METAvivor: A Driving Force in Research, Advocacy, & Hope
In this episode of Our MBC Life, we sit down with Dr. Kelly Shanahan, the president of METAvivor, a U.S. nonprofit solely dedicated to funding research for metastatic breast cancer (MBC) while also supporting patients through advocacy and community. Our guest shares METAvivor’s mission, their biggest milestones, and how their work is driving critical research that aims to extend lives and improve quality of life for those living with MBC.
We dive into how METAvivor prioritizes research funding, the importance of patient involvement in advocacy initiatives, and the Stage IV Stampede—a powerful advocacy event raising awareness and amplifying the voices of the MBC community.
Tune in to hear how METAvivor is shaping the future of MBC advocacy and how you can get involved to make an impact.
Episode Notes:
Learn more about METAvivor’s Stage IV Stampede
Meet the Guest of the Episode
Kelly Shanahan, M.D.
In 2008, Dr. Kelly Shanahan had everything going for her: a busy and successful ob-gyn practice; a precocious 9 year old daughter; and a well used passport from traveling all over the world with her family to attend conferences, with a liberal dose of vacation on the side. When she was diagnosed with stage IIB breast cancer, she considered it a mere bump in the road.
And for five years, breast cancer was an aside, something to put in the past medical history section of forms. Even when she developed sudden back pain, Kelly never thought it could be breast cancer rearing its ugly head – a pulled muscle, a herniated disc maybe, but not what it turned out to be: metastatic breast cancer in virtually every bone in her body, with a fractured vertebrae and an about to break left femur. Kelly was diagnosed in 2013, on her 53rd birthday.
Neuropathy from the chemo cost her her career, but she has found a new purpose in advocacy. Kelly is the current president of METAvivor, a member of the Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance, a Komen Advocate in Science, on the symptom intervention committee of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, a grant reviewer and research advocate. She is passionate about getting patients to the table in the design, implementation, and follow up of clinical trials. Follow her on Twitter @stage4kelly.
Kelly Shanahan is a mother, a wife, a daughter, a doctor, a woman LIVING with metastatic breast cancer.
