Accomplishments & Milestones

Reached Out to Candidates and Voters through Breast Cancer Caucus and Vote Breast Cancer Campaigns

Each presidential election cycle, NBCC conducts a campaign to educate the candidates about the meaningful public policy approaches necessary to end breast cancer and to give them an opportunity to show their support for our mission by signing our policy platform. We inform the public about where the candidates stand on NBCC’s agenda and encourage them to vote breast cancer.

Continually Advocating for Increased Funding for the DOD BCRP

Every year since 1992, NBCC advocates for additional funding for the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (DOD BCRP). This has resulted in more than $4 billion in new federal funding for breast cancer research, created new models of research and ensured consumer advocate participation in programmatic and peer review. Click below to see the chart of funding for the program by year.

DOD BCRP Funding

Artemis Project® Preventive Vaccine Awarded Contract with NCI PREVENT Program

NBCC’s Artemis Project Preventive Vaccine was awarded a contract with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as part of its competitive PREVENT Cancer Preclinical Drug Development Program. The PREVENT program is a peer-reviewed agent development program designed to support pre-clinical development of innovative interventions and biomarkers for cancer prevention and interception towards clinical trials.

Deadline 2020 White Paper Published Summarizing Accomplishments from the Campaign

NBCC published the Deadline 2020 White Paper that dives deep into the many successes of the campaign and lays out plans for the future. The report tells the story of Deadline 2020—how the science, business, and politics of breast cancer brought us to set a deadline, what we learned from taking on such a bold goal, our progress toward ending breast cancer and our next steps.

Independent Third Party Assessment Published on NBCC’s Work Over the Deadline 2020 Campaign

While we knew the Deadline 2020 Campaign was powerful on many levels, we thought it would be beneficial to have a Third Party Assessment of our work. The assessment confirmed the distinctive role NBCC plays in the breast cancer community: NBCC’s systematic understanding of research and development – including the connections among policy, scientific research, patient outcomes, and institutional structures – makes NBCC and its impact unique within the field of breast cancer research and advocacy.

NBCC Began Working on the NATALEE Trial

NBCC began its collaboration with Translational Research In Oncology (TRIO) and Novartis on a clinical trial of CDK4/6 inhibitors in early high-risk HR+/HER2- breast cancer, the NATALEE trial. NBCC advocates have been working closely with TRIO as an advocate partner to support this trial. Our advocates serve on the clinical trial steering committee, the data safety monitoring board, and the translational research committee.

Introduction of the Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act in Congress

The Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act, initiated by NBCC, is a bill to waive the 24-month waiting period for Medicare and the 5-month waiting period for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits for eligible individuals living with, and dying from, metastatic breast cancer. First introduced in 2018, NBCC continues to advocate for additional support and urges Congress to pass the bill.

NBCC Awards Seed Grant to Investigate Adaptive Immune Recognition of Dormant Disseminated Tumor Cells

Through the generous support of National Philanthropic Trust, NBCC’s Artemis Project® awarded a seed grant to Dr. Cyrus Ghajar, Director, Laboratory for the Study of Metastatic Microenvironments, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Dr. H. Kim Lyerly, George Barth Geller Professor of Cancer Research, Duke University School of Medicine, to determine whether the adaptive immune system can recognize and kill dormant disseminated tumor cells (DTCs), and if not, which aspect of DTC biology should be targeted to enhance T cell recognition.

Launched DNA.Land to Develop Large-Scale Genetic Database for Breast Cancer Research

NBCC partnered with the New York Genome Center to develop a large-scale resource to study breast cancer. The DNA.Land project, supported by an Artemis Project® seed grant, asked women and men who participated in genealogy tests to answer questions about breast cancer, including their family history. These genomic data, along with answers from the breast cancer questionnaire, developed by NBCC trained advocates and researchers, will be used to develop a large-scale database that researchers can use to identify genetic variants that impact risk and recurrence of the disease.

NBCC Honors U.S. Congressman John Lewis with First-Ever Deadline Champion Award

In 2016, NBCC honored U.S. Congressman John Lewis with the Deadline Champion Award for his leadership in our mission to end breast cancer.

Launched Advanced Project LEAD®

Advanced Project LEAD was first piloted in 2016. The program is meant to further train Project LEAD graduates who have a deep interest in, and propensity for taking leadership roles in breast cancer research advocacy as NBCC representatives.

