Learn how your generosity leads to breakthroughs in breast cancer research.
One of the best gifts you can give this holiday season is something that doesn’t need to be wrapped and tied in a bow. By making a breast cancer research donation through BCRF, you help transform the lives of people with breast cancer and the friends and family who love them. Since BCRF’s founding in 1993, our researchers have been behind many of the biggest discoveries in breast cancer prevention, detection, treatment, and more — advances that would not have been possible without the generosity of people like you.
This holiday season, your gift can power lifesaving research
Research is the only way to reach our goal of putting an end to breast cancer. Every contribution you make — whether by a direct gift, fundraiser, or purchase of BCRF’s Shop Pink products — enables our investigators to advance our understanding of the disease and pursue solutions.
When you give to BCRF, you’re supporting the largest private funder of breast cancer research worldwide. We fund the cutting-edge work of 260+ researchers across 16 countries, with $1 billion raised over the past 32 years. BCRF has a rating of 98 percent from Charity Navigator, so you can feel confident knowing your gift will have a real impact on scientific progress that brings us closer to a world without breast cancer.
7 reasons to donate to breast cancer research this holiday season
There are countless reasons to donate to cancer research. Breast cancer research donations fund BCRF investigations that explore every aspect of the disease, yielding results that provide real-world benefits to current and future patients. More precisely, gifts to BCRF from people like you are:
Fueling prevention research
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States. The American Cancer Society estimates nearly 317,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer and about 59,080 new cases of ductal carcinoma in situ will be diagnosed in 2025. But thanks to research, we’re learning more every day about how to stop cancer from the start.
Your gift to BCRF supports the discovery of ways people may be able to reduce their risk. Previous work from our investigators have revealed several, including exercise and maintaining a healthy body weight. They continue to examine the roles of lifestyle factors, hormones, and genetics in making prevention possible, empowering people to take steps to lower their risk of breast cancer.
Powering breakthroughs in early detection and risk prediction
The earlier breast cancer is caught, the better: Cancer that hasn’t spread beyond the breast has a 5-year relative survival rate of 99 percent. But many breast cancers aren’t diagnosed until the disease has already spread, which is associated with poorer outcomes. BCRF investigators are at the forefront of early detection, making advances in AI-driven and other mammographic techniques to find cancer earlier.
AI is also being leveraged in risk prediction, able to recognize subtle patterns or changes in mammograms that correlate with future cancer development. The work is making an impact right now: Earlier this year, BCRF investigator Dr. Connie Lehman launched Clairity Inc., which was granted FDA authorization of Clairity Breast, the first AI-powered platform that predicts a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer over the next five years. With support from people like you, BCRF funding enables the accelerated rollout of Clairity Breast nationwide and expanded partnerships with leading imaging centers and health systems, and drives continued development of the company’s broader predictive health platform.
Early detection not only improves outcomes but also lowers treatment intensity. Your 2025 gift ensures that breast cancer is caught sooner, when it’s most treatable.
Accelerating personalized treatments
Your holiday gift fuels advancements in precision medicine, an approach to care in which doctors can tailor treatments to each patient according to their cancer’s genetic, molecular, and microenvironmental characteristics. It sounds futuristic, but precision-based strategies are already significantly improving outcomes in breast cancer patients, especially in areas of survival and quality of life. A $500 gift to BCRF funds 10 hours in a BCRF lab, directly supporting these discoveries.
The shift from a “one-size-fits-all” approach to breast cancer treatment to personalized treatments has been possible thanks to advances in research into molecular diagnostics and genetic profiling. Your gift to BCRF supports the work of investigators such as Dr. Priscila Barreto Coelho, who aims to identify markers that predict whether a patient will receive the full benefits of standard hormone therapy. It also funds Dr. David Lim, who is currently looking beyond tumor biology to evaluate how social marginalization affects breast cancer outcomes.
Advancing metastatic breast cancer research
BCRF is the largest funder of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) research, supporting 96 projects dedicated to this form of the disease. MBC is incurable and is responsible for nearly all breast cancer deaths. But there are reasons to be optimistic: Thanks to groundbreaking research, there are more treatment options for MBC than ever before, including hormone therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapies, immunotherapy, and radiation or surgery for symptom relief. Your donation brings new hope to people living with metastatic disease.
Metastatic breast cancer research is a high priority at BCRF. More than one-third of our annual funding is devoted to studying every aspect of MBC, from understanding how cancer cells spread from the breast to identifying treatment targets and developing new therapies. BCRF supports the largest global effort to study metastatic breast cancer across the US (AURORA US) and Europe (AURORA EU), which is designed to gain a deeper understanding of the molecular differences between primary breast cancer and MBC.
