Laura Esserman, MD, MBA, is an internationally recognized breast surgeon, breast oncology specialist, and pioneer in personalized breast cancer care. She is a Professor of Surgery and Radiology at UCSF and Director of the UCSF Breast Care Center.

Dr. Esserman is a passionate advocate for rethinking how we screen for and treat breast cancer, with a particular focus on reducing over-diagnosis and over-treatment. She has led the groundbreaking I-SPY TRIALS, an innovative approach to accelerating the development of new breast cancer treatments, and spearheaded the WISDOM study, which is exploring a more personalized approach to breast cancer screening based on a woman’s individual risk.

A TIME 100 Most Influential People honoree, Dr. Esserman has dedicated her career to advancing personalized, patient-centered care and finding better ways to prevent, detect, and treat breast cancer.

This week, we flipped the script!

For this special episode, our longtime friend and tremendous supporter Lora Songster steps into the interviewer’s chair to sit down with ME and hear the story behind the story of Martha Kaley and earlier.org.

Tune in to hear about my breast cancer diagnosis, the remarkable way my Chocolate Lab, Sherlock, alerted me to a lump in my breast, and the experience that ultimately inspired me to found earlier.org – Friends for an Earlier Breast Cancer Test®.

It’s a deeply personal conversation about my journey—and how that journey sparked a mission to help change the future of breast cancer detection.

Karen S. Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., is a medical oncologist at the Mayo Clinic. Her research focuses on improving outcomes for people with breast cancer, with a particular emphasis on breast cancer immunotherapy.

Dr. Anderson actively conducts clinical trials exploring new approaches to breast cancer treatment, including therapies designed to reduce the risk of recurrence after surgery, as well as targeted therapies and immunotherapies for metastatic breast cancer. Her research also examines genomic factors that may help guide treatment decisions and improve personalized care.

Beyond treatment, Dr. Anderson is investigating new approaches to cancer detection and prevention, including innovative diagnostics for earlier cancer detection and vaccines designed to prevent or treat cancer.

The overarching goal of her work is to improve breast cancer survival—by finding cancer earlier, reducing the risk of relapse, and developing more effective ways to control advanced disease. Her research represents the kind of innovative science that could help change the future of breast cancer care.

Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation. -Audre Lorde poet, educator, mother of two, and breast cancer survivor

Amy VanHook is a two-time breast cancer survivor, mother of two daughters, and a high school educator with an MS in Curriculum and Instruction.

Drawing from her own experiences with breast cancer she hopes to share a deeply personal perspective on the importance of self-care, self-advocacy, and giving yourself permission to navigate cancer on your own terms.

Her message to women is simple: there is no single “right” way to move through cancer. Your journey belongs to you.

Dr. Norberto Zwirner is a leading researcher in immunology and cancer immunology, with a particular focus on tumor immunity, immunotherapy, and the role of natural killer (NK) cells in fighting cancer. He serves as a Senior Researcher with Argentina’s National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) and leads the Laboratory of Innate Immunity Pathophysiology at IBYME.

For his earlier.org-funded research, Dr. Zwirner is investigating a novel approach to the early detection of breast cancer by examining soluble MICA (sMICA) in blood as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker. His work represents the kind of innovative research that could ultimately help us detect breast cancer earlier—when it is most treatable.

Julie Buie is the Director of Holy Trinity Day School, where she has served for the past 16 years. A native of Pinehurst, North Carolina, Julie earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master's degree in education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She began her career teaching high school social studies before stepping away from the classroom to raise her family, during which time she remained active by teaching Sunday School and volunteering in local schools.

Julie is a breast cancer survivor and a dedicated member of the earlier.org Board of Directors, where she helps advance the organization's mission to fund research for an earlier, more reliable method of detecting breast cancer.

Dr. Paolo Maccarini is an Associate Research Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at Duke University School of Medicine.

His research focuses on developing innovative technologies to improve breast cancer treatment, including wearable microwave hyperthermia devices designed to treat chest wall recurrences of breast cancer.

Dr. Maccarini has also collaborated on pioneering studies that combine gold nanostars with laser immunotherapy to target deep-seated and metastatic breast cancer tumors, advancing new approaches to more effective and less invasive cancer treatment.

In 2010, earlier.org - Friends for an Earlier Breast Cancer Test® funded Dr. Maccarini's research project entitled “Diagnosis of Aggressive Breast Cancer with Enhanced Microwave Radiometry: Detection of Rapidly Proliferating Tumors by Noninvasive Deep Temperature Mapping.”

Dr. Miller is the retired Deputy Chief of the Chemopreventive Agent Development Research Group in the Division of Cancer Prevention at the National Cancer Institute. Today, he continues to help guide our research as a valued member of the earlier.org Medical Advisory Board.

In 1999, while serving as a Professor of Cancer Biology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Dr. Miller received one of earlier.org's earliest seed grants for his research, "Genetic Polymorphisms in Drug Metabolic Enzymes as Risk Factors for p53 Gene Mutations." Dr. Miller was subsequently awarded a much larger grant from the National Cancer Institute based on his work at Wake Forest.

Thyroid hormone receptors (TRß and TR?) are critical for regulation of growth, development, and metabolism throughout life. TRß is also a tumor suppressor.

Research in the Carr Laboratory is focused on understanding how TRß regulates normal processes in development and counters the progression of tumors. The team is studying how TRß regulates gene expression (genome) and interacts with other nuclear proteins (epigenome) to inhibit the aggressive cancer cell progression particularly in thyroid and breast cancers. Despite remarkable advances in our understanding and management of breast, thyroid and other cancer types, therapies often fail, as patients develop drug resistance or exhibit recurrent disease that evades interventions.

There is a critical need for development of more targeted therapies with few side effects. The research team has discovered that activation of TRß with synthetic mimetics reduces tumor progression and increases the effectiveness of current therapies. How TRß counteracts estrogen activated tumors through ERa is a current focus of the research program. The results of this research are advancing the foundational framework for subsequent translational studies and future clinical trials.

Shelby J. was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, and she remains deeply grateful that it was found early and that she took action. Her journey has given her a renewed appreciation for every moment, and she never takes a single day for granted. The experience changed her, strengthened her, and continues to teach her valuable lessons about resilience, gratitude, and the power of hope.

Today, Shelby J. uses her voice and her platform to bring awareness, encouragement, and support to those impacted by breast cancer. Through sharing her story, she helps connect others with important resources and reminds them that they are not alone—whether they are navigating a diagnosis, supporting a loved one, or simply seeking more information about breast health.

This episode of Isn’t That Interesting?! is an inspiring and honest conversation about courage, hope, resilience, and the importance of using your voice to make a difference. We at earlier.org are incredibly grateful to have Shelby J. as one of our FRIENDS and to share her powerful story with our community.