Programmatic efforts
Breast Cancer Portrait Project.
Our collection of stories has enabled us to create exceptional research questions focusing on age disparities and delayed diagnoses in the Young Breast Cancer community. We surveyed 455 Adolescent Young Adult (AYA) survivors in the United States to define and quantify the difficulties young women encounter when facing a breast cancer diagnosis. Our poster was presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Scientist-Survivor conference in April 2022.
YBCP has been accepted into the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer in Young Women (ACBCYW), as well as the California Breast Cancer Research Program’s (CBCRP) Quickstart Program. Through this effort, we seek to better communicate with medical professionals to create campaigns for earlier diagnosis of disease and access to treatment.
Community-Based Research.
The Young Breast Cancer Project (YBCP) grew from a photo project called the Breast Cancer Portrait Project (BCPP), spearheaded by our founder, Missy Peters. Young women diagnosed before the age of 40 were invited to share their diagnosis stories and sit for a portrait session. Each participant received a free gallery of images and was encouraged to keep sharing her story. 100 photoshoots were completed as part of the project. The individual stories collected have served as the dataset from which our research has grown, and the photos grace this very website.
PLEASE NOTE: Submissions are now closed for the Breast Cancer Portrait Project. Thanks to all who participated!
Breast Friend Nights.
An engaging and educational event for "our friends". Here we utilize live storytelling, the Portrait Project gallery, and our signature "Boobie Booth" to educate our friends, family, and coworkers on breast health. We find these events to be both incredibly healing for all individuals impacted by breast cancer and a wonderful opportunity to create an open dialogue about young breast cancer in our communities.
Storytelling + Advocacy.
Every effort of the YBCP is built on direct feedback from our community. We use survivor stories to define and quantify ways in which young women have slipped through the cracks and we deliver this feedback to 1) other young people, 2) physicians, 3) researchers 4) friends and family to inspire early detection in the next women. We are inclusive of all who align with our mission. Have a great idea? Working on efforts that coalesce? Please let us know. We serve to amplify our communal voice for the greater good.
SURVIVOR-STUDENT ALLIANCE (ssa).
YBCP’s Survivor-Student Alliance (SSA) emerged from our mission to facilitate education regarding young breast cancer. The SSA program allows young breast cancer survivors and thrivers to share their stories with medical students, average-risk college students, and others to put a human face to the alarming statistics around young breast cancer. The goal of the Survivor-Student Alliance is to utilize survivor stories and images to inform the next generation about the realities, myths, and consequences of breast cancer diagnoses under age 40. Our ultimate objective is to improve timely diagnoses and facilitate an informed dialogue between medical professionals and young patients.
Do you know a medical school, club, sorority, etc. that our Survivor-Student Alliance presentation may be a good fit for? These presentations are entirely free and can be customized toward your group. Contact us for more information.