Breastcancer.org Podcast

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

Show notes

Dr. Levi Garraway, senior vice president of oncology development and medical affairs at Eli Lilly and Company, discusses some of the research highlights at the 2018 AACR Annual Meeting, particularly those in breast cancer.

Clinical Trials Part I: Clinical Trial Basics Apr 30, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Jennifer Litton is a board certified medical oncologist and associate professor of breast medical oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Her research focuses on the genetics of breast cancer and how the genes of a breast cancer change at the molecular level. She has been principal investigator on a number of research projects and is a member of the Genetic/Familial High Risk Assessment: Breast and Ovarian guideline expert panel for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Litton discuss:

the phases of clinical trials and why each is important
the benefits and risks of being part of a clinical trial
how to withdraw from a clinical trial
how care works in a clinical trial
how to find clinical trials

Immunotherapy for Breast Cancer: Part II Apr 26, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Jennifer Litton is a board certified medical oncologist and associate professor of breast medical oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where she is chief of the Section of Clinical Research and Drug Development for Breast Cancer. She also is a member of the Breast Immuno-Oncology Task Force of the National Cancer Institute.

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Litton discuss:

how immunotherapy medicines work
why immunotherapy medicines haven’t seemed to work as well in breast cancer as they have in other cancers
the direction of immunotherapy research for breast cancer

Managing Breast Cancer Surgery Side Effects Apr 12, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Alexander Miller is a surgical oncologist who specializes in treating breast cancer and people at high risk of the disease. Currently at the START Center for Cancer Care in San Antonio, Texas, he trained at MD Anderson and the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Miller has received awards for excellence in research, education, and patient care. He has been lead or collaborating researcher for several studies on breast cancer treatments, prevention, genetic testing, and the psychosocial experiences of people receiving cancer care.

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Miller explain:

the most common side effects of both mastectomy and lumpectomy and how to manage them
why the risk of lymphedema, while still a concern, has gone down in the last 10 years
steps people can take before surgery to reduce the risk of side effects

Clinical Trials Part 2: How Are the Results Used? Apr 12, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Dawn Hershman is professor of medicine and epidemiology at Columbia University. She also serves as leader of the Breast Cancer Program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia and is nationally recognized for her expertise in breast cancer treatment, prevention, and survivorship. A member of the Breastcancer.org Professional Advisory Board, Dr. Hershman also has conducted extensive research on breast cancer treatment and quality of life -- she has published more than 250 scientific papers and has received the Advanced Clinical Research Award in Breast Cancer from the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Advanced Medical Achievement Award from the Avon Foundation. Dr. Hershman is also on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Oncology and is an associate editor at the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Hershman explain:

how clinical trial results are used
how clinical trial results have changed the standard of care
why factors such as diet or exercise for reducing breast cancer risk are difficult to study in clinical trials
why some trials are stopped early because of good or not-so-good results

Immunotherapy for Breast Cancer: Part 1 Apr 05, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Sherene Loi is a medical oncologist who specializes in treating breast cancer. In addition to treating patients, particularly patients diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer, she also leads the Translation Breast Cancer Genomics and Therapeutics Laboratory at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia, where she is a professor. Much of her clinical research focuses on investigating new treatments, such as immunotherapy, especially for breast cancers that have become resistant to standard treatments.

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Loi explain:

results from the PANACEA trial, which looked at using the immunotherapy medicine Keytruda (chemical name: pembrolizumab) along with Herceptin to treat Herceptin-resistant, HER2-positive, advanced-stage breast cancer that had high levels of PDL-1, a biomarker that indicates that Keytruda will be effective
how an immunotherapy medicine like Keytruda works
what tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are and why cancer tumors with high numbers of TILs seem to respond better to immunotherapy
side effects of immunotherapy medicines

Doctor-Patient Communication for People With Metastatic Disease Mar 29, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Timothy Pluard is medical director at the Saint Luke’s Cancer Institute and the Koontz Center for Advanced Breast Cancer in Kansas City, Missouri. A medical oncologist, Dr. Pluard specializes in offering comprehensive care, including treatments that use advanced genomics and immunotherapy to women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. He also incorporates nutrition planning, spiritual counseling, exercise physiology, massage, yoga, palliative care, and emotional support into patient care. He also advises patients on participating in clinical trials on leading-edge treatments for advanced-stage breast cancer. Many of Dr. Pluard’s patients have praised his communication skills.

