DiscoverOur MBC Life
Our MBC Life
Claim Ownership

Our MBC Life

Author: SHARE Cancer Support

Subscribed: 29Played: 604
Share

Description

From SHARE Cancer Support this is Our MBC Life. A podcast dedicated to exploring life with metastatic breast cancer from the perspective of us, the people living with this disease, and the experts who partner with us to help make our lives better. So glad you’re here since no one should face MBC alone. New episodes available every other Monday and join us on the last Friday of the month for our Trailblazer series. Send your voice memos, ideas, and questions to ourmbclife@sharecancersupport.org and visit us at www.ourmbclife.org.
141 Episodes
Reverse
We wanted to start this season with an episode dedicated to our friend and team member, Natalia Green. Natalia passed away from MBC at the age of 39 on November 29, 2023. She was an integral part of the podcast team, having been a senior producer/host and right-hand woman to Lisa Laudico, our founder. She became involved in the podcast through her advocacy work, starting first after her early-stage breast cancer diagnosis, then becoming more involved in the metastatic breast cancer community after she received her MBC diagnosis. She was a devoted mother to her daughter Rosy and son Iggy, and a loving wife and friend to her husband of 19 years, Danny.  She was a daughter, a mother, and a cousin, holding a special place in the lives of everyone she met. Lastly, she was our friend. We’ll miss hearing her speak with passion about topics she wanted to cover on the podcast, we’ll miss seeing Iggy & Rosy pop their heads into our Monday meetings, but mostly we’ll miss seeing her beautiful smile. The entire OMBCL podcast team is lovingly dedicating our 8th season to Natalia. We hope it holds a modicum of the impact that Natalia has had on the world.The team would love to extend our heartfelt thanks to Danny Green for all his help in creating this episode.MUSIC CREDITS:-'Meditation I' by Sufjan Stevens-'Fare Thee Well (Dink's Song)' by Oscar Isaac and Marcus Mumford
For many of us living with MBC, travel provides a much-needed respite from the day-to-day realities of living with our disease. But balancing trips with treatment and side effects can be challenging. In this episode, you'll hear from members of the OMBCL team, along with some remarkable MBC frequent flyers as they share places they’ve been, the places they want to go, and the advice they have for those times when a journey really is a journey. We hope you’ll find inspiration and encouragement for your own adventures!Travel ResourcesTravel Insurance: Compare products at InsureMyTrip Note: To insure the trip for all reasons, you need to purchase within 14 days of first payment for trip to cover pre-existing condition.Destinations Mentioned by our Guests:Disney locations - check out Disability Access Services, DAS, to “join” a line virtually, allowing you to wait in a comfortable space before getting on the ride.Cruises - Consider taking advantage of a cruise with medical services available Cruise to the Arctic, Svalbard: several lines from Finland, NorwayHavasupai Indian Reservation in ArizonaOrganizations Providing Free Vacations and Retreats for People with Cancer:(Note: most require participants to pay for their own transportation to the location) This is not an exhaustive list! Explore online yourself to see if there is a vacation retreat offered near you or in a destination you are eager to visit.Little Pink Houses of Hope:  Week-long beach retreats for people with breast cancer (Mentioned in our podcast)Casting for Recovery:  Connects people living with breast cancer with nature through the therapeutic sport of fly fishingSend me on Vacation:  Covers hotel/lodgings and some other costs at different destinations including Italian winery, beaches (Mentioned in our podcast)Harmony Hill Healing Retreat:  Free 3-day retreats in the Pacific Northwest for people living with cancer and their companionsMary’s Place by the Sea:  Free 2-day night and day spa retreats near the beach in Ocean Grove, NJLive by Living:  Free retreats in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado for people with cancer and their care giversCamp Mak-a-Dream: Free retreats in Montana for people with cancer and their caregivers"
