Breast cancer touches everyone. One out of every eight women will be diagnosed at some time in her life with the disease. Every one of them is somebody’s mother, daughter, grandmother or niece. Every one of them has family and friends. In all, over 2.8 million women in the U.S. have a history of or are currently being treated for breast cancer.

While deaths from breast cancer have been decreasing since 1989, over 40,000 women in the U.S. will die this year from the disease.

That’s why the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine has made researching breast cancer a priority. And that’s why its partnership with the Regis Foundation for Breast Cancer Research is an invaluable partner is this effort. Stylists in over 7,000 salons performed over 220,000 haircuts to raise money to fight breast cancer through its Clips for a Cure campaign. One haircut at a time.

And that commitment is paying off. Regis Corporation donated 10 percent of the proceeds from each one of these haircuts, and today, it announced a combined donation of $800,000 to two leading research centers in an ongoing effort to support the fight against breast cancer. The Foundation donated $400,000 to Mayo Clinic and $400,000 to the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota.

The donation to Mayo Clinic will be used to fund the Breast Cancer Genome-Guided Therapy (BEAUTY) study, Part 2. This will allow researchers to focus on the toughest breast cancer cases by sequencing tumors at a crucial point — following 18 to 20 weeks of treatment, when cancer has either been eradicated or developed resistance to chemotherapy. The Project BEAUTY study is designed to help researchers and physicians better understand why current standard chemotherapy eradicates breast cancer in some women but fails in others.

Dr. Judy Boughey

“This project is a highly collaborative study which requires imaging, tumor sequencing, pathological evaluation, along with generation of patient derived xenografts at multiple time points,” said Judy Boughey, M.D., and Matthew Goetz, M.D., co-chairs of the BEAUTY study, in a joint release. “This type of study could not be done without external support such as that provide by the Regis Foundation gift.”

Project BEAUTY is part of the Center for Individualized Medicine, an integrated, multidisciplinary genomics clinic, serving patients with advanced cancer and diagnostic dilemmas. The center discovers and integrates the latest in genomic, molecular and clinical sciences into personalized care for each Mayo Clinic patient.

Given the rapidly increasing number of new drugs and the explosion of genomic data, there is a great need to develop new ways to develop and test novel drugs. Furthermore, the timeline for development of new drugs typically takes 10-15 years. The BEAUTY project hopes to accelerate the process of discovery.

Dr. Matthew Goetz

“The goal of the second phase of the BEAUTY project will focus on patients resistant to standard chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant setting,” Drs. Boughey and Goetz added. “Patients and tumors will undergo genomic sequencing which will be used to inform the selection of novel agents which patients will receive prior to surgery. The overall goal is to accelerate the development of novel agents in a group of patients resistant to standard chemotherapy.”

Regis Corporation is a leader in beauty salons and cosmetology education with brands including Supercuts, SmartStyle and Regis Salons, and has supported breast cancer research since 1990 through its Regis Foundation for Breast Cancer Research. In all, it has raised more than $11 million for breast cancer research. The focus of this research is on prevention, early diagnosis, treatment and finding a cure.

Every October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness month, Regis Corporation salons, stylists, guests and business partners come together during the company’s annual Clip for the Cure campaign to raise money for breast cancer research. The campaign’s highlight includes a daylong hair cutting event where stylists at nearly 7,000 salons throughout the country give haircuts to over 220,000 guests. In addition, guests help raise funds by purchasing limited edition “pink” products and donating to the cause throughout the campaign.

“Breast cancer touches the lives of many of our guests, stylists, team members, friends and families, so we are proud to continue funding groundbreaking research to fight this devastating disease,” said Dan Hanrahan, CEO and president of Regis Corporation. “Regis believes in supporting Mayo Clinic and the University’s Masonic Cancer Center, both of which have tremendous research programs that work to find a cure for breast cancer.”

Over 30 Regis Corporation salon brands participated in the 2014 Clip for the Cure campaign. For more information, visit ClipForTheCure.org.

From all of us at CIM, to all the stylists who clipped for a cure, we say thank you! With your support, we can move forward in fighting breast cancer through research, hard work and a dedication that matches your commitment to bring an end to this deadly disease. For all your daughters, mothers, grandmother and friends and family. One haircut at a time.

Tags: BEAUTY, beauty project, breast cancer, cancer, center for individualized medicine, Clip for the Cure, Dr. Judy Boughey, Dr. Matthew Goetz, Regis Foundation, Regis Foundation for Breast Cancer Research, Uncategorized