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Voices of Life is a Pfizer initiative that seeks to shine a light on the day to day impact of metastatic breast cancer (mBC) on a patient’s quality of life.

Through tips and resources, we want to encourage more transparent conversations between women and healthcare professionals to make quality of life a priority for all mBC patients.

Quality of Life Conversations

This video series brings together women living with mBC and healthcare professionals to discuss how quality of life is impacted after diagnosis and why open conversations should be prioritised. Watch our series below and learn how to approach conversations with your patients around quality of life.

Maintaining Intimacy and Connections Whilst Living with mBC

Watch the full conversation between patient advocate Eva Schumacher-Wulf and Dr. Alessandra Fabi, Director of Unit of Precision Medicine in Breast Cancer at the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli in Rome, as they discuss the challenges of maintaining intimacy and sexuality while living with mBC.

Keeping Connected and Staying Social Whilst Living with mBC

Watch the full conversation between patient advocates Renate Heisenberg and Eva Schumacher-Wulf, and Professor Annette Hasenburg, Director of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at the University of Medicine in Mainz, as they discuss the importance of staying connected to friends, family, and community to protect emotional wellbeing.

Recognising Fatigue and Prioritising Rest Whilst Living with mBC

Watch the full conversation between patient advocate Renate Heisenberg and Dr. Stefano Magno, Breast Surgeon at the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli in Rome, as they discuss the practical ways to cope with the persistent, often overwhelming tiredness caused by mBC, to better preserve energy and quality of life.¹

Improving the quality of life of women with mBC

Quality of life is defined by the World Health Organisation as the way someone sees their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live, and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns.²

It is deeply personal to patients, and for women with mBC, it’s about more than physical symptoms; it’s also about their emotions, relationships, and what they love to do.

By having conversations that go beyond the physical discomfort and focus on all aspects of wellbeing, such as mental health, nutrition, physical activity, intimacy, rest, and social connection, you can work together to define what ‘doing well’ truly means for them. This will help ensure patients receive care and support that not only focuses on length of life but also helps them nurture and strengthen the quality of their day to day life.³

This involves:

Acknowledging and validating

The very real challenges patients face, such as fatigue and social isolation.^4,5

Developing personalised advice

For nutrition,⁶ exercise and mobility,⁷and rest.⁸

Enabling access to specialists

To allow patients to discuss topics such as their mental wellbeing⁸and challenges with intimacy.⁹

We would like to dedicate this campaign with deep gratitude, to the life and legacy of

Eva Schumacher-Wulf

who passed in July 2026.

Eva was a valued partner in our Voices of Life campaign, bringing her expertise as a medical journalist and Editor-in-Chief of ‘Mamma Mia! Magazine’. She brought a unique combination of warmth, determination, and courage to mBC advocacy.

Thank you, Eva, for your dedication, your wisdom, and the light you brought to patient advocacy.

References

1. Karsten MM, et al. Electronic Patient-Reported Outcome Monitoring With Alert-Based Interventions in Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol. Published online August 6, 2026. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2026.2661 

2.Clarijs ME et al, et al. Measuring Quality of Life Using Patient-Reported Outcomes in Real-World Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients: The Need for a Standardised Approach. Cancers (Basel). 2021 May 12;13(10):2308. doi: 10.3390/cancers13102308.

3. Clarijs ME, et al. Measuring Quality of Life Using Patient-Reported Outcomes in Real-World Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients: The Need for a Standardised Approach. Cancers (Basel). 2021 May 12;13(10):2308. doi: 10.3390/cancers13102308.  

4. Mosher CE, et al. (2014). Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Qualitative Analysis of Physical, Psychological, and Social Sequelae. The Breast Journal, 19(3), 285–292. (PDF p. 2 [p. 286], p. 7 [p. 291], p. 9 [p. 293]).  

5. Lewis S, at al. (2024). The incurable self: Negotiating social bonds and dis/connection with metastatic breast cancer. Sociology of Health & Illness, 46(2), 295–314. (PDF p. 2 [p. 296], pp. 7–9 [pp. 301–303]).

6. Teresa C, Boyce LM, Lopez CA, Tonorezos ES. (2020). Food intake during cancer therapy: a systematic review. American Journal of Clinical Oncology, 43(11), 813–819. (PDF p. 2 [p. 814], pp. 7–8 [pp. 819–820]).

7. Hiensch AE, Depenbusch J, Schmidt ME, et al. (2024). Supervised, structured and individualized exercise in metastatic breast cancer: a randomized controlled trial. Nature Medicine, 30, 2957–2966. (PDF p. 1 [p. 2957], p. 6 [p. 2962], p. 22 [Extended Data Table 7]).

8. Zimmaro LA, Carson JW, Olsen MK, et al. (2020). Greater Mindfulness Associated With Lower Pain, Fatigue, and Psychological Distress in Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 29(2), 263–270. (PDF p. 4, p. 8); Hiensch AE et al. (2024). (PDF p. 2 [p. 2958], p. 5 [Table 2]).  

9. Reese JB, Zimmaro LA, McIlhenny S, et al. (2022). Coping With Changes to Sex and Intimacy After a Diagnosis of Metastatic Breast Cancer: Results From a Qualitative Investigation With Patients and Partners. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 864893. (PDF p. 2, p. 12).