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Breast Cancer Organization - Our Cause
Friends’ History
“With all the money going into cancer research, I couldn’t believe that no scientists were looking for a way to detect breast cancer through a biological test. One researcher told me I had identified a niche that was not being addressed.” ~ Martha Kaley, Founder
After Martha was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, she started asking questions about how she might have found her breast cancer earlier. She was horrified to learn that the tumor the surgeon found in her breast might have continued growing for years before it could have been felt through self-examination or seen on a mammogram. Through talking to specialists in the field, Martha also learned how little research was being conducted in biological testing for breast cancer.
In order to designate donated funds toward a specific area, such as earlier breast cancer detection, existing cancer related non-profits required that a significant sum be contributed. Determined to promote breast cancer awareness and support research for an earlier detection method, Martha started raising money to meet the required donation level. She started by collecting recipes for patients at her husband Jim’s office for a cookbook. “Kaley’s Kooking Klips” was the source of the $4,400 in donations to the American Cancer Society.
Next, Martha and her friends sold pink ribbon t-shirts. Requests for the t-shirts were so overwhelming, Martha
asked her friends to form a committee, who became the core of the breast cancer organization. In 1995, after a long and arduous process, the non-profit breast cancer charity organization Friends...You Can Count On®
became official. The mission: to provide grants to scientists who are exploring bio-markers that indicate breast cancer
is present in the body. By offering financial support in the form of a breast cancer seed money grant of $40,000 to promising projects, scientists
find focusing their efforts on earlier breast cancer detection more appealing. This breast cancer charity organization allows scientists to further investigate
their theories so they can seek further funding elsewhere. In the past twelve years, Friends has granted over
$2 million to a variety of institutions and research projects throughout the world.
Some of Martha’s friends decided to hold a breast cancer research fundraising luncheon
for the new organization. The breast cancer charity luncheon sold out before the
invitations were even mailed, so a dinner was added. Since
then, the Gathering of Friends has become an annual
event with 2,000 people attending a lunch and dinner program
that has raised as much as $475,000 in one day!
In recent years, the Friends’ Board of Directors gave more careful consideration to changing the organization’s
name to express their mission more clearly. In 2003, at the Eighth Annual Gathering of Friends, founder Martha
Kaley announced that Friends...You Can Count On® had been renamed as Friends for an Earlier Breast Cancer Test.
Why the upside down ribbon?
“Friends’ pink ribbon is turned upside
down to encourage everyone to look at breast cancer research
from a different perspective.” ~ Martha Kaley, Founder
Throughout the world, the pink ribbon has been the symbol of breast cancer awareness for many years. However, Friends for an Earlier
Breast Cancer Test identifies with an upside down pink ribbon instead. Friends chose this inverted symbol
to represent the different perspective Friends has towards breast cancer research.
While most breast cancer organizations focus on searching for a “cure” for breast cancer, Friends is
the only breast cancer organization whose sole purpose is to find a new method for earlier pre-tumor detection of breast
cancer. Right now, breast cancers may be growing in the body for 5 to 8 years before they can be found through modern technology.
Friends is dedicated to making funds available to researchers who are searching for a biological method capable
of indicating the presence of breast cancer in the body within the first year of onset. Friends’ upside down
ribbon represents their commitment to this vision.
Volunteer Driven
“I asked my friends to jump in with me and they have, over and over.” ~ Martha Kaley, Founder
Even before the Friends organization was officially
established in 1995, founder Martha Kaley depended on her
friends to help her raise money for an earlier test for breast
cancer.
Martha’s personal friends and those who have come to understand the mission of the Friends organization donate their
time, talent and enthusiasm to further Friends’ vision. Sororities, church groups, sports organizations, and
businesses have conducted independent special events to raise money for Friends over the years.
Every October, volunteers come together to organize the Gathering of Friends, a luncheon and dinner,
featuring keynote speakers and a special raffle with elite and lavish prizes. The Gathering of Friends continues to be an annual success, grossing over $475,000 and hosting more than 2,200 guests in just one day!
“This is a project, not an ongoing organization. A bio-marker
will be found and a test to detect breast cancer in its earliest
stages will be created.”~ Martha Kaley, Founder
Many non-profit organizations have multiple offices, staff
and internal organization. Friends for an Earlier Breast
Cancer Test has only one office, located in Greensboro,
North Carolina, an Executive Director and a part-time support
staff. When Friends achieves its clearly defined
mission to fund research leading to successful earlier detection,
Friends can willingly and thankfully close its doors.
Our Brochure
Click the image below to download a PDF of our brochure.
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