Breastcancer.org Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Does Immunotherapy Before Breast Cancer Surgery Offer Benefits? – Heard in the Halls: Voices From the 2019 SABCS Jan 07, 2020

Show notes

Dr. Luca Gianni, president of the Fondazione Michelangelo in Milan, discusses the results of the NeoTRIP trial, which looked to see if adding the immunotherapy medicine Tecentriq (chemical name: atezolizumab) to chemotherapy before surgery for triple-negative breast cancer with a high risk of recurrence could improve the time women lived without the cancer coming back.

What My Patients Are Asking: What Is the Lung Inflammation Side Effect Caused by CDK4/6 Inhibitors? Dec 20, 2019

Show notes

Brian Wojciechowski, M.D., practices medical oncology in Delaware County, Pennsylvania at Riddle, Taylor, and Crozer hospitals and also serves as Breastcancer.org's medical adviser. A native of South Philadelphia, he trained at Temple University School of Medicine and Lankenau Medical Center. Dr. Wojciechowski is a sought-after speaker on the topics of medical ethics and the biology of cancer.

In September 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a statement warning that the CDK4/6 inhibitors used to treat breast cancer:

Ibrance (chemical name: palbociclib)
Kisqali (chemical name: ribociclib)
Verzenio (chemical name: abemaciclib)

may cause rare but serious inflammation in the lungs.

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Wojciechowski talk about:

how CDK4/6 inhibitors are used to treat breast cancer
why we’re just hearing about this side effect now
the recommendations for anyone being treated with a CDK4/6 inhibitor

World-Record Swim 1 Year After Treatment Dec 17, 2019

Show notes

In September 2019, marathon swimmer Sarah Thomas did something that had never been done before: she swam the English Channel four times, non-stop. And she did this a year after completing treatment for stage II breast cancer.

Sarah started swimming lessons at age one and was on a year-round swim team by age 10. She swam on her high school team and in College at the University of Connecticut where she studied political science and journalism. She took a break from swimming while earning a master’s degree at the University of Denver, but joined a masters’ swim team after graduating.

In August 2017, Sarah swam 104.6 miles in Lake Champlain, the first current-neutral open water swim of more than 100 miles and the world record for the longest unassisted open water swim.

In November 2017, while planning her English Channel swim, she was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 35.

Listen to the podcast to hear Sarah talk about:

how she found the breast lump and what she did after that
how she talked to her doctors about treatments while she was planning her English Channel swim
what she thought about and how she ate during the 54-hour swim
how breast cancer has changed her

Photo credit: James Musselwhite

Mets, Sex, and Side Effects – Heard in the Halls: Voices From the 2019 SABCS Dec 17, 2019

Show notes

Dr. Kelly Shanahan, metastatic patient advocate, METAvivor board member, and former OB/GYN talks about the Mets, Sex, and Side Effects panel that she comoderated at the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. The panel was cosponsored by Breastcancer.org and Sermonix Pharmaceuticals.

Beneath the Breast – Heard in the Halls: Voices From the 2019 SABCS Dec 17, 2019

Show notes

Barbara and Tim Bigelow discuss Barbara’s metastatic breast cancer diagnosis and the side effects she experienced as one of the first people treated with immunotherapy for breast cancer. A board member of METAvivor, Barbara also explains the Beneath the Breast project, the latest initiative of the #ThisIsMBC campaign.

GRASP: Empowering Patients With Knowledge – Heard in the Halls: Voices From the 2019 SABCS Dec 13, 2019

Show notes

Felicia Johnson, who is living with metastatic disease, and Sharon Rivera-Sanchez, who was diagnosed in 2015 with triple-negative breast cancer, talk about what they learned during the GRASP (Guiding Researchers & Advocates to Scientific Partnerships) program.

Why Sexual Health Is Crucial for People With Metastatic Breast Cancer – Heard in the Halls: Voices From the 2019 SABCS Dec 13, 2019

Show notes

Dr. Stephanie Graff, director of the Breast Cancer Program at the Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute, talks about why sexual health is so important for people living with metastatic breast disease and offers tips for people who may be uncomfortable bringing up the topic with their oncologist.

Chemo Brain Update: Cancer-Related Cognitive Decline Nov 22, 2019

Show notes

Erica Guardascione is a speech-language pathologist at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. She’s also a curriculum developer and faculty member at ReVital Cancer Rehabilitation.

After completing her undergraduate degree in speech-language pathology at Hofstra University, Erica went on to pursue graduate studies at Nova Southeastern University. She has practiced for more than a decade as a clinical specialist in the Cognitive Rehabilitation Program at Kessler. The program is designed to help people with brain injuries rebuild cognitive skills, restore physical and emotional strength, and maximize independence.

Erica is a clinical lead in the program. Erica has a deep interest in cancer-related cognitive problems and is considered an authority on attention, focus, and memory impairments and rehabilitation strategies. As a faculty member at ReVital Cancer Rehabilitation, she recently co-led a continuing education course for therapists and other clinicians called “Cancer-Related Cognitive Decline.”

Listen to the podcast to hear Erica explain:

why “cancer-related cognitive decline” is the most up-to-date term for chemo brain
the factors that can contribute to cognitive decline after a cancer diagnosis
some broad steps that people can take to help manage any thinking and memory problems they may be having

Sharing Knowledge: Pairing Experts With Patient Advocates Nov 08, 2019

Show notes

Christine Hodgdon was diagnosed with de novo metastatic breast cancer in April 2015 and became heavily involved in the metastatic community after attending a Metavivor advocacy event on Capitol Hill to push for more research funding for metastatic breast cancer.

Christine volunteers with a number of breast cancer organizations, including Living Beyond Breast Cancer, METAvivor, and the Tigerlily Foundation. She also has contributed articles and blogs to organizations to raise awareness of metastatic breast cancer and serves as a peer mentor for the Young Survival Coalition.

Before she was diagnosed, Christine loved to travel and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala from 2011-2013. When she returned, she worked as a conservation biologist to save habitat for endangered species. Now Christine is using her science background to create an open-access online forum thestormriders.org that provides the most recent and scientifically accurate information about breast cancer and its treatments, including metastatic breast cancer clinical trials and drugs and therapies in the pipeline. She also has created a pilot program, pairing oncology experts with new patient advocates at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, which is what we talk about during this podcast.

Listen to the podcast to hear Christine talk about:

how the cancer diagnoses changed her
how she keeps up with breast cancer research
her pilot program to pair oncology experts and patient advocates at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
what she wants people to know about metastatic breast cancer

How to Ease Aromatase Inhibitor-Related Pain Oct 21, 2019

Show notes

Ashish Khanna, M.D., is a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and part of the ReVital Cancer Rehabilitation Program. Dr. Khanna completed his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Kingsbrook Jewish Rehabilitation Institute in Brooklyn, NY, where he became interested in cancer rehabilitation early on. He completed his fellowship subspecialization in cancer rehabilitation at Medstar Georgetown University and the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, DC. He specializes in the treatment of people who have pain or functional issues as a result of cancer or cancer treatments, including people who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. This includes pain, shoulder issues, fatigue, joint pain from aromatase inhibitors, and other issues. He has lectured at numerous international conferences, has published peer-reviewed research on a variety of related topics, and is the co-author of an upcoming book on cancer rehabilitation.

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Khanna discuss:

what aromatase inhibitors are and how they treat hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer
why and how aromatase inhibitors cause joint pain
how exercise can reduce aromatase inhibitor-related joint pain
other ways to ease this joint pain

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