(January 4, 2019) — Soon after Hillary Stires, PhD, came to Georgetown Lombardi as a postdoctoral fellow, she started a grant application and asked for feedback from the Georgetown Breast Cancer Advocates (GBCA), a volunteer group of breast cancer survivors dedicated to supporting and promoting breast cancer research.
Her experience was transformative. After Stires presented her plan to the group, one of the advocates worked with her to strengthen her application and went to an international conference with her. Another advocate encouraged her to connect with the community of breast cancer researchers and patients on social media. When Stires’ best friend was diagnosed with breast cancer, the advocates shared their experiences and offered advice.