Breast Cancer Conversations

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What happens when breast reconstruction doesn't go as planned? And what if the symptoms you're experiencing after surgery aren't being fully explained?

For many people diagnosed with breast cancer, decisions about surgery and reconstruction come at an already overwhelming time. Implants or reconstruction using your own tissue? One surgery or several? What does recovery actually look like? And what happens if complications arise months or even years later?

In this episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang welcomes Dr. Robert Whitfield, an Austin-based plastic surgeon with extensive experience in cancer reconstruction, breast implant removal, and whole-person approaches to surgical recovery.

Together, they explore the complexities of breast reconstruction, including implant-based versus autologous (using your own tissue) procedures, the realities of healing after surgery, and concerns surrounding breast implant illness (BII).

Dr. Whitfield shares his clinical experience treating patients with implant-related concerns, discusses research into bacterial contamination and biofilms, and explains why listening to patients is an essential part of understanding symptoms that may not have a straightforward explanation.

Laura also reflects on her own breast cancer surgery and recovery, including the emotional disconnect between what surgeons consider a successful procedure and what patients actually experience when they wake up.

In This Episode, We Discuss

• Understanding breast reconstruction options: How implant-based reconstruction compares with procedures using your own tissue, including DIEP flap reconstruction.
• Why reconstruction isn't always one surgery: Tissue expanders, implant exchanges, additional procedures, and the importance of understanding long-term implant monitoring.
• What to expect during recovery: Bruising, swelling, discomfort, nutrition, rest, and movement after surgery.
• Breast implant illness: What patients report, what remains uncertain, and why these symptoms can be challenging to evaluate.
• Explant surgery: What breast implant removal involves and the options patients may consider afterward, including fat transfer, reconstruction with their own tissue, or going flat.
• Capsular contracture and implant complications: Understanding scar tissue, discomfort, and other potential concerns.
• Bacterial biofilms and emerging research: Dr. Whitfield's experience investigating bacterial material in samples collected during implant removal procedures.
• Whole-person surgical recovery: His approach to nutrition, sleep, and complementary recovery modalities.
• Patient advocacy: How to have more productive conversations with your healthcare team when something doesn't feel right.

One Message That Stood Out

"If you listen long enough, patients will tell you exactly what's wrong with them. You just have to pay attention."

— Dr. Robert Whitfield

About Our Guest

Dr. Robert Whitfield, MD, is a plastic surgeon based in Austin, Texas. His background includes microsurgery, cancer reconstruction, and breast reconstruction. His current practice incorporates breast implant removal procedures and a whole-person approach to surgical preparation and recovery.

Recommended Episodes: 

If you liked this episode check out:  Episode 283 with 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

Stay Connected

Follow Breast Cancer Conversations on your favorite podcast platform for conversations about breast cancer treatment, research, survivorship, and life beyond diagnosis.

If this episode helped you better understand your options, consider sharing it with someone navigating breast reconstruction or implant-related concerns.

And if you enjoy the podcast, please follow the show and leave us a rating or review. Your feedback helps others discover these conversations.

Medical disclaimer: This episode shares the clinical experience and perspectives of our guest and is intended for educational purposes. Breast implant illness remains an area of ongoing research, and symptoms associated with implants can have many potential causes. Some complementary recovery approaches discussed in this episode have limited evidence supporting their effectiveness after breast surgery. This conversation does not replace personalized medical advice. Please consult your healthcare team before making decisions about surgery, implant removal, supplements, or postoperative treatments.

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When we hear that a new breast cancer treatment has received FDA approval, we often see the headline, but rarely the years of research, difficult decisions, and clinical trials that made that milestone possible.

So what actually happens behind the scenes?

In this episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, Laura Carfang, EdD, Founder and CEO of SurvivingBreastCancer.org, welcomes Brian Sullivan, CEO and Co-Founder of Celcuity, for an inside look at the science and development process behind new breast cancer treatments.

Brian shares how his career as an entrepreneur led him into biotechnology, why Celcuity became interested in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR (PAM) pathway, and how studying the signals that regulate cancer cell growth helped inform the company's research.

Laura brings the patient perspective to the conversation, asking the questions many people have when they hear about a new medication or clinical trial: What exactly is a cancer pathway? How do researchers decide whether a drug is worth studying? What is the difference between a Phase 1 and Phase 3 trial? And how can patients understand the potential benefits and risks of participating in clinical research?

The discussion also explores the development of REVTORPYK (gedatolisib), which received FDA approval on July 14, 2026, for use in combination with fulvestrant, with or without palbociclib, for a specific population of adults with HR-positive, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer without a PIK3CA mutation, following progression on or after endocrine therapy in the metastatic setting.

Beyond the scientific milestones, this conversation highlights the people behind clinical research working to answer important questions about breast cancer treatment.

In This Episode, You'll Learn

• How an idea becomes a potential cancer treatment — and why drug development can take years
• What the PI3K/AKT/mTOR (PAM) pathway is and why researchers study it in breast cancer
• How targeted therapies differ from traditional chemotherapy
• What happens during clinical trials and how researchers evaluate new treatments
• What randomization, blinding, informed consent, and progression-free survival mean
• Why clinical trial participation is an important part of advancing cancer research
• How researchers and the FDA evaluate clinical evidence before approving a new treatment

About Our Guest

Brian Sullivan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Celcuity, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing targeted therapies. In this conversation, Brian shares his entrepreneurial background, Celcuity's approach to cancer research, and the clinical development journey that led to an FDA-approved breast cancer treatment.

Resources Mentioned

• SurvivingBreastCancer.org: https://www.survivingbreastcancer.org
• SBC Programs and Events: https://www.survivingbreastcancer.org/events
• Clinical trial information: https://clinicaltrials.gov
• REVTORPYK prescribing and patient information: https://www.revtorpyk.com
• FDA adverse event reporting: https://www.fda.gov/medwatch

Important Medical Information

This podcast is intended for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice. Treatment decisions should be made with a qualified healthcare professional based on each person's diagnosis, treatment history, medical needs, and preferences.

REVTORPYK is approved for a specific patient population and can cause serious side effects, including mouth sores, skin reactions, and high blood sugar. Additional side effects and precautions apply.

Please listen to the important safety information beginning at approximately 32:08 and review the full prescribing information at REV TORPYK's official website.

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What if one of the most important breast cancer warning signs isn't a lump at all?

When filmmakers Shelby and Nathan Slager discovered how few people knew about inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), they decided to do something unexpected: make a movie.

In this episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang sits down with Shelby, Nathan, and Shelby's mother, Mary, to explore the intersection of breast cancer, hereditary cancer risk, family relationships, and the power of storytelling to create change.

Mary was diagnosed with HER2-positive, hormone receptor-negative breast cancer in January 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning. Her treatment experience gave Shelby and Nathan an intimate understanding of the realities of cancer care—many of which are rarely portrayed authentically on screen.

Shelby later learned that she carries a BRCA2 genetic mutation, introducing another dimension to her family's experience with cancer: navigating increased hereditary risk, surveillance, and difficult decisions about the future.

Together, Shelby and Nathan created Becalming, a nine-minute short film designed to raise awareness about inflammatory breast cancer, a rare and aggressive form of the disease that often does not present as a distinct breast lump.

Through an inventive storytelling approach using voicemails, intimate moments between a couple, and realistic depictions of medical care, the film explores what a cancer diagnosis can look and feel like beyond the familiar Hollywood portrayal.

Meet the Guests

Shelby Slager is a filmmaker, writer, director, producer, and actor, and co-founder of Interlunar Pictures. She is also a BRCA2 mutation carrier and brings her personal experience with hereditary cancer risk to her creative work.