New therapeutic options are now available for HR+ MBC.  Dr. Virginia Kaklamani will discuss endocrine therapy resistance, liquid biopsy/blood test, mutations, and treatment sequencing of targeted therapy. You will learn about oral selective estrogen receptor degraders (SERDS), clinical trials, and more. 
Research for triple negative breast cancer is growing, but current treatments still continue to fail the vast majority of people living with triple negative MBC.  Data from the National Cancer Institute gives a five-year relative survival of only 12.8% of women diagnosed with triple negative MBC. Those women have what's called an exceptional response to treatment; more simply, we call them “unicorns” – beings that can bring wonder & hope.  The stories of well-known triple negative MBC unicorns such as Karen Peterson and Barbara Bigelow bring inspiration.  Today, we share the stories of two additional women: Dr. Toni Willis and Colleen Broughton have both lived for 8 years with TN metastatic breast cancer.  Being an exceptional responder is what everyone with MBC hopes for – we wanted to give a chance for Colleen and Toni to share the miraculous, the miserable, and the mundane of surviving far longer than they expected to.MUSIC CREDIT:The Things That Keep Us Here · Scott Buckley
Lisa Manning and Tony Laudico met in Tokyo,  Japan where they were both working at the time. It was a serendipitous encounter of a Canadian and an American, and the beginning of their version of a modern fairy tale romance.  They lived happily for 27 years in many countries around the globe and made thousands of memories with their extended families, friends and two wonderful sons.  But unlike many fairy tales that end when a couple dies on the same day after a long life together, Tony and Lisa’s fairy tale had a different ending.  Lisa Manning Laudico died on August 6th 2022 after five years of living with metastatic breast cancer. She died quickly and unexpectedly within one week.  Tony was suddenly faced - as it turns out totally unprepared - with the stunning reality of becoming a widower and the future without the love of his life,  his partner and best friend. A year later, soon after the one year anniversary of Lisa’s passing, Tony got in touch with our Executive Producer Victoria Goldberg and suggested that they meet and talk about Lisa’s last days and how he was able to survive these past 12 months without her.  It is remarkable and at times a heart wrenching account of Tony’s struggle to comprehend a life without the partnership that had sustained and defined him for 30 years, his whole adult life.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, it is an uplifting testament to the power of love.*Special thanks to John Martyn for the use of his song 'Small Hours' - One World (1977)
With the holiday season fast approaching, it is a great time to talk about gratitude and how important it is to have a joyful life. Making gratitude a part of your life, just like breathing, is such a huge help if you are searching for joy. But you can't just conjure up a life lived in gratitude. Unlike being thankful, which exists in the mind, gratitude is an appreciation that comes from the heart. It has to be cultivated and practiced. Today's 'Think Joy Thursday' explores ways to do this and even offers some helpful hints to make joy a habit in your life.
Young Adults & MBC is an episode that explores the lives of those diagnosed under the age of 40 with Stage IV breast cancer. First up, our Senior Producer, Natalia Green, interviews Angelica Valadez, initially diagnosed with early stage breast cancer in 2020 then diagnosed with MBC in 2022. Next, she interviews Sooz Stever, a YSC State Leader for Utah diagnosed with early stage TNBC in 2016 and MBC ally, dedicated to improving the lives of those living with metastatic breast cancer.We’ll discuss how we as young women focus on finding a community, overcoming obstacles and learning to navigate life as a young person with metastatic breast cancer everyday.
S07 E04 We Remember

S07 E04 We Remember

2023-10-1852:36

Each October, Our MBC Life marks Breast Cancer Awareness month with a special episode dedicated to all those who died from metastatic breast cancer over the past year. But one podcast can’t begin to encompass and reflect the true toll of all of the lives cut short by this ruthless and terminal disease. Here’s the hard truth about MBC, according to advocacy and research organization Metavivor: In the US alone, an estimated 42,360 women and 530 men will die from the disease in 2023—117 per day. And despite the optimism around early detection and prevention that infuses “Pinktober” and its focus on survivorship, one in three diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer will eventually progress to become metastatic. Only 10% are metastatic at their first breast MBC diagnosis. This painful and sobering reality—that so many of us ultimately develop the kind of breast cancer that kills—needs to be part of the annual month-long conversation about breast cancer. Most importantly, it should help to guide decisions about how breast cancer research funds are invested. Shockingly, the estimated share of breast cancer research dollars that go to MBC is 5%. And while new treatments are extending survival for many with MBC, the disease is still terminal. 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. Every day, we confront the reality of mortality and struggle to balance fear with hope, and sorrow with joy. “We Remember” is OMBCL’s opportunity to give voice to the profound grief we share and to honor and celebrate each person we’ve lost. It’s a chance to express our gratitude for the extraordinary and unique ways they made our lives richer. And it is also an opportunity to channel some of our grief, fear, and anger into advocacy for the attention, support, and research needed to truly put us on the Road to a Cure.MUSIC CREDITS:'Memories' by Maroon 5'Mandy Love Theme' by Jóhann Jóhannsson'Season Suite: Late Winter, Early Spring' by John Denver 'Fly Me To The Moon' by Frank Sinatra 'Rêverie, L 68' by Claude Debussy 'Songbird' by Fleetwood Mac'All Boundaries Are Conventions' by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, and Reinhold Heil
On this episode of Think Joy Thursday, we will be exploring the relationship between perspective and joy. Choosing the way you look at the world is a major key in having a joyful life. You can learn that it is possible to hold joy and sorrow in the same hand by using perspective. It’s not always easy to do this, so we will explore ways to incorporate perspective into your life, as well as some tips and tricks to make it become your go-to reaction when confronted with difficult situations.
Today we’re bringing you a very special podcast episode that we create every year in partnership with SHARE Cancer Support called “Report Back From ASCO”, a webinar that occurred earlier this summer. ASCO, or the American Society for Clinical Oncology, is the world's leading professional organization for physicians and oncology professionals. The society organizes an annual meeting that serves as a platform for sharing the latest advancements in oncology research, clinical practice, and treatment strategies.In this podcast, Dr. Sherry Shen breaks down all the exciting developments in research and presentations at ASCO 2023.
Welcome to the Think Joy Thursday series, created to help not just MBC patients, but anyone dealing with difficult situations, learn tools to put into practice to help achieve a happier mindset. On this episode,  we will be exploring the difference between happiness and joy. We will share some scientific research that has been done to determine if we are pre-disposed to being joyful and will delve into ways to help you spot true joy. We will explore how to have joy even if you are experiencing difficult life circumstances by sharing ways to find joy when confronted with both the big and small challenges of life.
When Roberta Lombardi, a Connecticut mom of three, heard her diagnosis of early-stage triple-positive breast cancer, she had 14 months of treatment but found herself changed after the experience. She formed a nonprofit, Infinite Strength, to support breast cancer patients of all stages but she quickly pivoted toward the lives of moms with metastatic breast cancer: Specifically, single mothers of kids under 18, with financial need and MBC. The need is great and the response has been as well. Roberta took her regional nonprofit from serving people in Connecticut, to the Northeast, then including the South, and soon its focus on changing the picture for these women spread nationwide. Infinite Strength had beneficiaries in 27 states in late August and there is a lot planned for the end of 2023 and into 2024. Roberta is laser focused on removing barriers so that both moms with MBC and their kids can make the most of their time together, and she’s not afraid of causing waves to reach that goal.infinitestrength.orgAid application:https://www.infinitestrength.org/apply-for-aid
Welcome to the Our MBC Life Summer Season 2023. In this episode Victoria Goldberg  is joined by clinical psychologist and author Sarah Mandel to discuss her beautiful, honest, and thoughtful memoir  Little Earthquakes and her insights into life and death, trauma and healing. parenting and hope.  When Sarah  was pregnant with her second child, her daughter Sienna, she began preparing for her maternity leave, juggling the demands of her soon-to-be-new baby and her little daughter Sophie with the needs of her patients. Noticing a lump in her breast, she assumed it was most likely a clogged milk duct. But a biopsy revealed that it was breast cancer. When she went into labor, she learned that her cancer had already spread to her bones —horrible news that forced her to confront terminal illness as she was bringing new life into the world.Take a listen. We promise you, you will love meeting Sarah.More info about the show and past episodes is available on our website: www.ourmbclife.orgGot something to share? Feedback? Email: ourmbclife@sharecancersupport.orgFollow us on Facebook, Instagram, and twitter @ourmbclife
