LIANNE KRAEMER

Lianne Kraemer received both her Bachelor of Health Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Kentucky. She worked as a Pediatric Speech Language Pathologist specializing in feeding, swallowing and communication disorders in infants, toddlers and young children with neuromotor impairments.

At 37 years old Lianne was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. Despite receiving aggressive treatment, her cancer returned as stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) at age 39. Lianne’s initial metastatic diagnosis was that of brain metastases only. She has never presented with disease outside the CNS.

Knowing there is no cure for MBC, Lianne became an outspoken advocate for increased funding for MBC research. She is the co-founder of the Chicago Metsquerade, a gala benefiting METAvivor, and to date has raised nearly $370,000 for MBC focused research. Her work in advocacy has led to two features in TIME Magazine, speaking engagements on conference panels and pharmacy company meetings, and requests to review research grants. Lianne also served as patient advocate on the task force that developed the ASTRO Clinical Practice Guideline on Radiation Therapy for Brain Mets.