Nathan Slager is a writer, producer, and co-founder of Interlunar Pictures. His filmmaking explores grief, relationships, and the emotional complexities of the human experience.

Mary is Shelby's mother and a breast cancer survivor diagnosed with HER2-positive, hormone receptor-negative breast cancer in 2020. Her lived experience helped shape the authenticity of Becalming.

Becalming took home the award for Best Narrative Short at CineHealth International Health & Wellness Film and Video Festival in Philadelphia

Follow the Film and Filmmakers

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/be.calm.ing/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/interlunarpictures/

Website: https://www.interlunarpictures.com/

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A breast cancer diagnosis brings far more than medical decisions. There are emotional challenges, treatment side effects, financial pressures, questions about clinical trials, and the ongoing need for trusted information and community. Yet many of these needs fall outside the traditional healthcare system.

So who's filling those gaps? And how can we make sure people diagnosed with breast cancer can find the right resources when they need them?

In this special roundtable episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang, co-founder and CEO of SurvivingBreastCancer.org, brings together three leaders from national breast cancer nonprofits:

•    Ellen Friebert Schupper, CEO of ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis, an organization specializing in personalized, one-to-one emotional support.

•    Kelly Shanahan, MD, President of METAvivor, an organization dedicated to metastatic breast cancer research, advocacy, and community.

•    Sue Weldon, Founder and CEO of Unite for HER, an organization expanding access to integrative therapies and whole-person care.

Together, they explore an important reality: No single organization can meet every need of someone diagnosed with breast cancer.

The conversation moves beyond individual programs to examine the larger ecosystem of breast cancer support, including where patients continue to fall through the cracks and what it will take to build a more connected, accessible, and sustainable system of care.

Kelly shares her experience living with metastatic breast cancer, the urgency of funding research, and why people with advanced disease need better access to clinical trials and specialized care.

Sue discusses the role of integrative oncology in supporting quality of life, why these services remain financially out of reach for many patients, and how partnerships with cancer centers can expand access.

Ellen explains why personalized peer support remains essential and how collaboration between organizations can help people find trusted resources without navigating a fragmented system.

Laura also brings her perspective as both someone diagnosed with breast cancer and a nonprofit CEO, reflecting on the challenges of building sustainable programs, prioritizing limited resources, and addressing needs that traditional cancer care may overlook.

In this episode, we discuss:

•    Why breast cancer care needs to extend beyond medical treatment

•    The importance of peer support, community, and emotional well-being

•    Gaps in access to integrative oncology and supportive care

•    Why metastatic breast cancer research and advocacy remain critical

•    The need for better clinical trial navigation and access to specialists

•    Financial barriers and disparities in breast cancer care

•    How nonprofits, healthcare providers, and industry can work together

•    Why nonprofit collaboration matters more than duplicating services

•    The realities of funding and sustaining patient support programs

•    What the future of breast cancer support could look like

One of the most powerful themes throughout this conversation is that better breast cancer care requires more than better treatments. It requires connecting people to the information, services, and support that make living with and beyond a diagnosis more manageable.

Whether you're newly diagnosed, living with metastatic breast cancer, navigating life after treatment, supporting a loved one, or working in cancer care, this conversation offers a broader perspective on the resources available today—and the work still ahead.

Explore the organizations featured in this episode:

SurvivingBreastCancer.org — https://www.survivingbreastcancer.org

After Breast Cancer Diagnosis (ABCD) — https://abcdbreastcancersupport.org

METAvivor — https://www.metavivor.org

Unite for HER — https://uniteforher.org

Breast Cancer Conversations is a podcast from SurvivingBreastCancer.org, sharing lived experiences, expert perspectives, and evidence-informed conversations to support people diagnosed with breast cancer and their families.