 Welcome to the  episode 4 of our Meditation Mondays series, created with MBC patients in mind. Being with the truth of whatever is here in this moment with compassion and without judgement and knowing that we're not any one thing because we are constantly changing, is at the heart of this practice.   Join us!As we say at the start of every meditation session, sit back and prepare to become calm and relaxed for the next 19 minutes Inspired by a very enthusiastic response to monthly meditation sessions from one of SHARE’s MBC support groups, this episode is our third in the series of meditation sessions recorded over the last year. These sessions are on average  20-25 minutes long. Our meditation leader is Barbara Chutroo,  an MBC patient herself and a member of the group. Barbara is a longtime meditator and experienced meditation teacher. She's also a movement therapist and a clinical social worker.Thanks for listening!You will find all the past episodes  for this series  in The Podcast Vault, on our website:  https://www.ourmbclife.org/vault/meditation Do you like this series? We welcome feedbackEmail:ourmbclife@sharecancersupport.org Send us a voice recording via email or through SpeakPipe on our website.  Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @ourmbclife
In today’s episode, 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 you are not going to want to miss hearing from Kelly Crump. She is 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.CoppaFeel- Is the first breast cancer charity in the UK to solely create awareness amongst young people, with the aim of instilling the knowledge and tools they need to get to know their bodies. We like to talk about a serious message in a light-hearted way, empowering people to start healthy habits for life.https://coppafeel.or    
 Welcome to the Meditation Mondays series, created with MBC patients in mind and designed for people who want to assist their body's natural tendency to repair and heal. It's not a substitute for medical treatment, but a compliment to it.Inspired by a very enthusiastic response to monthly meditation sessions from one of SHARE’s MBC support groups, this episode is our third in the series of meditation sessions recorded over the last year. These sessions are on average  20-25 minutes long. Our meditation leader is Barbara Chutroo,  an MBC patient herself and a member of the group. Barbara is a longtime meditator and experienced meditation teacher. She's also a movement therapist and a clinical social worker.
Introducing OMBCL Shorts! This new feature of our podcast brings you memorable outtakes from the amazing interviews we do with people living with MBC and the many incredible people who support us. 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! Listen in, enjoy, and let us know what you think by sending us a message on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram! @ourmbclifeAnd don't forget to rate and review the podcast! Thanks so much for listening! 
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.
In 2021, the estimated number of women in the United States living with metastatic breast cancer rose to about 168,000 from 155,000 the year before, according to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The good news is that survival rates are also climbing, Over the last 20 years, advances in HER2 targeting treatments, ADCs, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and CDK4/6 inhibitors have prolonged survival and changed the breast cancer treatment landscape. New treatment paradigms and advances invariably lead to more questions about optimal drug sequencing, mechanisms of resistance, and how to overcome that resistanceIn this episode we attempt to tackle these questions and review new advances and trends in MBC with assistance from Dr. Stephanie GraffTake a listen. It is going to be an exciting discussion.More info about the show and past episodes is available on our website: www.ourmbclife.orgGot something to share? Feedback? Email: ourmbclife@sharecancersupport.orgFollow us on Facebook, Instagram, and twitter @ourmbclif
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. Even if you're used to being independent, having cancer and going through treatment when you live alone raises many challenges.  Making space for all that you are feeling & managing the practical things of day to day may sometimes feel overwhelming but with some extra planning and working out who can support you, it is possible to continue to live alone and well even when you have MBC.In this episode, we have a panel of four amazing ladies who share their experiences with living alone while navigating their MBC diagnosis and treatment. Then, we talk to Dr. Jane Lowers, Monica Bryant of Triage Cancer, and Lesley Glenn of Project Life about resources that can help us live alone and well with MBC.   There are many ways to make things easier emotionally and practically. We hope that in this episode you feel seen. *Note: individuals in this episode share their thoughts on medical aid in dying as one part of this rich discussion.  MUSIC CREDITS: "Honey Jam" by Massobeats"Onion" by LuKremBo"Exit to Nowhere" by DRG1991
loading
Comments 
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store