic disease. There are no cures currently available, and continuous treatment is needed to control the spread of the disease and its symptoms.   
 
“Pfizer is proud to join the Avon Foundation in supporting these 23 important projects and the organizations driving them,” said Maya Martinez-Davis, regional president, North America, Pfizer Oncology.  “With the public breast cancer conversation focused primarily on early breast cancer, there is a need to foster greater understanding of metastatic disease and increased support for metastatic patients and their caregivers.  Our hope is that the projects being funded by the Avon-Pfizer Metastatic Breast Cancer Grants Program will make a meaningful difference to the metastatic breast cancer community.”