People often talk about social determinants of health - the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live and age - and how they affect a person’s health, well-being and quality of life. However, there are political determinants of health that impact our health and longevity as well. Rebecca Birch, director of state policy and advocacy at Susan G. Komen, is here today to help us understand how political determinants of health ultimately determine and affect social determinants of health and how we can all get involved to create a healthier tomorrow.

Sunny, a mom, wife, and friend to many, opens up about what it's like to receive life-changing news and how she's chosen to embrace resilience, gratitude, and new perspectives. From her decision to make lifestyle changes with her husband’s support to finding strength in her community, Sunny shares the realities, challenges, and small victories of her journey.

Today we are joined by actress, activist and mother Olivia Munn for part two of our conversation about Olivia's journey through breast cancer.  Earlier this year, Olivia bravely shared her breast cancer diagnosis, urging women to advocate for early detection through the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment tool. Her heartfelt story resonated globally, prompting a surge in awareness and proactive health measures among women.

Today we are joined by actress, activist and mother Olivia Munn.  Earlier this year, Olivia bravely shared her breast cancer diagnosis, urging women to advocate for early detection through the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment tool. Her heartfelt story resonated globally, prompting a surge in awareness and proactive health measures among women.

This is Real Talk, a podcast conversation where we’re digging deep into breast cancer and the realities patients and survivors face every day. We’re talking openly and honestly about just how difficult breast cancer can be, from being diagnosed to selecting the right treatment plan, to living day to day with metastatic breast cancer, and life after treatment ends.

Today, we’re getting to know the Titus family – Leo, Rosalie, Allison, Laura and Kelley. Leo lost his wife Jennifer to metastatic breast cancer in 2003. She was just 34 at the time and she and Leo had three young daughters – Allison, Laura and Kelley. Kelley was just 8 months old when her mother died. The Titus family has committed themselves to doing everything they can to save lives from breast cancer in the hopes that nobody would ever have to go through what they went through, losing a wife and mother.

To date, the family has raised more than $350,000 for Susan G. Komen and participated in Washington, DC-area races, walks and other fundraisers. This year, everyone is all in – doing their part to raise as much as they can for the cause.

Today, we are celebrating the 300th episode of this podcast. Over the past half decade, we have heard from survivors and thrivers, those in treatment, those living with metastatic disease, as well as family and friends of those passed and medical professionals.We are so grateful to everyone who has come on this podcast and shared their story, helping those who need to hear it most and supporting this community. Today, we will revisit some of the lessons we hope you have taken away from this series, 300 episodes in.

We know that 1 in 8 women will be being diagnosed with breast cancer in the U.S. which means that most people know someone that either has been or is currently touched by breast cancer. On top of that, there have been an increasing number of celebrities in the media speaking about their breast cancer diagnoses, which can sometimes make it feel like people are being diagnosed constantly. When family members, friends, loved ones, coworkers, friends of friends – anyone around us is diagnosed – it can bring up feelings of fear and concern for our own health. Today we’ve been blessed with the perfect person on the show. Licensed professional oncology counselor and breast cancer survivor Dr. Chalice Rhodes is here to empower us to take charge of our health, to give us tools to cope with these feelings and not let anxiety stop us in our tracks and to let us know that we are capable of handling whatever comes our way!

A breast cancer diagnosis is shocking for young women. At a time in life most often focused on family and career, issues of treatment, recovery and survivorship suddenly take top priority, and this can bring with it a wide range of emotions. Today’s guest was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer at the age of 34. By taking things one day at time, she was able to mentally keep it together through diagnosis and treatment, but when her treatment was complete and she was faced with navigating life with her new normal, that is when the weight of what she had been through caught up to her and she found herself struggling. Cecilia Salvans is here today to share what she’s learned through her experience and how sharing her story to be able to help others has been the best medicine.

On today’s episode, we have two special guests, Kristina Guerrero, journalist, TV host, lifestyle expert and author along with three-time Emmy award-winning journalist, TV host, author and speaker, Gaby Natale. Both are Latinas in the public eye who were diagnosed at young ages with breast cancer. We’ll talk with them about navigating their breast cancer diagnosis as a Latina, how it changed them as storytellers and what they want to share with the Latino community having gone through this experience.

Tumor profiling or genomic testing can give us information about the genes in a person’s cancer cells and can help guide doctors to the best possible treatment plan by predicting the risk of recurrence, or when breast cancer returns after initial treatment. If a low risk of recurrence is shown, people with breast cancer and their doctors can choose to pursue a less aggressive treatment plan with confidence. Here today to empower us with information about the power of genomics and to give further insight into how it can positively affect treatment decisions is Medical Oncologist, specializing in Breast Cancer and Cancer Genomics, and Chief Medical Officer at Agendia, Dr. William Audeh.