At PME, we are committed to the environment and to environmental causes, but our desire to make the world a better place doesn’t end there. In October and November 2019, we will be selling our popular monitoring devices in a special pink packaging, in support of breast cancer awareness and to raise money for breast cancer research.
Kristin Elliott, CEO of PME, announced the initiative saying, “I am excited to help provide funding for stage 4 metastatic breast cancer research. Many of our customers have been impacted by breast cancer and I personally have experienced family members as well as neighbors and friends suffer from this terrible disease. It’s important to myself and all of us at PME to support not only the environment, but other causes as well.”
A Disease With a Wide and Terrible Reach
Over 268,000 women in the US will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019. Approximately 1 in 8 women in the US will develop invasive breast cancer at some point during their lifetime. 62,000 will develop non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer. These breast cancers can be treated. More than 150,000 women are living with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, which is the only terminal breast cancer. 41,000 men and women are expected to die from stage 4 metastatic breast cancer in 2019; that is 114 people every day.
Focusing On Stage 4
Great strides have been made in recent decades to increase public awareness of breast cancer. Still, one out of three women who have had breast cancer will eventually develop Stage 4 metastatic cancer and more than 22,000 women are diagnosed initially with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. Metastatic breast cancer occurs when the cancer cells spread from the original site in the breast and attach to other organs such as the liver, lung, bone and brain. While there are some treatments for metastatic breast cancer, it is a terminal disease with an average life expectancy of 36 months. Researchers are working to understand more about metastatic cancer and to find life-extending treatments, but are too often under-funded in this difficult but vitally important endeavor. Only 2-5% of all breast cancer funds raised during Pinktober are actually dedicated to stage 4 metastatic breast cancer research.
Partnering With Metavivor.org to Make an Impact
One organization, METAvivor.org, has dedicated itself to the specific fight of women and men living with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer (MBC), with the goal of transitioning MBC from terminal diagnosis, into a chronic but manageable disease with a good quality of life. Other organizations do important work raising awareness but METAvivor is the only organization in the US that exclusively funds MBC research through a peer-reviewed process, awarding research grants to individuals and groups who are actively engaged in MBC research and whose proposals are distinctly promising in this area.
Robyn Gilden, PME’s Materials Manager, supports this organization and its mission. Robyn lost her sister-in-law, Rebecca, to metastatic breast cancer. “Rebecca wanted more than anything to have the opportunity to watch her children grow and prosper. Unfortunately, she did not get that chance. I’m overjoyed that PME is fundraising to aid in the fight against breast cancer, to hopefully give more women and men what they want most of all: more time with those they love,” said Robyn.
To show your support, purchase one of our miniDOT loggers, miniDOT Clear loggers, or a miniWIPER during October or November and 2.5% of the purchase price will be donated to METAvivor.org. It is our hope that this donation will aid important research that will extend and improve the quality of life for metastatic breast cancer patients.