Sandra L. Spivey, a passionate patient advocate and an Affiliate member of the AACR, died March 15, 2021, at the age of 68.
Spivey was born January 4, 1953. At age 42, she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. Three years later, she learned that her cancer had metastasized. For the rest of her life, while undergoing countless cancer treatments and working in human resources, she advocated for more research into metastatic breast cancer. She attended the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and meetings of the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC), and she had planned to participate in the 2021 AACR Annual Meeting as part of the AACR’s Scientist↔Survivor Program.
Spivey served as a peer counselor for After Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Living Beyond Breast Cancer, and she volunteered with the Y-Me Helpline. She graduated from the NBCC’s Project LEAD, which trains patients to participate on peer review panels. She was a Komen National Scholar and was a member of the Komen Advocates in Science Steering Committee.
Spivey joined the AACR in 2020 as an Affiliate member and was part of the Women in Cancer Research membership group.
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Sandra was a beautiful human being. She was very kind to me in my darkest moments. She continued to keep in touch. She didn’t sugar coat my diagnosis but always gave words of encouragement. I’m sadden to hear that she is gone. Her uplifting spirit lives on in all of the people’s lives she’s touched. May she Rest In Peace.