Bringing Hope at a Dark Hour for Patients With Brain Metastases

I am delighted to nominate my colleague and friend Dr. Nancy U. Lin for the CURE® Metastatic Breast Cancer Heroes™ award for those having impact on the lives of women with advanced breast cancer.

Dr. Nancy U. Lin. Photos by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Dr. Lin has devoted her professional life to the treatment of women with breast cancer, and her academic focus has been on the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer to the brain. It is difficult to describe the devastating consequences of brain metastases on the emotional and physical well-being of our patients. Of all the awfulness of the relentless toll of breast cancer, the diagnosis of brain metastases stands alone and strikes at the core of human identity and feeling. It is most common in the most resistant, refractory of breast cancers, and there are few treatment options.

Dr. Lin has been a beacon of hope for countless women with metastatic breast cancer. Her clinical knowledge in this area is unsurpassed. However, it is her compassion, her warmth and her caring that so distinguish her remarkable work as a physician. She brings empathy and understanding of an unparalleled degree.

But her contribution has not simply been in the finest of compassionate care. She has resolved to improve outcomes for such patients, with clinical trials dedicated to the unique circumstances of such patients and by building a multidisciplinary team of experts from neurosurgery, neuroimaging and radiation oncology to help provide the optimal care of women with brain metastases.

Dr. Harold Burstein. Photo provided by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

The group collected under her leadership has revolutionized the way in which our patients with brain metastases are seen, evaluated and cared for, and achieved incredible progress in the quality of life for such women. They know that there are dedicated, caring physicians completely focused on achieving the best for them.

For women afflicted by this particular syndrome, the hope that Dr. Lin has created has proven to be a shelter, a source of comfort and a place of hope despite a very challenging diagnosis.

For her skill and wisdom as a clinician, for her insights as an investigator and for redefining how we can care for women with advanced breast cancer, Dr. Lin is most deserving of your recognition with a Metastatic Breast Cancer Heroes™ award.

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