Fairfield Doctor, Mother Battles Breast Cancer and Raises Awareness

FAIRFIELD, CT — Neuropsychologist Dr. Rebecca Timlin-Scalera is a Fairfield mom with breast cancer and she’s on a mission.

Timlin-Scalera, the founder of The Cancer Couch Foundation, is launching a massive effort to fund research exclusively for metastatic breast cancer (when it spreads outside of the breast to other parts of the body).

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The goal is to fund research projects for metastatic breast cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and The Dana Farber Cancer Institute, with the potential for making this a chronic, but managed, condition rather than a terminal illness.

In hopes of raising awareness and funding for a cure, Timlin-Scalera has several, local events coming-up, including on June 17 — a Last Day of School Challenge, which is being held in conjunction with Saugatuck Sweets of Fairfield.

The Saugatuck Sweets Challenge Fundraiser will take place June 17 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 28 Reef Road in Fairfield.

In the challenge, which is open to all Fairfield students in grades K-12, teams of four try to eat as many scoops of ice cream as they can in five minutes.

For more information, see the flyer pictured above and register online at thecancercouch.com.

Read more about Timlin-Scalera in the contributed article below:

Rebecca Timlin-Scalera’s life changed on September 3, 2015 when she heard shocking words: “You have cancer.”

A wife, mother and neuropsychologist, Timlin-Scalera reacted to this news by founding The Cancer Couch Foundation to fund research for metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

MBC is the most deadly form of the disease, and 30 percent of people diagnosed with early stage breast cancer eventually develop MBC.

After discovering this, Timlin-Scalera decided to create a financially transparent, volunteer-managed foundation that puts donations to work directly for MBC patients.

If you know more than eight women, then breast cancer will impact your life at some point.

Rebecca Timlin-Scalera, a PhD neuropsychologist and mother of two, has lived the infamous statistic – that one in eight women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in her lifetime.

Timlin-Scalera was blindsided by an advanced breast cancer diagnosis. Initially told she had Stage II, she was then told she had Stage IV metastatic breast cancer, the most severe form of the disease. Her diagnosis was then reversed to Stage IIIC after a misdiagnosed bone biopsy.

In a matter of weeks, she went through the emotional and informational rollercoaster of experiencing nearly every stage of breast cancer before beginning treatment. Even as a medical professional, she received an eye-opening crash course into the world of breast cancer research, treatments and communities.

Having looked the most deadly form of breast cancer in the face, Timlin-Scalera resolved to take a stand to help prevent and cure breast cancer by creating The Cancer Couch Foundation.

The goal is to fund research projects for metastatic breast cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and The Dana Farber Cancer Institute, with the potential for making this a chronic, but managed, condition rather than a terminal illness.

The Cancer Couch Foundation is tied to Timlin-Scalera’s website of the same name, will gather private donations in addition to hosting large-scale events to raise money for and awareness of MBC.

The first of these events, “The Cancer Beat” rock concert and fundraiser with auction items including guitars signed by Bruce Springsteen and Glenn Frey, is planned for September 2016.

For more information about The Cancer Couch Foundation and Rebecca Timlin-Scalera, visit thecancercouch.com.