Mike Hennessy

THE INAUGURAL METASTATIC BREAST CANCER HEROES

 awards program was held in December 2021. Even though it was held virtually, the passion and dedication of our three heroes were palpable through our computer screens.

The metastatic breast cancer community is a unique, strong-willed group of people. Every single person strives to bring awareness to the disease, provide the utmost care to patients, inform those who may not be as familiar with the diagnosis and connect with others who share similar journeys. It’s a tightknit group of people who bring a passion and persistence to the area, an exceptional feat to see in action.

 program, which includes patients, caregivers, advocates and health care professionals, gives people the opportunity to give gratitude and celebrate those who made an impact in the lives of those affected by metastatic breast cancer.

After reading the nominations for our Metastatic Breast Cancer Heroes

 awards, it’s evident that the people recognized for their efforts in the space give their all to every single thing they do. Some will even go the extra length — literally — by way of swimming to raise awareness of metastatic breast cancer.

“(She) has swum in lakes as far away as Ireland, Iceland, Kauai and as close as Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin — all in the name of raising money and awareness,” a fundraiser at an institution wrote in her submission. “Before she enters the water, she says a few words about why she is swimming and always ends her talk with the benediction, ‘Research is our best hope.’ A lot of people with this swimmer’s diagnosis would stay home and rest. Maybe they would do a little virtual fundraising. But taking to the lakes is a unique and personal spin on shedding a light on (her) disease.”

Although we honored three Metastatic Breast Cancer Heroes

 — an oncologist, a patient advocate and a nurse-turned-patient with cancer — it’s important to note that every person nominated for this recognition is truly a hero in our hearts.

We also presented a special Metastatic Breast Cancer Diversity & Inclusion HeroTM award to a woman with metastatic breast cancer who took it upon herself to advocate for others with the disease who experience inequities in health care, including Black men and women. She eventually connected with an epidemiologist with metastatic breast cancer and together they created a questionnaire to learn what barriers Black patients faced when enrolling in clinical trials.

“(She) works every day to ensure that the voice of every person with metastatic breast cancer is heard equally,” her nominator wrote in his submission. “As a person of color, she understands the disparities faced by many — in the waiting room, the doctor’s office, the board room of the pharma conducting the trial and, sadly enough, in the organizations who say they advocate equally for all. And just as she battles her cancer daily, she also fights daily to ensure that everyone with metastatic breast cancer has an equal opportunity.”

We look forward to this year’s Metastatic Breast Cancer Heroes

 awards program, which gives us another chance to learn more about the inspiring patients, caregivers, advocates and health care professionals who make an impact in the lives of those affected by metastatic breast cancer despite the troubles they may face along the way.

— Mike Hennessy Jr.
President and CEO of MJH Life Sciences®

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Articles

The metastatic breast cancer community is a unique, strong-willed group of people who were honored in our inaugural Metastatic Breast Cancer HeroesTM program. 

Passion and Persistence in the Face of Metastatic Breast Cancer

 awards program provides us another opportunity to recognize incredible people who nurture hope and cultivate fortitude. These heroes include physicians, nurses and patient advocates, all of whom rise above the challenges to make a real difference in people’s lives.

As we host this awards program, I continue to be blown away by how courageous and bold people are in the face of what can be a frightening obstacle: lung cancer. This year, we are honoring two doctors and a patient-turned-advocate, but it’s important to note that every single person who was nominated by their friends, family and colleagues are, in fact, heroes.

There are countless inspirational quotes about heroes, but one that stands out to me is from Christopher Reeve, who played the hero, Superman. “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” Although these patients, doctors, advocates, nurses and others may seem ordinary at first glance, they go above and beyond to educate, inspire and encourage while navigating the many obstacles, from the cancer itself to barriers to treatment to gaps in research.

While reading the nominations, I learned about so many brave doctors who compassionately cared for their patients no matter what difficulties they faced.

“(What is notable) is his dedication to the highest level of patient care even under the most difficult circumstances,” a doctor wrote about his fellow colleague. “He has ensured top-notch care for the neediest minority patient groups of the poorest county in New York state — the Bronx — for 20 years, never yielding to institutional or other pressures to sway from his goal and instilling the same dedication in others around him.”

