The Cancer Services Program of Suffolk County has been awarded a $15,000 grant from Pfizer Inc. and the Avon Foundation for Women, PBMC Health announced today.
Cancer Services Program of Suffolk is one of 23 grant recipients nationwide, which were awarded a total of $1 million by the Avon-Pfizer Metastatic Breast Cancer Grants Program, “Identify-Amplify-Unify.”
The grants program aims 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 the disease, according to a press release issued today by PBMC Health, Avon Foundation for Women and Pfizer Inc.
The program awarded a total of $1 million in grants to 23 organizations nationwide.
With support from this grant the Cancer Services Program will increase patient awareness and expand the program to include supportive services in Spanish and English that are specific to metastatic breast cancer. The Cancer Services Program will work to give metastatic breast cancer patients improved access to clinical trials and community-based support, including legal help, transportation and home assistance.
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.
“To date, the majority of public attention 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.
“We strive to be a leader in health for all the members of our community, and we are proud to join Pfizer Inc. and the Avon Foundation for Women in a coalition to support metastatic breast cancer patients in unique and robust ways,” PBMC Health president and CEO Andrew Mitchell said.
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