Stage IV Breast Cancer: Lori's Patient Story

What happened, in summary

Lori Marx-Rubiner was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer when her son was 3 years old. Thirteen years later, she was still living with Stage IV disease and was on her fourth line of therapy after three previous treatments had stopped working. For Lori, metastatic cancer was never something that could simply be placed in the past.

That experience shaped her work as president of METAvivor, an organization focused on metastatic breast cancer research and patient support. Lori emphasized that people with metastatic disease live with the reality of cancer every day and may need one treatment after another as earlier therapies lose effectiveness. She saw research as the reason she had continued to have new treatment options.

Lori also challenged the idea that breast cancer is always curable. She wanted more funding directed specifically toward metastatic disease and stronger collaboration among researchers, patients, and advocates. Her hopes were personal as well as scientific: she wanted more time with her husband and son and the chance to experience future family milestones. AACR later reported that Lori died on August 2, 2017, and remembered her for her advocacy for patients, caregivers, and cancer research.