Welcome to Breast Cancer Help, Inc.

Located in Bay Shore, Long Island

Welcome to the official website of Breast Cancer Help, Inc., a not-for-profit grassroots organization committed to being a resource for information, advocacy, and support in the fight against cancer on Long Island, New York. While a cure for cancer continues to elude us, much has been accomplished to increase awareness and improve the quality of healthcare that Long Island cancer patients receive. Since our inception in 1994, we have been able to achieve this by gaining support from local elected officials and raising money through fundraising efforts. Please read more about organization’s history here.

Today, Breast Cancer Help, Inc. remains a presence in the community through the Long Island Cancer Help & Wellness Center. We offer on-going support programs for cancer survivors of all types of cancers for their optimal well-being. In April 2013, the Center entered a new partnership with Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center to maintain and enhance the support services offered. Since its inception, Breast Cancer Help, Inc. has taken a multi-pronged approach to combating Long Island breast cancer. The organization has worked to mobilize citizens into breast cancer coalitions leading to breast cancer mapping projects; worked to bring cancer education into our schools; served as advocates to change state and local laws to preserve our environment; and worked to strengthen the rights of breast cancer patients. Breast Cancer Help has also worked to ensure that Long Islanders have access to the best possible medical diagnosis and care through the purchase of radiosurgery equipment and lease of a digital mammography unit at Stony Brook University Hospital.

In March of 2003, Breast Cancer Help opened its Long Island Cancer Help and Wellness Center. The Center represented a partnership between Breast Cancer Help, Inc. and the Village of Lindenhurst, a municipal government with a long history of support of grassroots efforts to find the causes and a cure for breast cancer. The goal of the Long Island Cancer Help and Wellness Center is to provide increased cancer awareness to promote early detection, while providing patients and survivors with needed support.

In 1994, a small group of men and women living on Long Island, New York came together to face the widespread national tragedy of breast cancer. They set out to find the correlation between breast cancer and the environment and to change the way the public thinks about this terrible disease. They refused to accept the chronic under-funding of breast cancer research and the silence and indifference surrounding the disease. Breast cancer now claims the lives of 46,000 Americans each year and has become one of the leading killers of women between the ages of 32 and 52.

With vision and perseverance, these community-minded men and women on Long Island formed Breast Cancer Help, Inc., an organization with a focus on action and advocacy to eradicate breast cancer. Its founding President was Lorraine Pace, a nationally known breast cancer survivor. Breast Cancer Help’s founding Co-President was Reverend Thomas Arnao, who is currently a Vice Officialis for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, and had the opportunity to counsel many women faced with the battle against breast cancer.
Breast Cancer Help built a grassroots network of advocates across America and abroad focusing on the goals of:

  • Increasing research into the cause, treatment, and cure of breast cancer.
  • Improving access for all women to high-quality breast cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment.
  • Encouraging other areas in the United States and throughout the world to conduct mapping surveys to help better understand the relationship between our environment and breast cancer.

Since its inception, Breast Cancer Help has taken a multi-pronged approach to combating breast cancer on Long Island. The organization has worked to mobilize citizens into breast cancer coalitions leading to breast cancer mapping projects; it has worked to bring cancer education into our schools; served as advocates to change state and local laws to preserve our environment; and worked to strengthen the rights of breast cancer patients and survivors..

Latest Posts

4 Fundraising Ideas for Cancer That Work

The treatment of oncological diseases takes not only strength but also a lot of money. This is especially true for US cancer clinics, where the cost of therapy is very high. Therefore, it is very difficult for patients with such a diagnosis to raise money for cancer treatment. We suggest 4 ways to raise money for cancer treatment. 1. Contact a charitable foundation There are a large number of charitable foundations in the USA that help raise money for cancer treatment. They fund the therapy in whole or in part. They help patients of different ages.

Endorsements

The following organizations have endorsed the mission and goals of Ohio Fostering Connections: Adoption Network Cleveland – Cleveland Agape for Youth, Inc – Dayton Beech Brook – Pepper Pike Catholic Charities Corporation – Cleveland CHOICES, Inc. – Dayton Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center – Cincinnati COVA – Center of Vocational Alternatives – Columbus Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services – Cleveland Focus on Youth, Inc – West Chester Foster Care Alumni of America – Ohio Chapter – Columbus Harmony Project – Columbus Justice for Children Project, Moritz College of Law – Columbus LHS Family and Youth Services – […]

