Real Pink

What if a simple at-home DNA test changed the entire course of your life?

At 28 years old, today’s guest received a call that revealed she had a high probability of carrying the BRCA1 gene mutation. Genetic testing confirmed it, and suddenly, her family's history of cancer took on a deeply personal meaning. Her aunt, who also carried the mutation, was dying of ovarian cancer at the time. This pushed Margot Casino to make a series of decisions to protect her family's future including undergoing preventive surgeries and IVF with genetic screening. While in the process of taking steps to reduce her risk, Margot was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer at just 31 years old. As a wife and a mother to two young boys, she’d already been doing everything she believed she could to protect herself from breast cancer, yet she still heard those dreaded words.

Margot is here today to discuss the importance of knowing your family history, understanding your genetics, and paying attention when something feels different in your body.

This October, Margot also decided to be part of Komen’s Don't Fail the Girls campaign because breast cancer is personal for her, and she knows how much is at stake. She’s using her voice to help make breast cancer impossible to ignore and to help drive the research, support and action needed to end it.

Takeaways

Chapters

04:40 — Choosing IVF with genetic screening

08:12 — Preventative surgeries and breast cancer diagnosis

16:50 — Treatment, sepsis and recovery

21:47 — Looking forward and helping others

Learn more at realpink.komen.org and komen.org

Real Pink, by Susan G. Komen, shares real stories and expert insights to support people navigating breast cancer, from diagnosis through survivorship.

Welcome to the Komen Health Equity Revolution series on Real Pink — where patients, advocates, researchers and community partners come together to talk honestly about what's standing in the way of breast health equity and what we're doing to change it. I'm your host, Adam Walker. This month is Hispanic Heritage Month, and we're honoring it by talking about something a lot of young women don't expect to be part of their story this early: Needing to have a mammogram as a young adult.

Our guest today is Yaleska Sosa, a senior at Northwestern University studying biological sciences and global health, and a Komen College Ambassador. During a routine appointment, doctors found a mass and referred her for a mammogram — an experience that, combined with her family's history of cancer, turned a scare into a mission: making sure other young women, especially in the Hispanic/Latino community, have the information she wishes she'd had. Yaleska, welcome to Real Pink.

Takeaway

Chapters

06:00 — Deciding whether to tell her mom

06:47 — Knowing your body and your culture

09:39 — Discovering the impact of breast cancer

13:55 — Encouraging young women to know their bodies

Learn more at realpink.komen.org and komen.org

Real Pink, by Susan G. Komen, shares real stories and expert insights to support people navigating breast cancer, from diagnosis through survivorship.

When we think about breast cancer, many of us still picture someone much older. But the reality is that young women can—and do—face this diagnosis, even when breast cancer is the furthest thing from their minds. Today’s guest was just 35 years old when her life changed and she suddenly found herself navigating treatment decisions while raising 3 young children. Amanda Lutricuso’s story is a powerful reminder that you’re never too young to pay attention to your body and to speak up when something is wrong. Cancer may have changed the course of her life, it also changed her perspective on what matters most.

Key Takeaways

Chapters

00:01:19 Finding the lump

00:03:22 Processing the diagnosis

00:08:07 Balancing treatment and motherhood

00:12:29 Chasing every dream

00:16:07 Advocating for your health

Learn more at realpink.komen.org and komen.org

Real Pink, by Susan G. Komen, shares real stories and expert insights to support people navigating breast cancer, from diagnosis through survivorship.

Technology is rapidly changing the world around us – and the same is true in women’s health. Artificial Intelligence holds enormous promise in understanding risk, detecting cancers earlier and improving treatment options and outcomes for breast cancer patients – but how do we get there and what should we be aware of along the way?

Today we’re welcoming Jillian Wright, the CEO of Onsite Women’s Health, the leading provider of convenient, in-office breast health imaging services across the U.S., and Jane Perlmutter, a survivor of multiple cancers and devoted member of Susan G. Komen Advocates in Science program, which brings the patient voice to scientific research and clinical decisions.

Takeaways

Chapters

00:00 — The promise of AI in breast health

05:12 — Understanding breast cancer risk

10:29 — How AI is transforming breast imaging

19:28 — The concerns around AI in healthcare

24:40 — The future of AI and cancer care

Learn more at realpink.komen.org and komen.org

Real Pink, by Susan G. Komen, shares real stories and expert insights to support people navigating breast cancer, from diagnosis through survivorship.

The first 30 days after being diagnosed with breast cancer can feel devastating. You’re processing a lot of information, dealing with emotions and often trying to figure out what to do next. Joining us on Real Pink’s 400th episode today is Jennifer Omholt, a journalist and 24-year cancer survivor who was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer when her son was just 16 months old. In the wake of her diagnosis, she desperately searched for something to ease her fear and confusion, but found nothing that offered comfort or clarity. Over the next two decades, she set out to create the resource she wished she’d had, so that no one would need to face the shock of a cancer diagnosis alone. Jennifer is here today to share her story and what helped carry her though her breast cancer experience.

