Foundation Team
Medical Editor:
Jean Kutner, MD, MSPH
Clinical Advisors
Janet L. Abrahm, MD
Ira Byock, MD
Wendy Y. Chen, MD, MPH
Laura J. Esserman, MD, MBA
Patricia Ganz, MD
Eric P. Winer, MD
Clinical Lead:
Catherine Finn, MSW, LCSW
A diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer affects all aspects of women’s lives — family and friends, work, play, finances and faith. To help women cope with this diagnosis and all its implications, the Informed Medical Decisions Foundation has developed a Shared Decision-Making® program called Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer: Making the Journey Your Own.
This program is for women who have been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, also known as Stage IV breast cancer. The Foundation has developed several other programs for early-stage breast cancer.
This program is intended to help women recognize they are not alone, maintain a positive outlook and make treatment decisions that are right for them. The documentary-style video features four real patients who describe living with breast cancer that has spread throughout their bodies and how they cope. Each describes the different treatments they chose, their goals, the physical and emotional process of achieving them, and the methods they developed for becoming active and productive after diagnosis. Clinician interviews include an oncologist and a hospice physician.
This program was developed with our production partner, Health Dialog. It is available as a DVD, a booklet and a web-based program (Health Crossroads®) for Health Dialog members.