Pre-clinical Work begins for Artemis Project® Preventive Vaccine

Keith Knutson, Professor of Immunology, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, began pre-clinical work on the Artemis Project preventive vaccine. These efforts have resulted in a preventive vaccine development plan presented to the Food and Drug Administration in 2018, with plans for a Phase I safety trial in 2021.

NBCC Awards Seed Grant to Investigate Candidate Viral Causes of Breast Cancer

Through the generous support of National Philanthropic Trust, the NBCC Artemis Project® awarded a seed grant to Dr. Paul Ewald, Professor of Biology and Director, Program on Disease Evolution at the University of Louisville, and Dr. Vladimir Belyi, Assistant Professor at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The researchers took a systematic look through two sets of breast cancer genomes for evidence of infectious agents.

Inaugural Advocate Leadership Summit

NBCC convened the first Advocate Leadership Summit, a unique summit of leaders, for three days of educational and strategy-building sessions to train and empower breast cancer advocates and others by providing information and background about breast cancer as well as the tools and tactics necessary to take a leadership role in breast cancer advocacy.

NBCC Awards Seed Grant to Look for Vaccine Targets in DCIS Samples

Through the generous support of National Philanthropic Trust, NBCC’s Artemis Project® awarded a seed grant to Dr. Gregory Hannon, Professor and HHMI Investigator at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Dr. H. Kim Lyerly, George Barth Geller Professor of Cancer Research, Duke University School of Medicine. Drs. Hannon and Lyerly collaborated on efforts to evaluate the biology of human ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) through sequencing (RNAseq).

More than 300,000 Signatures Delivered to the White House

NBCC advocates collected more than 300,000 signatures and delivered them to the White House in 2013, asking for President Obama’s commitment to prioritize ending breast cancer.

NBCC Awards Seed Grant to Identify Possible Vaccine Targets for Preventive Vaccine

Through the generous support of National Philanthropic Trust, NBCC awarded its first seed grant to Dr. Paul Spellman and Dr. Joe Gray of Oregon Health and Science University, to identify possible vaccine targets using existing and developing human genomic data within different breast cancer subtypes. The analysis generated a prioritized list of potential breast cancer specific targets to be considered for incorporation into a preventive vaccine. This seed grant is part of NBCC’s Artemis Project® for a preventive vaccine, which brings together a collaborative group of advocates and scientists to take a strategic, systematic yet broad approach to the development of a breast cancer vaccine.

Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act Introduced

NBCC initiated the Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act, initially introduced in 2011, which laid out a strategy for government involvement towards NBCC’s deadline to end breast cancer by January 1, 2020. This bill would have created a national commission to capitalize on federal and private investments already made in science and technology development and develop a plan to accelerate innovation in breast cancer. NBCC did all that is possible to make this bill a reality, gaining 274 House and 54 Senate cosponsors for the 2015 bill. The bill, which had extensive bipartisan support, fell into the political abyss of inaction and partisan politics. House leadership refused to bring it to the floor for a vote, despite many NBCC grassroots campaigns.

Hosted Media Project LEAD®

Health editors and writers of women’s magazines, journals, general and social networking media came to NBCC’s Media Project LEAD in New York City. The training included a curriculum on epidemiology, evidence-based health care and statistics, introduction to the biology of breast cancer, and communicating health information.

NBCC Set a Deadline to Know How to End Breast Cancer by January 1, 2020

To renew the sense of urgency to our mission and to refocus global efforts on ending breast cancer and saving lives, NBCC set a deadline to know how to end breast cancer by January 1, 2020, Breast Cancer Deadline 2020®. NBCC created a strategic plan of action to achieve the deadline. The plan focused on primary prevention, stopping women from getting breast cancer, and understanding and preventing metastasis (the spread of cancer).

Launched an Advocate-Led Research Initiative, the Artemis Project®

The Artemis Project is an advocate-led, innovative, mission-driven approach of strategic summits, catalytic workshops, research action plans, and collaborative research efforts of various stakeholders focused on two areas: (1) Primary Prevention: How do we stop people from getting breast cancer? and (2) Prevention of Metastasis: How do we stop people from dying of breast cancer?

