- Breast cancer survivor Mary Jo Wegenke shares her experience, calling it a “club you never want to join.”
- Dr. Jamie Bernard at MSU was inspired to pursue breast cancer research after her mother’s diagnosis in 2016.
- Her research focuses on how lifestyle and environment impact cancer risk, with the hopes of preventing the disease.
- Federal funding freezes are threatening her lab’s work, halting NIH grant reviews and limiting resources.
- Without new funding and students, Bernard fears critical cancer research may stall, impacting future prevention efforts.
"I had a few surgeries, which led to rounds of chemo and radiation, and then follow-up surgeries to complete the treatment," Founder of the You've Got This Project Mary Jo Wegenke said.
Like so many others, Mary Jo Wegenke is a breast cancer survivor.
"Once you've been through it, it's a club you never want to join—or have anyone you love join that club," Wegenke said.
A similar story...
"Around 2016, my mom was diagnosed,"
...created a life goal for Dr. Jamie Bernard at Michigan State University.
"And about a year later, I started doing breast cancer research here myself," Bernard said.
Her research looks at how the environment and lifestyle can influence cancer risk.
It also aims to discover new medicines to find a cure.
"The goal would really be to prevent breast cancer," Bernard said.
But that goal is at risk.
Dr. Bernard reached out to describe how her research is under threat due to federal budget cuts and freezes.
"There aren’t just specific areas of study that are being cut back. This is globally affecting all areas of research," Bernard said.
The grant funding Bernard receives from the National Institutes of Health is on hold, as review panels are unable to meet to evaluate new applications.
For now, temporary university funding is keeping her lab going.
But come fall, she may not be able to accept new students—students she says are essential to pushing the science forward.
Students who, she says, drive the science to beat cancer before time does, for so many of our neighbors and their loved ones.
"If we don't have anybody doing that deep work and research to help find the ‘why’ in what we can do, we're really at a loss. We can never get ahead of how we can prevent this disease—or minimize the effects of it," Wegenke said.
Wegenke is the founder of the You've Got This! Project. She offers gift treatment starter packs to adults in the process of receiving chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment. I have the infromation linked for neighbors who want to donate or find a pack for neighbors in need.
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