Real Talk About Breast Cancer

In today’s episode, we’re calling ALL listeners – young and old – to have conversations with trusted health professionals about their risk of cancer. While breast cancer is most common in older women, today’s guests remind us that young women get breast cancer, too. And knowing if you have a genetic predisposition to breast cancer could save your life. Dani Alderman is 30 years old and a 1-year survivor of Triple Negative Breast Cancer. Her maternal grandmother had breast cancer at a young age, so Dani is proactive about her health and gets screened every 6 months. Her mom has not had breast cancer and doesn’t carry a genetic link to breast cancer. But Dani didn’t know that a history of ovarian cancer on her dad’s side of the family could make her at greater risk of breast cancer. Kasey Lipinski is 38 years old and living with metastatic breast cancer. Prostate cancer has affected her father and grandfather, but nobody in her family has had breast cancer. Kasey didn’t know that a prevalence of prostate cancer on her paternal side was a warning sign that she might be at risk of breast cancer.

When a friend or loved one has been diagnosed with breast cancer, you may wonder how to best support them, and it may be difficult to know what to say or do. Today’s guest has been a Komen Patient Navigator for the last 4 years and spends her days talking to people diagnosed with breast cancer – helping to support and guide them through their every need, whether financial, emotional, physical or mental. Laura Grueser is truly sunshine in human form, and she is here today to help us understand we can best support our friends and family members when they are diagnosed so that they feel loved and cared for.

Happy Pride Month, ya’ll! If you’re a member of the LGBTQ+ community, finding culturally responsive, affirming health care in general can be challenging. But when you add a breast cancer diagnosis or even finding a provider who understands the importance of screening for this community because of unique risks, it becomes even more daunting. Our guest today is Dr. Chandler Cortina, a breast surgical oncologist and clinical outcomes researcher with the Cancer Center – Froedtert (pronounced FRAY dirt) Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin Health System. As an openly gay man himself and an oncology provider, he has a passion for ensuring safe breast health spaces exist for members of the LGBTQ+ community and that outcomes are similar to that of their cisgender/heterosexual peers.

Molecular imaging tests can offer comprehensive views of breast cancers, especially for locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer, and can help paint a clearer picture of the extent and characteristics of the cancer. This can then give doctors the ability to help guide treatment and evaluate response to treatment. Joining us on today’s show is Dr. David Mankoff, Vice Chair of Research, Radiology and the Matthew J. Wilson Professor of Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania and Associate Director of Education and Training at Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center. Dr. Mankoff is going to help us understand the complexities of breast cancer tumors, what these molecular imaging tests are looking for and who should be getting them.

This week, nearly 300 Susan G. Komen Center for Public Policy Advocates from across the country are coming together to call on federal lawmakers to help us bring an end to breast cancer. Joining me today are two of those advocates who will be in DC to talk about their experience as public policy advocates and share how you too can join in on using your voice and echoing our message on Capitol Hill.

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. In today’s episode, we’re learning how a BRCA2 gene mutation has affected a family–both directly and indirectly. It is my pleasure to welcome Nikki, her mom, Anita, and her sister, Kim, to the conversation. Nikki is a three-time cancer survivor, and the only one in your family who has had cancer. Nikki was diagnosed the first time with uterine cancer at the age of 31, and six years later, diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent genetic testing. That’s when she learned she had inherited a BRCA2 genetic mutation, increasing the risk of cancers.