NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release... To all editors:
Please report this news and enter the event date and location on
your published list of upcoming events.
Media Contact: Marian Woertz Brawer
cell phone: 704-281-9945
email: mwbrawer@bellsouth.net
The City of Charlotte names
October 13 Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day
Official Press Conference
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 • 10:30 – 11:30 AM
• Charlotte, NC
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – September 2008... While breast cancer “survivors” hold the hearts and minds
of the public and the media, what happens to those who suffer a recurrence of the disease? These individuals
represent about 30% of breast cancer patients and the recurring form of the disease is referred to as Metastatic,
Stage 4 or Advanced Breast Cancer. Often they’re considered failures in the breast cancer community and rest in
the shadows feeling forgotten and isolated while they endure emotions that are more intense, and choices that are
more difficult than when they were first diagnosed.
The Metastatic Breast Cancer Network (MBCN) is taking action on a national level to put the spotlight on
this population in need of support, education and recognition. Already 12 US. cities and 4 states have proclaimed
October 13 as Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day and now Charlotte is joining the effort.
On Tuesday, October 7, Mayor Pro Tem Susan Burgess will deliver an official proclamation that Charlotte
will join the effort to increase recognition of the plight of individuals living with stage 4 breast cancer. During the
ceremony, comments will be presented by representatives from Presbyterian Hospital’s Breast Cancer Navigator
Program, Carolinas Medical Center, the Buddy Kemp Caring House and Charlotte affiliates of MBCN and the
Sisters Network. Several Stage 4 survivors and caregivers will also be in attendance to testify why they believe
that Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day is important to the community.
The Metastatic Breast Cancer Network’s Charlotte member, Marian Woertz Brawer is a Stage 4 survivor.
She affirms “This proclamation signifies a great step in recognizing the needs of our community’s metastatic breast
cancer survivors that are not being addressed. We are here to bring them support, advocacy, education and, most
importantly, hope. Also we want the public to know that our community is diverse, and that our network is open to
patients of all economic, ethnic, and faith backgrounds, and to men as well as women. The disease does not pay
attention to ethnicity, economic status, gender or educational background. All populations are affected and the
network welcomes anyone diagnosed with Stage 4 disease.”
MBCN is a nonprofit organization of and for those living with metastatic breast cancer. Its membership
includes patients and health care professionals throughout the U.S. and Canada. As growing numbers of those
with metastatic breast cancer receive extended treatment and benefit from therapeutic breakthroughs, MBCN
brings a new voice to the breast cancer community -- that of a population living with breast cancer as a treatable
disease. By putting a public face on the metastatic experience, MBCN seeks to help ease the fears of those who
face the possibility of recurrence.
The American Cancer Society reports that in 2008 an estimated 180,000 women will be diagnosed with
breast cancer. Approximately 40,000 women and 500 – 600 men die of breast cancer in the U.S. each year. The
North Carolina Central Cancer Registry projects there will be 6,347 female breast cancer cases and 1,287 breast
cancers deaths in the state this year. In Mecklenburg County alone, 512 cases of female breast cancer and 98
breast cancers deaths are predicted.
Currently there is no cure for metastatic disease. The lifetime survival rate for metastatic disease is on the
order of 1-2% and for all other patients, the disease is expected to progress to a terminal phase at some point in
time. Once diagnosed, life expectancy is 2 ½ to 3 years, even given recent improvements in treatment.
According to Nina Schulman, founding member of the MBCN organization, “We, the metastatic population,
who are on the frontline of the ‘race for the cure,’ need the recognition of the entire breast cancer community and
the public at large. And, we need to bring attention to our plight so that research will focus on the process of
metastasis in order to develop treatments to extend life and make stage 4 cancer a truly chronic disease instead of
a probably fatal disease.”
For more information about MBC Awareness Day in Charlotte, contact Marian Woertz Brawer at cell
phone: 704-281-9945 or email: mwbrawer@bellsouth.net.
* * *
Metastatic Breast Cancer Network
www.mbcnetwork.org * phone: 888-500-0370 * email: getinvolved.mbcnet@gmail.com