Marlena Murphy joined The Light Collective in 2022 on behalf of GRASP Cancer. Learn more about the mission of GRASP Cancer here.
In 2018, Marlena Murphy was diagnosed with stage III triple-negative breast cancer. In 2019, as a patient advocate, she attended the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. After that, Marlena attended virtual GRASP sessions in 2020 and 2021 as a patient advocate. As a result of being a GRASP participant, in 2021 Marlena submitted feedback for an article on GRASP for Cancer Therapy Advisor, an online news source. She serves as a volunteer on the Emory Winship Cancer Institute Patient and Family Advisory (PFA) Council.
Because of Marlena’s commitment to advocacy and seeking knowledge beyond the realm of breast cancer, she was offered a position as a program manager with GRASP in 2021. Marlena has participated as a DOD Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) consumer grant reviewer, and will be featured in the 2022 AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report. As a result of her diagnosis and desire to help people, Marlena entered grad school in 2020 to become a Clinical Mental Health Counselor. Marlena plans to use the degree to provide therapy for breast cancer patients and survivors.