Why I'm Looking Forward to SABCS

Like many people, cancer is personal to me. My mother passed away from breast cancer when I was seven years old. Because I was so young, I was shielded from the worst of the details, but the experience has shaped much of my career in medicine and particularly oncology all these years later. I have a special appreciation for the history of cancer care and how much progress we’ve made since the 80s. Though much has changed, I’m reminded how much there still is to be done, especially when I notice who’s missing around the dinner table during the holidays.

For this reason, I am looking forward to the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) this year. SABCS does a wonderful job of including patients and bringing them to the forefront alongside the science. These women and men not only remind me of the gravity of our work, but they also give us crucial input that can improve our research. Insights from people living with the disease are a critical component as we design new studies and enable access for patients. Meetings like SABCS help bring us out of the “scientific bubble” and remind us of why we work so hard: the patients.

For those patients with metastatic breast cancer where long-term remission may not be a possibility and side effects are challenging to endure, we recognize the tremendous unmet needs, especially in traditionally underserved groups. We are committed to helping mitigate the disparities in care and access to treatment, decrease the number of metastatic diagnoses with early detection and more screenings, and finally, create better outcomes for these patients.

As a former practicing physician, I especially understand the importance of being able to offer patients more options. As a community, we’ve witnessed the recent emergence of antibody-drug conjugates and immunotherapies for the treatment of breast cancer but we still strive for more. With more treatments, we can get closer to the outcome our patients want: more time with their families and friends and a better quality of life. I take all of this to SABCS this year and hope to bring back insights, connections and inspiration from this incredible breast cancer community.