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Breast Cancer Conversations
Episodes
308 episodes
308. Can a Blood Test Detect Breast Cancer Recurrence? Two Patients Share Their Signatera Experience
What if a blood test could detect signs of breast cancer at the molecular level?Circulating tumor DNA, or ctDNA, is generating growing interest among people diagnosed with breast cancer, particularly those wondering about recurren...
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307. What Long-Term Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer Really Looks Like
What does life really look like five—or even ten—years after a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis?For many people, the initial diagnosis is filled with uncertainty, fear, and countless unanswered questions. But thanks to advances in trea...
306. Can Breathwork & Ayurveda Support Healing After Breast Cancer? With Brett Aldrich
Somewhere between the diagnosis and the last appointment, most of us stopped breathing all the way down. Not on purpose. The body braces, the jaw clenches, the shoulders come up — and then treatment ends, everyone tells you congratulations, and...
305. Palliative Care Isn't Hospice: Whole-Person Support at Every Stage of Breast Cancer
When you're living with breast cancer, the medical team treats the cancer — but who takes care of everything else? The fear that won't quiet down at 2 a.m. The diarrhea you're not sure is "bad enough" to call about. The FMLA paperwork, the scho...
304. Palliative Care Is Not Giving Up: Patients Living With MBC Share What It Really Means
Palliative care is one of the most misunderstood parts of cancer care. Many people hear the term and think it means hospice, end-of-life care, or giving up. But palliative care, also called supportive care, can be offered alongside active cance...
303. Clinical Trials Aren't a Last Resort: What Every Breast Cancer Patient Should Know | Dr. Ada Waks
When many people hear the words "clinical trial," they immediately think of a last resort.But that's one of the biggest misconceptions in breast cancer care.In this episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura ...
302. Breast Cancer and Fertility: What Every Young Patient Deserves to Know with Kara Bendle
When you're diagnosed with breast cancer, your first thought is often survival.But what about everything that comes after?For many young adults diagnosed with breast cancer, questions about fertility, family planning, hormone heal...
301. Why Are Women Still Waiting Months for Breast Cancer Answers? With Dr. Ryan Polselli
Getting a mammogram should not feel complicated.Yet many women face delays, confusion, long wait times, and unanswered questions when navigating breast cancer screening and follow-up care.In this episode of Breast Cancer Conversat...
300. The Club Nobody Wants to Join And the Community That Changed Everything
What happens when breast cancer survivors and thrivers come together to celebrate 300 episodes of Breast Cancer Conversations?In this special milestone episode, host Laura Carfang welcomes members of the SurvivingBreastCancer.org communi...
299. The Messy Middle of Breast Cancer: Chemo, Surgery, Side Effects, and Survivorship with Jessica Thomas
What happens when you give yourself one year to “get through breast cancer” — only to realize that the timeline is much longer and more complicated than you imagined?In this episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, I’m joined by ...
298. The Truth About Cold Capping During Chemo
Hair loss during chemotherapy is often talked about as if it is expected, inevitable, or even superficial. But for many people diagnosed with breast cancer, losing your hair can affect identity, privacy, confidence, and the way others see you.<...
297. Enhertu, Xeloda, and Living with De Novo Metastatic Breast Cancer: Annick’s Story
In this episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang speaks with Annick Pyfferoen about her experience being diagnosed with de novo metastatic breast cancer and navigating several lines of treatment including targeted the...
296. Inside Oligometastatic Breast Cancer: Kacie Flaherty and Joyce Dini on Treatment, Grief, and Joy
In this episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, Laura Carfang speaks with Kacie Flaherty and Joyce Dini about life with oligometastatic breast cancer. They share how their diagnoses unfolded, what treatment decisions looked like, and h...
295. Stage 4 De Novo with Brain Mets Virginia Rodriguez First Line Treatment on Verzenio
In this episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, Laura speaks with Virginia Rodriguez, who was diagnosed with stage 4 de novo metastatic breast cancer after experiencing progressive weakness, digestive issues, dehydration, a...
294. Two Years on Verzenio: Side Effects, Brain Fog, and Why I'm Glad I Did It | Jen Tipton
Jennifer Tipton was in her mid-forties, running a yoga business in California, teaching indoor cycling classes, and training clients when she was diagnosed with stage 3 estrogen-positive breast cancer at the start of 2021. Her entire year — AC ...
293. Starting Verzenio? Debbie’s Experience May Help You Prepare
Every breast cancer treatment plan is highly personalized, and understanding potential side effects can help patients feel more prepared, informed, and empowered throughout care.In this episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, Laura speak...
292. From Nurse to Patient: How Two Cancer Diagnoses Taught Bron Watson to Let Go and Heal
What happens when the person trained to care for others suddenly becomes the patient?In this deeply meaningful episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, Laura speaks with Bron Watson — a registered nurse, educator, and entrepreneu...
291. Breast Cancer Survivorship: Exercise, Nutrition, Sleep, and Support That Actually Matter | Dr. Amy Comander & Meg McSherry
What does it really mean to support your body during and after breast cancer treatment?In this episode I am joined by returning guest Dr. Amy Comander and Meg McSherry, a breast cancer patient under Dr. Comander's care, for a thoughtful ...
290. How Breast Cancer Changes the Way You See Yourself
If this episode resonated with you, we invite you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.You can also click the link in the show notes that says “Love this episode? Send us a text” to share y...
289. The Hidden Trauma of Breast Cancer: PTSD, Fear, Triggers, and Healing with Dr. Jim Jackson
What happens when breast cancer leaves behind more than physical scars?In this episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, Laura sits down with Dr. Jim Jackson to explore the hidden emotional impact of cancer, including medical trau...
288. Insurance Denied My Cancer Treatment: What Every Cancer Patient Should Know About Medical Bills
Cancer treatment is hard enough — but dealing with insurance denials and medical bills can make it even harder.In this episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang sits down with board-certified patient advocate Jenni Nolan...
287. What No One Tells Partners About Cancer: A Husband’s Honest Story of Love, Caregiving, and Grief
When someone is diagnosed with cancer, the focus naturally centers on the patient.But behind every diagnosis is another story — the story of the caregiver.In this powerful episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, Laura Car...
286. Breastless & Fearless: Two Breast Cancer Survivors Rewriting Film, FemTech, and Survivorship
When Breast Cancer Changes Everything — What Do You Build Next?What happens when a breast cancer diagnosis strips away your identity — and forces you to rebuild from the inside out?In this deeply personal and powerful episo...
285. Told She Had 3 Years to Live—Then Changed Cancer Research Forever withKathy Giusti
In this powerful episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, Laura Carfang speaks with Kathy Giusti, a two-time cancer survivor who has lived with multiple myeloma for 30 years and later faced a breast cancer diagnosis as well.Diagn...
284. Hospitals Weren’t Designed for Women: How the Built Environment Shapes Cancer Care with Abbie Clary
What if part of what makes cancer so hard isn’t just the diagnosis—but the spaces where care happens?In this eye-opening episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang explores how hospital design, architectur...