NC to receive $2M for breast cancer research from Susan G. Komen

The $2M is part of a nearly $26 million investment that will fund 62 new research projects around the country.

The investment will support research in drug resistance and metastasis, triple negative breast cancer, new treatments and health disparities -- areas that scientists say are critical to new breast cancer research.

“More than 41,000 women and men will lose their lives to breast cancer this year alone. I lost my mother to the disease a few years back, and I myself have been treated for aggressive triple negative breast cancer. The idea that it could impact my daughters is unacceptable,” said Komen President and CEO Paula Schneider. “We all have a personal reason or passion that we support the fight against breast cancer, and we’re proud to invite people to support the work that means the most to them. It will take all of us working together to save lives and ultimately end this disease.”

Researchers at Duke University, Wake Forest University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will use the funds for various projects, including a study of how diet can contribute to treatment resistance, the roles of proteins in breast cancer progression and more.

Komen has invested $43.6 million in breast cancer research in North Carolina since 1982.

"We are so thankful for the friends, family and neighbors that fight alongside us, helping to reduce the number of breast cancer deaths in North Carolina, both on the ground and through research,” said Pam Kohl, executive director for Komen North Carolina Triangle to the Coast.