On January 27, 2015 CRCD was chosen as one of 23 grant recipients for the AVON-PFIZER Metastatic Breast Cancer Grants Program: Identify-Amplify-Unify. The program, run by Pfizer Inc. and the AVON Foundation for Women, granted a total of $ 1 million to 23 organizations nationwide to support and educate metastatic breast cancer patients (MBC), 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 MBC 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 diagnose. As a result, the AVON-Pfizer Metastatic Grant 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".
MBC is the most advance stage of breast cancer and occurs when cancer spreads beyond the breast to other parts of the body, including bones, lungs, liver and brain. Nearly three in 10 women who have had early breast cancer will eventually develop metastatic disease. There is no cure, and patients are in treatment until there are no other options.