METAvivor and Eisai Launch Metastatic Breast Cancer Campaign to Raise Awareness of "The Elephant in the Pink Room" During Breast Cancer Awareness Month

ANNAPOLIS, Md., and WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., Oct. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- METAvivor Research and Support, Inc. and Eisai Inc. announced today the launch of "The Elephant in the Pink Room," a campaign designed to place a spotlight on metastatic breast cancer (MBC), a form of the disease that causes nearly 40,000 deaths per year and is often ignored, particularly during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121003/NY83368 )

Approximately 30 percent of patients with breast cancer will develop MBC – cancer that has spread beyond the breast – and 97-99 percent of those patients will eventually die of the disease. However, an analysis of cancer organizations from the Western world suggests that only about five percent of total cancer research funding goes toward metastatic disease of any cancer type. "The Elephant in the Pink Room" campaign is designed to give a voice to this often overlooked community.

To help reduce the disparity, Eisai has pledged a multi-year donation to METAvivor to help fund critical research for patients with MBC. In addition, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Eisai will donate $1 (up to $25,000) to METAvivor for every visit to, and action taken on, www.MBCaware.org. Actions include: 'liking' METAvivor's Facebook page, joining METAvivor's email list, following the campaign on Twitter and using the #MBCaware hashtag in October.

"The now ubiquitous pink ribbon—and the color pink altogether—has long stood as a cherished symbol of the breast cancer community. But the spirit of 'pink' often overlooks the critical needs of patients with MBC. MBC is almost always fatal, and is the worst nightmare of every patient with breast cancer. Thus along the lines of out-of-sight, out-of-mind, MBC has become the elephant in the pink room," says Dian "CJ" M. Corneliussen-James, Co-Founder and President of METAvivor. "This October we are asking for nationwide recognition of our community: its existence, difficulties, and tremendous need for support and research. Thanks to partners like Eisai, we can now move toward our vision of raising the level of research and support for MBC to 30 percent in order to help the 30 percent of patients with breast cancer who have metastasized—and will continue to metastasize."

Unfortunately, metastasis can happen to anyone at any stage of the disease making additional research and patient support services critical for this community.

"We've consistently heard from patients with MBC that they feel left out of the pink ribbon conversation in October because conversations and resources are focused on prevention and early detection," said Brian Eckley, Director of Corporate Advocacy at Eisai. "Our partnership with METAvivor is in addition to a larger, multi-year effort to help raise the volume on the need for research that will benefit this overlooked community, and is just one example of our dedication to helping affect change for these patients."

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide. It is estimated there will be 229,060 new cases of breast cancer in 2012 and almost 40,000 deaths will occur from the disease this year. To learn more about MBC and how you can help METAvivor raise critical funds for MBC research and patient resources, visit: www.MBCaware.org or www.METAvivor.org.

About the Campaign

Launched during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 2012, "The Elephant in the Pink Room" campaign was created to give voice to a community that is often overlooked in the breast cancer conversation, particularly in October; that is, the 30 percent of patients with breast cancer who will go on to develop metastatic breast cancer – "the elephant in the room." The campaign is designed to reduce the disparity between the percent of patients with metastatic breast cancer and the percent of funding that is dedicated to any metastatic disease.  

About METAvivor

METAvivor is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization run entirely by volunteers, mostly with MBC. The organization was created because its founders believe support for MBC patients is greatly lacking; awareness of the disease is appallingly low and metastatic research is staggeringly under-funded.

Metastatic breast cancer is the spread of breast cancer to non-adjacent parts of the body – most commonly to the bones, liver, lungs and/or brain. At present, the disease is not considered survivable. METAvivor hopes to help change that fact.

About Eisai Inc.
As a research-based human health care (hhc) company, Eisai defines oncology as a therapeutic area of focus and is dedicated to discovering, developing and producing oncology therapies that can help make a difference and impact the lives of patients and their families.

Eisai Inc. was established in 1995 and began marketing its first product in the United States in 1997. Since that time, Eisai Inc. has rapidly grown to become a fully integrated pharmaceutical business. Eisai's areas of commercial focus include neurology, gastrointestinal disorders and oncology/critical care. The company serves as the U.S. pharmaceutical operation of Eisai Co., Ltd., a research-based human health care (hhc) company that discovers, develops and markets products throughout the world.

Eisai has a global product creation organization that includes U.S.-based R&D facilities in Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, as well as manufacturing facilities in Maryland and North Carolina. The company's areas of R&D focus include neuroscience; oncology; vascular, inflammatory and immunological reaction; and antibody-based programs. For more information about Eisai, please visit www.eisai.com/US.

SOURCE Eisai Inc.; METAvivor