Pfizer and the Avon Foundation for Women Award 23 Grants Totaling $1 Million in Funding to Support Patients Living With Metastatic Breast Cancer

NEW YORK, Jan. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Pfizer Inc. and the Avon Foundation for Women are proud to announce the first-ever recipients of the Avon-Pfizer Metastatic Breast Cancer Grants Program: Identify-Amplify-Unify. In total, 23 non-profit organizations will receive grants totaling $1 million in funding to support and educate more than 5,000 metastatic breast cancer patients, their caregivers, and their communities.  The Avon-Pfizer Metastatic Breast Cancer Grants Program was created in June 2014 to support advocacy, academic and other nonprofit organizations that provide information and services to help people with metastatic breast cancer navigate the medical and emotional challenges associated with their disease.

"To date, the majority of public attention on and funding for breast cancer has centered on early-stage disease – such as screening strategies and survivorship – not on late-stage diagnosis. As a result, the Avon-Pfizer Metastatic Grants Program was established to address the gaps in support available to women and men living with metastatic disease, and to create new services for metastatic patients so they do not have to face this disease alone," said Marc Hurlbert, executive director of the Avon Foundation for Women Breast Cancer Crusade.  "Our hope is that one day, all patients can access the unique care and support services they need, regardless of their ability to pay."

Metastatic breast cancer is the most advanced stage of breast cancer and occurs when cancer spreads beyond the breast to other parts of the body, including the bones, lungs, liver and brain. Nearly three in 10 women who have had early breast cancer will eventually develop metastatic disease. There are no cures currently available, and continuous treatment is needed to control the spread of the disease and its symptoms.   

"Pfizer is proud to join the Avon Foundation in supporting these 23 important projects and the organizations driving them," said Maya Martinez-Davis, regional president, North America, Pfizer Oncology.  "With the public breast cancer conversation focused primarily on early breast cancer, there is a need to foster greater understanding of metastatic disease and increased support for metastatic patients and their caregivers.  Our hope is that the projects being funded by the Avon-Pfizer Metastatic Breast Cancer Grants Program will make a meaningful difference to the metastatic breast cancer community." 

Each of the following 23 organizations will receive grants, ranging from $15,000 to $100,000, to:

• Address gaps in services for the metastatic breast cancer community, including medical, psychological, nutritional, complementary and integrative services, support, financial, and legal support
• Distribute resources and services available to vulnerable populations
• Share educational resources with the public focusing on metastatic disease, palliative care, treatment options, clinical trials, access to holistic medication, and complementary medicine

Seven organizations will provide nationwide services, and the remaining grant-funded projects will provide local services in 16 states. Prominent national beneficiaries include: Living Beyond Breast Cancer, which has received a grant to focus on developing a metastatic breast cancer peer outreach and public relations program to connect patients to psychosocial services and information; BreastCancerTrials.org, which will focus on sharing clinical trial information with metastatic breast cancer patients; and Harborpath, Inc., which will focus on the development of a medication delivery web-based portal at no cost to low-income and uninsured patients at 23 institutions in a five-state area of the southeast.

The following organizations will receive grants:

• Breastcancer.org (Narberth, Pa.)
• Cancer Resource Center of the Desert (El Centro, Calif.)
• Central Suffolk Hospital (New York)
• Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic (Oakland, Calif.)
• City Of Hope (Duarte, Calif.)
• Denver Health & Hospital Foundation (Denver, Colo.)
• Gilda's Club of Northern New Jersey Inc. (Hackensack, N.J.)
• God's Love We Deliver (New York)
• H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research (Tampa, Fla.)
• Harborpath, Inc. (Columbia, S.C.)
• Living Beyond Breast Cancer (Haverford, Pa.)
• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York)
• METAvivor Research and Support Inc. (Annapolis, Md.)
• Methodist Healthcare Foundation (Memphis, Tenn.)
• Patient Advocate Foundation Inc. (Hampton, Va.)
• Quantum Leap Health Care Collaborative: BreastCancerTrials.org (San Francisco)
• Sanford Medical Center Fargo (Fargo, N.D.)
• SHARE Self-help for Women with Breast or Ovarian Cancer Inc. (New York)
• The Breast Cancer Resource Centers Of Texas Inc. (Austin, Texas)
• The Shanti Project Inc. (San Francisco)
• Yale-New Haven Hospital (New Haven, Conn.)
• You Can Thrive Foundation (New York)
• Young Survival Coalition (New York)

About Pfizer Oncology
Pfizer Oncology is committed to the discovery, investigation and development of innovative treatment options to improve the outlook for cancer patients worldwide.  Our strong pipeline of biologics and small molecules, one of the most robust in the industry, is studied with precise focus on identifying and translating the best scientific breakthroughs into clinical application for patients across a wide range of cancers.  By working collaboratively with academic institutions, individual researchers, cooperative research groups, governments, and licensing partners, Pfizer Oncology strives to cure or control cancer with breakthrough medicines, to deliver the right drug for each patient at the right time.  For more information, please visit www.Pfizer.com.

About the Avon Foundation for Women
The Avon Foundation for Women is the world's largest corporate-affiliated philanthropy focused on issues that matter most to women.  Since its inception in 1955, the Avon Foundation has promoted or aided charitable, scientific, educational, and humanitarian activities, with a special emphasis on activities that improve the lives of women and their families. Through 2013, Avon global philanthropy, led by the Avon Foundation, has donated more than $957 million in more than 50 countries for causes most important to women. Today, Avon philanthropy focuses on funding breast cancer research and access to care through the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, and efforts to reduce domestic and gender violence through its Speak Out Against Domestic Violence program. Visit www.avonfoundation.org for more information.

About the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade
The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which launched in 1992 and is led by the U.S.-based Avon Foundation for Women, has placed Avon and the Avon Foundation for Women at the forefront of the fight against breast cancer; today, Avon is the leading corporate supporter of the cause globally. Avon breast cancer programs in more than 50 countries have donated more than $815 million for research and advancing access to care, regardless of a person's ability to pay. Avon awards funding to beneficiaries ranging from leading cancer centers to community-based grassroots breast health programs to support breast cancer research and access to care. The Crusade has enabled more than 18 million women globally to receive free mammograms and breast cancer screenings, educated more than 145 million women about breast cancer, and funded promising research into the causes of breast cancer and ways to prevent the disease. The Avon Foundation raises funds for the Crusade through the sale of Avon "Pink Ribbon" products.

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SOURCE The Avon Foundation for Women

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