Home » About » My Story

My name is Christine Hodgdon and at the age of 34, I was diagnosed with de novo stage IV metastatic breast cancer (MBC). I endured all my treatments, which resulted in a complete response, and I currently have no evidence of disease (NED) in my body. Even though I have NED, I am still a stage IV patient and always will be. I can never be “upgraded” to stage 1, 2, or 3 or even say that I’m in remission; I am merely “stable” for now. Every 6 months I am scanned to monitor any progression of my disease. I will be on treatment for life with monthly targeted therapy infusions every 3 weeks, as well as hormone therapy, to manage my MBC. You can read more about my story HERE.

Two years after my diagnosis, I wanted to get more involved in the MBC community and I decided to participate in a 2-day advocacy event on Capitol Hill in Washington DC with the organization, Metavivor. I had the opportunity to meet with my State senators and local representatives to express my support of increasing the NIH budget specifically to fund research on metastatic cancer.

A month later I attended a training to become a Hear My Voice (HMV) volunteer with the organization, Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) in Philadelphia. The HMV program helps MBC patients become advocates in their local and digital communities. I then attended the LBBC’s conference specifically for MBC patients and I was instantly connected to hundreds of survivors, patients, and advocates.

See my full resume below:

Advocacy InitiativesAwards & Honors • Professional Memberships & Committees
Conferences & WorkshopsResearch & Advocacy TrainingsContributions to Research
Peer-reviewed Publications •  Breast Cancer Support • Media & Press • Clinical Trials

Advocacy Initiatives

GRASP – Guiding Researchers & Advocates to Scientific Partnerships
Co-founder

INSPIRE (Influencing Science through Patient-Informed Research & Education) Advocacy Program at Johns Hopkins
Founding member

Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis Initiative: The Marina Kaplan Project
Founding member & Project lead

Diversity & Inclusion Pledge for Black Women (#InclusionPledge)
Founding member

Patient-Centered Dosing Initiative (#TheRightDose)
Founding member (no longer an active member)

Metastatic Trial Talk
Clinical Trials Consultant

Storm Riders Network
Founder                                                  

↑Top Of Page

Awards & Honors

Beth Caldwell Breakthrough Leadership & Advocacy Award
Received at 2019 Susan G. Komen® Northwest Metastatic Breast Cancer Conference

↑Top Of Page

Professional Memberships & Committees

Tigerlily Foundation
Member of the Clinical Trials Advisory Committee (CTAC)

Chrysalis Initiative
Clinical trial advisor on the Medical advisory board

Pfizer’s Global Virtual Advisory Board
Patient advocate member providing insights post ASCO, ESMO, & SABCS conferences

Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center’s “Breast Cancer in Young Women” program
Scientific advisory board member

Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance (MBCA)
Individual member of the Research Task Force & former co-chair of the Patient/Advocate Advisory Group (2019)

NCI/NIH Cancer MoonshotSMprogram, Improving the Management of symPtoms during And following Cancer Treatment (IMPACT)                        
Steering committee patient representative

Theresa’s Research Foundation
Planning committee member

Susan G. Komen® Puget Sound – Northwest Metastatic Breast Cancer Conference
Planning committee member  

Susan G. Komen® Advocates in Science (AIS)
Komen Scholar & former steering committee member

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Patient representative 

Roche Pharmaceuticals
Patient representative to improve personalized medical delivery support to patients

Lilly Oncology
Patient advocate ambassador & advisor

↑Top Of Page

Conferences & Workshops

2021 International Biennial Congress of the Metastasis Research Society (MRS) in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Inaugural GRASP launch

2021 NCI/NIH Survivorship in advanced cancer panel
Moderator

2021 Accelerating Anti-cancer Agent Development & Validation (AAADV) Workshop
Panelist

2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS)
Career development roundtable participant

2020 Glock Foundation Seminar: What’s New in Metastatic Breast Cancer?
Speaker

2020 Theresa’s Research Foundation Annual Metastatic Breast Cancer Conference
Inaugural GRASP launch

2020 FDA-ASCO Clinical Outcome Assessments in Cancer Clinical Trials
Panelist

2020 Living Beyond Breast Cancer Conference on Metastatic Breast Cancer
Panelist

2020 Susan G. Komen® Northeast Ohio MBC Conference
Invited speaker (0:40)

2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology® (ASCO) Annual Meeting
Inaugural GRASP launch

2020 Annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference®
Travel scholarship recipient via Living Beyond Breast Cancer

2020 National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Cancer Clinical Trials: Perspectives from FDA & Advocates
Panelist

2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS)
Inaugural GRASP launch

2019 Tigerlily Foundation Young Women’s Metastatic Breast Cancer Disparities Fireside Chat
Panelist

2019 Advanced Breast Cancer International Consensus Conference (ABC5) in Lisbon, Portugal
Travel scholarship recipient

2019 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium
Patient advocate mentor for the Komen® Advocates in Science (AIS) Program

Susan G. Komen® Puget Sound – Northwest Metastatic Breast Cancer Conference
Speaker (2:55)

2019 Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) Inaugural Brain Metastases Conference
Travel scholarship recipient

2019 Accelerating Anti-cancer Agent Development & Validation (AAADV) Workshop
Travel scholarship recipient

2018-19 Metastasis Research Society (MRS) & METAvivor MBC Engagement Conference
Travel scholarship recipient

2018-19 Young Survival Coalition Annual Summit
Travel scholarship recipient

↑Top Of Page

Research & Advocacy Trainings

2019 Advocates in Science (AIS)
Susan G. Komen®

2019 Cancer Policy & Advocacy Team (CPAT)
National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS)

2019 Scientist↔Survivor Program
American Association for Cancer Research® (AACR)

2018 Alamo Scholarship Recipient for San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation (ABCF)

2017-18 Capitol Hill Stage IV Stampede
METAvivor

2018 Project LEAD® Institute
National Breast Cancer Coalition

2017 Hear My Voice Advocacy Program
Living Beyond Breast Cancer

2017 Capitol Hill 2-Day Advocacy Event to House & Senate
METAvivor

↑Top Of Page

Contributions to Research

NCI/NIH Cancer Community Partnership
Founding member of the committee at-large

Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center: Web Education for Breast cancer Survivorship (WEBS)
Patient advocate advisor

Vanderbilt Medical Center
Research advocate for Dr. Ben Ho Park, M.D.

FDA Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) Summer Scholars
Mentor to 6 high school OCE scholars with an interest in cancer advocacy & the STEM fields

NCI/NIH Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE)
Grant reviewer

Department of Defense (DOD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
Consumer reviewer for the Breast Cancer Research Program & Rare Cancers Research Program

Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center – Women’s Malignancy Program
Research advocate for several investigators

Patient-Reported Pain & Opioid Prescribing Practices in Patients with HR+ HER2-neg Advanced Breast Cancer: A U.S. FDA pooled analysis
Patient advocate advisor

Komen FY20 Susan G. Komen® Career Catalyst Research Review Committee
Advocate reviewer

METAvivor Research Program
Grant reviewer for the $500,000 Founders Award, $250,000 MBC Translational Research Award, & $50,000 MBC Early Career Investigator Award

↑Top Of Page

Peer-reviewed Publications

Management of Breast Cancer During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Stage- & Subtype-Specific Approach
Sheng JY, Santa-Maria CA, Mangini N, Norman H, Couzi R, Nunes R, Wilkinson M, Visvanathan K, Connolly RM, Roussos Torres ET, Fetting JH, Armstrong DK, Tao JJ, Jacobs L, Wright JL, Thorner ED, Hodgdon C, Horn S, Wolff AC, Stearns V, Smith KL. JCO Oncol Pract. 2020 Oct;16(10):665-674

↑Top Of Page

Breast Cancer Support

Breast Cancer Helpline Volunteer
Living Beyond Breast Cancer

SurvivorLink Peer Mentoring Program
Young Survival Coalition

Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery: Guided Meditations
Life with Cancer Center

↑Top Of Page

Media & Press Contributions

Cancer Survivor Stories: Christine
NCI/NIH Office of Cancer Survivorship – June 2022

Cancer Matters with Dr. Bill Nelson Podcast – Cancer with Hope, Part 4
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center Podcasts – March 2021

Consumer reviewer story
Department of Defense (DOD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) – March 2021

