Funding Breast Cancer Treatment for Those Who Need It Most

Did you know breast cancer is not only the most commonly occurring cancer in women, but also the most common type of cancer worldwide? 

Unfortunately, outcomes for women facing breast cancer are largely impacted by where in the world patients live. Cancer deaths are much higher in developing regions, and sub-Saharan Africa has the highest mortality rates globally.

That’s why our 2022 Greater Giving initiative is focused on funding breast cancer treatment in Ethiopia. This year, together, we can help change the state of breast cancer in the developing world.

Our Annual Greater Giving Initiative

If you’ve seen the special-edition pink packaging on our hero lash and brow serums, then you might know a bit about our Greater Giving initiative. Every October, we donate proceeds from the sale of our pink products around the world to global breast cancer charities.

This year’s program offers the chance to make an even bigger impact, with a goal of donating $50,000 to the Ethiopia Breast Cancer Initiative created by City of Hope, a leading cancer treatment and research organization and our longtime partner.

In Ethiopia, Improving Patient Outcomes Is Within Reach

Why Ethiopia? It is the second most populous African country with one of the lowest GDPs and ratios of healthcare providers per patient. Most breast cancer patients are young women aged late 30s to early 40s, 75 percent of whom present with late-stage disease associated with premature death and suffering. Yet, two-thirds of breast cancers are estrogen receptor positive which, when detected early, is potentially curable with surgery and tamoxifen, a pill costing $1.50 USD per month.

City of Hope’s project in Ethiopia is led by Dr. Lesley Taylor, a breast surgical oncologist with a decade-long commitment to global health initiatives benefiting underserved communities. The important work being done as part of this project includes: 

• Nursing Education and Research projects support training and the study of interventions to improve clinical practices. City of Hope mentors graduate students in Hawassa, Ethiopia. Faculty teams from Ethiopia and City of Hope are together developing an oncology nurse training program to implement in sub-Saharan Africa, benefiting 360 nurses who will then teach others.

• Pathology Capacity Building which aims to improve breast cancer diagnosis and treatment by training laboratory technicians and providers in tissue processing and analysis. To date, over 263 technicians from Ethiopia and 10 other African countries have participated, and over 60 are currently active in an ongoing mentorship program.

• Oncology Unitprojects focus on strengthening breast cancer treatment in a hospital in Hawassa, Ethiopia which serves 23 million people. A Breast Cancer Specific Database will build infrastructure to study cancer biology and interventions to improve patient outcomes. ​The Patient Advocacy project explores ways to support patients in treatment. The Radiation Oncology program will be the third in the country.

• ER positive Breast Cancer Biology:The long-term goal is to understand breast cancer characteristics and contribute to discoveries of novel therapies by including African scientists, collaborators, and populations in scientific inquiry. 

Supporting women and their families suffering from the pain, doubt, and life-changing circumstances of breast cancer takes more than love and best wishes. It takes dedicated professionals working around the clock, and the financial resources to provide for the urgent physical needs of patients as well as long-term research seeking better treatments and ultimately a breast cancer cure.

That’s why we’re so grateful for all the important work City of Hope does here in the U.S. and in places like Ethiopia—and grateful to you for joining us in this fight.

To learn more about City of Hope, visit its website.