Pfizer, Avon Foundation for Women reveal Avon-Pfizer Metastatic Breast Cancer Grants Program recipients

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Jan 21 2015

Today, Pfizer Inc. and the Avon Foundation for Women are proud to announce the first-ever recipients of the Avon-Pfizer Metastatic Breast Cancer Grants Program: Identify-Amplify-Unify. In total, 23 non-profit organizations will receive grants totaling $1 million in funding to support and educate more than 5,000 metastatic breast cancer patients, their caregivers, and their communities. The Avon-Pfizer Metastatic Breast Cancer Grants 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."

Each of the following 23 organizations will receive grants, ranging from $15,000 to $100,000, to:

Address gaps in services for the metastatic breast cancer community, including medical, psychological, nutritional, complementary and integrative services, support, financial, and legal support
Distribute resources and services available to vulnerable populations
Share educational resources with the public focusing on metastatic disease, palliative care, treatment options, clinical trials, access to holistic medication, and complementary medicine

Seven organizations will provide nationwide services, and the remaining grant-funded projects will provide local services in 16 states. Prominent national beneficiaries include: Living Beyond Breast Cancer, which has received a grant to focus on developing a metastatic breast cancer peer outreach and public relations program to connect patients to psychosocial services and information; BreastCancerTrials.org, which will focus on sharing clinical trial information with metastatic breast cancer patients; and Harborpath, Inc., which will focus on the development of a medication delivery web-based portal at no cost to low-income and uninsured patients at 23 institutions in a five-state area of the southeast.

The following organizations will receive grants: