Our Story

The Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation was founded in 2006 in honor of Nancy Block-Zenna, a young woman who was diagnosed at age 35 with triple negative breast cancer and passed away two and a half years later in 2007. In response to Nancy’s diagnosis, her close friends launched the TNBC Foundation to raise awareness and support research in the area of triple negative breast cancer.

It was Nancy’s hope that, as her daughter Jolie grows older, triple negative breast cancer will no longer be the threat it is today. All of us at the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation share Nancy’s hope. Please join us as we work towards finding better treatment options and, eventually, a cure for this disease.

Zenna Family
Zenna Wedding

Our Beginnings

When Nancy was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, Robyn Littman was devastated. Nancy had been her close friend since childhood and the friendship continued stronger than ever. Robyn often accompanied Nancy to her treatments and was there with emotional support for Nancy’s husband, daughter and mother.

When insurance refused to cover one of many recommended courses of chemotherapy, Robyn was determined to help financially. She and her husband Jason had beach towels printed bearing the following symbols: a peace sign, a heart and a pink ribbon. And so began the “Peace Love and a Cure” campaign.

Robyn developed a networking plan and marketed the towels throughout Long Island, New York. Soon Nancy’s friends and family in other parts of New York, New Jersey and Florida learned about it and asked to help by doing the same in their own communities. It seemed that everyone who knew Nancy, or heard her story, wanted to help.

Eventually, the insurance company covered Nancy’s chemotherapy treatments. However, the sale of towels had raised over $9,000 by that time. As the funds were no longer needed for treatments and Nancy refused to use it for any other expenses, a plan was needed for the money. Nancy felt strongly that something important and helpful to others should be done with it. Thus, the $9,000 raised by the sale of the “Peace Love and a Cure” towels became the seed money for the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation. Robyn’s towels and hard work, together with all the other wonderful people who joined in, gave life to this Foundation. Without all of them, TNBC would not exist.

Today Robyn and Jason continue to support the foundation as it grows hoping, as we all do, that a cure for triple negative breast cancer can one day be found. We want to give them a very special “Thank You” for all that they have done and continue to do, in memory of their dear friend Nancy.