Breastcancer.org Podcast

Dr. Conleth Murphy, an oncologist at Bon Secours Cork Cancer Center in Ireland, discusses his research on scalp cooling in people being treated with chemotherapy for cancer.Running time: 2:58

Karuna Jaggar has been executive director of Breast Cancer Action since 2011 and has a lifelong commitment to social justice. Throughout her 15-year career in nonprofit leadership, her work has focused on women’s rights and on eliminating socioeconomic inequities. Jaggar began her career working with women’s microenterprises internationally and in the United States, providing self-employment and business training, funding and support for low-income women. Prior to joining Breast Cancer Action, Jaggar was executive director at the Women’s Initiative for Self Employment. She has served on the Board of the California Association of Microenterprise Opportunity, where she chaired the Policy Committee. She holds a master’s degree in economic geography from the University of California-Berkeley and received her bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Smith College. With Breast Cancer Awareness Month upon us, Karuna joins us to talk about the Think Before You Pink project, including its history and goals. Listen to the podcast to hear Karuna talk about: how the Think Before You Pink campaign started how she defines “pink washing” reactions to the campaign four questions Breast Cancer Action asks people to consider before buying anything with a pink ribbon on it Running time: 28:46Thank you for listening to the Breastcancer.org podcast. Please subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, or wherever you listen to podcasts. To share your thoughts about this or any episode, leave feedback on the podcast episode landing page on our website.

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 2018, the American Joint Committee on Cancer, commonly called the AJCC, updated breast cancer staging guidelines to add other information to how a cancer’s stage is determined. This has made determining the stage of a breast cancer more complex, but also more accurate. Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Wojciechowski explain: what the T, N, and M parts of the staging system mean how the new characteristics added to the staging system in 2018 — cancer grade, estrogen receptor status, progesterone receptor status, HER2 receptor status, and Oncotype DX Recurrence Score — affect a breast cancer’s stage how a cancer that might have been stage IIIA in the past might now be stage IB Running time: 16:54Thank you for listening to the Breastcancer.org podcast. Please subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, or wherever you listen to podcasts. To share your thoughts about this or any episode, leave feedback on the podcast episode landing page on our website.

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.” In this podcast, Dr. DellaCroce discusses illness linked to breast implants, the Allergan textured implant recall, as well as how he is counseling his patients. Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. DellaCroce discuss: the differences between textured and smooth implants, as well as the differences between silicone-filled and saline-filled implants and the theories as to why textured and silicone implants are linked to disease what breast implant-associated anaplastic large-cell lymphoma is and how it is treated what to do if you have an implant and are concerned Running time: 44:29Thank you for listening to the Breastcancer.org podcast. Please subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, or wherever you listen to podcasts. To share your thoughts about this or any episode, leave feedback on the podcast episode landing page on our website.

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. Blogs and popular media have discussed using fenbendazole (brand names: Panacure, Safe-Guard), a drug used to deworm dogs, to treat cancer. While some studies on cells in petri dishes and in mice suggest that fenbendazole might have anti-cancer properties, no studies have been done in people and it’s not clear what side effects it may cause or what the optimal dose might be. Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Wojciechowski talk about: the type of drug fenbendazole is and how it might kill cancer cells the studies in petri dishes and mice on fenbendazole that have been done so far what he tells his patients when they ask about fenbendazole Running time: 14:58Thank you for listening to the Breastcancer.org podcast. Please subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, or wherever you listen to podcasts. To share your thoughts about this or any episode, leave feedback on the podcast episode landing page on our website.

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 explain: how cancer-related fatigue is different from other fatigue the link between inflammation and fatigue why exercise is the best remedy for fatigue steps you can take if you think you have cancer-related fatigue Running time: 25:22

Stephanie McLeod-Estevez is a licensed clinical professional counselor and art therapist with 15 years of clinical expertise in treating anxiety, depression, and trauma. Stephanie also is a breast cancer survivor. She started her company, Creative Transformations, in 2016 to provide information, tools, and services to people diagnosed with cancer to enhance their emotional health and wellness. Her writing has been published in Wildfire, Coping with Cancer, and Breast Cancer Wellness. In this podcast on art therapy, Stephanie explains how people diagnosed with cancer can use it to heal emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Listen to the podcast to hear Stephanie discuss: her own breast cancer journey and how that influenced her career the process of art therapy and its benefits how to find a reputable art therapist Running time: 26:28

