About us
ABCD provides customized, one-to-one emotional support to anyone impacted by a breast cancer diagnosis. While we are founded and grounded in Milwaukee, WI, our services are available to anyone in the world.
Working as a complement to the medical team, and drawing from a pool of more than 200 professionally-trained Mentors, ABCD pairs people who not only share a similar diagnosis and treatment plan, but who also have common interests, personal traits and family dynamics.
ABCD’s support services are free and delivered at time of diagnosis, during treatment and into survivorship.
ABCD does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.
The Power of One-to-One
Decades of research indicate that patients who take advantage of non-clinical support like ABCD’s customized, one-to-one support are more likely to finish treatment, have improved survival rates, show a reduced risk of recurrence, and report experiencing less distress, healthier social relationships, and an improved quality of life.
– National Cancer Institute, Office of Cancer Survivorship and National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
ABCD’s “Leaping Lady” by artist Dave Cutler represents a breast cancer patient’s journey from fear and darkness to hope and light.
“I was honored when ABCD asked me to create art for the organization. It makes me happy to know that my work can help a meaningful cause. Doing so is perhaps my greatest joy in being an artist, that is, to help others even if it is in some small way.”
— Dave Cutler
Our Founder
In 1992, Melodie Wilson Oldenburg, an Emmy award-winning Milwaukee journalist, announced on live television that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Being in the public eye, she continued talking about her disease. Letters came in from people Melodie had never met, offering hope, guidance and understanding. They too had been diagnosed with breast cancer and wanted to show their support by sharing their personal experience with her. Melodie quickly realized the many benefits of emotional support and the lack of resources from those who had been through a breast cancer diagnosis and really understood. She brought together physicians, clinicians, survivors, patients and caregivers and launched ABCD in 1999.
To this day, her founding vision remains clear: “No one should go through breast cancer alone” after hearing the words, “you have breast cancer.”
Support for underserved markets
African American Outreach Programming
This outreach program seeks to reduce breast cancer morbidity and mortality among black women who reside in high-risk neighborhoods of Milwaukee’s inner city. ABCD and Nurses Affecting Change focus on providing breast health and breast cancer risk management education and support to the mothers, sisters, daughters, nieces and other family members of women who have experienced breast cancer firsthand. For more information, please contact Bonnie Anderson at (414) 745-4684.
Nuestra Conexión
Launched in 2017, ABCD’s Nuestra Conexión Project addresses health disparity and access to care issues in Southeastern Wisconsin’s Latino communities. Together with healthcare providers and community leaders, Nuestra Conexión delivers needed information on breast cancer survivorship and breast health education in a comprehensive, culturally-sensitive platform. Core activities include strategic partnerships, targeted outreach and community involvement and recruitment and training of Spanish-speaking Mentors for our free signature service of providing emotional support through one-to-one mentoring.
Nuestra Conexión supports anyone in the Hispanic community affected by breast cancer (patients, families, caregivers and friends) who, for a variety of reasons, have not benefited as much as other population groups from supportive services. By breaking through cultural barriers, we are able to reach and serve more people in need of our free, non-clinical, personalized, peer-to-peer emotional support services.
According to the NCI, while the incidence of breast cancer in Latinos is modestly lower than that of Caucasians and African Americans, there is a much higher rate of late diagnosis and mortality. By providing support in Spanish and being present in Southeastern Wisconsin’s Latino communities, ABCD is educating people about early detection, survivorship and emotional support so that they can be informed and live their best life.
Pink Shawl Initiative
ABCD is a proud community partner of the Wisconsin Inter-Tribal Pink Shawl Initiative. Together we strive to reduce breast cancer in American Indian communities through education, advocacy and service. Raising awareness of available resources will hopefully result in an increase in the number of American Indian women accessing screening opportunities.
Learn more about the healing effects of customized breast cancer support by visiting the following organizations:
National Cancer Institute ›
Office of Cancer Survivorship ›
National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship ›