I also learned that many patient advocates, among others, used the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to discover new ways to connect patients and survivors with each other.

“We have been inspired by his story of lung cancer survivorship, his advocacy and the way he uses his (podcast) platform to inform and advocate for others to use their voice,” a patient advocate wrote in her nomination about a podcast host. “In an era of trauma, people whose buoyancy elevates both purpose and agency shine like a flashlight in the darkness. During the past year of uncertainty, (he) was that light for many.”

Other nominators detailed how helping patients with lung cancer is, truly, some people’s mission in life.

“(She) is a gentle soul who was placed on Earth for this purpose: to guide those with the most common cancer there is,” a nurse wrote about her colleague. “She has done all this while being the single mother of five children, all now amazing adults.”

We look forward to the Lung Cancer Heroes

 awards program, held virtually again this year. The program gives us another opportunity to hear the powerful stories of these real-life heroes in the lung cancer space who persevere with great compassion and teach us to embrace, not avoid, life’s setbacks and challenges.

These are the powerful stories of real-life heroes in the lung cancer space who persevere with great compassion and teach us to embrace, not avoid, life’s setbacks and challenges.

Perseverance and Endurance in the Face of Lung Cancer

The last five years have seen enormous advances in immunotherapy. Consider that three checkpoint inhibitors and a bispecific monoclonal antibody were approved during that half a decade alone, and you’ll get a sense of the rapid acceleration of progress in this important field.

These drugs can mean everything to some patients, especially those who have been treated with other standard therapies for conditions such as melanoma, lung cancer or acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and experienced disease progression nonetheless. In 

, we give you the stories of some of these patients. Peter Daly, for example, after being diagnosed with metastatic melanoma, helped pioneer the use of the checkpoint inhibitor Yervoy (ipilimumab) in a clinical trial in 2004, and is still thriving. And then there’s Maureen O’Grady, who had run out of approved options for her stage 4 lung cancer by 2008. In a trial of the checkpoint inhibitor Opdivo (nivolumab), which has since been approved for the treatment of lung cancer, she saw her disease recede and stabilize.

We don’t share these stories simply because they’re inspiring, but also to demonstrate the great possibility and hope promised by immunotherapy in the treatment of cancer.

, we will expound on that theme with articles about the approved and/or experimental immunotherapies available for the treatment of melanoma, as well as for renal, lung, breast and prostate cancers. We’ll give you a picture of immunotherapy through time, and perspectives on how immunotherapies will fit into cancer treatment plans, who is eligible for these therapies and how patients can get access to them. We’ll round things out by looking closely at the costs of immunotherapy.

We hope these insights will answer your questions about what immunotherapy is, how it works in the body and how it might be able to help you or a loved one through your experience with cancer.

Patient success stories illustrate the hope promised by cancer immunotherapy.

Great Possibilities

ONE OF THE MANY THINGS that excited us whenour company acquired CURE magazine last yearwas the opportunity to revive one of the group'ssignature publications, Heal magazine. The goalof this quarterly publication is to be a forum wherethose who have been touched by cancer can sharetheir perspectives and provide hope and inspirationto others on this same journey.

In this first issue, you will hear the voices ofpeople like you who are regular contributors toCureToday.com. These individuals share insightsfrom their own experiences navigating a cancerdiagnosis and its aftermath and offer practicalsuggestions to help you navigate life during, andafter, the "game-changer" that is cancer.

You will also find inspiring stories from thosewho have survived and thrived after cancer, includingour cover story by a long-standing friend toCURE, Kathy LaTour, a woman who exemplifies theempowered survivor yet understands all too wellthe many challenges survivors face.

As Heal evolves and grows, we want to hearfrom you about what challenges you face and howyou are meeting them. We hope that Heal will bea place where you draw strength from knowingthat you are not alone, a place where thoughtsand emotions are freely expressed, and — most ofall &mdash; a place where the exchange of insights andperspectives from your compatriots in the cancercommunity will help you to truly heal.

We hope that Heal will be a place where you draw strength from knowing that you are not alone.

Mike Hennessy

Passion and Persistence in the Face of Metastatic Breast Cancer

Perseverance and Endurance in the Face of Lung Cancer

Great Possibilities

Living Well With and After Cancer

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