Developed a Framework for a Health Care System Guaranteeing Access to Quality Health Care for All

The Framework, developed by NBCC’s Board of Directors, with input from many experts and groups, is based on the organization’s Principles for Guaranteed Access to Quality Health Care for All adopted in 2003 and addresses a legislative approach to coverage issues. NBCC’s Framework envisions a health care system that covers everyone and pays for all the care an individual needs, not necessarily all the care they want. We envision a system that will pay for care that is effective, both in terms of efficacy and cost, and care that is based on quality evidence, with a non-political federal-level board authorized to make many of these decisions.

Hosted a Strategic Consensus Conference on Biomarker Research

NBCC gathered a group of 50 world-renowned researchers from academia, government, and industry, key representatives from regulatory agencies, leaders in the breast cancer advocacy movement, and public policy and ethics experts for a Strategic Consensus Conference aimed at understanding the promise of biomarker research and to ensure that this research efficiently answers clinically relevant questions about breast cancer. A report on the conference, Shaping the Future of Biomarker Research in Breast Cancer to Ensure Clinical Relevance, was published in Nature in April 2007.

NBCC Began Working with NCI on TAILORx Trail

NBCC began working with the National Cancer Institute on a clinical trial, TAILORx, which would help determine if certain women with ER-positive, node-negative, early breast cancer (approximately 50% of women diagnosed with breast cancer) required chemotherapy or if they would do as well on hormonal therapy, such as tamoxifen, alone. NBCC advocates served on the steering committee, gave input into the clinical trial protocol design, and served on the Data Safety Monitoring Board. NBCC developed an extensive outreach plan to spread the word about the trial and to help women decide whether to enroll.

Creation of Quality Care Project LEAD®

Quality Care Project LEAD was a four-day course that taught breast cancer advocates how to improve the quality of health care for everyone through systems change. This course, part of NBCC’s Quality Care Initiative, built upon our vision of quality care to provide advocates the tools to identify opportunities and develop strategies for improving the quality of health care in their communities.

Creation of International Project LEAD®

International Project LEAD is a training course modeled on NBCC’s Project LEAD curriculum that covers the basics of cancer biology, genetics, epidemiology, research design, and advocacy, with an emphasis on global clinical trials.

Top 25 Most Influential Groups in National Health Policy

As a testament to the power of NBCC advocates, NBCC is named one of the top 25 most influential groups in national health policy in a University of Chicago survey.

Launched the “Not Just Ribbons” Campaign

NBCC launched an extensive national publicity campaign entitled “Not Just Ribbons.” The first public service campaign in NBCC’s 11-year history was designed to attract new advocates to the cause and served as a reminder that pink ribbons and postage stamps alone will not end breast cancer.

Building on the Success of Project LEAD®, NBCC Creates Clinical Trials Project LEAD

Clinical Trials Project LEAD is a four-day advanced course open to graduates of the Project LEAD Institute. The course focuses on understanding and improving breast cancer clinical trials research. This course, part of NBCC’s Clinical Trials Initiative, trains advocates to participate in all levels of the clinical trials process, from evaluating trial design to serving on Institutional Review Boards and Data Safety Monitoring Boards.

Quality Care Initiative and Quality Breast Cancer Care Guidebook

NBCC developed an initiative to put the power in the hands of women with the disease to make informed treatment decisions and promote systems change. We also created the Guide to Quality Breast Cancer Care, a consumer guidebook that helps those affected by breast cancer to better understand what quality care is and how to get it.

Initiated a Clinical Trials Initiative

NBCC educates members on the importance of clinical trials, increases the influence of breast cancer survivors in trial design, access, and accrual, and advocates for public policies to encourage access to trials and mandate insurance coverage of participation in qualified trials. Over the years, NBCC trained advocates collaborated on a number of important clinical trials designed to change the paradigm of treatment for women and men with breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Environmental Research Act First Introduced in the House

First introduced in the House in 1999, the Breast Cancer Environmental Research Act called for the creation of a national research strategy and a program to competitively fund collaborations of researchers and community groups to conduct research on environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer. In 2008 the bill was passed, however the version that was enacted into law did not include any of the elements that NBCC developed and had been working on for years and NBCC withdrew its support of the bill.

