Posts Tagged ‘Brandi Felser’
By Brandi Felser, CEO Advocating on behalf of those impacted by sarcoma has been a core principle of the Sarcoma Foundation of America’s mission since the organization was founded in 2001. The SFA continues to be actively engaged in the public policy arena, urging legislators and regulators to place a high priority on rare cancer research, drug development, and access to quality patient care. We are also actively engaged in coalitions like the Alliance for Childhood Cancer, the Cancer Leadership Council, One Voice Against Cancer and many others where we actively engage in advocacy letters to Members, action items and… Read More »
By Brandi Felser, Executive Director In January of this year I wrote a blog post reflecting on my first days at the Sarcoma Foundation of America (SFA) engaging with the sarcoma community. I wrote at the time about the impression the advocates made on me as I heard the stories they shared at the December 2019 FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee meeting. I wrote then: As someone personally affected by cancer and a seasoned cancer advocate, I am no stranger to the needs of cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers. But seeing them stand before a committee of oncologists and FDA… Read More »
By Brandi Felser, Executive Director This July, we joined together as a community for Sarcoma Awareness Month to honor patients and survivors, remember the loved ones we have lost, and raise awareness about sarcoma. We wore yellow, engaged in educational activities, and shared stories about patient journeys and our loved ones. Thousands of members of the sarcoma community joined SFA for our National Virtual Race to Cure Sarcoma to help raise much needed funds for sarcoma research, and 14 million people were reached through the PSAs that were run in cities across the country. The combined efforts of the sarcoma… Read More »
By Brandi Felser, Executive Director Each year, over 16,000 children, women and men are diagnosed with sarcoma and 7,000 lose their lives. Although sarcoma is considered a “rare” cancer, it is not rare to the approximately 50,000 people who are living with the disease. It is not rare to the mothers and fathers, families and friends, who have lost loved ones. Their experiences are, unfortunately, not rare. Certainly, the adjective rare sets sarcoma apart. It means that fewer people are diagnosed with the disease. But the rare designation has more implications. It means that treatment options and research funding has… Read More »
DAMASCUS, Md. – May 28, 2020 – The Sarcoma Foundation of America (SFA), an organization dedicated to increasing research and awareness for sarcoma, today announced that it has awarded three-quarters of a million dollars in research funds to deserving scientists as part of its 2020 SFA Research Grant program. Fifteen research grants, each worth $50,000, have been awarded to researchers who have made it their mission to study sarcoma, a cancer that arises in the body’s soft tissue and bone. All proposals are peer reviewed by members of the SFA Medical Advisory Board who award the grants to the best,… Read More »
By Brandi Felser, Executive Director COVID-19, Collaboration & Sarcoma Treating cancer like a pandemic: Collaboration is necessary to cure sarcoma COVID-19 has hit us like a wrecking ball. There is no part of society that has gone untouched. Despite the damage this pandemic has done, there has been some positive. The “system” of science has been upended and the science community has united, focused on one goal. All of our resources are being pooled to fight this virus. Data and information are being shared in new ways, shared faster and are freely available. #MedTwitter and other science threads offer information… Read More »
By Brandi Felser, Executive Director Twenty years later, SFA continues to be a voice and leader for the sarcoma community. Twenty years ago, before SFA, not much attention was paid to sarcoma. There were few treatment options, and no organization or institution focused on developing new therapies or expediting new treatments for patients. Sarcoma was a forgotten cancer. Fast forward 20 years. Sarcoma awareness has substantially increased, more, though not nearly enough, therapies are available, and innovative and novel agents such as immune-oncology are beginning to be applied to sarcoma. And SFA has shown that we have the ability to… Read More »
By Brandi Felser, Executive Director In my very first days on the job as the new Executive Director of the Sarcoma Foundation of America, I had the opportunity to experience first-hand the power of the sarcoma community. For the first time ever, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was reviewing for approval a proposed drug for the treatment of epithelioid sarcoma, a particularly rare and aggressive subtype of sarcoma. Epithelioid sarcoma has few effective treatment options and patients are often left with little or no hope for long-term survival. As a part of the approval process, the benefits of… Read More »
DAMASCUS, Md. – February 3, 2020 – The Sarcoma Foundation of America (SFA), an organization dedicated to increased research, awareness and advocacy for sarcoma, announces Brandi Felser as its new Executive Director. Felser joins the SFA with more than 20 years of experience in non-profit development and management. Felser, most recently Chief Operating Officer – Chief of Staff of the National Breast Cancer Coalition, also brings to the SFA a strong background in cancer research advocacy, making her well positioned to lead the organization’s mission to advocate for sarcoma patients by funding research and increasing awareness about this rare… Read More »