Podcasts Archives - Breast Cancer Action

How do those living with and at risk of breast cancer “trust” science, when science has a history of being untrustworthy, and especially so in their treatment of the BIPOC community? As discussed in the episode, “Trust in Science: A Panel Conversation,” the labor of building trust is often shifted to the individual. For example, a common solution to the lack of data and research on the BIPOC community, is, as BCAction Board Member Tamatha Thomas Haase describes, imploring BIPOC folx to “join more clinical trials!” But there is a lack of collaboration between science and people who live with the reality of breast cancer every day, and we know that there is much more that needs to be done before getting to this point. What building trust could look like, as described by Tigerlily Founder and CEO Maimah Karmo, is flipping the script – putting people with breast cancer on stage in our research panels, and the scientists in the audience. This podcast episode explores this and other necessary takeaways from the conversation between these two leaders, and facilitated by BCAction Executive Director Krystal Redman, at the 18th Annual Billie Gardner Loulan Memorial Benefit, which took place om May 19, 2022. Founded by former BCAction Board Member JoAnn Loulan, the Billie Gardner Loulan Memorial Benefit honors JoAnn’s mother and others who have died from breast cancer, and raises crucial funds for Breast Cancer Action’s work to address and end breast cancer. 

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Stories play a powerful role in our culture and in social change, because they connect our communities, inform and expand our perspectives, and illuminate areas in need of change. In this podcast episode, “Storytelling: A Powerful Agent of Change,” we speak with our very own Executive Director, Dr. Krystal Redman (KR), and Dena Taylor, author of the book “I Don’t Want To Be Pink” and longtime BCAction supporter. KR speaks to the power of storytelling: how storytelling documents our histories, translates our lived experiences into real data, how storytelling can propel the breast cancer movement, and how to ethically engage in sharing personal narratives for political change. Then Dena joins us to not only share her person breast cancer story, but to speak to the healing and political power of doing so. Tune in to this dynamic episode and learn how YOU can share your story – as a person living with or at risk of breast cancer, as a caregiver, or as someone impacted by the disease (which is all of us). Your support, collaboration, and sharing of your personal stories have made possible BCAction’s historic wins and outsized achievements. None of our work would be possible without the participation of activists who are unafraid to share how breast cancer has impacted our lives, and who continue to hold policymakers and corporations accountable through a collective action framework.  

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At Breast Cancer Action’s October event Radical Disruption & Compassionate Resistance, we hosted a panel of four expert breast cancer activists who spoke to the power of our 2021 Think Before You Pink® campaign Stop Banking on Breast Cancer. The panel featured BCAction Program Manager Jayla Burton, BCAction Executive Director Krystal Redman, nationally-known biologist, author, and former cancer patient Dr. Sandra Steingraber, and BCAction Board Member and American Indian Cancer Foundation Health Equity Manager CoCo Villaluz. Together, the panelists elucidated never-before-explored connections between breast cancer, fossil fuels, financial institutions, and environmental racism that brought the campaign to life. They demonstrated why we must take action to stop Susan G. Komen’s Pink Ribbon Banking Program – and the cancer-causing fossil industry overall. The panelists went beyond the analytical and they touched on the personal stories and challenges that have driven their commitment to this work, which brought home the importance of this bold campaign.

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Individuals who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and/or Queer have stories of navigating breast cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment that aren’t represented in the heteronormative pink ribbon narrative. In this episode, host BCAction Program Manager Jayla Burton speaks with Laurie Merges, who tells the story of navigating her breast cancer diagnosis. Additionally, Jayla speaks with Scout, Executive Director of the National LGBT Cancer Network, about the realities of the healthcare system for people with queer and trans identities. Scout also provides a sneak peek of the findings from their organization’s OUT survey. Together, the dialogue between host Jayla, Laurie, and Scout explores breast cancer risk factors specific to the LGBTQ community, the heteronormative biases in guidance about sex and intimacy during breast cancer treatment, and the layers of missing data and research needed to improve health outcomes. It is clear from this conversation that to honor and center the LGBTQ breast cancer experience, practitioners and the breast cancer movement must address breast cancer by treating not just a body part, but the person as a whole.