Dr. Kelly Shanahan describes herself as a mother, wife, daughter, doctor, and woman living with metastatic breast cancer. Neuropathy from breast cancer treatment forced her to retire from her OB/GYN practice. She now works tirelessly as an independent metastatic breast cancer advocate. Dr. Shanahan was part of a panel on Right to Try Legislation at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting. In this podcast, she explains Right to Try and Compassionate Use legislation and why she thinks the real answer is changing the criteria for enrolling in clinical trials. Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Shanahan talk about: why she thinks Right to Try legislation is flawed how the common criteria for entering a clinical trial exclude a majority of people diagnosed with metastatic disease and how trials can be changed how she would proceed if her disease progressed and she didn't meet the eligibility criteria for an appropriate clinical trial Running time: 25:12

A member of the Breastcancer.org Professional Advisory Board, Dr. Dawn Hershman leads the Breast Cancer Program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University, where she is professor of medicine and epidemiology. Dr. Hershman is a nationally recognized expert in breast cancer treatment, prevention, and survivorship. At this ASCO annual meeting, Dr. Hershman presented results from a study looking at whether text messaging could increase the number of women who stick to their aromatase inhibitor treatment plans. Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Hershman talk about: the background of the study the study results, which showed no difference in treatment adherence between women who received text messages and women who didn't what future research needs to do to better help women stick to their aromatase inhibitor treatment plans Running time: 9:37

Dr. Maura Dickler, vice president of oncology late phase development for Eli Lilly and Company, offers insights on some of the most interesting research on metastatic breast cancer presented at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting. Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Dickler explain: results from the IMpassion 130 trial looking at Tecentriq (chemical name: atezolizumab) and Abraxane (chemical name: albumin-bound or nab-paclitaxel) to treat metastatic triple-negative breast cancer results from the Young-PEARL trial studying Ibrance (chemical name: palbociclib) and Aromasin (chemical name: exemestane) along with ovarian suppression to treat premenopausal women diagnosed with hormone-receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer overall survival results from the MONALEESA-7 trial, which examined using Kisqali (chemical name: ribociclib) and hormonal therapy to treat premenopausal women diagnosed with hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative advanced-stage breast cancer Running time: 9:30

Dr. Jennifer Ligibel is associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who treats breast cancer at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Ligibel's research looks at the relationship between diet and exercise and breast cancer risk and prognosis. Her current project is the Breast Cancer Weight Loss (BWEL) study, which is looking at connections between exercise, diet, weight management, sleep, and health and wellness outcomes in women being treated for breast cancer. Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Ligibel talk about: the progress of the BWEL study so far how the BWEL study is different from other studies that looked at low-fat diets and breast cancer why the BWEL study wants to examine methods that work best to help women diagnosed with breast cancer lose weight and exercise more Running time: 16:44

Dr. Karen Basen-Engquist is professor of behavioral science and director of the Center for Energy Balance in Cancer Prevention and Survivorship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Basen-Engquist’s research focuses on cancer survivors and how health behavior interventions can reduce the severity of late-term side effects, improve physical function, optimize quality of life, and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. She also studies ways to help people make behavior changes and ways to assess symptoms and behavior in cancer patients and survivors. Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Basen-Engquist talk about: how to talk about diet and exercise with your doctor why exercise and maintaining a healthy weight should be part of every person's long-term cancer care how people who are feeling overwhelmed about having to make a lot of diet, weight, and exercise changes can start slowly to improve their health Running time: 14:27

Dr. Rowan Chlebowski, of the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, explains the results of the latest analysis of data from the Women's Health Initiative. Running time: 2:50

Dr. Liz O'Day talks about a test her company is developing that uses metabolites in blood to assess whether a person with metastatic breast cancer will respond to CDK4/6 inhibitors.Running time: 3:35

Dan Miller, founder of Live by Living, explains how the organization offers free outdoor experiences to people diagnosed with cancer and their caregivers. Running time: 2:34