As we look back on 2024, we take a moment to reflect. This year has been one of growth, impact, and unwavering commitment to supporting breast cancer patients and their caregivers. Through donations, advocacy, networking, and your stories we've made significant progress in raising awareness, bringing you critical research, and providing vital resources and education for patients and their families. In this review, we’ll highlight the key achievements of the past year and look ahead to the continued work needed to bring knowledge and empowerment to more patients in the years ahead.
Patient Stories
We published 29 patient stories from members of the community on Our Voices blog. Sharing stories can bring a community together, provide support or catharsis, and let others know that they are not alone on their breast cancer journeys. Experiences with early and late-stage diagnoses, mental health struggles, surgeries, relationships with family and friends, and how patients were coping with their new realities are but a few topics we received. CBCN writers also contributed educational, knowledge-forward, and call-to-action articles on topics about pharmacare, screening, reconstructive implants, and healthcare demographics to inclusive resources, and genomic testing.
Campaigns
2024 marked the 30th anniversary of CBCN. To commemorate this milestone, we gathered together snapshots of our past accomplishments in patient education, advocacy, and networking.
We also launched our Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) campaign, which focused on this aggressive form of the disease. Assets from this campaign included media pieces, letter writing, and awareness promotion.
FinancialNavigator
The financial burden of cancer is a less-discussed aspect of the disease. This is why CBCN created FinancialNavigator, a searchable database of financial and practical aid programs for breast cancer patients and their caregivers. In 2024, we added the Akynzeo Patient Support Program by Knight, which funds side-effect support drugs, to our database.
MedSearch
There were many changes to MedSearch, CBCN’s searchable oncology drug information database in 2024. These included new drug entries as well as updates for established drugs related to the approval process and provincial funding. Pembrolizumab (Keytruda), capivasertib (Truqap), abemaciclib (with endocrine therapy), and trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu) were funded in certain provinces. Abemaciclib (Verenzio) and pembrolizumab were approved by PCPA – provincial review ongoing. Capivasertib (Truqap) was approved – not yet reimbursed by CDA and CADTH, and is under review by PCPA along with sacituzumab govitecan (Trodelvy). Trastuzumab biosimilar (Trazimera) was listed on provincial drug formularies, and we added goserelin (Zoladex LA) to MedSearch, as well as updating the PSP for neratinib (Nerlynx).
Health Policy and Advocacy
CBCN connected with breast cancer patients to provide their lived experience for our patient submissions to the Canada Drug Agency (CDA) and L’Institut national d'excellence en santé et services sociaux (INESSS) for ribociclib (Kisquali) with aromatase inhibitor for early-stage HR+, HER2− breast cancer, and paclitaxol-nab aka nab-paclitaxol (Abraxane) for metastatic HR+, HER2-, HER2+, Triple Negative breast cancer.
We also regularly submit feedback on various health policies and recommendations that may impact patients, highlighting the need for equity and drug access. Feedback we provided to CDA in 2024 includes funding algorithms for HR+/HER2 low, HER2-low, and HR+/HER2-negative breast cancers. CBCN also submitted input to CDA for reimbursement recommendations for various drugs such as sacituzumab govitecan, Paxlovid, capiversatib, pembrolizumab (MSI-H or dMMR solid tumors), and abemaciclib. CBCN also conducted letter-writing campaigns on breast cancer awareness, drug access, and participated in 6 health policy consultations at the federal level.
Patient Education
CBCN conducted six online patient education programs, including four webinars and two Questions & Experts sessions, with experts in different fields of oncology. Our education webinars help patients keep current with the latest research and advancements in treatment, while the Q&E sessions allow expert voices to answer your questions regarding breast cancer-related topics that are important to you.
- Advancements in Care for Metastatic Breast Cancer
- Advancements in Care for Early-stage Breast Cancer Tough Topics in Cancer (Oncofertility, Sexual Health and Genetic Testing)
- Advancements in Care for Triple Negative Breast Cancer
- Questions & Experts: A Medical Oncologist Answers Your Questions about Treatments for Metastatic Breast Cancer
- Questions & Experts: A Medical Oncologist and an Oncology Pharmacist Answer Your Questions About Systemic Side Effect Management
General Education and Resources
We produced two new patient magazines last year, Faces of Hope: Navigating Life With TNBC and Redefining Beauty and Appearance After a Breast Cancer Diagnosis. These magazines brought together the most relevant articles and stories from Our Voices blog, allowing patients to deep dive into these specific topics of interest.
Our handbook, Never Too Young: Practical and Emotional Support for Young Women with Breast Cancer, was updated to reflect the most current information for young women diagnosed with breast cancer. On the other end of the spectrum, CBCN also produced a new guide, Considerations of Care: A guide for older adults with breast cancer and their caregivers. This guide provides help navigating the different considerations that older adults require during treatment and diagnosis than younger patients, as well as a dedicated section for caregivers.
Genetic and genomic testing are areas which are gaining attention as important aspects in assessing risk for breast cancer. To address the questions which often arise around hereditary forms of breast cancer, CBCN put together our Hereditary Breast Cancer Fact Sheet.
Advocacy Guides and Toolkits
Last year, we added two more digital advocacy guides for patients, Connected Care – Accessing Your Electronic Health Records and Understanding Breast Density. Our guides are tools designed to help breast cancer patients understand and navigate the ways they can advocate for change in areas that are important for their healthcare needs.
Conferences and Research
To ensure CBCN continues to offer the most up-to-date information and resources to the breast cancer community, it's crucial that we remain informed about the latest news, advancements, and research in oncology. Below are some of the conferences that CBCN participated in or presented at in 2024, either virtually or in person:
- Canadian Centre for Applied Research in Cancer Control (ARCC) conference
- American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting
- European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO)
- ESMO Breast Cancer 2024
- San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS)
- Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology (CANO) annual meeting
- Canadian Association of Medical Oncologists (CAMO) annual meeting
- Clinical Trials Ontario conference (CTO)
- Juravinski Cancer Centre (JCC) and Walker Cancer Centre Uro-oncology Forum
- Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health Symposium
To pass the knowledge from these conferences on to our community, we created Clinical Trials Connected, a new newsletter focusing on research highlights from national and international breast cancer symposiums and conferences, as well as recruiting open trials in Canada.
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