As surely as scientific advances have changes how breast cancer is detected, treated, potentially prevented, and certainly studied, breast cancer advocacy has changed how we think about the role of the breast cancer patient in the entire cancer research process. Once thought of as a passive participant in the treatment process, the breast cancer patient, or consumer as we are now called, has evolved into an important and influential partner. While breast cancer advocacy has been a movement that has substantively changed the medical research process, even now it is frequently misunderstood. In this book many of the key players and observers in this transition to tell their own stories.
The work represents viewpoints of the two largest breast cancer advocacy organisations, the leadership of the National Cancer Institute, the first Director of the DOD Breast Cancer Research Program, a basic scientist/researcher, two breast cancer clinician/researchers, and two members of the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industries. While each writer has his/her own unique experience and perspective, collectively they tell the story of how breast cancer advocacy has evolved to what is today.