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Pluard discuss:

how he tailors his communication to each individual patient and that person’s unique situation
how he talks to patients about disappointing news, such as cancer progression or a treatment that stops working
what makes someone a good communicator
his tips on how to make doctor-patient communication the best it can be

The Serenity Project Mar 20, 2018

Show notes

Beth Fairchild was diagnosed with de novo metastatic breast cancer in 2014 at age 34. The diagnosis was a surprise to her because her mammogram results from the month before were negative, and she had never had a lump in her breast. Beth was familiar with breast cancer though. Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 44, and her paternal grandmother died from breast cancer at age 33.

An artist and tattoo professional, Beth and her husband own five tattoo studios. Her focus is on permanent cosmetics, scar camouflage, and areola restoration for people diagnosed with breast cancer. Beth is the current president of METAvivor, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing awareness of metastatic breast cancer and funding research on metastatic disease. Beth also is one of the creators of the Serenity Project, a metastatic breast cancer support campaign that gives patients an opportunity to tell their personal metastatic breast cancer stories through a series of photos and videos.

Listen to the podcast to hear Beth talk about:

what the Serenity Project is
the inspiration for the Serenity Project and how it became reality
what the participants have said about the project
what public reaction has been to the project

Listen to Beth's other podcast, Permanent Cosmetics, Scar Camouflage, and Nipple Tattooing.

Permanent Cosmetics, Scar Camouflage, and Nipple Tattooing Mar 20, 2018

Show notes

Beth Fairchild was diagnosed with de novo metastatic breast cancer in 2014 at age 34. The diagnosis was a surprise to her because her mammogram results from the month before were negative and she had never had a lump in her breast. Beth was familiar with breast cancer though. Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 44 and her paternal grandmother died from breast cancer at age 33.

An artist and tattoo professional, Beth and her husband own five tattoo studios. Her focus is on permanent cosmetics, scar camouflage and areola restoration for people diagnosed with breast cancer. Beth is the current president of METAvivor, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing awareness of metastatic breast cancer and funding research on metastatic disease. Beth tattoos permanent cosmetics, such as eyebrows or eyeliner, as well as nipples and areolas for women who have had breast cancer surgery.

Listen to the podcast to hear Beth explain:

how to find a professional who can do permanent cosmetics
what scar camouflage is
how she approaches the nipple tattooing process
what nipple tattooing and areola restoration has done for her clients

Listen to Beth's podcast about the Serenity Project.

Benefits and Drawbacks of At-Home Genetic Tests Mar 20, 2018

Show notes

Cristina Nixon is a licensed certified genetic counselor with the Cancer Risk Assessment and Genetics Program at Main Line Health in Pennsylvania. In addition to counseling patients, she also assists with research, including a study looking at multi-gene panels in BRCA1/BRCA2-positive families. Cristina also has completed the City of Hope’s intensive course in cancer risk assessment.

In the wake of the March 6, 2018 U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorization of the 23andMe Personal Genomic Service Genetic Health Risk Report for BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) test, we talked to Cristina about at-home genetic testing.

Listen to the podcast to hear Cristina explain:

the differences between an at-home genetic test, such as the 23andMe BRCA genetic test, and a genetic test that is ordered by your doctor, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of each how the cost of a genetic test ordered by a doctor isn’t much more than the cost of an at-home genetic test
why genetic counseling is so important when having genetic testing
what she wants people to know about at-home genetic tests

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