Elissa Simms is a mum of two daughters, 20-year-old Bryn and 17-year-old Ella, who enjoys spending time with her family and walking her dogs Kahlua and Lottie.

In March 2024, Elissa noticed a strange sensation in her breast. At the time, she was seeing her GP frequently as she was dealing with a frozen shoulder and thought the two might be connected. Unfortunately, after being sent for an ultrasound, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

We spoke with Elissa about her diagnosis, navigating breast cancer, and her participation on the OPTIMA clinical trial

Tamara Dawes is a mum and primary school teacher living in New South Whales, who enjoys living in the country, going to the beach, and spending time with her family and their dog.

Around Easter time in 2021, Tamara had been dealing with some eczema and because of this had been performing frequent self-examinations when she noticed a lump in her breast. She booked in with her GP, who sent her for a mammogram, biopsy and ultrasound and two days later was diagnosed with breast cancer.

We spoke with Tamara about her shock diagnosis, navigating breast cancer with a young family and the importance of supporting breast cancer clinical trials research.

Wendy Rolls is a wife and mum of three daughters from New South Whales, Australia who enjoys golf, quilting, scrapbooking, and spending time with her family.

In October 2023, Wendy found a small lump in her breast, and after undergoing a number of tests including an ultrasound, needle biopsy, and core biopsy she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

We spoke with Wendy about her diagnosis, navigating breast cancer, and her participation on the CAMBRIA-2 clinical trial.

The Breast Cancer Trials Board of Directors established the Consumer Advisory Panel, also known as CAP, in 1998 because it recognised the value and importance of consumer input to the planning and conduct of clinical trials research.

CAP members bring their own unique experience of breast cancer and a true commitment to the clinical trials research process.

In this episode, you'll hear from our CAP Chair, Leslie Gilham, as well as three of our members, Merryn Carter, Naveena Nekkalapudi, and Laura McCambridge, as they discuss the Consumer Advisory Panel of Breast Cancer Trials, their role, and what you can expect from being involved.

Dr Erica Mayer is the director of clinical research and institute physician at the Breast Oncology Centre, Dana-Faber Cancer Institute, and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, United States.

Dr Mayer's research focuses on the role of novel therapies in the treatment of breast cancer and we spoke with her about improving efficacy in the adjuvant treatment of early ER+ breast cancer.

Professor Andrew Tutt is a Consultant Clinical Oncologist in the Breast Cancer Unit at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. He is also a Professor of Oncology at King's College in London.

We spoke to him about biomarkers for hormone therapy resistance and deficiency, and also on targeting the Achilles heel in BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations.

Professor Michael Gnant is a Professor of Surgery at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, where he also serves as President of the Austrian Breast and Colorectal Cancer Study Group.

We spoke to him about trends in surgery de-escalation and management of the axilla.

Peter Barry is a Consultant Surgeon at the Breast Unit, Royal Marsden in London. He focuses on breast oncoplastic techniques and reconstructive options following cancer surgery, as well as preventative surgery for high-risk women.

We spoke with him about selecting patients for volume replacement therapy.

Dr Christina Kozul is a Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Accredited General Surgical trainee at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, who aims to subspecialise in Breast Surgery.

She is passionate about contributing to breast cancer research to improve outcomes for women with DCIS and breast cancer. We spoke with Dr Kozul about Ductal Carcinoma in Situ, and why the risk of local recurrence might be a concern for some women.

Dr Carlos Barrios is a medical oncologist from Brazil. He dedicates himself to breast cancer and clinical research, and coordinates the Latin-American cooperative oncology group in Brazil, which congregates investigators from 16 different countries in the region.

His main interest is establishing collaboration between institutions across different countries to further breast cancer research, and we spoke with him about the sequencing of antibody-drug conjugates, and what to do after metastatic breast cancer patients progress on CDK4/6 inhibitors.