Kristie L. Kahl

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned many meetings and events virtual, from medical appointments to family gatherings and celebrations. Now, the DONNA Foundation is throwing its running shoes into the cyberspace ring, with plans to hold its National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer virtually Feb. 12-14, 2021.

Through its “Everywhere, Together” campaign, the foundation announced that the DONNA Marathon Weekend and the Fearless Series, which together encompass all signature DONNA events, will be conducted in a virtual format through the spring of next year.

“We felt it was really important that we mitigate risk to the organization and to our runners and survivors, in particular, when making that decision,” says Michelle McCullough, chief financial officer of the DONNA Foundation, which provides financial assistance and support to those living with breast cancer and funds breast cancer research. “Gathering in large groups is just not a safe thing right now, and we felt that making that decision and planning for a really good unique virtual 

experience in 2021 would allow us to continue to provide financial support through our programs and to our survivors and really set us up to have a significant event in 2022.”

Although those events will be virtual, the foundation was able to host its February 2020 National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer, the only U.S. marathon dedicated to breast cancer research and care, without a hitch before the pandemic forced many into quarantine.

“It’s interesting now that we are where we are. And looking back, we can consider it a milestone, but at the time, we certainly didn’t know,” McCullough says. “For us, this is our signature event ... If we couldn’t have the race this year, it would have been devastating. We feel very fortunate that we were able to pull that off before things changed.”

She feels especially lucky that she got to participate in 2020 — her run that day qualified her for the Boston Marathon. “When I thought about what the race meant to me, (I realized it’s about) what it supports, as well as being able to (participate) in my community, (in the Beaches Town Center) that I run every single day. It was just kind of a no-brainer,” McCullough says. “I was really excited about the event because I ended up reaching my goal and qualifying for Boston, and I was able to do that on a really beautiful day running stride for stride, the whole 26.2 miles, with a dear friend of mine. (We crossed) the finish line together with lots of friends and family there waiting for me. It was probably the most special year ever.”

Bringing the 2021 run into the virtual space was key to holding a safe event. Another upside of that decision is that the new format will enable more people to participate. “Our hope is that we get participation not just nationwide but worldwide, to celebrate finish lines literally across the world to drive the awareness and support for our foundation that we need to continue our programs,” McCullough says.

The virtual setting will also foster flexibility in running the 2021 events, she says: “It’s going to be a lot of fun to allow participants to do things their way. They can create their own start and finish line.” This means that participants can sign up for the events and then run on their own. For example, someone signed up for the 5K would run 3.1 miles on their own, perhaps in their neighborhood or even on a treadmill.

In 2015, Allison Ruona received a diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ, right around the time of that year’s marathon weekend. A close friend was running in the event, and Ruona decided that she could not miss it the following year. She signed up in 2016 and has participated ever since.

“(Participating in the weekend is) another way to bring awareness to people,” Ruona says. “Anything that lets people talk about (breast cancer) in a positive light ... helps them to relate. It’s a good way to just get the message out there and get people to talk about it and be aware.”

McCullough notes that the race serves to recognize those affected by breast cancer. “We think of (the National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer) as a celebration of survivorship,” she says. “Our cancer patients and survivors, they live in this place of fear. And DONNA Marathon Weekend allows them to celebrate the hope and love that they’re surrounded with. That’s something that’s really special and unique. It’s not just another race, but there’s tremendous meaning behind it.”

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Articles

Organized as a virtual event, the DONNA Foundation’s 2021 National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer will allow participants to run in their neighborhoods — or on their treadmills. 

Participants of the DONNA Foundations 2021 National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer Will Lace Up Their Running Shoes Virtually

A patient receiving a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer might immediately worry about how the disease will affect their family dynamics. Among the many challenges: how to discuss the diagnosis with children of any age.

In partnership with METAvivor, a group dedicated to research, awareness and support focused on the needs of women and men living with metastatic breast cancer, CURE® spoke with patient ambassador Kate Watson about how a diagnosis of breast cancer that has spread to distant parts of the body affects everyone in the family. She also offered advice for parents facing this situation.

CURE®: What are some ways that a breast cancer diagnosis makes an impact on the whole family?

: First you’re shocked that this is the diagnosis that you’re facing. There’s fear, there’s anxiety. And you might be the one who’s going through all the physical changes and the treatment, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not weighing heavily on your family — your parents, your partner, your spouse, your kids. From the get-go, it’s important to open the lines of communication and make sure that everybody is on board with ... knowing that they’re going to be sharing how they’re feeling openly and letting the patient drive how the conversations will go. But the patients also have to be respectful that this has an impact on the whole family’s life.

Do you have any advice on how to have conversations with children about a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis?

