Breastcancer.org Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Flat: How One Woman Reclaimed Her Body From Breast Cancer Oct 30, 2018

Show notes

Catherine Guthrie is a women’s health journalist with two decades of experience in the magazine and publishing industry. She has written for Cosmopolitan; O, The Oprah Magazine; Slate; Time; and Better Homes and Gardens, among others.

In 2009, at age 38, Catherine was diagnosed with breast cancer. Although the cancer was only in one breast, she opted for a double mastectomy and chose not to reconstruct. She was diagnosed with breast cancer a second time a year later in 2010. During her treatment, she searched for a memoir where the narrator grappled with the reality of the disease, where she unpacked questions about reconstruction, and challenged the tacit assumptions about what women want or need to feel whole after cancer. She couldn’t find a book that filled that niche, so she wrote one. Catherine’s queer, feminist memoir, FLAT: Reclaiming My Body From Breast Cancer, was published in September 2018.

Listen to the podcast to hear Catherine discuss:

“the male gaze” and how it informs breast reconstruction, even if the surgeon is a woman
how her queerness affected her experience with breast cancer
how her experience with breast cancer has changed how she reports on the disease
her advice to women on things they can do to help ensure that their choices about reconstruction — or not — are respected by surgeons

Post-Mastectomy Pain Syndrome: What It Is and How It's Treated Oct 30, 2018

Show notes

Michael Stubblefield, M.D. is medical director of cancer rehabilitation at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in New Jersey and the national medical director for Select Medical’s ReVital Cancer Rehabilitation program. He is known around the world for his expertise in the identification, evaluation, and rehabilitation of pain and functional disorders caused by cancer and cancer treatments, particularly problems caused by radiation and chemotherapy. Dr. Stubblefield is an accomplished researcher and has published extensively on medical rehabilitation, oncology, pain management, palliative care, and neurophysiology.

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Stubblefield explain:

the definition of post-mastectomy pain syndrome and the different ways it affects people
how surgeries and radiation can cause this pain syndrome
treatments for post-mastectomy pain syndrome
the three things that anyone experiencing post-mastectomy pain syndrome should know

Survivorship Care Plans Oct 19, 2018

Show notes

An adult nurse practitioner, Dori Klemanski, DNP, CNP is clinical director of survivorship at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. In this role she helps identify the unmet needs of cancer survivors, as well as late- and long-term effects of treatment. She also oversees the creation of survivorship care plans to meet the long-term needs of survivors.

Listen to the podcast to hear Klemanski explain:

what a survivorship care plan is and the information included in one
why it’s so important that a survivorship care plan be personalized
who creates a survivorship care plan
how to get a survivorship care plan if you don’t have one

Neuropathy: Causes and Treatments Aug 16, 2018

Show notes

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Stubblefield explain:

what neuropathy is, how it happens, and the treatments that can cause it
how to explain neuropathy to friends and family
risk factors for neuropathy
treatments for neuropathy
the three things that anyone diagnosed with neuropathy should know

Advocating as a Man With Metastatic Breast Cancer Aug 14, 2018

Show notes

Michael Kovarik is a retired elementary school teacher who is living with metastatic breast cancer. He is the author of “Healing Within: My Journey with Breast Cancer” and the former host of the Healing Journeys with Michael Kovarik radio show. He was also one of the people profiled in Breast Cancer: A Story Half Told, a campaign to increase public awareness of metastatic breast cancer. Since his metastatic diagnosis, Michael participates in a number of advocacy organizations, including the Male Breast Cancer Coalition, the MBC Alliance, and METAvivor.

Listen to the podcast to hear Michael talk about:

the importance of the doctor-patient relationship
the importance of a support system
deciding not to let fear run his life
becoming an advocate and sharing his story
how being stage IV has helped him live his truth

Revision Reconstruction: What You Need to Know Jun 19, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Frank DellaCroce, or "Dr. D" as he has come to be known, is a founding partner of the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery and St. Charles Surgical Hospital in New Orleans. Board-certified in plastic surgery, Dr. D has performed thousands of reconstructive procedures, both for women diagnosed with breast cancer and women at high risk of the disease who choose to have prophylactic breast removal. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of numerous professional societies, including the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery, and the World Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery. He also has been named one of the "Best Doctors in America."

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. D discuss:

why a woman might consider revision reconstruction
the results of revision reconstruction: what to expect, as well as recovery and side effects
questions to ask a plastic surgeon if you’re considering revision reconstruction

Evolving Mutations in Metastatic Breast Cancer May 08, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Utthara Nayar is a research fellow in medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Harvard Medical School, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. A cancer biologist, her broad research focuses on the interface of basic biology, targeted medicines, and drug resistance. At the 2018 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, she presented research looking at how acquired HER2 mutations can make some metastatic hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers resistant to hormonal therapy.

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Nayar explain:

the number of metastatic hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers that become resistant to hormonal therapy
what whole exome sequencing is and why she and her colleagues used it in this study
the possibility that genetic sequencing of cancers could be an ongoing part of treatment at some point in the future

Advances in Breast Cancer Treatment May 08, 2018

Show notes

Dr. C. Kent Osborne is director of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine, where he is also a professor and the Dudley and Tina Sharp Chair for Cancer Research. Since 1992, he has been a codirector of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, the world's largest conference focusing entirely on breast cancer. His own research focuses on improving the effectiveness of hormonal therapy medicines and targeted therapies that treat HER2-positive disease. At the 2018 American Association for Cancer Annual Meeting, Dr. Osborne was honored with the 2018 AACR Distinguished Award for Extraordinary Scientific Achievement and Leadership in Breast Cancer Research, in part for his stewardship of the San Antonio Symposium.

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Osborne discuss:

how our understanding of breast cancer has changed since the 1970s
the most promising areas of breast cancer research going on right now
the feasibility of a cure for breast cancer

Adding the Patient Perspective to Research -- Heard in the Halls: Voices From the 2018 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting May 08, 2018

Show notes

Desirée Walker, who calls herself a two-time breast cancer "victor," talks about her poster on the importance of involving patients in breast cancer research projects.

The Bodice Project -- Heard in the Halls: Voices From the 2018 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting May 07, 2018

Show notes

Artist Kathryn Stella, vice president of the Bodice Project, discusses how the sculptural exhibit promotes inner healing among women and men who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

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