Since its beginnings in 1985, the movement to raise breast cancer awareness has consistently gathered momentum. October was established as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the pink ribbon symbol was adopted, and now literally thousands of organizations sponsor programs in support of breast cancer education, treatment, and research. Here is a glimpse of a few of them.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) was established in 1937. With a budget set by Congress, it is the federal government’s primary cancer research agency. In 2013, of a total budget of $4.789 billion, research received 70.3%; resource development, 14.4%; cancer prevention and control, 6.2%; and program management and support, 9.1%. Funds were awarded to 4816 projects, including 159 awards totaling over $71 million to the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. In 2015, the NCI budget is $4.95 billion.1
In 1993, Evelyn Lauder, Senior Corporate Vice President of the Estée Lauder Companies and a breast cancer survivor, spearheaded the launch of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). The BCRF has since funded 8,657,920 hours of research in the United States and abroad. In 2014-2015, BCRF awarded $47 million in annual grants, allotting 88% of donations to research and 3% to awareness programs. The BCRF supports more than 220 scientists around the world. (See their photos and biographies on the BCRF website.)2
Rather than research, patient support is the focus of CancerCare. Founded in 1944, CancerCare provides free professional services, including counseling and support groups by phone, online, and in person; educational workshops; publications; and financial assistance. Each year, CancerCare distributes 800,000 brochures, receives more than 2 million website visits, and helps 170,000 people through its programs and services. In the past year, CancerCare provided more than $15 million in financial assistance.3
The Sisters Network, founded in 1994 by breast cancer survivor Karen Eubanks Jackson, is the only national African American breast cancer survivorship organization in the United States. Headquartered in Houston, TX, the organization has 3000 members and more than 40 chapters. Its Breast Cancer Assistance Program, established in 2006, provides free mammograms and financial assistance to patients in need. In 2013, the Sisters Network total revenue was $1,402,275, of which 86% went to programs and services, 2% to management and general expenses, and 12% to fundraising, and its outreach initiatives reached an estimated 3.7 million families.4
Sources 1. www.cancer.gov/about-nci 2. www.bcrfcure.org/ 3. www.cancercare.org/ 4. www.sistersnetworkinc.org/
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