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January 2025
DECODING THE BODY’S MESSAGES TO TREAT BREAST CANCER
Thanks to your dedicated support, researcher Associate Professor Joy Wolfram who is funded by the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) is investigating how Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) cells avoid detection and destruction by the immune system, allowing cancer cells to survive and spread to other parts of the body.
TNBC is an aggressive form of breast cancer, with the highest rate of recurrence, limited treatment options and overall poor survival outcomes compared to other types of breast cancer. TNBC accounts for up to 15% of all breast cancer cases and in Australia this equates to around 3,000 new cases every year.
TNBC cells are able to hijack a messaging network in the body called extracellular vesicles and convince the immune system to ignore the problem. Associate Professor Joy Wolfram hopes to find out exactly how this hijack takes place and what can be done to intervene.
“We know that our immune system plays a critical role in detecting and eliminating breast cancer cells,” says Associate Professor Joy Wolfram.
“But TNBC cells have a trick. They release biological text messages that tell the immune system to look the other way, allowing the cancer to grow and spread more aggressively.”
Currently, the most common therapies for TNBC are chemotherapies, which have toxic side effects, and immune therapies which, currently, only benefit a small number of people. This study has the potential to enable TNBC to be treated more effectively and reduce deaths from the disease.
To hear more from Associate Professor Wolfram about how she became a breast cancer researcher and to learn more about her study, click here.
World-class breast cancer research studies like this one would not be possible without the generosity of people like you. Thank you for helping us move closer to our vision of Zero Deaths from breast cancer.
SHINING BRIGHT ON NEW YEAR’S EVE
We are so excited to share with you that we welcomed 2025 with an extraordinary pink display in Sydney Harbour as part of one of the world’s largest New Year’s Eve celebrations, thanks to support from the City of Sydney.
For two consecutive years NBCF was the Official Charity Partner for Sydney New Year’s Eve. As part of the partnership there was a special NBCF Pink Moment from 10pm.
To represent us, a portrait of one of our community ambassadors, Tarryn, was projected onto the pylons of Sydney Harbour Bridge along with key breast cancer statistics.
During the display, the lights around the foreshore and boats on the harbour turned pink to honour the 58 people in Australia diagnosed each day with breast cancer.
Tarryn was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2020, when she was only 33 years old. With two young children at the time, she acted quickly and scheduled a full mastectomy before Christmas and finished chemotherapy and radiation in the new year.
Tarryn remains hopeful for a future with Zero Deaths from breast cancer, a vision that NBCF has worked toward since 1994 by funding critical research.
“Although the death rate from breast cancer in Australia has reduced, there is still a percentage of people who die. But with continued investment into research, we can
truly make a difference,” says Tarryn.
The timely celebration illuminated NBCF’s 30th Anniversary – driving 30 years of world-class breast cancer research in Australia.
Additionally, it highlighted that with NBCF’s new Pink Horizon Research Strategy, hope is on the horizon.
NBCF-funded researchers will be working tirelessly throughout 2025 and applying what we call ‘pink-sky thinking’ to help end deaths from breast cancer.
We wish you and your loved ones a very happy new year and we thank you for your continued support.
Together, let’s make Zero Deaths from breast cancer possible.
SURF’S UP FOR A CAUSE
Meet our amazing fundraisers, Tegan Polidano and Monique Martin! Tegan and Monique are part of the Noosa Salty Sisters, a group of incredible women who all have a shared love for surfing.
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, the Noosa Salty Sisters honoured people with breast cancer by paddling out, forming a circle in the ocean and raising their paddles to the 58 people a day who are diagnosed with breast cancer in Australia.
Everyone who came to the Noosa Salty Sisters Breast Cancer Fundraiser had their own story to share of knowing someone touched by breast cancer.
Tegan recalls that a significant moment for her and why the event was so important to her, was when her mum had a mastectomy.
“Breast cancer is something that touches everyone in some way or form, whether it’s yourself, mum, a sister, or a friend. We wanted our women’s surfing tribe to come together, to raise awareness and funds, because together as a group, women are pretty unstoppable.”
Thank you so much for your incredible contribution to worldclass breast cancer research Noosa Salty Sisters!
KATHARINE’S TOUCHING LEGACY
Many of us dream of a future free from breast cancer. People like Katharine help us make that dream a reality by adding a Gift in their Will.
Katharine has chosen to add a Gift in her Will to NBCF as her grandmother, mother and two aunts have had breast cancer, and she is well aware of how tough the treatment journey can be.
“I have added a Gift in my Will to NBCF so that medical researchers can develop early detection methods to give people like me, the best chance of survival.
As a young mother, I don’t want to live in fear of getting breast cancer. I want to protect my family and future generations and if everyone added a Gift in their Will to fund breast cancer research, what an amazing difference that would make. My husband and I both have and hope to inspire others to do so too,” says Katharine.
A gift of even 1% of your estate in your Will, after you have taken care of your loved ones can help create a future where no one loses their life to breast cancer.
We understand that adding a Gift in your Will is a very personal decision. You may request our Gift in Will information booklet or if you would like to talk to our Gifts in Wills team, about the steps to create or change your Will to include a gift to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, please get in touch on bequests@nbcf.org.au or phone Diana on 02 8098 4848.
NEW YEAR, SAME VISION
We cannot thank you enough for your ongoing support. Last year, thanks to you, we funded 19 new research projects to better understand how to prevent, detect, stop and treat breast cancer.
Together, in 2025 we can move closer to our vision of Zero Deaths from breast cancer.