Key takeaways:

Chapters

Learn more at realpink.komen.org and komen.org

Real Pink, by Susan G. Komen, shares real stories and expert insights to support people navigating breast cancer, from diagnosis through survivorship.

Metastatic breast cancer cannot be cured but it can be treated. Treatment focuses on disease management while maintaining the best possible quality of life. The unfortunate reality is that a treatment will only work for so long, then another one is needed.

Joining us today are two women living with metastatic breast cancer who are sharing their experiences, living one treatment to the next. They are tireless advocates for research and the breakthroughs that will ensure their next treatment is available, when they need it. They’re sharing how they live life to the fullest and manage their day-to-day care.

Key Takeaways

Chapters

00:00 — Living with metastatic breast cancer

03:25 — The reality of treatment after treatment

07:45 — The emotional weight of uncertainty

13:23 — Why metastatic breast cancer research matters

26:34 — Living in the present and finding hope

Learn more at realpink.komen.org and komen.org

Real Pink, by Susan G. Komen, shares real stories and expert insights to support people navigating breast cancer, from diagnosis through survivorship.

What happens when your life changes in an instant, and then, just when you think you’re beginning to rebuild, you’re faced with another life-altering diagnosis?

Shannon Michelle knows that experience firsthand. After a devastating motorcycle accident left her in a coma with a traumatic brain injury, Shannon had to relearn how to walk, read, speak and navigate a life she no longer remembered. Then, during her recovery, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Today, Shannon joins us to talk about her breast cancer experience, the emotional realities of healing, and how an unimaginable series of events changed the way she sees her life.

Key Takeaways

Chapters

00:00 — Surviving a devastating accident

04:30 — A breast cancer diagnosis

07:57 — The PATCH framework for healing

16:50 — Accepting a new reality

23:50 — Letting go of control

Learn more at realpink.komen.org and komen.org

Real Pink, by Susan G. Komen, shares real stories and expert insights to support people navigating breast cancer, from diagnosis through survivorship.

Bret Miller was 17 when he first felt a lump behind his nipple. For seven years, providers told him it was calcium buildup or that it would go away on its own. It didn't. At 24, Bret was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer — a disease most people, including many of the doctors he saw along the way, don't associate with men at all.In this episode, Bret joins his oncologist, Dr. Priyanka Sharma of The University of Kansas Cancer Center, to unpack why male breast cancer is so often missed or overlooked by so many health care providers — and why most men have never been told what normal breast tissue looks or feels like for them in the first place. Together, they talk about what needs to change in clinical training and patient conversations, and what self-advocacy looks like when the system isn't built to catch what you're describing.

This episode is part of the Komen Health Equity Revolution podcast series, which centers the lived experience of communities too often overlooked in breast cancer awareness and care — including men.

5 Key Takeaways

Chapters

Learn more at realpink.komen.org and komen.org

Real Pink, by Susan G. Komen, shares real stories and expert insights to support people navigating breast cancer, from diagnosis through survivorship.

Breast cancer treatment has a beginning and an end, but healing is often a much longer journey. Today, we are joined by Katie Wasserman, a remarkable mother of four who shares how trusting her instincts and advocating for herself led to her breast cancer diagnosis. She will talk about navigating treatment decisions, the impact it had on her body, and the physical and emotional healing that continues today into survivorship. From managing the fears that linger after treatment ends to intentionally choosing a life focused on thriving instead of simply surviving, Katie’s story is a powerful reminder that no one knows your body better than you do.

Key Takeaways

Chapters

Learn more at realpink.komen.org and komen.org

Real Pink, by Susan G. Komen, shares real stories and expert insights to support people navigating breast cancer, from diagnosis through survivorship.

When multiple loved ones are diagnosed with breast cancer within a short period of time, it can leave you wondering if, and when, it might become part of your own story. Megan May knew her family history meant that she was at greater risk of developing breast cancer. She prepared as best she could and underwent regular screenings. However, her diagnosis at age 40 still came as a shock because there are some things that no one can fully prepare you for. Megan is here today to share her story - how a series of family diagnoses prompted her to begin early screening, what it was like to hear the words no one wants to hear, and the physical and emotional challenges that followed. We'll talk about how why giving back through fundraising has become such an important part of her mission and how her family supports each other through it all.

Key Takeaways

Chapters

00:00 – Megan’s family history with breast cancer

02:20 – Starting early screenings

04:04 – Megan’s diagnosis and treatment journey

09:39 – Finding strength through movement and survivorship

14:46 – Supporting family and advocating for early detection

Learn more at realpink.komen.org and komen.org

Real Pink, by Susan G. Komen, shares real stories and expert insights to support people navigating breast cancer, from diagnosis through survivorship.