Let's Rattle a Few Cages Together

Lately, I’ve given myself a new nickname: a cage rattler.

I often say, “I don’t want to rattle your cage, but…” right before sharing a hard truth about breast cancer, research, or what it really takes to move inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) forward.
I rattle cages because silence never saved a life.

As I write to you now, I think back to a letter from 2023 when I compared justice and charity. I said that The IBC Network Foundation was founded not just as an act of charity, but to correct an injustice — the lack of research and attention given to this aggressive, misunderstood disease.

This year, that mission reached a turning point. After being written about since the 1800s, inflammatory breast cancer finally has its own medical code. It became official on October 1, 2025.

That code might seem like a technical detail, but it’s a breakthrough. For the first time, researchers can clearly identify IBC cases in national databases — a vital step toward better data, stronger studies, and faster progress. Already, scientists who had grown discouraged are stepping up again. They feel seen. They feel hope. And that hope drives discovery.

Steady Work in a Shifting Landscape

It would be easy to call this a quiet year, but it’s been far from idle. Across the research world, COVID-era shifts and funding shortages have made it harder for small foundations to push projects forward. Many scientists changed direction, and national priorities often moved elsewhere. But we stayed the course.

• We continued to fund focused IBC research and keep essential studies alive. Additionally we offered for the first time five $1,000 grants to young researchers that will be awarded at the San Antonio Breast Symposium (SABCS) via a partnership with the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
• We showed up for key medical conferences, listening to what researchers need most and building partnerships to help meet that need and additionally served on panels.
• We strengthened international IBC networks — mentoring new groups abroad and collaborating with existing ones to expand global momentum.
• And we kept IBC visible in professional and patient circles, reminding all that this disease deserves the same attention and urgency as other breast cancers. Which led to our work and our founders' story to be featured in two separate documentaries in 2026.

These steps might not make headlines, but they build the foundation for the next wave of breakthroughs. They’re what made the new medical code possible — and what will make sure it leads to real change for patients.

Now It’s Time to Grow — Boldly

The IBC Network Foundation has always believed the best way to help patients is through funded, focused research. Thanks to your support, we’ve made solid progress, but the next chapter demands more.

We’re deeply grateful for every supporter, every monthly donor, every person who has stood with us. But to meet the opportunities ahead, we must take a larger step forward — together.

Our board is developing ambitious new goals to expand IBC research, education, and advocacy. Your support today will help us launch those plans and sustain the momentum this milestone has created.

Before this year ends, please make your donation — and if possible, ask your employer to match your gift or contribute as well. Your generosity ensures that IBC’s new visibility turns into lasting progress for patients everywhere.

Now that IBC is officially on the map, let’s make sure that milestone becomes a movement.

Let’s rattle a few cages together — not just for awareness, but for action, for research, and for every patient who deserves more time and more hope.

With gratitude and determination.

Hope always

Terry Lynn Arnold
Founder & CEO
The IBC Network Foundation

P.S. Every dollar you give this season fuels IBC research and advocacy — and moves us one step closer to a cure.