Breast Cancer Help, Inc. Hosts 5th Annual John Simms Celebrity Golf Outing

On September 27, Breast Cancer Help, Inc. held its 5th Annual John Simms Celebrity Golf Outing at Island Hills Country Club in Sayville. Approximately 110 people attended the event to enjoy a round of golf, cocktail hour, a buffet dinner and live music from The World’s Most Dangerous Band. Proceeds from the event went to benefit Breast Cancer Help, Inc., its Long Island Cancer Help and Wellness Center and research into the causes and cure of breast cancer. This event has raised nearly $175,000 over the last five years. Everyone looks forward to many successful years to come. Mr. Simms is […]

Breast Cancer Help, Inc. Supports NYS Attorney General’s New Breast Cancer Pink-Ribbon Campaign Guidelines

Rebba Martin, President and Founder, Breast Cancer Help, Inc., says she supports New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s new guidelines for the pink-ribbon breast cancer campaigns to ensure that all of the money raised goes to the causes these companies claim to support. The guidelines came as the result of a yearlong review of 150 companies engaged in such campaigns. Among the guidelines are that companies which are running pink-ribbon campaigns must clearly explain to the customers if the purchase will go directly to support the fight against breast cancer or if the ribbons are only being used to raise […]

Rebba Martin Says Discovery of Breast Cancer Subtypes May Lead to Discovery of a Cure

Rebba Martin, President, Breast Cancer Help, Inc., says the recent discovery of four subtypes of breast cancer means that researchers are one step closer to finding a cure for the disease and that breast cancer can be properly treated. In a study that was published online by Nature on September 23, researchers discovered four subtypes of breast cancer, each with a unique genetic and molecular signature: luminal A, luminal B, HER2 and basal-like — one of the deadliest subtypes of breast cancer. The discovery was made after analyzing 348 tumors from women with breast cancer using various technologies; researchers also found […]

Tattoo Studios Support Breast Cancer Help, Inc. With “Ink For Pink” Campaign

In support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month during the month of October, Good Times Tattoo Studio in East Islip and Horifudo Tattoo Studio in Smithtown will take part in a month-long “Ink For Pink” campaign. Starting October 1 at noon, customers can get a tattoo of the breast cancer ribbon at either studio done for free; in exchange, they can make checks payable to Breast Cancer Help, Inc. in the amount it would cost for the design. The campaign runs until October 31 at 8 p.m. On October 6, Good Times Tattoo Studio will host a “tattoo marathon” between […]

Rebba Martin Comments on Resignation of Susan G. Komen for the Cure President Deborah Sterling

Rebba Martin, President, Breast Cancer Help, Inc., says Deborah Sterling will be missed for her service as President of Susan G. Komen for the Cure but she noted that, despite all of the money the organization has raised, there is still no discovery of a cause or cure for breast cancer. On August 8, Ms. Sterling announced that she will leave the organization in September. Meanwhile, Nancy G. Brinker, Founder/Chief Executive Officer, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, announced she will step down from her role as CEO, but still remain with the organization to focus on fundraising. The resignation […]

Letter to the Editor: Rebba Martin Thanks NYS Senator Martin Bingham for His Service

To the Editor: It has been my honor and pleasure to know Senator Martin Bingham for the past 20 years. His never-ending generosity to the community never ceases to astound me. In 1992, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I realized that there weren’t any breast cancer awareness organizations in Suffolk County. I was also concerned with the amount of women in my area who were diagnosed with breast cancer and how many of them lived on dead-end streets. I was also concerned about a local company that had been dumping cadmium, chromium, and other harmful chemicals into the […]

Rebba Martin Urges NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo to Sign Mammogram Bill into Law

Says Passage of Bill Will Mean Women with Dense Breast Tissue Will Have Another Tool for Early Detection while Researchers Attempt to Find a Cause and a Cure for the Disease (Bay Shore, New York) — Rebba Martin, President, Breast Cancer Help, Inc., is urging New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo to sign a bill into law that would provide the necessary information to women with dense breast tissue about the potential benefits of further screenings with their physician. She says this would give women another tool in the fight against breast cancer. The New York State Legislature recently passed a […]

Rebba Martin Comments on Recent Study That Uses Blood Tests to Determine Breast Cancer

Says It Means a Closer Step for Earlier Detection of Breast Cancer, But Women Should Still Utilize Traditional Imaging Methods for Detection of the Disease Rebba Martin, President, Breast Cancer Help, Inc., says that a recent study showing that blood tests could be used to determine breast cancer is a hopeful sign that it is one step closer to earlier detection may be found, but added that women should still get regular mammograms as more work needs to be done on the findings. The Lancet Oncology recently published a study from a group of researchers at the University of Texas MD […]