Thirty percent of those diagnosed with early stage breast cancer will develop metastatic disease. Big cancer organizations dedicate on average 2 percent of the money raised to metastatic breast cancer research.

Kelly Shanahan, a South Lake Tahoe gynecologist who is living with metastatic breast cancer, in bringing METAvivor to town May 19 as part of the Sea to Sea for MBC awareness and fundraising event.

METAvivor is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing support for women and men with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and funding research to transition MBC from a terminal illness to a controlled, chronic condition. At this point, however, metastatic breast cancer is a terminal disease.

METAvivor is the only organization that solely funds MBC research through a scientific peer-review process. One hundred percent of all donations and fundraiser proceeds go to MBC research grants.

The May 19 event is a chance to learn about this disease that will claim the lives of 108 women and men every day.

The event will be at Shanahan’s office, 1154 Emerald Bay Road, South Lake Tahoe, from 5-7pm. RSVP to stage4kelly@outlook.com.