Several Dorchester and South Boston residents who are members of IBC New England were participants as the group made donations to two local hospitals to support efforts to research and enhance understanding of breast cancer. Grants of more than $12,000 each were given to the Diane Connolly-Zaniboni Fund for Breast Cancer Research at Tufts Medical Center and to the Inflammatory Breast Cancer program at Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

IBC New England was created 15 years ago to promote education and awareness about inflammatory breast cancer, a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer.

The fund at Tufts Medical Center was established in memory of Diane Connolly-Zaniboni, of South Boston, who passed away from inflammatory breast cancer in 2000. In their efforts to increase research and education on breast cancer, Diane’s family advocated for the first-ever Breast Cancer license plate in Massachusetts. The plate was launched in 2006, and proceeds from its sales are donated to the Tufts effort. The fund there supports breast cancer research by awarding a grant to a research scholar every two years at Tufts while also setting up educational programs such as expert speakers on breast cancer including aggressive forms of breast cancer such as IBC.

The donation to the Dana Farber will help cancer surgeons, medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists with specific expertise in diagnosing and treating IBC. The IBC center also has a research program with several active clinical trials underway, educational programs for patients and caregivers, a support group, and public awareness and educational activities. The program at DFCI is the only one of its kind in the northeast. IBC New England has collaborated with DFCI to promote awareness about the disease and support educational efforts. 

“When I began my journey with IBC 24 years ago, there was not a lot of IBC-specific research done nationally to consider. There was very little published information and no IBC-specific support network,” said 24-year IBC survivor Sue Asci. “Most people I spoke with had never heard of this disease.

“I joined with other survivors to change that by creating a peer-led networking group, and then in later years, the educational group IBC New England. We have seen the growth of the IBC program at Dana Farber and more clinical trials. With the advocacy efforts of Sean Garballey and Jim Brett, we now have a permanent IBC Awareness Day in Massachusetts – the second Tuesday of October – on which, to hold events, programs and educate.”

IBC remains the least understood of all breast cancers and is very aggressive. The disease does not typically present with a lump and is virtually undetectable by standard mammography. Symptoms are atypical and include a red rash and swelling. IBC can be diagnosed at any age but is seen more frequently among women under the age of 45.