Real Pink

Most breast cancers are not related to genes or family history. However, if you have been diagnosed with breast cancer, your family members, especially sisters, daughters and mothers may have an increased risk of getting breast cancer. When cancer does affect multiple generations in a family, the impact can be far greater reaching than just the physical symptoms. Our guest today lost her mother to cancer at an impactful time in her life, was diagnosed with breast cancer 7 years ago, and is raising two daughters. Here to share the ways this has impacted her family, as well as how she’s been able to use her experiences to help other people and to build meaningful relationships is Dara Kurtz.

Dara Kurtz is the creator of the popular blog crazyperfectlife.com, with over 200,000 followers from around the world. After going through breast cancer almost 7 years ago, she quit her job as a financial advisor, launched her blog, and wrote her first book Crush Cancer. Her second book just released, I am My Mother’s Daughter: Wisdom on Life, Loss, and Love, It is all about the connection between mothers and daughters from one generation to the next, how to be intentional about growing relationships, and how to create a more meaningful life. Dara is a writer and speaker, and loves sharing her journey to help and inspire others. She lives in Lewisville, North Carolina, with her husband and daughters, loves spending time in nature, and practicing Kundalini yoga.

Special Guest: Dara Kurtz.

Sometimes pre-clinical studies show that a drug has a good chance of helping patients, but when the drug is tested on patients, it doesn't work as expected. Today, we are talking to Dr. Shom Goel, Group Leader and Medical Oncologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the University of Melbourne, in Australia & Komen-funded research scientist. He will talk with us today about the history of CDK4/6 inhibitors - how they initially failed but how scientists continued to work with them and are now seeing some positive results in patients.

Special Guest: Dr. Shom Goel.

Many scientific researchers face challenges in their work and the Covid-19 pandemic has only added to these challenges, but researchers are incredibly resilient and continue to push forward because they know their work will help patients and improve lives. Today, we are talking to Dr. Jennifer Guerriero, Instructor in Medicine and the Director of the Breast Tumor Immunology Laboratory at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Department of Surgery. Dr. Guerriero is a Komen-funded early career investigator and will talk about some of the challenges she has faced and what has motivated her to push through them.

Dr. Jennifer Guerriero is a Komen Career Catalyst Research grantee and PhD immunologist. She runs an independent Laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the Department of Surgery investigating the tumor microenvironment in breast cancer, is the Director of the Breast Tumor Immunology Laboratory at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and is an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Special Guest: Dr. Jennifer Guerriero.

In the U.S today, Black women are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer at a younger age, in later stages, with more aggressive types and have a lower 5-year survival rate. These disparities aren’t just caused by health issues but also by social injustice—unequal access to health care, a lack of diversity in medical research and services, unaddressed cultural barriers and more.

Michael Cox joins the show today to talk about these risks and normalize conversations about breast cancer.

Special Guest: Michael Cox.

Sponsored By:

• Amgen Oncology: At Amgen, we are committed to the relentless pursuit of breakthroughs for cancer patients and their families. We have a deep and diverse pipeline of cutting-edge therapeutic approaches that aim to improve outcomes.

Breast cancer, unfortunately, can come back even if doctors believe the chances are low. We don’t know why breast cancer recurs or when it will – it could be as soon as a few years after you’ve completed treatment, or it can be 20 years later. As a breast cancer survivor, you can stay in charge of your breast health by knowing the warning signs of recurrence and talking with your doctor when something doesn’t feel quite right. Karen Sock joins the podcast to share her story.

Special Guest: Karen Sock.

Sponsored By:

• Amgen Oncology: At Amgen, we are committed to the relentless pursuit of breakthroughs for cancer patients and their families. We have a deep and diverse pipeline of cutting-edge therapeutic approaches that aim to improve outcomes.

Our guest today knows first hand how important it is to stay on top of your breast health. Fashion designer Betsey Johnson was diagnosed with breast cancer 21 years ago and is here to share her story.

Today is our 100th episode of Real Pink and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our listeners and amazing guests that we have on the show for their support and partnership in working towards our mission of saving lives and finding the cures for breast cancer!

Special Guest: Betsey Johnson.

Sponsored By:

• Ford (Warriors in Pink): This episode has been brought to you by Ford Warriors in Pink. Ford has been a proud supporter of Susan G. Komen for 27 years – working together to help move warriors in the fight. You can help by shopping fordcares.com

A breast cancer diagnosis was a catalyst for a major career change for Valeria McClure.

Special Guest: Valencia McClure.

Sponsored By:

• Merck: Merck is on a mission is to deliver innovations that extend and improve the lives of people with cancer.

Everyone is at risk of breast cancer, but some of us are at higher risk than others. We know that black women are about 40% more likely to die of breast cancer than white women. These disparities are unacceptable. Your race and where you live should not determine whether you live. Here today to help us learn how to stay on top of our breast health is Dr. April Spencer.

Special Guest: Dr. April Spencer.

Sponsored By:

• Amgen Oncology: At Amgen, we are committed to the relentless pursuit of breakthroughs for cancer patients and their families. We have a deep and diverse pipeline of cutting-edge therapeutic approaches that aim to improve outcomes.

Cancer treatment has come a long way over the years. At the forefront of these medical advances are therapies known as “biologics.” Today I am speaking with Andrew Spiegel from the Global Colon Cancer Association to talk about biosimilars in cancer treatment and how he has used his voice in patient-centered policy and other discussions to ensure safe biologic medicines are available and accessible to patients.

Special Guest: Andrew Spiegel.

Sponsored By:

• Amgen Oncology: At Amgen, we are committed to the relentless pursuit of breakthroughs for cancer patients and their families. We have a deep and diverse pipeline of cutting-edge therapeutic approaches that aim to improve outcomes.

About 4 percent of all breast cancers diagnosed in the U.S. occur in women under 40. Our guest today was only 25 years old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was newly married and life had yet to really begin for her and her husband, yet they immediately found themselves dealing with issues of treatment, recovery and survivorship as top priorities.

Special Guest: Jennifer Humphries.

Sponsored By:

• Amgen Oncology: At Amgen, we are committed to the relentless pursuit of breakthroughs for cancer patients and their families. We have a deep and diverse pipeline of cutting-edge therapeutic approaches that aim to improve outcomes.