NBCC Participates in All Levels of Clinical Trials for the Drug Herceptin

A new model of collaboration is born when a pharmaceutical company takes the bold step of partnering with NBCC in all aspects of their clinical trial. The trial goes on to show the efficacy of Herceptin, and the company credits advocate involvement with dramatically shortening the time from discovery to the market.

Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act Introduced to Provide Funding for Treatment for Low-Income Women

NBCC channeled the outrage that low-income and uninsured women had regarding access to screening but not treatment into a public policy strategy and successful fight for a system of care, thus resulting in the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act. Thanks to NBCC’s advocacy, it was signed into law in October 2000. NBCC continues to advocate for the program and ensure that it is preserved, ensuring that individuals eligible for the program receive the appropriate screening and treatment they deserve.

NBCC Hosted its First World Conference

The first World Conference was held in Brussels in March 1997. NBCC brought together breast cancer advocates from around the world to discuss strategies for women to become involved in breast cancer decision-making within government, the scientific community, and industry. The conference endorsed the status of breast cancer advocates as equal partners with health professionals, scientists, and policymakers in preventing breast cancer, improving breast cancer detection and treatment, ensuring access to quality care for all, and eradicating the disease.

Hosted the Nation’s First Breast Cancer Think Tank

Designed to “shake up” the world of breast cancer, NBCC hosts the nation’s first Breast Cancer Think Tank, known as the Aspen Project. The gathering brings together a diverse group of creative thinkers who are leaders in their field. Inspired by graphic facilitators and “blue sky” envisioning, this innovative forum becomes an annual event and a catalyst for many of NBCC’s innovative programs.

Project LEAD®, NBCC’s Innovative Science Program for Breast Cancer Advocates

NBCC created Leadership, Education, and Advocacy Development (LEAD), an acclaimed science-based program designed to educate and train breast cancer activists to understand the language, concepts, and process of science and to participate in breast cancer research processes. Over 2,550 advocates have been trained through Project LEAD since the program began.

National Action Plan on Breast Cancer

In response to NBCC’s Petition, President Clinton launches the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer, an innovative collaboration of government, science, private industry, and consumers. NBCC members assume leadership positions and help identify the Plan’s priority areas.

2.6 Million Signatures Campaign

NBCC grassroots advocates collected more than 2.6 million signatures, representing the 1.6 million women in the United States who knew they had breast cancer, and the one million who already had the disease but had not yet been diagnosed, on a petition asking for a national plan to end breast cancer. Advocates delivered the signatures to President Clinton at the White House in October 1993. As a result of this Campaign, the President launched the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer.

$300 Million More Campaign

Research hearings held by NBCC and attended by prominent scientists working in breast cancer, help NBCC establish an optimal funding level for breast cancer research. Based on this research, NBCC’s $300 Million More Campaign is launched. As a result of the campaign, NCI receives an increased appropriation for breast cancer and the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program is created with an unprecedented model of consumer involvement and innovative research. Federal funding for this program, since its inception, has reached over $4 billion.

NBCC’s Annual Advocacy Training Conference Established

NBCC established an Annual Advocacy Conference to train women and men from across the country to become informed, active, and effective advocates of NBCC’s legislative agenda. NBCC’s annual Washington D.C. Lobby Day following the conference allowed members to use their newly acquired skills on Capitol Hill.

NBCC is Born

A small group of women decide that breast cancer needs a powerful advocacy arm with a single mission: to eradicate breast cancer. A coalition of organizations came together and NBCC is born, launching the breast cancer movement.

Creation of a Nationwide Grassroots Network

Organizations and individuals rise up across the country to join NBCC and become part of the movement. This powerful, effective, and diverse network of trained grassroots activists, gives breast cancer a meaningful voice in Washington, D.C. and state capitals, in laboratories and health care institutions.

Creation of a Grassroots Board

NBCC is a grassroots coalition of organizations that reflect the geographic, constituent, and political diversity that is breast cancer. Several organizations form the first NBCC Board of Directors that sets the public policy agenda of the coalition and develops and approves its positions and policies.

600,000 Letters Delivered to Congress and the President

NBCC’s first campaign, Do The Write Thing, set out to deliver 175,000 letters to Congress and the President asking for an increase in funding for research—one letter for each projected breast cancer diagnosis that year. In an extraordinary demonstration of NBCC’s grassroots power, we delivered more than 600,000 letters, resulting in a 50% increase in federal funding for breast cancer research.