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Many people turn to CBD hoping for relief from pain, nausea, anxiety, sleep problems, and other side effects of cancer treatment. But CBD isn’t risk-free, and “natural” doesn’t necessarily mean harmless. It can be biologically active, product quality varies widely, and it may interact with medications used during breast cancer treatment.  magic-episode-02

In this episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, we take an evidence-focused look at CBD and breast cancer: what research currently tells us, where evidence is still limited, and what patients should know before adding CBD to their supportive care routine.

We’re joined by Dr. Shannon Arora and Dr. Priyanka Sharma for a conversation about how CBD works in the body, why people with cancer are using it, and what the evidence shows for symptoms including pain, nausea, anxiety, and sleep. The conversation also explores the important difference between using CBD for supportive care and using it to treat cancer. CBD is not a cancer treatment and should not replace evidence-based breast cancer therapies.  magic-episode-02

One of the most important topics we address is CBD and drug interactions. The discussion explores why CBD may affect the way the body processes certain medications, including tamoxifen and other drugs commonly used in breast cancer care—and why your oncology team needs to know about CBD even if you purchased it over the counter.  magic-episode-02

We also dig into an increasingly confusing CBD marketplace. What’s actually in the product you’re buying? What is the difference between CBD, THC, hemp, and marijuana? How do you evaluate product quality? And what does regulation mean for people trying to make informed decisions about cannabinoid products?  magic-episode-02

In this episode, we discuss:

• What CBD is and how it differs from THC
• Why people with breast cancer are turning to CBD
• What research shows about CBD for pain, nausea, sleep, and anxiety
• Why CBD should be considered supportive care—not a cancer treatment
• Potential interactions between CBD and tamoxifen
• Other cancer medications that may interact with CBD
• Why it’s important to tell your oncology team what you're taking
• Oral versus topical CBD
• How product quality and labeling can vary
• What to look for when evaluating CBD products
• Why evidence matters more than anecdotal advice
• The evolving regulatory landscape surrounding cannabinoids

The biggest takeaway? You don't need to feel embarrassed or judged for asking about CBD. But your care team does need to know.

If you're considering CBD during breast cancer treatment, bring the conversation to your oncologist, pharmacist, or healthcare team. The goal isn't to tell patients simply “yes” or “no”—it's to help you ask better questions and make informed decisions based on your medications, symptoms, and individual health needs.  magic-episode-02

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. CBD can interact with medications. Always talk with your healthcare team before starting, stopping, or changing CBD, cannabis products, supplements, or prescribed medications.

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For many people with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, taking a daily medication like tamoxifen can become part of life for years. But what does it actually feel like to live with the side effects day after day?

In this candid episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, Laura Carfang sits down with Lindsey, who was diagnosed with DCIS at age 37 after finding a lump herself. Following surgery and radiation, Lindsey began taking tamoxifen—and quickly discovered that the experience involved much more than simply taking a pill every morning.

Lindsey shares the difficult fertility conversation she and her husband faced before treatment, why she took a trip before starting tamoxifen, and how she has learned to adjust her expectations of what her body can do.

Laura shares her own experience with endocrine therapy and the complicated emotions that can come with years of treatment—even when you understand why you're taking the medication.

The conversation ultimately becomes about more than tamoxifen. It's about learning to give yourself grace when your body changes, letting go of the expectation that you should simply "go back to normal," and realizing that you still deserve to take up space exactly as you are.

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Your scans came back. The portal posted results before anyone called. There are four appointments on the calendar and a vocabulary nobody taught you — and underneath it all, the feeling that you're already behind.

Dr. Tiffany Troso-Sandoval spent 25 years treating women's breast and gynecologic cancers, much of it at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Her first piece of advice is the one nobody expects: slow down. Breast cancer treatment is urgent, she says, but it is not an emergency. It does not have to be solved in the next thirty-seven seconds — and the decisions you make in a panic are rarely the ones you'd make in a week.

