This is how we started
My name is Victoria Goldberg. If you only read one blog entry this summer…make it this one. In the spirit of full disclosure, the quip comes from my husband, but he does not remember where he picked it up.
Welcome to Our MBC Life! This project is the brainchild and labor of love of my friend and MBC patient, Lisa Laudico. A year ago at SHARE Lisa delivered a series of webinars dedicated to the issues facing those living with metastatic breast cancer. The webinars were well received, but unfortunately never recorded. Lisa decided to try a different medium and pitched an idea to SHARE’s senior management team of doing a new MBC-centric series via podcasting. This proposal was enthusiastically green lighted, and Our MBC Life was born.
It will be the first of its kind, weekly podcast for the MBC community, developed by MBC patients and advocates. Its mission is to give voice to our experiences and help shine the spotlight on many issues that still plague us.
I have been living with MBC for almost 7 years and four of these years as a volunteer at SHARE and a member of MBC Alliance. SHARE was my first introduction to the breast cancer world. I started as a helpline volunteer and now delight in the knowledge that I have done my part in making SHARE’s MBC Program better and more relevant. One of my proudest accomplishments of the last two years is the launch of a peer-run dedicated MBC helpline, TalkMets. Through the years, I have gotten to know our community rather well and made a lot of friends. Among them are the members of Our MBC Life. Lisa Laudico is our host, producer, founding member of the podcast team, and a jack of all trades. Rainy Orteca is a talented composer, sound engineer, and overall tech guru. Lisa, Rainy and I attend the same support group at MSKCC. Anne Woodward, our producer, is a 27-year veteran of broadcast news operations. Jersi Baker, the founder of Angel In Disguise foundation, is the host of the podcast’s monthly segment that will highlight our all too often unsung heroes, who make the difference in their local MBC communities . Sheila McGlown and Chawnte Randall are the two newest team members. Both are veterans and fearless patient advocates. I’m looking forward to getting to know them better as we work on the podcast.
Listeners—you’re the most important members of the team. The sole purpose of Our MBC Life is to serve this community. Engage with us. Share your thoughts, suggestions and stories. Details on how to accomplish that are provided on the Connect page.
So here we are. Because of the super-human efforts of the crack team of volunteers and interns, we are ready to launch the very first episode tomorrow, July 27th, only 3 months since Lisa pitched the idea. In the inaugural Monday Advocate Spotlight, dedicated to healthcare disparities, Lisa will interview our own Jersi Baker and the incredible Maimah Karmo, the founder and CEO of Tigerlily Foundation.
Stay tuned and keep reading this blog!
