This podcast is the audio from a Breastcancer.org webinar.

In this candid conversation, Marisa Weiss, MD, Michele Ley, MD, FACS, Pamela Munster, MD, and Rachel Swart, MD, PhD share what they each experienced when they went from the role of healthcare provider to patient.

Despite their medical training, many years of helping patients, and deep knowledge about breast cancer, they too felt their life come to a screeching halt when they were diagnosed.

They spoke honestly about how they managed treatment decisions, returning to work, how the experience changed their interactions with their own patients, what everyone can learn about advocating for yourself, and much more. Their hope is that by sharing their stories, they can help others coping with the same challenges, and empower everyone affected by breast cancer.

Featured speakers:

Marisa Weiss, MD
Chief Medical Officer, Breastcancer.org

Michele Ley, MD, FACS
Board-Certified Breast Surgical Oncologist and Founder, Tucson Breast Health Specialists

Pamela Munster, MD
Director, Early Phase Clinical Trials Unit, Co-leader of the Center for BRCA Research, and Co-Leader, Molecular Oncology Program, University of California San Francisco

Rachel Swart, MD, PhD
Medical Oncology and Hematology, Arizona Oncology

At the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, Dr. Ian Tattersall, an oncodermatologist, was part of a panel focusing on body image, hair loss, and skin health after breast cancer treatment.

Listen to the episode to hear Dr. Tattersall explain:

The 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium featured four days filled with new research findings, poster presentations, and educational sessions. Marisa Weiss, MD, founder and chief medical officer of Breastcancer.org, offers her take on the top results.

Listen to the episode to hear Dr. Weiss explain:

At the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, Justin Johnson, PhD, presented a poster detailing the final results from three groups of people in a phase I trial on a vaccine to prevent triple-negative breast cancer.

Listen to the episode to hear Dr. Johnson explain:

At the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, Ann Partridge, MD, MPH, presented research on the Young, Empowered & Strong (YES) mHealth tool designed to better meet the emotional and physical health needs of young people who’ve received breast cancer treatment.

Listen to the episode to hear Dr. Partridge explain:

At the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, Dr. Jun Mao, an integrative medicine specialist and licensed acupuncturist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, presented research showing that both real and sham acupuncture can help improve cognitive function in women treated for breast cancer. Sham acupuncture mimics real acupuncture, but no needles pierce the skin.

Listen to the episode to hear Dr. Mao explain:

At the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, Whitney O’Connor, a two-time breast cancer survivor, licensed professional counselor, and founder of the Boobie Queen Company, presented a poster on the mental health tools she developed to help young women address any mental health and body image challenges they may have.

Listen to the episode to hear Whitney explain:

At the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, Megan-Claire Chase, known online as Warrior Megsie, a fierce and funny breast cancer advocate, presented a poster on real-world patient and caregiver experiences with breast cancer risk of recurrence in the United States.

Listen to the episode to hear Megan-Claire explain:

At the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), Dr. Tara Sanft, associate professor of medicine at the Yale School of Medicine and director of the Yale Survivorship Clinic, moderated a session called “Balancing Act: Hormone Replacement Therapy in Breast Cancer Care.”

Listen to the episode to hear Dr. Sanft explain:

After surgery, many people with stage I to stage III hormone receptor-positive breast cancer take tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor for five to 10 years. This has been the standard of care for the last 25 years.

At the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, UCLA scientist Dr. Aditya Bardia presented results on giredestrant, a new oral selective estrogen degrader/downregulator (SERD) that offered better disease-free survival — how long people live without the cancer returning – than tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor.

Listen to the episode to hear Dr. Bardia explain: