Holding It Together: Breast Cancer and the Busy Mum Life.

When you’re a mum of two young boys, life is full of chaos,and for Belinda, it also became a time of deep uncertainty when, in 2019, she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer.

In this episode, we sit down with Belinda to discuss:

• Navigating a breast cancer diagnosis while raising a young family.
• The importance of having a community around you to offer support during this time.

• Why Breast Cancer Trials' research is so important.

Tune in for a deep dive into this important research.

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Like this episode? ⁠Find more Breast Cancer Trials Podcast Episodes here⁠

Follow Breast Cancer Trials on Social Media:  Instagram:⁠ @breastcancertrials⁠  Facebook:⁠ Breast Cancer Trials⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠ X: ⁠@BCTrialsANZ⁠

Guest: Belinda Ward from Newcastle NSW.

Thank you for listening! If you found this episode valuable, please share it with your loved ones and help spread awareness about genetic testing for breast cancer.

Routine, Resilience, and Research: One Mum's Cancer Story.

What happens when your life plans are suddenly redrawn by a breast cancer diagnosis? Emily, her husband, and their two children had moved to Australia in 2012 from the UK and was busy building a future for her family when she found herself on a very different path.

In this episode, we sit down with Emily to discuss:

• Navigating breast cancer with a young family.
• The role that routine and swimming played in helping her cope.

• The role that Herceptin, a treatment drug brought about by the Breast Cancer Trials HERA trial, played in her treatment.
• Why breast cancer clinical trials research is so vital.

Tune in for a deep dive into this important research.

⁠Donate to Support Life-Saving Research⁠

Like this episode? ⁠Find more Breast Cancer Trials Podcast Episodes here⁠

Follow Breast Cancer Trials on Social Media:  Instagram:⁠ @breastcancertrials⁠  Facebook:⁠ Breast Cancer Trials⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠ X: ⁠@BCTrialsANZ⁠

Guest: Emily Allard from Newcastle NSW.

Thank you for listening! If you found this episode valuable, please share it with your loved ones and help spread awareness about genetic testing for breast cancer.

The Village Effect: Why Community Matters During Cancer Treatment.

For Sarah, motherhood was already a full-time job — between nippers, football, and everything in between. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she found herself navigating treatment while parenting young children and holding her family together through the uncertainty.

In this episode, we sit down with Sarah to discuss:

• The lead up to her shock diagnosis.
• Balancing breast cancer treatment and motherhood.
• The importance of having a strong support system in place during treatment.
• Why Breast Cancer Trials' research is so important.

Tune in for a deep dive into this important research.

⁠Donate to Support Life-Saving Research⁠

Like this episode? ⁠Find more Breast Cancer Trials Podcast Episodes here⁠

Follow Breast Cancer Trials on Social Media:  Instagram:⁠ @breastcancertrials⁠  Facebook:⁠ Breast Cancer Trials⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠ X: ⁠@BCTrialsANZ⁠

Guest: Sarah Withyman from Newcastle NSW.

Thank you for listening! If you found this episode valuable, please share it with your loved ones and help spread awareness about genetic testing for breast cancer.

Virtual Reality Meets Radiation: A New Era in Patient Coaching.

Kathleene Dower is a Radiation Therapist and 2025 Clinical Fellow with Breast Cancer Trials. Her project is about piloting virtual reality (VR) coaching and education for deep inspiration breath hold, a breathing technique used duringradiation therapy to move the heart away from radiation and protect it from damage.

This study will explore whether VR coaching and education can help patients learn this technique more effectively.

In this episode, we sit down with Kathleene to discuss:

• An overview of Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH), and how to effectively do this.
• How the VR coaching program works.
• The benefits of using BR compared to traditional coaching methods for DIBH.
• Next steps after this pilot study.

Tune in for a deep dive into this important research.

⁠Donate to Support Life-Saving Research⁠

Like this episode? ⁠Find more Breast Cancer Trials Podcast Episodes here⁠

Follow Breast Cancer Trials on Social Media:  Instagram:⁠ @breastcancertrials⁠  Facebook:⁠ Breast Cancer Trials⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠ X: ⁠@BCTrialsANZ⁠

Guest: Kathleene Dower from Lismore Base Hospital.

Thank you for listening! If you found this episode valuable, please share it with your loved ones and help spread awareness about genetic testing for breast cancer.

From IVF to Breast Cancer: Navigating a Diagnosis in Early Motherhood.

Rebecca Pickering is a devoted mum to Daphne and Dorothy and wife to Matt. She loves spending quality time with her family and exploring the beauty of her hometown, Mildura.

Rebecca’s journey to motherhood included a series of IVF treatments before welcoming her two daughters. Not long after their birth, she began noticing changes in her breasts, and after visiting her doctor for a check-up, she was unfortunately diagnosed with breast cancer.

In this episode, we sit down with Rebecca to discuss:

• Her breast cancer diagnosis.
• Navigating breast cancer with a young family.
• Participating in the OLIO clinical trial
• Remote monitoring during treatment.

Tune in for a deep dive into this important conversation.

⁠Donate to Support Life-Saving Research⁠

Like this episode? ⁠Find more Breast Cancer Trials Podcast Episodes here⁠

Follow Breast Cancer Trials on Social Media:  Instagram:⁠ @breastcancertrials⁠  Facebook:⁠ Breast Cancer Trials⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠ X: ⁠@BCTrialsANZ⁠

Guest: Mrs Rebecca Pickering.

