
Traveling with MBC: Tales & Tips
Travel can mean many things - Adventure. Relaxation. Exotic places & cultures, foods & jaw-dropping natural vistas. It can stimulate or soothe us and transport us literally and figuratively to a different reality. It lifts us out of the daily challenges of our diagnosis. It's no wonder so many of us with MBC love to travel and to plan new trips. But traveling with MBC can present a unique set of challenges. In this episode, Nancy Roylance co-hosts with Dr. Ellen Landsberger. She's the perfect partner, a retired MD, and one of the most traveled people we know. So brew yourself a cup of tea., pull up a comfortable chair ,and settle in. You'll hear from several members of the OUR MBC life team as well as other frequent flyers from the larger MBC community. We reflect on where we've been, where we would like to go and offer our advice for when a journey is really a journey.

Understanding Progression: How to Identify & Treat ESR1 Mutations in HR+ MBC
Today we are bringing you a special podcast that we created in partnership with SHARE Cancer Support called Understanding Progression: How to Identify and Treat ESR1 Mutations in HR+ MBC. This episode was produced from a live webinar from this past October. There has not been a new endocrine treatment in decades and many of us find out the endocrine treatment no longer works for us because the cancer has mutated. Kate Vieira Pfitzer and Victoria Goldberg are excited to bring Dr. Virginia Kaklamani to you. You will hear her explain this common problem, how to test for it, the new treatment option that is now available as well as many of the ongoing clinical trials for HR+ MBC.

mTNBC Unicorns: Living In Contradiction
Becoming a cancer “unicorn”--a person whose cancer responds exceptionally well to available treatment and who survives beyond what is expected--is what most of us hope for. This is all the more true for triple negative MBC where effective, targeted treatments are still sorely lacking. Today we talk to two women who have lived with triple negative metastatic breast cancer for 8 years. Dr. Toni Willis and Colleen Broughton share their diagnosis & treatment stories, including their experiences with second opinions, clinical trials, self-advocacy, and cultivating joy for themselves & their families as they navigate surviving longer than they –or their doctors—expected to.

Tony Laudico: One Year Without Lisa
Meet Tony Laudico, husband of 27 years to our beloved Lisa. In this episode, you will hear a remarkable and at times, heart wrenching account of Tony’s struggle to comprehend a life without the partnership that had sustained and defined him for 30 years. He will talk about the anguish of loss, a nightmare of "death-duties", the true meaning of grief, and the solace of friendship. Although not always easy listening, this is an uplifting story and a testament to the power of love.

Young Adults & MBC
Young Adults & MBC is an episode that explores the lives of those diagnosed under the age of 40. We focus on finding a community, over coming obstacles and living with breast cancer everyday.

We Remember
To live with your own diagnosis or to be a loved one, caregiver, or friend of someone with MBC is to inhabit a community of loss. “We Remember” is our opportunity to give voice to the profound grief we share and to honor and celebrate each person lost to this disease. It’s a chance for the MBC community to express gratitude for the extraordinary and unique ways they made our lives richer.

Living & Aging with MBC: Dr. Rachel Freedman & Patient Experiences
What is old? What do you call old? Seniors? Elderly? Geriatrics? Older Adults? We have strong opinions about these terms and being included in this group. In general, breast cancer is a disease of aging and more common in older patients. As our population ages, it is becoming increasingly more common, and yet older patients have worse survival from their breast cancers than their younger counterparts at every stage of diagnosis & every subtype. We will ask Dr. Rachel Freedman, medical oncologist from Dana Farber, to explain and discuss what it means to be living & aging with MBC, along with a very special group of women living with MBC.

Report Back From ASCO 2023: What’s the Latest News in MBC Research?
Dr. Sherry Shen, breast oncologist from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, breaks down the recent research from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2023 Annual Meeting. She will present new findings in Metastatic Breast Cancer research.

Roberta Lombardi and Infinite Strength
Roberta Lombardi wanted to do something for the Connecticut moms and kids with breast cancer, but that *something* quickly morphed into a nonprofit effort to help break through barriers in the lives of moms with MBC. Laser focused on single moms with kids under 19 living at home and financial need, Roberta took her nonprofit (she calls it her fourth child) nationwide in mid-2023 and is already serving women in 27 states. While providing 6 months of financial support to approved applicants remains the core of Infinite Strength, Roberta has added to the support through one-day local (Connecticut) mom-and-kid retreats, in-person and online panels with some of the best experts in cancer care, a 2024 MBC conference, and a groundbreaking effort to change the picture through the Connecticut Coalition of Oncologists. This is a woman who does not sit still and we are so lucky to have her as an ally for people living with MBC. This episode may inspire *you* to get out there and do something!

OMBCL Shorts #2: Dr. Erika Hamilton with Top Takeaways from ASCO23
Our second OMBCL Shorts features Dr. Erika Hamilton answering questions about her top takeaways from ASCO23. In this 20-minute interview we covered important updates on the CDK4/6 inhibitors for both early-stage and metastatic breast cancer, as well as research on a new HER3 ADC and the first AKT inhibitor for MBC.