Supporting quality of life
Thanks to advances in prevention, early detection, and treatment, there are more breast cancer thrivers today than ever before. But it’s not enough to investigate ways to prolong life — solutions are also needed to improve thrivers’ quality of life. Your gift to BCRF helps researchers identify approaches to managing the many challenges thrivers face, including pain, fatigue, cognitive difficulties, mental health issues, and sleep problems.
BCRF is currently funding 31 investigators who are studying ways to help thrivers feel more confident about their health post-treatment. One such project, led by Dr. Enrique Soto Pérez de Celis, focuses on older adults with breast cancer — particularly those from minority communities — and how challenges they face (financial strain, language differences, etc.) affect their health. Breast cancer research donations like yours also support the work of Dr. Steven Cole and Dr. Julienne Bower, who are currently testing and expanding an online version of a mindfulness-based intervention they developed, which has shown to be effective in reducing depression and enhancing well-being in younger women with a history of breast cancer.
Strengthening global collaboration and data sharing
Putting an end to breast cancer is a global effort, with researchers from around the world coming together to collaborate, trade insights, and share data. Your holiday gift transcends borders, supporting researchers in 16 countries who are accelerating discoveries that are already transforming the care and prevention of the most common cancer in women worldwide.
Donations to BCRF support global research in several ways, such as running labs in investigators’ home countries and funding large clinical trials in several countries abroad. In many cases, these efforts have provided breast cancer screening, treatment, and support to women who might otherwise have lacked access. For example, donations from people like you enabled Dr. Funmi Olopade to open the first cancer risk clinic in Nigeria, where health resources are scarce.
Gifts to BCRF have also powered the launch of our Global Data Hub, a collection of breast cancer research data aimed at fostering data sharing, analysis, new studies, and collaboration. Developed in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh, the hub provides a greatly needed centralized location for a vast amount of genetic, molecular, and clinical trial information — providing access to data that can yield groundbreaking discoveries in breast cancer research that might otherwise have been siloed.
Earlier this year, BCRF was named an awardee of Action for Women’s Health, a $250 million global open call funded by Pivotal and managed by Level for Change that supports organizations working to improve women’s mental and physical health worldwide. These awards are given to organizations that serve women and have a record of improving women’s mental and physical health.
Inspiring future innovators and emerging researchers
Continuing the mission to end breast cancer means investing in researchers who are in the early stages of their career, when funding can be difficult to obtain. With your generosity, BCRF is supporting the most promising investigators in the field of breast cancer research. We’ve teamed up with Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation; the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR); and the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) to present many men and women with the Young Investigator Award. This honor provides funding that supports awardees’ transition from a fellowship program to a faculty appointment, enabling them to start building their careers in clinical breast cancer research.
This year’s honorees include Dr. Aamod Dekhne, who is developing and testing new treatment combinations for patients with triple-negative breast cancer, and Dr. Devora Isseroff, who aims to understand the differences between breast cancer that is stage 4 at diagnosis and cancer that has returned or advanced after treatment. Your gift this holiday season helps the next generation of scientists like them pursue bold, life-changing discoveries.
How to give: Simple ways to power research this holiday
It’s one of the busiest times of year, but the good news is that supporting BCRF’s lifesaving breast cancer research only takes about as long as wrapping a few holiday presents. And there are several simple ways you can contribute:
Donate directly. The fastest and most flexible option funds immediate research hours. In just a few clicks, you can make a one-time or recurring monthly donation on our website. You also have the option to dedicate your donation in honor of a loved one. If you’d like to donate by mail, send a check made payable to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to us at 28 West 44th Street, Suite 609, New York, NY 10036.
Estate planning: Thinking about the future? Read up on how to include BCRF in your estate plan so you can impact the lives of future generations of people with breast cancer.
Shop Pink. When you buy gifts this season from our generous corporate partners, part of your purchase supports the critical work of BCRF investigators. Go here to view available products, which include jewelry, pajamas, and beauty items your loved ones are sure to treasure.
Fundraising. For a personal way to support research, consider setting up your own BCRF fundraiser. Many of our donors have raised funds through bake sales, fun runs, talent shows, and more. Not sure how to get started? Check out our fundraising toolkit for inspiration. You’ll also find instructions on how to set up an online fundraising page, tips for promoting your event, and more.
Other ways to give. Corporate matching and planned gifts are two other ways to contribute.
Your donation to cancer research creates life-changing discoveries
Breast cancer research donations save lives. In 2024, scientists at the National Institutes of Health reported that 1 million breast cancer deaths were prevented from 1975 to 2020, thanks to advances in screening and treatment. By contributing to BCRF this holiday season, you join a movement to put an end to the disease and the pain, uncertainty, and suffering that that comes with it.
We’re grateful to everyone who raises awareness and funds breast cancer research. Each gift, no matter the size, brings us closer to more treatment options, better outcomes, and a future without breast cancer. We’ve accomplished so much already, and with your help, we can keep delivering hope and progress for millions.
