Hi. I’m Ayanna Kalasunas, a Living Beyond Breast Cancer board member. I’m inviting you to join us for a special social media campaign today: Beyond the Breast. We’re taking over social media to talk about an important and often overlooked topic – metastatic or stage IV breast cancer. Because stage IV breast cancer is not the same as stages 0, I, II or III.

Metastatic breast cancer means that cancer that originated in the breast has spread to another part of the body – most commonly the brain, bones, liver or lungs. There is no cure for metastatic breast cancer and those diagnosed with this stage of disease will be in treatment for the rest of their lives.

I know because I’m living with metastatic breast cancer. Like the tens of thousands of others who are also affected by metastatic disease, breast cancer isn’t something I’m “aware” of only during the month of October. For me, for us, breast cancer awareness is every minute, of every day, of every week, of every month of every year.

We want our voices to be heard, too.

Throughout the day, Beyond the Breast will give voice to what a stage IV diagnosis really means, using the stories of real women and men impacted by it. We need you to help spread word of the campaign and share its messages, as well as your own, on social media and encourage those in your network to do the same while using #BeyondTheBreast. Regardless of the how you have been personally affected by breast cancer, you can help make Beyond The Breast a social media phenomenon.

In addition to sharing our information and your experiences, you can also get involved by taking photos with these signs:

Visit lbbc.org/beyondthebreast to download and print these campaign signs. After you print the sign or signs that work best for you, hold them near where your breast cancer has metastasized and take a selfie or have someone snap a picture of you.

Then post it on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using #BeyondTheBreast. If you’d like, get friends and family to join you. See Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to discover how others are using the signs.

This is really important. We need your help and are calling on all of you to take action. Please check out lbbc.org/beyondthebreast to learn more about this campaign.

Help us show the public what true breast cancer awareness means – including the facts and experiences of what it means to be diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer.