Breast Cancer Conversations

Love the podcast? Send us a text!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 how they’ve learned to navigate uncertainty while staying grounded in what matters most.Together, they discuss:The differences between metastatic and oligometastatic breast cancer.What curative-intent treatment can look like in practice.How diagnosis and treatment affect relationships, fertility, and identity.The mental health challenges of living with cancer day to day.Th...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!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, and a dramatic decline in her ability to walk and function.Virginia shares what it was like to go from hiking the Camino de Santiago to struggling to climb the stairs in her own home, the emotional experience of finally receiving a diagnosis after months of unanswered symptoms, and how her care team identified breast cancer that h...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!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 chemotherapy, then Taxol, then a lumpectomy, then a double mastectomy with a DIEP flap reconstruction, then 33 rounds of radiation — was consumed by treatment. By the end of it, she was exhausted in a way most people can't quite imagine.And then her oncologist told her about Verzenio (abemaciclib), a CDK4/6 inhibitor prescribed to h...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!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 speaks with Debbie Ciak, a breast cancer survivor diagnosed with Stage 2B ER/PR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer with lymph node involvement.Due to features associated with a higher risk of recurrence, Debbie’s care team recommended treatment with Verzenio (abemaciclib), a CDK4/6 inhibitor commonly prescribed alongside endocrine therapy for certain HR+, HER2- br...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!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 entrepreneur whose life changed dramatically after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, followed by a blood cancer diagnosis in 2023. Bron brings a powerful perspective shaped by both clinical expertise and lived experience. As someone who spent nearly two decades caring for patients, she suddenly found herself navigating fear, uncertainty, identity shifts, and the emo...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!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 conversation about lifestyle medicine and breast cancer survivorship. Together, we explore the very real physical and emotional toll of treatment, including fatigue, weight gain, loss of taste, joint pain, hot flashes, sleep disruption, and the fear of recurrence. Dr. Comander explains how lifestyle medicine offers a...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!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 your thoughts. Messages are completely anonymous, but you are welcome to include your name and where you’re listening from if you’d like a shout-out in a future episode. If you have a question or would like us to follow up directly, please include your email address...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!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 trauma, PTSD, fear, triggers, and healing. Dr. Jackson is a licensed psychologist, neuropsychologist, and Director of Rehabilitation and Recovery at Vanderbilt’s Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship Center, where he works with people facing life-threatening and chronic medical conditions. Together, Laura and Dr. Jackson unpack why the experience of breast can...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!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 to uncover the hidden financial challenges cancer patients face when navigating insurance, billing, and prior authorizations.Jenni has spent more than two decades working inside the healthcare system and now helps patients resolve denied insurance claims, correct billing errors, and navigate complex medical bills so they can focus on their ca...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!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 Carfang steps aside from the microphone as her husband William Laferriere hosts a deeply personal conversation about caregiving.William is joined by Dr. Eswar Shankar, a cancer researcher and faculty member at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Dr. Shankar shares his personal experience caring fo...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!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 episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, Laura Carfang sits down with Christine Handy and Christine Anastos — two breast cancer survivors who turned trauma into transformation.Christine Handy, former international model and author of Walk Beside Me, opens up about:Undergoing multip...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!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.Diagnosed at 37 after what she thought was a routine visit, Kathy was told she had a fatal blood cancer and would live “three years at best.” Instead of accepting that prognosis, she helped change the trajectory of cancer research by founding the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF)—a model that brought scientists, clinicians, biotec...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!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, architecture, and the built environment directly shape the cancer experience, often in ways patients never realize—but deeply feel.Laura is joined by Abbie Clary, Executive Director of Market Strategies and Growth for Health for All, and a nationally recognized leader in healthcare architecture and experience design. With millions of squ...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!What happens when a breast surgeon becomes a breast cancer patient—and then faces a second diagnosis years later?In this deeply personal and illuminating episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang is joined by Dr. Anne Peled, a board-certified breast, reconstructive, and plastic surgeon who has treated thousands of patients—and also navigated her own early-stage breast cancer diagnosis, followed years later by a new primary DCIS diagnosis.Together, Laura and Dr. Peled unpack what patients are rarely told about DCIS (stag...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!What happens when you’re diagnosed with stage 2B breast cancer, start a new job, and are asked to lead a COVID response—all at the same time?In this powerful episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang sits down with Samira Daswani, founder and CEO of Manta Cares, to talk about what it really means to navigate cancer when the system isn’t built for you.Diagnosed at 30 and undergoing chemotherapy during the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Samira shares...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!What does it really mean to be diagnosed with DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ)—often called “stage zero” breast cancer?In this in-depth episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang is joined by a breast surgical oncologist, a radiation oncologist, and a patient advocate to unpack why DCIS can be both reassuring and deeply complex. While survival rates are excellent, treatment decisions often involve difficult trade-offs between reducing recurrence risk and preserving long-term quality of life.The panel explores how advances in tumor biolog...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!What happens when breast cancer comes back — even after doing “everything right”?In this deeply honest conversation, Laura Carfang sits down with Teresa Baglietto, a four-time cancer survivor, author, and podcast host, to talk about what it really means to live with cancer recurrence, fear, and long-term survivorship.Teresa shares what it felt like to discover her first breast cancer lump (“it was like a block of cement”), how she navigated a recurrence after bilateral mastectomy, and the treatment decisions that ultimately saved her life — including why she chos...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!Breast Cancer Stopped My Life—Music and Meditation Helped Me Breathe Again: How Music and Meditation Support Healing During Breast Cancer TreatmentA breast cancer diagnosis can abruptly stop life in its tracks—canceling plans, disrupting careers, and forcing an unfamiliar stillness. In this deeply moving episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang, Ed.D. sits down with Elizabeth Borowsky, a professional pianist and composer, and Jesika Harmon, a meditation coach and wellness guide, to explore how music and medi...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!Cancer related fatigue is one of the most persistent and frustrating symptoms. In this deeply validating and informative episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang, Ed.D., sits down with Dr. Jessa Landmann, naturopathic doctor and integrative oncology specialist, to unpack why fatigue, brain fog, weight gain, joint pain, and sleep disruption linger long after chemotherapy, radiation, or hormone therapy.Too often, those diagnosed with breast cancer are told to “give it time,” “exercise more,” or “push through.” This conversation reframes fatigue as a treatable...

Love the podcast? Send us a text!In this powerful episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang, Ed.D. sits down with philanthropist Sheri Biller of the Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation to explore the often overlooked—but absolutely essential—role of supportive cancer care.After losing her two closest friends to breast cancer over 35 years ago, Sheri made a promise: if she ever had the resources, she would dedicate her life to improving the emotional, psychological, and practical support available to everyone facing cancer. That promise beca...