Frequently asked questions

Answered by a team member at METAvivor

• What is your mission?

  METAvivor exists to sustain hope for those living with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer (MBC). We are a volunteer-led, non-profit organization that funds vital research to help improve the longevity and quality of life for MBC patients. Passionately committed patients ourselves, we rally public attention to the urgent needs of the MBC community, help patients find strength through support and purpose, and make every dollar count as we work with researchers to extend and improve quality of life for MBC patients.

• How are donations used?

  METAvivor is led by volunteers, most of whom are living with metastatic breast cancer. We work to obtain grants and corporate sponsors to support our operational expenses. This allows us to ensure that donations can be entirely dedicated to our research grants that fund the cutting edge research that will ultimately save lives. Unless otherwise specified by the donor, 100% of every donation and 100% of proceeds from every fundraiser (after event expenses) goes into our research grants.

• What do we do - Research?

  METAvivor is the only organization in the US that exclusively funds MBC research through a scientific peer-review process. We award research grants to individuals with a clinical or other doctoral degree who are actively engaged in areas of metastatic breast cancer research, and whose proposals show distinct promise in making a difference for the stage 4 breast cancer community.

  Our mission is to transition metastatic breast cancer from a terminal diagnosis to a chronic, manageable disease with a decent quality of life.

• What do we do - Awareness?

  We bring attention to the specific issues of stage IV metastatic breast cancer, and raise public awareness about the facts of the disease. Each year, 200,000 Americans are diagnosed with breast cancer. Six to ten percent of these diagnoses are metastatic, or stage IV, and approximately another 30% of breast cancer patients develop metastatic breast cancer. Therefore, we believe that at least 30% of the funds given to breast cancer organizations should be dedicated to metastatic breast cancer.

• What do we do - Support?

  We know that a community of support is one of the most basic needs for anyone facing metastatic cancer. METAvivor began as a support group in Annapolis, Maryland, for local people living with metastatic breast cancer. Although we have evolved to focus primarily on public awareness and raising funds for metastatic breast cancer research, our original support program still remains intact as its own entity. We encourage people living with MBC to establish support programs in their own communities, and recommend taking our Peer-to-Peer Support Group leader webinar class.