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The literature review in Chapter 3 finds that, despite a greater knowledge and recognition of
these quality of life issues over the past 2 decades, they persist—and addressing them remains
a challenge for advocate organizations.

Another part of this landscape analysis was to better understand the breadth and depth of
information and support services provided by MBC Alliance members, which are some of the
most active advocate organizations in the US. The analysis will help the Alliance to identify gaps,
duplications, and opportunities to most effectively leverage its collective resources, power, and
influence to improve the quality of life of people living with MBC.

Scope of Alliance Membership
The MBC Alliance currently includes 23 nonprofit organizations working in cancer, breast
cancer, and MBC. The 23 nonprofit members vary greatly in scope of mission but share a desire
to improve quantity and quality of life of MBC patients and their families. Collectively, Alliance
members raise $750 million annually in philanthropic support for cancer. Each offers various
educational and patient support services, including information and support services for MBC
patients and their families.

The 6 industry members of the Alliance all develop and market drugs to treat MBC.
Representatives from the patient advocacy departments have actively participated alongside
the advocate organizations in the research and review process for the landscape analysis.

We know that MBC Alliance members are only 1 part, albeit a crucial part, of the landscape
serving patients and caregivers living with MBC. Public and community hospitals, health care
systems, university medical centers, grassroots organizations, and many others undertake very
valuable work across the country. The services provided outside of the MBC Alliance are not
covered in this analysis.

Methods

We interviewed executive, program, and/or volunteer leadership of 16 nonprofits and 5
pharmaceutical members of the Alliance to identify the major gaps and duplications in services
across the Alliance in meeting the needs of MBC patients, recommend strategies for how the
organizations can better work together to reduce gaps, and identify areas ripe for collaboration.
A table of interviewees is provided in Appendix 6.

Information about each organization was collected from their respective websites and most
recently available Form 990. Additionally, collateral specific to MBC was reviewed, including
research reports, surveys, scientific roundtables, posters, and services such as conferences,
networks, support lines, counseling, and peer-to-peer group support.

Websites of Alliance members, including pharmaceutical members, were assessed for
attractiveness to the user, amount of MBC information, evidence supporting the MBC
information provided, recency of updates, ease of navigation, and use of social media tools.
The quality of MBC-specific content was assessed to identify to what extent, and at what
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