On Tuesday, breast cancer awareness nonprofit Susan G Komen announced the launch of its first crowdfunding campaign, which is dedicated to supporting metastatic breast cancer research. The initiative made its debut in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM). The organization revealed:
“Through this initiative, donors have the opportunity to contribute directly to the pioneering work of four scientists and their teams who are dedicated to making discoveries that will ultimately improve outcomes for patients suffering from metastatic breast cancer. Metastatic breast cancer – the breast cancer that kills – refers to when breast cancer has spread beyond the breast to other organs in the body, most often to the bones, lungs, liver or brain. Metastatic breast cancer is incurable and is responsible for most of the nation’s 41,000 annual breast cancer deaths.”
Susan G Komen also explained that in order to achieve Komen’s Bold Goal to reduce current breast cancer deaths in the U.S. by 50 percent by 2026, it is focusing its research program on understanding the biology of metastatic breast cancer and developing ways to treat and prevent it. To date, the nonprofit has invested more than $180 million toward metastatic breast cancer research, and more than 41 percent of Komen’s 2017 grants are devoted to metastatic research. Komen interim President and CEO, Ellen Willmott, stated:
“Our donor community is passionate, invigorated and vitally interested in making a unique and lasting impact on breast cancer research. Likewise, our Komen-funded researchers are among the brightest and best in the world – we’re delighted to bring our community together with researchers through crowdfunding.”
Donations received for this initiative will go further thanks to a matching commitment from Odonate Therapeutics, a company dedicated to the development of therapeutics that improve and extend the lives of patients with cancer. Kevin Tang, Chairman and CEO of Odonate Therapeutics, added:
“We are proud to partner with Susan G. Komen on this critical initiative to advance research in the field of metastatic breast cancer. Odonate is dedicated to improving outcomes and quality of life for patients living with breast cancer, and we hope our partnership will encourage others to join us in supporting the vital mission of Susan G. Komen.”
Odonate and an affiliated partner will match, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, all donations toward this initiative received between October 2nd and December 31st, up to a maximum of $1.5 million. Komen noted that once the first four research grants are fulfilled, the organization will introduce additional researchers from its extensive network. Donors will have the opportunity to hear the researchers’ stories, learn about their work and better understand the impact that each researcher is making or hopes to make in breast cancer research.
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