Breast Cancer Conversations
Breast Cancer Conversations is a podcast produced by Survivingbreastcancer.org where we inject positivity into the very fabric of a breast cancer diagnosis. Breast Cancer Conversations provides education, and inspiration, and offers hope. You will hear stories from those diagnosed with breast cancer, interviews with medical professionals, and thought-leadership emerging from the oncology field. Welcome to our breast cancer community! Welcome to the conversation.
Episodes
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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 community for an honest, heartfelt discussion about diagnosis, treatment, survivorship, metastatic breast cancer, advocacy, and finding connection after cancer.
Together, th...
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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 Jessica Thomas, who was diagnosed with ER/PR-positive, stage 2B breast cancer with lymph node involvement. After finding a lump herself, Jessica moved through the overwhelmin...
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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.
In this episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, Laura talks with Jen Fernandez about her experience being diagnosed with breast cancer twice. The first time, J...
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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 therapy, chemotherapy, a clinical trial attempt involving tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, Enhertu, and Xeloda.
She speaks openly about what it felt like to experience rap...
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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 oligometastati...
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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 ho...
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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...
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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 associat...
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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...
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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 fat...
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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 li...
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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...
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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 w...
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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 researc...
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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.
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 diagnos...
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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 c...
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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 ...
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