A metastatic breast cancer diagnosis can feel like a shock to the system. If you’ve recently been diagnosed, we know that you may be experiencing intense emotions and uncertainty. Explore these complex emotions and hear from others who have been there and get strategies for managing feelings now and as you go forward. 

Speakers: Jenny Burkholder and Celeste Vaughan-Briggs, LCSW

Newly diagnosed: Managing emotions

Whether this is your first breast cancer diagnosis, or you have had breast cancer before, learning you have metastatic breast cancer is likely to be overwhelming. This session is designed to provide you with the medical information and practical support necessary to help you make informed decisions about your treatment and to get your bearings during the first months after a metastatic diagnosis. This session may also be helpful to those who aren’t newly diagnosed but need a basic understanding of metastatic breast cancer and how it is treated. 

Speaker: Zanetta Lamar, MD

Newly diagnosed: A guide for understanding a diagnosis of MBC

Managing side effects of your treatment is crucial to living well with metastatic breast cancer. In this session, learn about effective strategies to manage side effects from targeted, localized, and systemic treatments. 

Speaker: Kimberly A. Curseen, MD

Managing side effects

Every year, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) brings together thousands of cancer experts to present and learn about recent breakthroughs in cancer treatment. The theme of the 2023 meeting was Partnering With Patients: The Cornerstone of Cancer Care and Research.

During this webinar, medical advisory board member Kathy D. Miller, MD provides an overview of the findings presented at the 2023 meeting and how the latest breast cancer research impacts you.

Breaking news: Updates from the 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting

All the feels
During this session, we unpacked how to best support mental and emotional well-being, address existing barriers, and offer practical advice and resources. This session equipped you with tools to best support yourself and others.

Purifying Black beauty
We learned about the harmful effects of toxins commonly found in our products like parabens, phthalates, and synthetic fragrances. Explored the impact of these toxins on our health and how we can demand legislative change. Got practical tips and guidance on making informed choices for safer products because we deserve products that nourish and celebrate our natural Black beauty.

Part 1: Knowledge is power: The Black breast cancer experience

Session 1 | Empowering patient advocates to remove barriers to care in their community: Join our interactive panel of patient advocates and physicians as we share tangible tools for creating change in our communities. Learn to be a force multiplier in your community by sharing adding your voice to the health equity movement.

Session 2 | When we tri(al) we save lives!: Learn from this panel of doctors, researchers and patients as they share their experiences and how clinical trial participation is saving the lives of Black Breasties.

Part 2: Knowledge is power: The Black breast cancer experience

Session 1 | Inequality you can't ignore: This session will discuss how TCI and LBBC make medical communities aware of these disparities and help open their eyes to any blind spots and procedural issues that could be unknowingly perpetuating the problem.

Session 2 | "I got you sis": Survivorship can be about picking up where you left off or pause.... reset...restart.... either way, I got you sis! Navigating survivorship from diagnosis and beyond as a Black Woman.

Part 3: Knowledge is power: The Black breast cancer experience

In this session, our expert discussed:

Different levels of breast cancer recurrence risk
Unique needs of individuals living with a high risk of recurrence
Tests used to assess risk, including the latest in testing innovations.
Treatments that can help reduce the risk of recurrence.

Our Expert also shared tips on lifestyle modifications to support health and wellbeing after a breast cancer diagnosis, and how to talk to your doctor about your individual risk of recurrence.

Part I: Navigating risk of recurrence and quality of life

Treatments that reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence can also cause side effects. Some common side effects can include menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, bone loss, joint pain, and sexual side effects. There can also be concerns about heart health.

In this session, Evelyn Robles-Rodriguez DNP, APN, AOCN discussed side effects caused by anti-estrogen therapies such as tamoxifen, aromatase inhibitors, and ovarian suppression, plus ways to manage them.

She is joined by a panel of people who’ve taken some of these treatments, and they share their personal experiences with managing side effects.

Part II:  Navigating risk of recurrence and quality of life

Each year, the annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium brings together a global audience of academic, private physicians, researchers and advocates involved in breast cancer and provides a unique platform to learn about cutting-edge research, interact with colleagues, and discuss the latest scientific advances in a multidisciplinary setting to learn about the latest innovations in breast cancer research and education. Learn how the latest breast cancer research presented at SABCS impacts you.

Ask the expert: Updates from the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS)

All breast cancer diagnoses can be traumatic and life-changing, but the stage often strongly influences our personal experience. The breast cancer stage can impact our view of whether the disease is a temporary or permanent state, whether treatment aims to cure or to manage illness, and even the words we use to describe how cancer has impacted our lives. These differences have caused rifts between people with early-stage and metastatic (stage IV) breast cancer. In this keynote session, our panelists explore the history of these differences, barriers to communication, and examples of collaboration. They identify experiences and strategies that bring all people with breast cancer together to further the goals we share: to find cures for disease, and to feel seen, heard and, ultimately, understood.

Early-stage breast cancer and metastatic breast cancer: Being allies for each other

Living Beyond Breast Cancer is a national nonprofit organization that seeks to create a world that understands there is more than one way to have breast cancer. To fulfill our mission of providing trusted information and a community of support, we offer on-demand emotional, practical, and evidence-based content that is meaningful to those newly diagnosed, in treatment, post-treatment, and living with metastatic disease.

In Can and Did Conversations, young women diagnosed with breast cancer share their stories about the impact of breast cancer and what they did to steer a path forward in this limited podcast series. Topics that matter, such as navigating mental health conditions, career and workplace decisions, complementary therapies, and fertility issues are discussed.

Early-stage breast cancer and metastatic breast cancer: Being allies for each other

LivingBeyondBC

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