Every December, as many look ahead to the holiday season and start making plans to ring in the New Year, the top minds in breast cancer research are instead making their way towards Texas for the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS).
The most highly anticipated breast cancer research event of the year brings together over 10,000 researchers, clinicians, and patient advocates for four days of the latest on the future of screening, treatment, and risk reduction.
This year, a group of stage 4 thrivers in our community approached The Breasties and shared a collective desire to attend the symposium together to ensure that people living with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) were not only represented but meaningfully included in the conversations shaping their care.
The community-led initiative, supported and funded by Maria Russo and a few anonymous donors, came to be thanks to the power of community, partnership, and our shared belief that everyone impacted by breast cancer deserves to have a seat at the table.
The thrivers behind this effort shared with The Peak why people living with MBC must have a seat at the table at forums like SABCS and what they hope to learn—and share back with the community—after the symposium.
What does having a seat at the table mean to you as someone living with stage 4?
Wren Morrobel (WM): Having a seat at the table as someone living with Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer means being seen, heard, and acknowledged in a space where we’re too often overlooked.
The metastatic community is frequently forgotten or pushed to the margins because our reality doesn’t fit the “survivorship” narrative so many people are comfortable with. Our journey is lifelong, not temporary, and people don’t fully understand those struggles that we face every single day, whether physical, emotional, or psychological. We don’t get to ring bells or finish treatment, and that can make us feel isolated, exiled, or even feared within the broader breast cancer world.
But we deserve representation, understanding, and support just as much as anyone else.
Being included—truly included—means our struggles are recognized, our needs are prioritized, and our voices matter.
It means early-stage survivors stand with us, not around us. It means acknowledging that we didn’t choose this, we didn’t cause this, and we’re still here fighting for more time.
A seat at the table gives us power, visibility, and validation. And at the end of the day, we deserve all of that because stage 4 needs more.
If you could share one thing about your experience living with stage 4 breast cancer with a researcher, what would it be?
Katrina Pielli (KP): The power of hope and the central role they play in [providing it].
As an MBC Thriver, I will always be in treatment. That treatment looks different day to day, and side effects change, which impacts our daily activities. With each new treatment line, we experience new impacts on our lives, which can change how we live and how we show up for our families, friends, and ourselves.
A quote that has stuck with me from a book is, “Hope is the pillar that holds up the world,” and for Thrivers, that is never more true.
We hope for a new medication, a new clinical trial, a new approach to treating MBC that will extend our lives and, one day, cure our cancer.
Living with MBC means cancer has a permanent residency in my mind—always the annoying neighbor that plays music too loud or bangs on the wall to disrupt your day. It is the hope that a researcher right now is working on a medication that will allow me to outlive my parents and live a life free of cancer, that allows me to endure and thrive despite the annoying neighbor that is MBC.
When it comes to conversations around quality of life for those living with stage 4, what does meaningful shared decision-making look like to you?
Adrienne Chenault (AC): Decision-making is a full-time job for Thrivers living with metastatic breast cancer.
The weight of making life-altering decisions on a regular basis leads to mental and emotional exhaustion. There have been moments where I was frozen by the choices laid in my lap, unable to trust myself, while at the same time knowing my input could save me from suffering on a treatment that is not right for me.
Thrivers are multifaceted and deserve more than a one-size-fits-all approach. In these moments, collaboration and communication are the only way through.
Meaningful shared decision-making begins with reflecting on the lifestyle you are fighting to preserve, sharing what elements you’re willing to release versus those that are non-negotiable, and being heard!
The best doctors listen to understand and present options that bring you closer to your ideals. Knowing that your concerns are valued by your team builds trust and self-confidence. With a foundation of trust, Thrivers and their doctors can work together to create a treatment plan that optimizes their quality of life.
It’s my hope that every Thriver will feel empowered to advocate for the best possible quality of life!
What are you most looking forward to at SABCS this year?
AC: I’m looking forward to forming new relationships with members of the community and working together to create positive change for Thrivers.
Line Hinojosa (LH): I am looking forward to sharing space with people who all have one common goal: to make life easier for breast cancer patients and to find a cure for this awful disease.
I am so excited to be with all the brilliant minds who will speak on the newest research and therapies for treating breast cancer. I believe this will give me a renewed sense of hope and excitement. I am also looking forward to networking with other Thrivers.
KP: I am most looking forward to talking with researchers who, quite literally, hold the keys to our futures as MBC Thrivers.
Bringing a patient advocate and Breastie perspective to the conversations with these gifted scientists, academics, and medical professionals is important to help shape how they approach their work.
Sharing this experience with other Breastie Thrivers and being in community is a gift in and of itself. I’m thrilled to help advocate for greater financial and geographic equity in clinical trials, reiterate that “stage 4 needs more” research and progress toward a cure, and be a positive face with a fierce message for SABCS!
About the Thrivers at SABCS
Adrienne Chenault was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer at 38 years old after a year of treatment for an early-stage diagnosis. Since her diagnosis, Chenault says that she’s had to face the unique challenges presented to young people with cancer, with concerns dismissed due to age.
“My experiences have ignited a passion in me to not only advocate for myself but to be the voice for others with this diagnosis,” says Chenault. “It is my hope that I can further support my community through more public advocacy work using the skills acquired in my 15-year career in clinical research to promote positive change in the experiences between Thrivers, researchers, and medical staff.”
Lynn Reublinger has been navigating survivorship as a stage 4 thriver for almost 10 years. However, the constant treatment has had both a physical and psychological toll, Reublinger explains, which is why she wants to bring conversations around quality of life, including the physical and emotional side effects of treatment and financial toxicity, to the forefront.
“Longevity is not often talked about enough, and I think it’s important to amplify the need for Integrative Oncology in addition to the standard level of care,” says Reublinger.
Katrina Pielli was diagnosed with stage 4 de novo at 46, just months after a clear mammogram. Living in a small rural town, Pielli is intimately familiar with the need for more thorough, holistic resources for young thrivers who have a lifetime of treatment ahead of them.
After finding The Breasties, which Pielli says changed her perspective on MBC, and becoming involved as a peer mentor for Living Our Breast Lives, Pielli hopes to continue to give back to the community with what she learns at SABCS.
Line Hinojosa thought MBC was a death sentence when she received her stage 4 de novo diagnosis at 35 years old. But community has proven to Hinojosa that that isn’t the case.
As a nurse practitioner who cares for patients with chronic illnesses, Hinojosa says, “Life has definitely come full circle for me as I have had to learn how to navigate chronic illness myself.” She hopes to draw on her professional to educate fellow thrivers about the latest trials and research.
Wren Morrobel faced a recurrence just a year after an early-stage triple-negative diagnosis at 29. She has successfully remained on the same immunotherapy for the past six years, during which time she has found new ways to give back to the MBC community through the podcast Living Our Breast Lives.
To share as much information as she can with fellow thrivers, Morrobel is a regular attendee of breast cancer conferences. “Attending the SABCS is a great way for us to learn about upcoming clinical trials and new treatment options that will provide much hope to our community,” she says.
