LBBC Women Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer Conference

April 13, 2015

I was blessed to spend this last weekend at the Living Beyond Breast Cancer’s (LBBC) ninth annual Women Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer Conference in Philadelphia. It was an incredible experience as I met women from all over the country who were like me…women who are sharing the same feelings of hope, feelings of fear, and feelings of uncertainty facing the realities of Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC).

As I sat on the plane, I thought about how lucky I was to be able to go this conference. But I am not going to lie, I was a little nervous about what I was heading into. I was a busy 44 year old mom of five who had walked into this mean diagnosis only eight months ago. I was suddenly going to be surrounded by women who have lived with this for several years, and some for many years. Women who have had multiple reoccurrences. Women who have had cancer in their lungs, on their liver, up and down their spine, and endured large amounts of physical as well as emotional pain. Was I really ready for this? Was I ready to take a glimpse into what was most likely going to be my future? Was I ready to create friendships with others that were going to find that their cancer had spread? Was I ready to create friendships with others whom I would lose?

But yet, I had a burning anxiousness to meet these women, to meet my sisters, to meet the others who had been thrown onto the same sinking ship with me. Could we together find ways to keep the ship afloat? Could the support we give each other be what I was needing? I was about to find out!

I was invited a day early to be trained in the first group of women in LBBC’s "Hear My Voice" outreach volunteer program. There were 32 of us ranging in age from 24 to 68 years old. (Yes, there are women with MBC in their twenties!) The training provided us tools to help better understand the MBC community. We were given information on available resources to help us connect with others living with MBC and help us to educate the public. I was thrilled to be in a room with such strong voices and an outburst of thoughts and ideas. Everyone so unique in their own way, but all sharing the same disease and the need to be heard.

Saturday morning, I entered the large conference room with several of my new friends that I had met the day before. We chose a table near the middle of the room. As the meeting began, they announced that there were over 300 women and men with Metastatic Breast Cancer in the room. And in that moment, I looked around and found myself in the center of a room full of others like me. I was in a room of women and a few men who were living my nightmare. Suddenly, I shuttered with chills as I realized that I was no longer alone with this disease. I was no longer the only person that I knew that had MBC. They were surrounding me, all ages, all races, from all over the United States. I was so overwhelmed in that moment that my eyes welled with tears. As the first speaker started, I couldn't hear what she was saying because I could only look at the faces of those around me. I sat and studied many of their faces, wondering how old they were, if they had children, and how they were dealing with it all. But I then quickly pulled myself together as our speaker, Dr. Minetta Liu was full of insightful information about promising new pathways in treating MBC.

Turns out, I was ready to attend this conference. I am so glad that I was able to go, as it was very eye opening and informational for me. I met some beautiful women whose new friendships are so dear to me. I hated to say goodbye to them. But with today’s technology, we will be able to stay in touch and support each other. And though there were moments throughout the weekend that were hard to swallow, I walked away stronger. Until they find the cure, the hope and courage of these women will keep that ship afloat.

If you are a woman facing MBC, I encourage you to go to this conference in 2016!

Thank you LBBC! I will be back next year!