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Most of us are familiar with the serious health inequities that exist among different racial, ethnic, and cultural groups when it comes to illness. Breast cancer is no exception. Join BCAction Program Manager Jayla’s conversation with four podcast guests: Marissa Thomas, co-founder of For the Breast of Us, Darci Green, Executive Director of Latinas Contra Cancer, Caroline Nguyen, Program Assistant at the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, and Dr. Krystal Redman, Executive Director at BCAction. This discussion covers the unique challenges and programmatic priorities specific to the Black, Latinx, and Asian communities of breast cancer activists while exploring the landscape of disparities, the disconnect between health care systems and communities of color, and the limitations of screening and mammography to address these inequities.

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The post Addressing Disparities: Screening vs. Systemic Change appeared first on Breast Cancer Action.

In this episode, Breast Cancer Action’s Environmental Health Consultant Heather Sarantis interviews Dr. Barbara Cohn, the lead research principal investigator of the study “Linking Neighborhood and Individual Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) to Breast Cancer.” This study is a unique research project made possible by the partnership of Breast Cancer Action and Child Health and Development Studies, and it features a massive, multi-generational data set that started in 1959 with 15,000 women, and has spanned three generations. The breadth of this data allows this ACEs study to pose questions that most researchers can’t begin to touch, including: Can where you live affect your breast cancer risk? If so, how? Does living in a racially segregated neighborhood contribute to an increased risk of breast cancer? What about more aggressive forms of breast cancer? And are these experiences a form of childhood trauma? Although the research team is in the early stages of analyzing the data, we’ve already seen some incredibly thought-provoking results. To learn more about the study and ACEs, tune in to this interview with Dr. Barbara Cohn.

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The post The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on Breast Cancer appeared first on Breast Cancer Action.

Health risks from fossil fuels touch almost every aspect of our lives. In addition to vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions, a wide range of everyday products are made from fossil fuel-based chemicals, including cosmetic products, pesticides, and plastics. In this episode, The Fossil Fuel to Breast Cancer Pipeline, we spoke with Dr. Carol Kwiatkowski about the booming plastics industry and what it means for our health. Dr. Kwiatkowski previously served as the Executive Director of the Endocrine Disruption Exchange, TEDX and now serves as the Science and Policy Senior Associate at the Green Science Policy Institute. She is also an Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University. Our conversation explores the current boom in plastics production and connects the dots with the breast cancer crisis.

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In recent decades researchers have identified more than 200 chemical exposures that may increase the risk for breast cancer. Despite these scientific advances, the country’s primary cancer agency, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), downplays these connections. This withholding of information not only affects the ability for individuals and healthcare providers to identify health protective measures, it also hamstrings important national efforts to create systemic changes that can support breast cancer prevention. Join Heather Sarantis in conversation with Dr. Julia Brody, Executive Director and Senior Scientist at Silent Spring Institute, to understand the significance of the National Cancer Institute, and why it is so important that the agency update its approach to breast cancer prevention.

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The post What the National Cancer Institute Leaves Out About Environmental Exposures appeared first on Breast Cancer Action.

Having breast cancer is stressful​ but nearly everyone who’s been diagnosed is told to avoid stress. ​What’s the connection between emotional strain and cancer? In her role as an associate professor at Temple University, our guest, Dr. Lauren Ellman, studies prenatal and childhood factors that contribute to mental health disorders. Join the conversation with Karuna and Lauren as they discuss the data on chronic stress, including the toll of systemic racism, ​that explain some of the health impacts like ​increased breast cancer risk—even decades later.

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What happens when the Medical Industrial Complex meets the FDA? How much influence do pharmaceutical and medical device companies really have ​on the drugs and devices we put in our bodies? In this episode, Karuna talks with award-winning independent medical investigative journalist and author Jeanne Lenzer about the intersection of money and medicine. Tune in to learn about the impact of the multibillion dollar medical industrial complex on our healthcare ​system—and what it means for you and for anyone living with and at risk of breast cancer. And join the conversation about where we’re going ​when the COVID-19 crisis ​passes, and what we can do to transform our healthcare system. Listen in and share your thoughts on Twitter and Facebook.

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