Our MBC Life Podcast: GRASP – Guiding Researchers & Advocates to Scientific Partnerships
SHARE Cancer Support – Dec 2020

Campaign for MBC Awareness Day (#MyLifeIsMyLegacy)
Tigerlily Foundation – Oct 2020

Our MBC Life Podcast: Focus on Brain Metastasis Advocates
SHARE Cancer Support – Aug 2020

Out of Patients Podcast with Matthew Zachary: The Accidental Patient Radvocate
OffScrip Media – July 2020

GRASP Connects Advocates & Experts at 2020 ASCO Annual Meeting
Living Beyond Breast Cancer – June 2020

A Woman’s Role in Her Breast Cancer Care
PlatformQ Health Education – May 2020

Patient Advocates Play Pivotal Role at ASCO2020
Patient Power – May 2020

Rescuing Scientific Posters from the Twitter Black Hole
Symplur – May 2020

Virtual Connection in a Time of Social Distance
Cancer Today  – April 2020

Changemakers: Grasping Science Together
Wildfire Magazine Feb/March 2020

Takeaways from SABCS 2019 – GRASP
AdvancedBreastCancer.net – Feb 2020

Power of the Patient Voice
CureToday – Feb 2020

#MoreforMBC Live Social Media Tour: San Antonio Living (NBC) & PALive! (NBC; Wilkes-Barre, PA)

#MoreForMBC Press Release: Lilly, Anna Kaiser Launch ‘30-Day Thriver Challenge’ to Increase Awareness of Daily Stress of Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer, Elevate Support for Women & Men Living with the Disease
Eli Lilly & Company – Jan 2020

Cancer Patient Advocates Find Strength in Numbers
Cancer Today – Dec 2019

Interview for the GRASP pilot program
San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) – Dec 2019

Interview for #MoreForMBC campaign
Eli Lilly & Company – Oct 2019

Cancer Policy Monitor Guest Post: Early Career Scientists Partner with Patients
American Association for Cancer Research® (AACR) – Dec 2019

Podcast: Sharing Knowledge – Pairing Experts With Patient Advocates
Breastcancer.org – Nov 2019

Audio (Clip 1, Clip 2, & Clip 3) for #EverydayForMBC campaign
Seattle Genetics – Nov 2019

Honoring A Friendship Bound by a Metastatic Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Susan G. Komen® – Oct 2019

Interview with Dr. Timothy Pluard of St. Lukes Koontz Center for Advanced Breast Cancer
Theresa’s Research Foundation – Sept 2019

Cancer patients find clinical trials, hope and help
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center News – Sept 2019

Podcast: The Worst Club with the Best People, with Julia Maues and Christine Hodgdon
The Intersection of Cancer and Life with Emily Garnett – Aug 2019

Advocacy at ASCO: Furthering Education Video
Living Beyond Breast Cancer – Aug 22, 2019

Metastatic Breast Cancer: The Advice I Needed Most
Health Central – July 17, 2019

Op-Ed: Senate bill would curb medical innovation in Maryland, hurting cancer patients
Capital Gazette – March 22, 2019

Health Monitor’s Guide to Metastatic Breast Cancer
American Cancer Society – Feb 2019

This Yoga Pose Raised $225K for Metastatic Breast Cancer. Here’s How You Can Help, Too
Yoga Journal – Nov 29, 2019

6 Ways to Thrive After an MBC Diagnosis
Health magazine – 2018

What’s Next & Other Things Metastatic Patients Want to Know
Cure® Magazine – Feb 2018

Listen to Your Body: Staying Physically Active After a Metastatic Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Living Beyond Breast Cancer – Dec 2018

Know Stage IV: Cancer Creates a Shifting Sense of Self
Living Beyond Breast Cancer – Oct 2017 

↑Top Of Page

Clinical Trial Participant

Long-term Metastatic Cancer Survivor Survey
University of Wisconsin, Carbone Cancer Center- Madison, WI

Four Conversations Study (NCT02944344)
Duke Cancer Center- Durham, NC

Metastatic Breast Cancer Project
Broad Institute- Cambridge, MA

ABOARD Study
University of South Florida, Aetna, & Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE)

↑Top Of Page
Home » About » My Story