Thank you for listening! If you found this episode valuable, please share it with your loved ones and help spread awareness about genetic testing for breast cancer.

Beyond the Plate: Rebuilding Healthy Habits After Breast Cancer with Dr Cindy Tan.

Lifestyle interventions such as diet and exercise have been shown to have positive impacts on clinical outcomes, including tolerance to chemotherapy, fatigue, weight maintenance, and reduced risk of cancer recurrence. However, there is no one intervention that fits all. Maintaining healthy lifestyle activities can be challenging for some, and the reasons for non-adherence vary.

In this episode, we sit down with Cindy Tan from the Concord Hospital in Sydney to discuss:

• The role of diet and exercise in breast cancer treatment.
• Barriers and enables of breast cancer survivors to join a lifestyle intervention.

•  The future steps in this area of research.

Tune in for a deep dive into this important research.

⁠Donate to Support Life-Saving Research⁠

Like this episode? ⁠Find more Breast Cancer Trials Podcast Episodes here⁠

Follow Breast Cancer Trials on Social Media:  Instagram:⁠ @breastcancertrials⁠  Facebook:⁠ Breast Cancer Trials⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠ X: ⁠@BCTrialsANZ⁠

Guest: Dr Cindy Tan, Concord Hospital in Sydney.

Thank you for listening! If you found this episode valuable, please share it with your loved ones and help spread awareness about genetic testing for breast cancer.

Revolutionising Radiotherapy: The ORNATE Study and the Future of Breast Cancer Treatment with Dr Gabrielle Metz.

Dr Metz is a radiation oncologist and 2025 clinical fellow with Breast Cancer Trials. Her project, optimising radiotherapy in the neoadjuvant therapy era, also known as ORNATE, aims to refine radiotherapy for breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy before surgery.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr Gabrielle Metz from the Royal North Shore Hospital to discuss:

• What the database is, and its role in breast cancer treatment.
• How researchers will explore whether radiation doses can be safely reduced in certain patients.
• Options for less invasive lymph node treatments.
•  The future of patient outcomes in this space.

Tune in for a deep dive into this important research.

⁠⁠Donate to Support Life-Saving Research⁠⁠ 

Like this episode? ⁠⁠Find more Breast Cancer Trials Podcast Episodes here⁠⁠

Follow Breast Cancer Trials on Social Media:  Instagram:⁠ ⁠@breastcancertrials⁠⁠  Facebook:⁠ ⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠⁠ X: ⁠⁠@BCTrialsANZ⁠⁠

Guest: Dr Gabrielle Metz, The Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney.

Thank you for listening! If you found this episode valuable, please share it with your loved ones and help spread awareness about genetic testing for breast cancer.

Understanding Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) in Metastatic Breast Cancer with Dr Michelle Li.

ADCs are a breakthrough in targeted chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer. While ADCs like trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) offer new hope, challenges like resistance and various side effects still remain, and can therefore limit their clinical use.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr Michelle Li from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre to discuss:

• The current landscape of metastatic breast cancer.
• The role of ADCs in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.
• What makes certain treatment options more effective than others in the context of metastatic disease?
•  The future steps in this area of research, including the role of international collaboration.

Tune in for a deep dive into this important research.

⁠Donate to Support Life-Saving Research⁠ 

Like this episode? ⁠Find more Breast Cancer Trials Podcast Episodes here⁠

Follow Breast Cancer Trials on Social Media:  Instagram:⁠ @breastcancertrials⁠  Facebook:⁠ Breast Cancer Trials⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠ X: ⁠@BCTrialsANZ⁠

Guest: Dr Michelle Li, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne.

Thank you for listening! If you found this episode valuable, please share it with your loved ones and help spread awareness about genetic testing for breast cancer.

Electronic Patient-Reported Outcome (ePRO) remote monitoring is a game-changer for people living with metastatic breast cancer. Many patients on treatments like CDK4/6 inhibitors and anti-HER2 therapies remain stable for long periods, yet they still have to attend frequent check-ups. But what if we could safely monitor their health from home?

In this episode, we sit down with Dr Victoria Rayson from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre to discuss:

• ePRO remote monitoring
• The feasibility, benefits, and real-world impact of ePRO in the Australian healthcare setting
• The Clinical Fellowship Program with Breast Cancer Trials

Tune in for a deep dive into this important research and how it will benefit patients in the near future.

⁠Donate to Support Life-Saving Research⁠ 

Like this episode? ⁠Find more Breast Cancer Trials Podcast Episodes here⁠

Follow Breast Cancer Trials on Social Media:  Instagram:⁠ @breastcancertrials⁠  Facebook:⁠ Breast Cancer Trials⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠ X: ⁠@BCTrialsANZ⁠

Guest: Dr Victoria Rayson, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

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Professor Fran Boyle is a highly experienced Medical Oncologist who specialises in the areas of breast cancer and melanoma. She is passionate about making advances in this field and her practice focuses on researching new treatments as well as developing care and communication.

We spoke with Professor Boyle about the importance of using respectful and inclusive language in breast cancer care, so that patients can understand and make informed decisions about their treatment.