Plans and Goals
An update from The IBC Network Foundation
The year 2020 has been a challenging one for us all. Many of you have written to us to share joys as well as hardships and we have been listening. Since so many events were canceled due to Covid safety, we were able to focus on long-term goals – but more about that in a minute.
Our mission at the IBC Network Foundation is to fund research. Together we have put over a million dollars into late stage breast cancer research since our founding in 2011. We have set a goal to fund $300,000 for research in 2021. We already know where the first check is going. In January, we are set to fund Vanderbilt’s next research project for $50,000!
More plans for 2021 include an app-based support system for patients, and a Podcast called “Talk IBC.” The podcast will host interviews with leading scientists and physicians world-wide, as well as include patients and caregivers for their unique perspectives.
We have some wonderful things to be proud of as we close the year 2020. I would like to recap some of our successes:
- Launched the IBC Learning Academy, the first advocate training program, supported by MD Anderson, to educate interested parties on how to make lasting impact on public policy and standard of care issues.
- Funded two clinical trials and multiple bench science projects, at Dana Farber, Duke, MD Anderson, and Vanderbilt. Several of these projects have moved on to larger awards from the DOD, and NCI, moving them closer to patient application.
- Wrote the first app for inflammatory breast cancer.
- Ran support groups world wide to allow better understanding of standard of care and give support.
- Represented the IBC Network on advisory boards at Duke, MD Anderson and Vanderbilt.
- Submitted a poster and was accepted at the SABCS and has been quoted in research papers.
- Mentored not only one but two sister charities, modeling our mission: The Inflammatory Breast Cancer Network UK and Inflammatory Breast Cancer Network Australia.
- Sponsored the first international awareness campaign #ScarsOfStrength on social media. This project was the first of its kind, pulling the three international IBC Network charities together for one common voice.
- Facilitated corrections in publications such as the National Cancer Institute, and even the British Journal of Medicine in regards to inflammatory breast cancer.
- Included as an author on multiple inflammatory breast cancer research papers.
I know you are on our team! Please take a moment to thoughtfully consider how much you can give to help us reach our goal of $300,000 in 2021.
You can help stop IBC forever!
Hope always,
Terry Arnold