In this conversation with host Laura Carfang, Dr. Troso-Sandoval walks through what to do in the first 48 hours, why breast cancer is not one disease but many, and what she's actually looking at when she reads your pathology report — tumor size, margins, lymph nodes, Ki-67, receptor status — before she ever walks into the room. She explains hormone receptors and HER2 in plain language, why chemotherapy sometimes comes before surgery, and how Oncotype and MammaPrint answer the question so many people are carrying: do I even need chemo?

She's also frank about the parts of oncology that aren't in the guidelines — that she doesn't treat an 84-year-old the same as a 34-year-old with identical pathology, and that treatment plans get built around whether your daughter can drive you. And there's one thing she circles back to make sure it's said out loud: if you're of childbearing age, fertility has to come up at the first visit. Not the third.

🔗 Dr. Tiffany Troso-Sandoval — drtiffanytroso.com
 Her book, Calming the Cancer Chaos: An Oncologist's Guide for Women to Understand, Organize, and Take Control of Their Cancer Care, is out now and includes a free companion workbook.
Disclosure: Dr. Troso-Sandoval discusses her book and private practice in this episode. SurvivingBreastCancer.org received no payment and earns no commission.

💗 About SurvivingBreastCancer.org
 We're a nonprofit providing evidence-based education, emotional support, and well-being resources to everyone touched by breast cancer — at every stage. 400+ programs a year, all virtual and 100% free. https://www.survivingbreastcancer.org

👉 Subscribe for new conversations every week, and share this with someone who needs it.

⚠️ This video is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Dr. Troso-Sandoval is not your physician and cannot advise on individual cases; treatment standards described here are general and evolve rapidly. Please talk with your own oncology team about your diagnosis and treatment plan.

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When Vic Clevenger's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, he and his brother had a thought that many men probably share:

At least we're not women. We don't have to worry about breast cancer.

Years later, Vic learned firsthand just how wrong that assumption can be.

It started with what looked like a stain on his shirt. When Vic realized fluid was coming from his nipple, he initially assumed it was probably a cyst, pimple, or something minor.

His fiancée encouraged him to get it checked.

Even then, Vic says his concerns were initially dismissed because male breast cancer was considered "too rare." But Vic knew something wasn't right and sought another opinion.

A mammogram and biopsy ultimately confirmed breast cancer.

In this episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, Vic joins Laura Carfang for an honest—and often surprisingly funny—conversation about male breast cancer, self-advocacy, genetic testing, masculinity, body image, and learning to live fully after a cancer diagnosis.

Vic shares his experience undergoing a double mastectomy and radiation, taking ongoing hormone therapy, and later discovering that he carries a BRCA2 mutation. His family's genetic testing also challenged another common assumption: hereditary breast cancer risk doesn't only come from your mother's side of the family.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Yes, men can get breast cancer
• The unexpected symptom that led Vic to seek medical care
• Why nipple discharge or other breast changes shouldn't be ignored
• What happened when Vic's concerns were initially dismissed
• Having a mammogram and biopsy as a man
• Vic's experience with a double mastectomy and surgical drains
• Body image and the emotional impact of mastectomy for men
• Using humor to navigate cancer and recovery
• BRCA2 mutations and understanding family history
• Why family history on both sides matters
• The importance of genetic counseling and testing when appropriate
• Fear of recurrence and life after treatment
• Why some men may delay going to the doctor
• How breast cancer organizations can make male patients feel more included
• Why self-advocacy and second opinions can matter
• Vic's perspective on getting a "second lease on life"

Vic also shares an important challenge for healthcare providers and cancer organizations: don't make men hunt for information about male breast cancer.

While male breast cancer is uncommon, the people diagnosed with it deserve information, resources, and support that recognize their experiences.

And Vic's message to other men is one worth sharing:

If you notice something different in your body, don't ignore it. Get it checked. And if you don't feel like your concerns are being taken seriously, keep asking questions.

Because breast cancer isn't exclusively a women's disease.

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What happens emotionally after you've spent months—or years—focused on simply surviving cancer?