When I received my diagnosis, my daughters were 2 and 4. I really struggled with (these questions): What’s the right way to tell them? What’s too much? What’s too little? It’s going to be a lifetime experience for them, but at the same time, they don’t really know any different when they’re that young. So, my first piece of advice would be to wrap your head around what the likely treatment plan will be before you even talk to your kids. Are you going to be on a type of drug where you’ll lose your hair?

Are you going to have surgeries that have a long recovery period? Once you know what it is that you need to explain to your kids, you can break it down into what’s age-appropriate, because you don’t want to scare them into thinking that Mom’s going somewhere tomorrow and that this is imminent; but it is a lifelong disease. So, my kids were involved. When I started to lose my hair, we had a hair-shaving party to make it a little less scary. I didn’t want to walk into the house one day and all of a sudden be bald, with my 2-year-old having no idea about what was going on.

I would suggest that if you’re going to treatment, use the same caregivers so you continue to make the routine as normal as possible in a very abnormal situation. That was helpful for us.

Can you recommend any particular resources?

Have a conversation with your hospital system’s oncology social worker. That was where I first started when searching for programs for my kids. When something arose while I was going through treatment, I was often in touch with them to ask for their advice: How do I frame this conversation with a kid who’s this age?

It’s also difficult because, when you’re raising kids, you never know if the behavior that they’re exhibiting is because Mom has cancer or if it’s just a normal kid thing. That’s what I found difficult and kept going over in my head: Is this cancer related? The social workers in the hospital system were really great at connecting me with local resources. That helped me think about the way that I was going to talk through what was happening before I actually sat down with my children.

Do you have any advice for other parents?

The (experts I consulted) made it very clear not to say that Mom’s going for medicine. You don’t want a kid to think that anytime they come down with an ear infection or cold or flu, taking over-the-counter stuff is the same thing. This is not the same as what Mom is taking.

And just like every person is different, every cancer is different. So, when you are out and about and see somebody who looks sick, that cancer is different from Mom’s or Dad’s cancer. You need to keep them from fearing the absolute worst from the day you get the diagnosis.

How does a metastatic cancer diagnosis affect families, especially children? CURE® spoke with Kate Watson, a patient ambassador for METAvivor, about the tricky balance of protecting and empowering kids.

How Metastatic Breast Cancer Affects Everyone in the Family

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Venclexta (venetoclax) in combination with Vidaza (azacytidine), Dacogen (decitabine), or low dose cytarabine (LDAC) to treat patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML), aged 75 or older, who have comorbidities that exclude them from intensive induction chemotherapy, according to the agency.

Today’s full approval is supported by the significant results that showed that Venclexta in combination with azacitidine extended overall survival for people with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia who cannot tolerate intensive induction chemotherapy," said Dr. Levi Garraway, chief medical officer and head of Global Product Development at Genentech, in a statement to 

Venclexta was originally granted accelerated approval by the FDA in November 2018 and, therefore, needed efficacy to be confirmed in further trials for full approval by the agency. The FDA based full approval on two trials, VIALE-A and VIALE-C.

In the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled VIALE-A trial, researchers evaluated Venclexta in combination with Vidaza (286 patients) or placebo in combination with Vidaza (145 patients). The agency-based efficacy results on improved overall survival.

The addition of Venclexta improved median overall survival, compared with placebo (14.7 months versus 9.6 months), reducing the risk for death by 34%. Moreover, 37% of those in the Venclexta treatment arm showed a complete remission, compared with just 18% in the placebo arm.

In the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled VIALE-C trial, researchers evaluated Venclexta in combination with LDAC (143 patients, compared with placebo in combination with LDAC (68 patients). The FDA based efficacy results from this trial on complete remission rates and the duration of complete remission.

The addition of Venclexta, compared with placebo, demonstrated superior complete remission rates (27% versus 7.4%). Moreover, the agent extended median duration of complete remission (11.1 months versus 8.3 months, respectively). However, in this trial, Venclexta did not significantly improve overall survival compared with placebo.

The most common side effects included nausea, diarrhea, thrombocytopenia, constipation, neutropenia, febrile neutropenia, fatigue, vomiting, edema, pyrexia, pneumonia, dyspnea, hemorrhage, anemia, rash, abdominal pain, sepsis, musculoskeletal pain, dizziness, cough, oropharyngeal pain and hypotension.

Of note, review for full approval of the Venclexta combination was conducted under the FDA’s Project Orbis, where the agency collaborated with the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration, the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency, Health Canada and Switzerland’s Swissmedic.

To learn more about this approval, check back later on what this means for those with AML.

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After granting accelerated approval in 2018, the Food and Drug Administration approved Venclexta in combination with Vidaza, Dacogen or low dose cytarabine in newly diagnosed patients with AML.

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Author | Kristie L. Kahl

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