Mary Costello

Mary was previously a patient leader on AdvancedBreastCancer.net.

Mary E. Costello, aka “Cos,” is a Social Worker by education, systems-orientation, and spirit. She is a former senior-level human services administrator, mental health counselor and case manager, and high-profile State of Maryland disability advocate turned full-service independent nonprofit consultant.

Diagnosed with de novo Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) in July 2020, Mary speaks publicly about her experiences since diagnosis, and serves as a voice for those uncomfortable telling their own stories and for those who no longer can. As an advocate, she seeks to provide support and information—and hope—to newly-diagnosed folks, influence better policy and research outcomes, participate in identification and resolution of support service gaps (especially for historically marginalized communities), help healthcare providers increase cultural humility and person-first language, and make “patient-centered” more than a buzzword.

Mary is connected to all the key breast cancer and MBC organizations in the United States. She has been actively engaged with METAvivor since July 2021, has served on The Johns Hopkins INSPIRE Breast Cancer Research Advocacy Program team since April of 2022, and is an alumni member of the 2023 Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) Hear My Voice advocate training cohort. She has written multiple articles for AdvancedBreastCancer.net, served as a moderator/admin for two Facebook groups that support newly- diagnosed MBC patients, and appeared as an advocate presenter for a virtual workshop on the “Cost of Cancer” at LBBC’s Thriving Together: 2023 Conference on Metastatic Breast Cancer. Mary expanded her advocacy work to include the broader fight for health justice for all and critically-needed healthcare reform, joining Be A Hero as an activist/advocate volunteer in July 2023.

She has several personal projects under development, including “CancerAside”—a regular sub-series of her soon-to-be-launched social justice podcast, “CosEffect.” Most importantly, in 2023, Mary founded MoreFor4, Inc., a national 501(c)(3) organization that addresses unmet financial and other needs of persons living with Stage IV cancers. In addition to unique programming by and for this diverse community, M44 creates innovative, customized, rapid-response solutions for individuals who lack fiscal resources, family, and adequate support systems. You can learn more about M44 by visiting https://www.morefor4.org.

Click here to read all of Mary's articles on AdvancedBreastCancer.net