You all know how I feel about Komen, right? A charity born from a desire to honor her sister’s memory and support women, Komen has torpedoed itself time and time again (read here, here and here for why I refuse to support them). My biggest beef is with the dwindling percentage of donations going towards RESEARCH. How are we ever going to beat this beast when all anyone focuses on is “awareness” – do you know ANYONE who isn’t AWARE of Breast Cancer?
So, without further soapbox-y ado, here are charities that I support or friends support throughout the year that work hard to do one (or more!) of the following things: a) fund actual research, b) help individuals directly, or c) advance the breast cancer “cure and/or prevention” agenda.
HBOC ( Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer) Charities:
- FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered) – This is the charity I write the most checks to! FORCE’s Mission is: To improve the lives of individuals and families affected by hereditary breast and ovarian cancer – to read their mission objectives, click here. For more on their advocacy, click here.
- Genetic Alliance – This charity is supported by my friends and sisters in the Young Previvors Group. Amazingly, their work has lead to the passage of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, the founding of the cross condition cooperative registry and biobank and the composition of the customizable Family Health History Guide, which all benefit women (and men!) with HBOCs.
Breast Cancer (and General Cancer) Research and Advocacy Organizations:
- National Breast Cancer Coalition – they’ve made a committment in the form of a deadline (January 1, 2020) to END Breast Cancer. For a (LONG) list of their Advocacy Successes, click here.
- Breast Cancer Research Foundation – As they state, “BCRF is committed to preventing and curing breast cancer by advancing the world’s most promising research.”
- Cancer Research Institute – In their words, “By making a gift to the Cancer Research Institute today, you are not only making an investment in our scientists to develop better, safer immunotherapies that will extend the lives of cancer patients, but you are also helping us to do that sooner.”
Organizations that Directly Help Women with Breast Cancer:
- Shay Sharp’s Pink Wishes – Another one that’s dear to me, this organization grants wishes to young women (age 40 and under) who have been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. Shay is a Baltimore native, and has just been re-diagnosed with BC for a second time, still under 40 years old. She’s done amazing things, and I love supporting her!
- The Scar Project – This is a beautiful project, and one that gives support and hope to so many women! From the site: “The SCAR Project is a series of large-scale portraits of young breast cancer survivors shot by fashion photographer David Jay. Primarily an awareness raising campaign, The SCAR Project puts a raw, unflinching face on early onset breast cancer while paying tribute to the courage and spirit of so many brave young women.”
- Flat and Fabulous – F&F is an organization committed to advocating and providing support for those who are living post mastectomy without reconstruction. One of the co-founders passed away last week, and she was a huge inspiration to me, personally, as well as thousands of other women touched by her story.
- The Red Devils – From my friend Shannon M: “I would like to add The Red Devils as a worthy organization that supports individuals and their families facing breast cancer.” I love the look of them, too!
I’ll add to this daily, so feel free to comment about groups/organizations I’m forgetting! Thanks for being a conscious contributor to progress and change!
Up A (Giant) Hill 