Treatment may end. Scans may look good. Life may begin moving forward again. But that doesn't necessarily mean you've processed what happened to you.

In this episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, Laura Carfang sits down with visual artist, therapeutic arts practitioner, author, and cancer survivor Nerissa Balland for an honest conversation about the emotional aftermath of cancer—and why healing and surviving aren't necessarily the same thing.

Nerissa was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma while five months pregnant and already raising a toddler. After navigating cancer treatment, motherhood, and enormous uncertainty, she began asking a question that would ultimately change the direction of her life:

Was she the only one struggling to recognize the woman she had become after cancer?

That question led Nerissa to interview more than 100 young mothers diagnosed with cancer. Across different diagnoses, backgrounds, treatments, and family circumstances, common themes emerged: identity, grief, anger, isolation, resilience, meaning-making, and the challenge of figuring out who you are after cancer changes your life.

Those conversations eventually became her book, Canvas of Courage.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why surviving cancer and processing cancer are two different experiences
• The emotions that can surface after active treatment ends
• Cancer's impact on identity and sense of self
• Fear of recurrence and the emotional impact of "watch and wait"
• Why you don't have to be an artist to benefit from creativity
• Expressive writing, visual art, photography, movement, and other creative outlets
• How creativity can help when you don't have words for what you're feeling
• Motherhood and parenting through cancer
• The pressure to return to "normal" after treatment
• Finding meaning and purpose after a life-changing diagnosis
• Why emotional healing isn't linear—and doesn't follow a timeline

Laura also shares her own experiences with emotions unexpectedly surfacing after breast cancer treatment and what she learned from breaking a crayon during an expressive arts exercise.

Whether you're newly diagnosed, years beyond treatment, living with ongoing cancer, or supporting someone you love, this conversation offers permission to acknowledge that getting through treatment is only one part of the experience.

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Listen to hear three very different perspectives on what radiation for metastatic breast cancer can really look like and what these women want others to know before starting treatment.

Radiation can play a very different role in metastatic breast cancer than it does in early-stage disease.

It may be used to treat a specific metastatic site, help control cancer in the brain, liver or bones, relieve pain, or—as you'll hear in this episode—become part of a much larger treatment strategy.

In this episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, Laura is joined by Kacie, Sara, and Joyce, three women living with metastatic breast cancer who have experienced radiation in very different ways.

Sara shares what happened after her breast cancer metastasized to her brain, including surgery, Gamma Knife radiation, being fitted for a radiation mask, hair loss, fatigue, seizures, and the emotional weight of undergoing treatment to the brain.

Casey was diagnosed de novo metastatic with liver metastases and underwent cryoablation and SBRT (stereotactic body radiation therapy) as part of an aggressive treatment approach. She talks candidly about the long-term effects of radiation—including weakened ribs and fractures—as well as the scans that eventually showed her liver metastases disappearing. 

Joyce shares a different side of radiation: palliative radiation for painful bone metastases. She describes how radiation dramatically improved her hip pain, while also discussing gastrointestinal side effects and radiation burns that required additional care. 

Together, their stories offer an honest look at the questions many people have before radiation: What will treatment actually feel like? How do you know if it's working? What side effects might happen? What can make the experience easier? And how do you weigh side effects against the possibility of controlling cancer or improving quality of life?

In this episode, we discuss radiation for metastatic breast cancer, SBRT, Gamma Knife radiation, brain metastases, liver metastases, bone metastases, palliative radiation, radiation masks and claustrophobia, fatigue, skin changes and burns, hair loss, pain relief, scan results, long-term side effects, and quality of life.

Most importantly, this conversation shows why there isn't one universal “radiation experience.” The location being treated, type of radiation, treatment goal, and individual patient all matter.

The experiences shared in this episode are personal and are not a substitute for medical advice. Talk with your oncology and radiation oncology teams about your individual diagnosis and treatment options.

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