Stockbridge Cancer Survivor Reviewer for Research Funding
By Shari McLaughlin

Cancer. Is there anyone who hasn’t been affected by it? If you had the power to decide which cancer research got federally funded, how would you decide what research was the most relevant, important and necessary?

Stockbridge resident Susan Pelletier is doing just that as a peer reviewer for the U.S. Dept of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). It’s a little known fact that federal funds for cancer research are funneled through the DOD. For almost five years, Pelletier has quietly worked behind the scenes with doctors and scientists rating the value of research proposals submitted not just to the DOD, but on behalf of the California and New York Breast Cancer Research Programs and American Cancer Society, too.

Pelletier’s credentials came the hard way. At age 10, she lost her mother to breast cancer; at 44, she was diagnosed herself, and at 52, was diagnosed with a recurrence. But don’t feel sorry for this vivacious woman with the sparkling blue eyes for one second.

"When I was diagnosed with a recurrence in November, I felt very powerful because I had so much information," Pelletier said. "I knew I was going to be okay. The first time, I just expected the doctor to take me by the hand and lead me through the process. I had no idea I was going to have to make the kinds of decisions I had to make." She said she learned "knowledge is power when you’re dealing with any kind of disease."

Becoming an activist and advocate on her own behalf led Pelletier to activism and advocacy on behalf of others. She began participating in fundraisers like the Komen Race for the Cure and the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, organizing and volunteering in support programs, attending symposiums and even donating bone marrow to a young leukemia patient.

Pelletier continued to search for information and found plenty of "fluff, but I wanted more hardcore information." This led to the formation of a group of online buddies, nine women like herself who, she says, "are all a bunch of info junkies, swapping information on the latest in cancer research."

Pelletier then discovered Breast Cancer Action and was nominated by its director to attend her first DOD Research Program as a peer reviewer, but first completed an intensive five-day program to develop the required skills. She’s now done over 200 reviews and has become so accomplished and respected that she can exercise more control and discretion over which proposals she reviews. She’s even been selected by the DOD to attend its Era of Hope meeting, one of the premiere breast cancer research conferences in the U.S., in June.

"We’re extremely fortunate to have doctors and scientists who dedicate their lives to finding a cure for cancer," said Pelletier. "My aunt told me my mom was always asking questions, always pushing for more information from the doctors, never backing down. That must be where I get it from. I guess that’s my mom’s legacy to me."

And to us.

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