Living in the Public Eye with MBC: An Interview with Kelly Crump
Anne Woodward sits down with a special guest to discuss the in’s and outs of having MBC while living in the public eye. Get ready folks, pull up a chair you are not going to want to miss hearing from Kelly Crump, the first ever sports illustrated swimsuit model photographed while posing on a picturesque beach in a gorgeous swimsuit with a mastectomy scar for all the world to see. In this incredible interview Kelly explains how she embraced social media to live out loud and in doing so harnessed all the attention to be an inspiration and help her 30,000 + followers.

OMBCL Shorts #1: Dr. Stephanie Graff & Her Steps For Those Newly Diagnosed MBC
Our inaugural OMBCL Shorts features Dr. Stephanie Graff talking about what she does when someone is newly diagnosed with MBC. This season, we had a 3-part series for people newly diagnosed and we couldn't resist getting her take on the topic. And we're so glad we asked!

The Rising Rates of BC & MBC in Young Women, Including Pregnancy & Post-Partum Diagnoses
If you don't hear much about the rising rates of all stages of breast cancer, including MBC, in young women, you're not alone. De novo MBC rates (when Stage 4 MBC is found at the first diagnosis) are rising "exponentially", and fastest among women between the ages of 25 and 39, but not in older women. These trends are alarming to researchers. Perhaps most shocking of all: half of young women diagnosed with breast cancer under 45 have a postpartum diagnosis, defined as being within 10 years from their youngest child's birth, and that is something that rarely gets covered or explained. We'll explore it all in this episode, including the possible causes, recommendations for testing and even contraception for young women, and the research and clinical leaders working to make this a top priority in the BC & MBC space. It's difficult to consider, and dense, we know. But so important and important to share with all the young women in our lives. Not to scare them, but to inform and empower them.

Recent Advances, Controversies, and Emerging Trends in MBC
Over the last 20 years, advances in HER2 targeting treatments, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 inhibitors (CDK4/6is) have prolonged survival and changed the breast cancer treatment landscape. Success leads to more questions about optimal drug sequencing, mechanisms of resistance, and how to overcome that resistance. Let’s ask Dr. Stephanie Graff to help us tackle these topics and more.

Living Alone with MBC
Living with metastatic breast cancer is hard enough, but for those who are single or do not have a primary caregiver, living alone with MBC can be especially challenging. With some extra planning and working out who can support you, however, it is possible to continue to live alone well even when you have MBC. In this episode, we speak with four amazing ladies from the US & Canada, who generously share their experiences, feelings, and plans for living alone while navigating MBC. We then discuss some helpful resources for finding social & emotional support, legal & financial resources, and coordinating care. Finally, we end by sharing Lesley Kailani Glenn’s story of deciding to leave a thirty year marriage while diagnosed with MBC. Join us for this real but hopeful discussion! *Note: individuals in this episode share their thoughts on medical aid in dying as one part of this rich conversation.

Newly Diagnosed with MBC: Tests, Terms, & Tips with Dr. Rebecca Shatsky
Being diagnosed with MBC can feel like you’ve been dropped into a dangerous and alien landscape, one whose inhabitants speak a new and confusing language. Numb and bewildered, you face a mountain of medical decisions—each with seemingly high stakes. The last in Our MBC Life’s 3-part series for people newly diagnosed with MBC, this episode's interview with Dr. Rebecca Shatsky, interspersed with experienced-patient voices, sheds light on cancer types, tests, and treatment—and empowers listeners to navigate this challenging new terrain with understanding, knowledge, and confidence.

Newly Diagnosed & Trailblazing: An Interview with Michelle Anderson-Benjamin
In this episode, Our MBC Life sits down with patient and advocate Michelle Anderson-Benjamin, founder of The Fearless Warrior Project. During the pandemic, Michelle was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer and then with metastatic breast cancer shortly after she completed initial treatment. An experienced healthcare professional, a mom of two kids, and a wife who poured all her energy into others, Michelle says the diagnosis of MBC put a "battery in her back" to refocus attention on herself. This candid conversation has a lot to offer those newly diagnosed with MBC, and will inspire all of us.

Caregivers: We Can’t Do This Without You!
Celebrate OMBCL’s 100th episode and National Family Caregiver Month by listening to our candid conversations with three committed and courageous caregivers.

We Remember
We Remember honors all who died from metastatic breast cancer over the past year—parents, children, spouses and partners. In this episode, the MBC community gives voice to both the grief and the love that endures after each death.

Dr. Shanu Modi: How to Get a Standing Ovation at ASCO?
MSK’s Dr. Shanu Modi, lead investigator on the DESTINY-Breast04 trial, talks with the Our MBC Life team about the trial’s standing ovation at ASCO, how to know if we’re HER2-low, and what this all means for us.