For 20 years, ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis has offered its emotional support program to breast cancer patients and their loved ones.
Participants are paired with breast cancer survivors who have undergone professional training, based on their hobbies, age, background, marital and family status and similar cancer diagnoses.
Formed in 1999 by Melodie Wilson Oldenburg, a Milwaukee broadcast journalist and Emmy award winner, ABCD has helped nearly 100,000 individuals worldwide. ABCD maintains partnerships with many Milwaukee area businesses, including Kessler’s Diamonds, Brady Corp., and Bayshore Town Center, which work with the organization to spread awareness about ABCD’s mission.
With a $750,000 investment by Hal Leonard Corp. chairman and chief executive officer Keith Mardak – which is part of a four-year, $2 million sustainability challenge grant – ABCD plans to expand its services. Several goals of the Mardak 2020 Breast Cancer Initiative include increasing outreach in Milwaukee’s African-American and Latina communities and adopting Salesforce’s customer relationship management software.
“We’re here to complement the outstanding medical care that people are able to receive … by helping people sort through the fears, feelings and questions that come along with a breast cancer diagnosis.”
-Ellen Friebert Schupper, executive director of ABCD
