Why are people from Lake Tahoe/Genoa area putting on a fundraiser for METAvivor? What is METAvivor and what is metastatic breast cancer?

If you know someone who has died from breast cancer, they died from metastatic breast cancer (MBC). “Metastatic” means the cancer has escaped the breast and traveled to distant sites, like bones, lungs, liver, or brain. Cancer that stays in the breast does not kill. Approximately 6% of initial breast cancer diagnosis are metastatic, and approximately 28% of women and men with early stage breast cancer will become metastatic. Less than a third of people with MBC live 5 years past diagnosis and in 2024 over 44,000 Americans will die due to metastatic breast cancer.

Despite this reality, the large breast cancer fundraisers only give a small percentage of their research funds to studying ways to help the already metastasized patient. Many experts believe we are on the cusp of making metastatic breast cancer a chronic disease, if only there were more money to do the research needed to develop effective treatments. METAvivor, a non-profit organization with a volunteer board (the majority of whom have metastatic breast cancer themselves), directs 100% of donations to such metastatic research, through a vigorous scientific peer-review process. Since 2009, METAvivor has funded over 28 MILLION dollars of vital research!

Please join us for a special concert featuring local favorites Ike and Martin. It will be an evening of good music, good food, and good friends as we raise money to fund desperately needed metastatic research.