Blog

Joining the Fight Against Breast Cancer

February 8, 2012

Currently, a woman living in the U.S. has a 12.1% risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer — that’s 1 out of 8 women. Think about 8 women you know; mothers, sisters, friends, coworkers – that’s how close this disease is to each of us. It’s a disease that requires our attention, resources, and brightest minds to work collaboratively to beat it. Today, we announce another bold step in our mission: the launch of the Canary Breast Cancer Program.

We’re funding two forward-thinking research projects that will lay the foundation for a new Breast Cancer Early Detection Initiative. One study will focus on finding biomarkers in the blood of women diagnosed with breast cancer that may indicate the presence of tumor growth. The second study will develop an imaging modality to detect breast cancer at the earliest stages. As such, it offers great potential in detecting very small tumors– pinpointing the location for surgery or target therapies before the cancer has the chance to spread.

Building upon the successful models of our other research programs, we have a tremendous opportunity to develop early detection tools that will help save the lives of women all over the world.

Our work wouldn’t be possible without the support of our community. We invite you to take action, show your support by making a donation to the Breast Cancer Early Detection Initiative.

 Sharon Pitteri, PhD, Assistant Professor of Research at the Canary Center at Stanford, will be leading this bold initiative forward. In this video, she shares her inspiration for working in the field of early detection as well as a brief overview of the program structure and goals. 

httpv://youtu.be/4P1cLWJxC5Y