For 20 years, Dana Brantley-Sieders worked in academic research studying breast cancer. But in 2018, she found herself on the other side when she was diagnosed with hormone receptor- positive invasive ductal carcinoma. Dana never felt a lump; it was discovered during her annual mammogram.
“I thought I knew about breast cancer before I was diagnosed, but did I get an education,” she recalled. Her diagnosis and subsequent treatment led to a shift in her priorities. “For the next phase of my career, I really wanted to focus on helping patients in the here and now.” This led to her accepting a position with Susan G. Komen in 2021 on the scientific and evaluations programs team as a research evaluation manager.
“On the evaluation team, we get to look at all of Komen’s research and look at what comes out of it – the research discoveries, how we’ve contributed to changes in breast cancer care and how donor dollars support research that helps scientists translate discoveries into real, truly impactful, tangible things and tools that are used in the clinic can help patients and survivors,” she said.
Dana’s work showcases that over the past 10 years, 19 FDA-approved breast cancer drugs have a connection to Komen. “We are able to show the points along the research pathway for each of the 19 drugs where Komen funding has helped in development and eventual clinical use, either through investments in direct studies or investments in people doing the research,” she said. “This shows Komen’s commitment to their vision of a world without breast cancer. Komen is truly putting their money where their mouth is.”
Funding research is crucial to finding the cures for breast cancer, and it’s important that donors understand where their money is going. “It’s hard to come up with extra dollars, and if you’re going to donate to charity and nonprofits, you want to make sure that your dollars are really going toward the mission,” Dana said. “When someone donates to Komen, something beneficial comes out of it. I think this is another point of pride for me working at Komen, knowing that these research dollars have in some way, some capacity, touched all these drugs.”
The 19 FDA-approved drugs are:
- Pertuzumab
- Trastuzumab Hyaluronidase
- Pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and hyaluronidase
- Margetuximab
- Fam-Trastuzumab Deruxtecan
- Ado-Trastuzumab Emtansine (T-DM1)
- Neratinib
- Tucatinib
- Sacituzumab Govitecan
- Pembrolizumab
- Olaparib
- Talazoparib
- Palbociclib
- Abemaciclib
- Ribociclib
- Elacestrant
- Everolimus
- Alpelisib
- Capivasertib
Our commitment to research
At Susan G. Komen®, we are committed to saving lives by meeting the most critical needs in our communities and investing in breakthrough research to prevent and cure breast cancer. Our Research Program is an essential driving force for achieving this mission.
Since our inception in 1982, Komen has provided funding to support research grants that have greatly expanded our knowledge of breast cancer and helped us understand that breast cancer is not just a single disease but many diseases, unique to each individual.
To date, Komen has provided nearly $1.1 billion to researchers in 47 states, the District of Columbia and 24 countries to support research that has resulted in a better understanding of breast cancer; earlier detection; personalized, less invasive treatments for what was once a “one-treatment-fits-all” disease; and improvements in both quality of life and survival rates.
Learn more about our continuing investment in research and the exciting research that we are funding, because nothing would make us happier than ending breast cancer forever.
