"When a woman is told that she has incurable metastatic breast cancer, she feels that her life is over," says Dr. Clemons. "This research offers women the opportunity to be involved with research that may alter her care, that will provide answers, and ultimately provide a better understanding of why breast cancer spreads in the first place." The study also found that nearly 88% of patients who participated in the study would recommend the procedure to other patients with breast cancer despite an increase in anxiety or pain that resulted due to the procedure.

"It's important to offer women in this tragic situation an opportunity to take charge of their care," says Dr. Clemons. "If we can understand more about the types of cancer that become metastatic cancer, we are going to be in a much better position to develop treatment strategies to prevent breast cancer from developing in the first place."

"As somebody who looks after patients who are dying of this terrible disease, it is important that we continue to ask simple, pragmatic questions about how to improve their care," says Dr. Clemons. "The funding from the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation allowed us not only to ask these questions, but to answer them and help patients in practical and real ways."

This groundbreaking study will also be presented at the Best of ASCO in San Francisco, Boston and a number of International venues over the next few months.

Source: CANADIAN BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION (ONTARIO CHAPTER)