Real Pink

It’s often thought that breast cancer only affects women over 40. But, unfortunately, that’s not the case. Breast cancer is rare in young women, but it does happen. And, when a young woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, it can be shocking. At a time in life when most young women are focused on friends and career, all of a sudden issues of treatment, recovery, and survivorship suddenly take top priority. Hannah Hancock joins the podcast today to share her story and how she navigated being diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 22.

Susan G. Komen and Lilly launched a new multiyear program to address breast cancer health disparities experienced by Black women in the U.S. The partnership expands support services for Black women in the Midwest and across the U.S. to help close the 40% mortality gap in breast cancer. Chaunté Lowe, American record holder in high jump and mother of three, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer that disproportionately affects Black women and has felt the impact of these inequities in her own breast cancer experience.

Navigating a breast cancer journey can cause feelings of confusion and fear, all of which are normal. There are healthy ways to cope with the stress caused by these fears, such as mindfulness meditation, support groups or finding a creative outlet. Today’s guest has been through quite a journey over the past decade. Having undergone numerous brain surgeries as a result of her breast cancer metastasizing, actress and comedian Hyla Matthews knows firsthand how important it is to find ways to keep a healthy perspective and is committed to finding way to laugh through her experience. Hyla, welcome to the show!

Losing your hair is hard. As with breast surgery, it affects a part of your body often tied to your identity. This can become even more of a challenge when you have young children who have a strong emotional response to a parent's breast cancer diagnosis. Today's guest was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 29, with three young girls at home. Here today to talk about the emotional impact of the physical changes that her body has had to undergo, both for herself and for her family. Emily, welcome to the show!

Breast density is a measure used to describe the proportion of the different tissues that make up a woman's breasts. It compares the area of the breast and connective tissues seen on a mammogram to the area of fat. Women with dense breasts are four to five times more likely to get breast cancer than women with fatty breasts, but it is also not uncommon to get called back for additional screenings when you have dense breasts, because dense breast tissue makes it more difficult to interpret a mammogram. Today's guest needed an ultrasound multiple years in a row following her annual mammogram, but in 2020, received a call that she was not at all expecting. She had breast cancer. Here today to share her story is Emily's Zarecki. Emily, welcome to the show!

Today, we're speaking with Dr. Neil Vasan, an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology Oncology at Columbia University Medial Center.

Dr. Vasan is a physician scientist who studies how proteins function in breast cancer cell signaling and how treatments impact breast cancer cell signaling, which is the communication within a cell. His research has been published in top scientific journals including Science, Nature Cancer, Cancer Cell, and Cancer Discovery and he's received multiple awards, including being selected as a next gen star of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Today, we're going to be discussing exciting new developments in the treatment of triple negative breast cancer. Dr. Vasan, welcome to the show!

Everyone can make a difference in the life of someone living with this disease by urging elected officials in Washington DC to pass pending legislation that would directly help this community. Today, we're going to be talking about advocacy and why it's so important to alleviate patient burden through robust public policies that recognize both the financial toxicity of treating breast cancer and the systemic hurdles patients must pass through to access their care.

Here today to share her personal story is Stephanie Walker. Stephanie is a registered nurse with close to 40 years of clinical practice experience with the last 15 years working in hospice and end of life care, when she received her MBC diagnosis in 2015. After health issues caused her to leave her work in 2018, she was faced with stark financial realities that MBC patients often encounter.

Through it all, Stephanie learned to be her best advocate and is passionate about teaching other men and women with MBC how to do that too. Stephanie, welcome to the show.

Everyone can make a difference in the life of someone living with the disease by donating to breakthrough research. Thousands of families lives will be changed forever by an NBC diagnosis this year. Sadly, 44,000 lives are at risk this year. And the five-year relative survival rate for metastatic breast cancer is only 27%.

The Susan G Komen Metastatic Breast Cancer Collaborative Research Initiative is a first of its kind effort that is bringing together the best and brightest researchers at Duke Cancer Institute and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center to find breakthrough discoveries to end metastatic breast cancer.

Research will cure this disease. Until then, research will transform MBC from a terminal diagnosis to a chronic disease, giving patients and their families the priceless gift of time. Today's guest, Pam Kohl is here to tell us more about the NBC Collaborative Research Initiative, as well as her own personal story of living with stage four metastatic breast cancer, Pam, welcome to the show!