Today is : MBC Awareness Day!

October used to be my favorite month- the weather is cooling, leaves are turning, the skies are blue, and Halloween caps it all off. Then breast cancer and metastases happened. And all the pink in the world won't save the 118 people who die of MBC everyday, over 43,000 a year in the US. I never forget I have MBC but October just....trivializes it to pink and pretty, fight the fight and win, etc. It ain't pretty and those of us with MBC will never win (warrior metaphors should be a choice reserved for the people going through the disease...let's not push them on people). It focuses on women to the exclusion of men (except in support roles), and although it is far less common, over 2700 cases are diagnosed each year and 530 die (men, much like young women, are more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage with the resulting increase in mortality). AND what about the other cancers? Lung? NHL? HL? Colon? GE? October is a hot mess. 

A special space for slogans such as "save the ______" insert euphemism for breasts. It's not about saving breasts, it's about saving lives.  Why do we sexualize breast cancer? No other cancer is all about saving the specific body part...it's (rightfully!) about doing whatever one can up to and including removing the body part to SAVE LIVES. So let's focus on that. I'm looking at you ACS & Cincinnati Zoo, and I'm pretty let down and disappointed. "Save the melons"? Using Fiona like this? My favorite hippo, ugh.

But today (October 13th) is metastatic breast cancer awareness day. I think you're all aware of MBC, and what it is (if not here's an article), but a few things I want to share.

• We will be in treatment our entire lives or at least until we decide we are done and then allow the cancer to run its deadly course. There is no cure. 
• Many of us look healthy, but are dealing with side effects of long term treatment and many times symptoms of the cancer itself, especially as we progress.
• Most breast cancer research does not go to understanding and curing metastatic disease. Only 3-7% of breast cancer research funding goes explicitly to metastatic disease. 

You're thinking "Depressing Amy. What can I do?" Thanks for asking!

• Get screened for all cancers when you're eligible and in consultation with your healthcare provider.
  
• Advocate for yourself. If you think something is wrong, go to the doc and don't give up. Push for that biopsy of a lump; share family history so you're getting screened when you need to be. I hate that it is on us; I know that the healthcare system often doesn't take women, especially black women and young women, seriously, but it's the only thing we can control.
  
• Donate to METAvivor.  100% of their donations go to fund MBC research.
  
• Or donate to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. They are the largest private funder of MBC research. 
• Support legislation and candidates who
• Are willing to maintain or increase funding for the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program. Information on the program can be found here. This program makes extensive use of patient advocates and several treatments for MBC have come out of this program, including one I was on (Ibrance/palbociclib), and one that has extended the lives of many ER+ MBC patients.
  
• Support health care for all. Too many people with terminal cancer do not have healthcare, and these treatments are not ones you can "save for". Medicare isn't available to MBC patients until 24 months after one stops working. There are Senate (S 1312) and House Bills (HR 3183) (Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act) to waive this waiting period for MBC. If you're interested further you can send a note to your current legislator re: this bill here.
  
• Support the right to choose. Pregnancy does not mix with many of the drugs used to treat cancer, and we deserve the right to determine what is best for us- to wait and carry the embryo/fetus or terminate the pregnancy to begin therapy right away and increase our chances of a better outcome. I almost had to make that decision, and the results of that pregnancy test are seared into my mind.
  

October 29th will be two years since my stage IV/metastatic diagnosis. I'm healthier now than I was then- no pleural effusion, stable bone metastases with very little pain. I have a lot to celebrate, and a lot to do yet. I plan on doing it.