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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 health, identity, and future possibilities quickly become part of the conversation. Yet too many patients never learn about their options until after treatment has already begun.

In this episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, Laura Carfang sits down with Kara Bendle, RN, MSN, CPN, CNL, Fertility Preservation and Adolescent & Young Adult (AYA) Program Manager at Cleveland Clinic, to discuss why fertility conversations matter from the very beginning of a cancer diagnosis.

Together, they explore:

• When fertility preservation conversations should happen
• How breast cancer treatments can affect fertility and hormone health
• The difference between fertility preservation and family building
• Egg freezing, embryo preservation, and ovarian tissue preservation
• The emotional impact of infertility and loss of choice
• Dating, relationships, and family planning after cancer
• Fertility considerations for hormone-positive breast cancer patients
• Insurance barriers and access to care
• Why patients deserve information—even when options are limited
• The importance of keeping future possibilities open

This conversation goes far beyond fertility. It explores identity, grief, survivorship, and the power of informed decision-making after a breast cancer diagnosis.

Whether you are newly diagnosed, in treatment, navigating survivorship, or supporting someone you love, this episode offers compassionate and practical guidance for understanding your options and advocating for your future.

Love this episode? Send us a text through the link in the show notes. Messages are completely anonymous. If you'd like a response, include your email address so we can follow up directly.

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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 Conversations, Laura Carfang and William Laferriere sit down with Dr. Ryan Polselli, radiologist, entrepreneur, and founder of Mammolink, a mobile breast cancer screening company designed to bring mammography directly to women while reducing barriers to care.

Dr. Polselli shares how his own experience as a medical student facing a potential cancer diagnosis inspired him to rethink how healthcare is delivered. Together, they explore the realities of delayed diagnoses, dense breast tissue, same-day results, mobile mammography, artificial intelligence in healthcare, and what it will take to create a more patient-centered screening experience.

Topics we discuss:

• Why women often face delays in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment
• The growing concern of breast cancer in younger women
• What dense breast tissue means and why it matters
• Mammograms vs. ultrasound: understanding the differences
• How mobile mammography is improving access to screening
• Why same-day results can reduce anxiety and improve follow-up care
• The role of AI in breast cancer screening and patient navigation
• How employers and healthcare systems can help close screening gaps
• What patients need to know about advocating for themselves

Whether you are newly diagnosed, living with breast cancer, navigating survivorship, or simply due for your next screening, this conversation offers valuable insights into the future of breast cancer care.

Learn more about Mammolink: https://mammolink.com

Love this episode? Send us a text through the link in the show notes. Messages are completely anonymous. If you'd like a response, include your email address so we can follow up directly.

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Listener Feedback

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 feedback.

Messages are completely anonymous.

If you would like us to follow up directly, please include your email address in your message so we can respond.

Latest News: 

• Join our Mailing List - New content drops every Monday! 
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• Enjoying our content? Please consider supporting our work. 

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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, they reflect on the stories that shaped them, the support that carried them through difficult moments, and what they wish every newly diagnosed patient knew.

Whether you're newly diagnosed, living with metastatic breast cancer, supporting a loved one, or navigating survivorship, this episode is a reminder that you are not alone.

💜 Topics include:

•  Finding community after diagnosis 
•  Support groups and survivorship 
•  Living with metastatic breast cancer 
•  Storytelling and emotional healing 
•  Life after treatment 
•  Patient advocacy and self-advocacy 
•  Managing long-term side effects 
•  What breast cancer survivors wish they knew sooner 

Thank you for helping us reach 300 episodes.

Support the show

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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 feedback.

Messages are completely anonymous.

If you would like us to follow up directly, please include your email address in your message so we can respond.

Latest News: 

• Join our Mailing List - New content drops every Monday! 
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• Become a Breast Cancer Conversations+ Member! Sign Up Now. 
• Enjoying our content? Please consider supporting our work. 

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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 overwhelming sequence of imaging, biopsies, chemotherapy, double mastectomy, radiation, reconstruction delays, implant complications, DIEP flap reconstruction, tamoxifen, and Verzenio.

But as Jessica shares so honestly, one of the hardest parts was not only the treatment itself. It was the waiting: waiting for results, waiting for a plan, waiting to know what came next, and trying to live inside the uncertainty.

This conversation is for anyone who has ever thought, “I just need a plan.” It is for anyone who has felt overwhelmed by the number of medications, appointments, side effects, and decisions that come with breast cancer. And it is especially for anyone who has reached the end of active treatment only to realize there is still so much more to navigate.

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If this episode resonated with you, we invite you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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Messages are completely anonymous.

If you would like us to follow up directly, please include your email address in your message so we can respond.

Latest News: 

• Join our Mailing List - New content drops every Monday! 
• Discover FREE programs, support groups, and resources from SurvivingBReastCancer.org! 
• Become a Breast Cancer Conversations+ Member! Sign Up Now. 
• Enjoying our content? Please consider supporting our work. 

Love the podcast? Send us a text!

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, Jen lost her hair. The second time, after a local recurrence, she decided to try cold capping.

Jen shares what the process was really like: the prep, the discomfort, the time commitment, the shedding, the hair care changes, and why she would do it again.

Listen now for an honest conversation about cold capping, chemo hair loss, and finding small ways to feel like yourself during treatment.

