Aug 11, 2017 11:43AM moderators wrote:

Facing the End of Life, July 31, 2017

For nearly 25 years, Kelly Grosklags has dedicated her practice to minimizing suffering through her work in oncology, palliative care and hospice. An experienced therapist, Kelly is a licensed clinical social worker and a board-certified diplomat in clinical social work. She also earned a fellowship in grief counseling from the American Academy of Health Care Professionals. Kelly speaks frequently about end-of-life issues, including care, grief and loss, both in person and on her website, Conversations With Kelly. Her passionate and supportive demeanor helps patients, caregivers and health professionals connect with the wisdom of making life more meaningful, coping with depression and anxiety, transforming fear into hope, healing versus curing, and the wisdom of dying a good death.

Listen to the podcast to hear Kelly talk about:

• becoming comfortable with talking about the end of life
• why stopping treatment is not giving up
• hospice care -- what it is and when to start talking about it
• how to talk to children about the end of life

Running time: 34:05

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Oct 12, 2017 12:08PM moderators wrote:

Metastatic Breast Cancer: Now What?, September 22, 2017

Krista Curley was diagnosed 3 1/2 years ago with estrogen-receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer in her lymph system and bones at the age of 39. She had no previous diagnosis of cancer. Since her initial diagnosis, the cancer has spread further into her bones and to her liver, despite surgery, various hormonal therapies, and chemotherapy. Krista lives in Ontario, Canada and is married to Patrick, the love of her life. She is the mother of Ethan, who is 16, and Naomi, who is 10. She has a blog about living with metastatic disease called "Metastatic Breast Cancer: Now What?"

Listen to the podcast to hear Krista talk about:

• what writing the blog gives to her
• how she and her family find joy and humor in day-to-day life
• how she talked to her kids about metastatic disease
• the one thing she would tell people about metastatic breast cancer

Running time: 25:20

Listen now or read the transcript.

Oct 20, 2017 02:46PM moderators wrote:

Stories of Mastectomy and Reconstruction: Mimi, October 5, 2017

Breast cancer was familiar to Mimi, even before she was diagnosed. Her mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer three times. She was treated with a double mastectomy, radiation and chemotherapy. Fifteen years later, she is cancer-free. Mimi's cousin Annette, her best friend, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009 and passed away from the disease that same year at age 42. Mimi herself was diagnosed with stage I breast cancer in April 2015 at age 45, the same age her mother was first diagnosed. She had a double mastectomy with immediate DIEP flap reconstruction. Later she also had a preventive hysterectomy because the cancer was hormone-receptor-positive. She took tamoxifen and an aromatase inhibitor but has since stopped.

Mimi is one of three women whose stories are featured in the Breastcancer.org video series on reconstruction after mastectomy.

Listen to the podcast to hear Mimi discuss:

• how she made her decisions about surgery and reconstruction
• the positives she believes breast cancer brought to her life
• what she would say to a woman who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer

Running time: 16:51

Dec 9, 2017 01:26PM moderators wrote:

Where Are We With Immunotherapy to Treat Breast Cancer? -- Heard in the Halls: Voices from the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Leisha Emens, M.D., Ph.D.

December 5, 2017

Leisha Emens, associate professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and member of the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, discusses the state of immunotherapy to treat breast cancer.

Running time: 3:15

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Dec 9, 2017 01:27PM moderators wrote:

Kisqali in Combination with Hormonal Therapy and Ovarian Suppression Effective Treatment for Metastatic Hormone-Receptor-Positive, HER2-Negative Disease in Premenopausal Women: 2017 SABCS Debu Tripathy, M.D.

December 6, 2017

The targeted therapy Kisqali (chemical name: ribociclib) is approved to be used in combination with an aromatase inhibitor to treat advanced-stage or metastatic hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer that hasn't been treated with hormonal therapy yet in postmenopausal women. Dr. Debu Tripathy, professor of medicine and chairperson of the Department of Breast Medical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the results of the MONALEESA-7 study he presented at the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium showing that Kisqali can help treat premenopausal and perimenopausal women diagnosed with the same type of breast cancer.

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Tripathy explain:

• why the study is important
• why ovarian suppression helps make the treatments more effective
• the side effects caused by Kisqali
• why he thinks this study will change practice

Running time: 7:25