At 41 years of age with no history of breast cancer in her family, Tami Eagle Bowling of Scotch Plains was diagnosed out of the blue with stage IV metastatic breast cancer (MBC). “I had a clean bill of health, high energy job in media, and was a mom to two small children,” she recalls. “I had just done a Boot Camp class before my mammogram!” Her breast cancer had already spread to her liver, therefore surgery was never an option. Since her diagnosis in April 2015, Tami has spent precious time educating others on the disease and methods of treatment, mentoring patients, and raising over $50,000 a year for research grants specific to stage IV treatment.
May 2019 is National Cancer Research Month and May 12-19 is National Women’s Health Week. Every year, approximately 1 in 8 women or 12% are diagnosed with breast cancer. It is the most common type of cancer among women in the United States, and second leading cause of death. In 2019, an estimated 268,600 American women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, and 62,930 women with pre-invasive breast cancer. As if an airplane fell from the sky every day, metastatic breast cancer kills 115 women and men daily and 42,000 per year.
Monica Zealand Hill of Maplewood, got the MBC diagnosis at age 33. A dear friend of Tami’s and fellow “METsister” advocate, Monica raised over $350,000 in her brief 22 months that followed. She died last month - leaving behind her husband, 3-year-old daughter, and many heartbroken friends and family members.
Tami advocates for the national organization METAvivor Research and Support, as did Monica as a Board Member. In Monica’s memory, Tami co-founded the METAvivors of NJ Facebook group with Lauren O’Brien, a community organizer and campaigner. Lauren founded the Union County chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in 2015. “Tami is incredibly inspiring, and was definitely accomplishing a lot independently, but I knew creating a statewide cohort would really empower her cause. I recommended creating a Facebook group so MBC-affected communities all around us could not only join our calls-to-action and events, but we could also centralize updated information.” Tami adds, “So many friends and family ask how they can help. Our page offers several ways to be actively involved. It was important to me that this group was not about discussing side effects and medical details, but to share steps that can propel MBC to becoming a chronic disease instead of a deadly one.”
While early detection of breast cancer is essential, the METAvivor organization broadcasts that more research funding must go towards stage IV metastatic breast cancer treatment. While 3-6% of patients are diagnosed with “denovo” stage 4, another 30% will eventually develop stage IV from earlier stages - with cancer cells spreading to other organs such as the brain, liver, and bones. Stage IV currently has no cure, but clinical trial drugs can significantly extend life expectancy from the typical 18 to 36-month timeframe. Yet less than 5 percent of U.S. breast cancer research funding goes to stage IV treatment. METAvivor insists on raising that dollar amount to 30 percent. Their national hashtag is #DontIgnoreStageIV
METAvivors of NJ is taking action on Monday, May 13th at the State House. The Senate will vote on bill S1874, to authorize the creation of breast cancer awareness license plates. Sponsored by Senator Ruiz and Senator Greenstein, this bill initially directed all funds to early detection research. “This is where 95% of funds go, but we (stage IV) are left out,” says Tami. “It is so important to know what your donations are funding.” She and Lauren lobbied to get the bill amended, and succeeded in earmarking 30% of funds raised through this license plate program to go to metastatic breast cancer research. After the bill passes both houses, METAvivors of NJ will take necessary next steps with the Governor’s Office, Department of Motor Vehicles, and the general public to secure those MBC research funds.
“This is just the beginning,” says Lauren. “There is so much more we have planned. Since our inception less than two weeks ago, we have 20 municipalities booked for mayoral proclamations and over 260 members. Tami and I are very excited about letting everyone know we exist.” Mayor Al Smith of Scotch Plains, NJ stated “It’s great to have a group where friends & family can help advocate for patients.”
Join METAvivors of NJ on Facebook for updates and a list of upcoming mayoral proclamations.
To donate, please visit www.metavivor.org.