In This Episode, We Discuss

•  Jen’s initial breast cancer diagnosis at age 39 
•  What it felt like to be fast-tracked into chemotherapy 
•  Finding a new lump and dimple three years later 
•  Navigating a local recurrence of HER2-positive breast cancer 
•  Why Jen decided to try cold capping the second time 
•  How long cold capping added to infusion appointments 
•  The physical discomfort of cold capping 
•  Hair shedding, bald spots, and regrowth 
•  How hair loss affects identity, work, confidence, and privacy 
•  The emotional difference between looking sick and feeling like yourself 
•  Why cold capping is a personal decision, not a vanity decision

Support the show

Listener Feedback

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 feedback.

Messages are completely anonymous.

If you would like us to follow up directly, please include your email address in your message so we can respond.

Latest News: 

• Join our Mailing List - New content drops every Monday! 
• Discover FREE programs, support groups, and resources from SurvivingBReastCancer.org! 
• Become a Breast Cancer Conversations+ Member! Sign Up Now. 
• Enjoying our content? Please consider supporting our work. 

Love the podcast? Send us a text!

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 rapid progression and why having a plan, even one that may change, helps her navigate uncertainty.

This episode is a reminder that metastatic breast cancer care is not only about what is happening on scans. It is also about communication, side effect management, informed decision-making, emotional support, and helping people live as well as possible for as long as possible.

Support the show

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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 feedback.

Messages are completely anonymous.

If you would like us to follow up directly, please include your email address in your message so we can respond.

Latest News: 

• Join our Mailing List - New content drops every Monday! 
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• Enjoying our content? Please consider supporting our work. 

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.
• The importance of boundaries, advocacy, and choosing joy.

Kacie and Joyce also reflect on the support they’ve found in community, the language that helped them better understand their disease, and the ways they continue to reclaim agency in the face of something they cannot fully control.

This episode is especially meaningful for patients, caregivers, and anyone seeking an honest conversation about breast cancer, treatment complexity, and emotional survival.

Topics covered: oligometastatic breast cancer, metastatic breast cancer, curative intent, treatment decisions, cancer and relationships, fertility loss, mental health, grief, resilience, patient advocacy, community support, choosing joy.

Support the show

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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 feedback.

Messages are completely anonymous.

If you would like us to follow up directly, please include your email address in your message so we can respond.

Latest News: 

• Join our Mailing List - New content drops every Monday! 
• Discover FREE programs, support groups, and resources from SurvivingBReastCancer.org! 
• Become a Breast Cancer Conversations+ Member! Sign Up Now. 
• Enjoying our content? Please consider supporting our work. 

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 had spread to multiple areas, including her brain, spine, liver, spleen, and bones.

Virginia was placed on Verzenio, also known as abemaciclib, as part of her first line of treatment. Verzenio is an oral CDK4/6 inhibitor used in certain HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancers, including in combination with endocrine therapy depending on a person’s treatment history and clinical situation

Support the show

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If this episode resonated with you, we invite you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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Messages are completely anonymous.

If you would like us to follow up directly, please include your email address in your message so we can respond.

Latest News: 

• Join our Mailing List - New content drops every Monday! 
• Discover FREE programs, support groups, and resources from SurvivingBReastCancer.org! 
• Become a Breast Cancer Conversations+ Member! Sign Up Now. 
• Enjoying our content? Please consider supporting our work. 

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 help reduce the risk of recurrence in certain patients.

We discuss: 

• what it felt like transitioning from active treatment to long-term medication
 • how movement and exercise helped her maintain energy and resilience
 • strategies she used to manage GI side effects during daily life
 • the emotional complexity of long-term cancer therapy
 • what improved after completing treatment
 • advice for patients deciding whether Verzenio is right for them

Support the show

Listener Feedback

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 feedback.

Messages are completely anonymous.

If you would like us to follow up directly, please include your email address in your message so we can respond.

Latest News: 

• Join our Mailing List - New content drops every Monday! 
• Discover FREE programs, support groups, and resources from SurvivingBReastCancer.org! 
• Become a Breast Cancer Conversations+ Member! Sign Up Now. 
• Enjoying our content? Please consider supporting our work. 

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- breast cancers.

During treatment, Debbie experienced significant gastrointestinal symptoms and later developed respiratory symptoms that were ultimately identified as drug-induced interstitial lung disease (ILD), also known as pneumonitis.

Debbie also shares how integrative support resources and survivorship programming helped her continue moving forward after treatment.

Her story underscores the importance of individualized care, ongoing monitoring, and open communication between patients and healthcare providers when incorporating newer therapies into treatment plans.

While every patient responds differently to therapy, conversations like this help support more informed discussions between patients and their care teams.

Topics Covered

• Stage 2B ER/PR+ breast cancer diagnosis
 • understanding recurrence risk factors
 • treatment decision-making
 • why Verzenio was recommended
 • managing common CDK4/6 inhibitor side effects
 • Debbie’s experience with ILD/pneumonitis
 • recognizing respiratory symptoms early
 • coordinating care across oncology and pulmonology
 • survivorship and ongoing monitoring
 • exercise and recovery
 • patient empowerment and advocacy

This episode is part of an ongoing series sharing real-world patient experiences on various therapies, highlighting the importance of education, communication, and personalized treatment decisions in breast cancer care.

Support the show

Listener Feedback

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 feedback.

Messages are completely anonymous.

If you would like us to follow up directly, please include your email address in your message so we can respond.

Latest News: 

• Join our Mailing List - New content drops every Monday! 
• Discover FREE programs, support groups, and resources from SurvivingBReastCancer.org! 
• Become a Breast Cancer Conversations+ Member! Sign Up Now. 
• Enjoying our content? Please consider supporting our work.