Advancing Treatment of Breast Cancer during Pregnancy's Fundraising Page

Thankfully, in 2019, there are well known options for treating breast cancer during pregnancy. So it's easy to take for granted that I was able to get on the path to curing breast cancer, with which I was diagnosed when I was five months pregnant, while carrying to term and giving birth to a healthy baby. However, it's a miracle of modern medicine that both Nadya and I are here in the end of 2019, feeling great!

I wanted to take this opportunity to show gratitude for the world-class care based on the latest research I received at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and to support further research related to treating breast cancer during pregnancy. I'm lucky to have Dr. Erica Mayer, who is the Director of the Breast Cancer during Pregnancy Program at Dana-Farber, as my doctor. Because it's hard to devise trials suitable for pregnant women, a lot of the analysis is done based on existing data, such as this recent retrospective of breast cancer management during pregnancy and outcomes Dr. Mayer is a co-author of. Contributions made through this page will go to Dr. Mayer’s Breast Cancer Research Fund, and help launch a new study that will look genomically at breast cancers diagnosed during pregnancy compared to those that are diagnosed not during pregnancy.

Breast cancer challenged my dreams for the future, but being treated at Dana-Farber while pregnant doubled my hope for the future, as I was thinking about both my baby and myself being healthy. As we advance our understanding of breast cancer during pregnancy, we'll improve outcomes for future mothers by detecting breast cancer earlier and having better options for treating it. Please join me in making a contribution to move us along faster on this journey to beat cancer - any small amount will help!