An unexpected breast cancer diagnosis at 33 years old empowered Jessica Baladad to channel her experience into a mission that’s changing the way women advocate for their medical care.
The six-year cancer survivor created Feel For Your Life, a free mobile app that shows women how to perform self exams, track their progress and set monthly reminders. It’s the first of its kind created by a breast cancer patient and has been downloaded tens of thousands of times all over the world. In 2024, Jessica implemented an AI feature into the app to help patients interpret and better understand pathology reports from their breast cancer screenings.
Jessica’s history with breast cancer catalyzed her dedication to build Feel For Your Life. She’s the fourth generation on her paternal side of the family to be diagnosed with the disease, and yet, no known gene mutation has been found in her lineage. She first learned how to do a self breast exam after having a benign tumor removed at 18, and nearly 15 years later, Jessica was diagnosed with Stage 2B invasive ductal carcinoma after performing a routine self exam in the shower. She underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, 24 rounds of radiation, a hysterectomy and 10-hour flap reconstruction.
Since launching the app, Jessica has expanded her advocacy into healthcare reform. She’s helped write legislation in the State of Tennessee to promote risk reducing measures against cancer and disease. Billed as the Feel For Your Life Act, it requires high school students to learn about self breast exams, testicular exams and skin exams.
Jessica has been featured on Good Morning America, Tank’s Good News, USA Today, Yahoo News, UpWorthy and several national and international media outlets. She’s worked with the NFL on their Crucial Catch Campaign to promote cancer screenings, received the Hometown Hero Award from Ponce Law on Nashville’s Fox 17, has been recognized by the National Breast Cancer Foundation for her leadership initiatives and was the recipient of the Mona Lisa Foundation Grant in 2023.
When Jessica isn’t working on patient advocacy, she enjoys traveling and exploring new places, attending sporting events with her husband and photographing animals.

Jessica Baladad, developer of Feel For Your Life app.

Welcome back to our final episode in this three-part series about the barriers to progress and the treatment of spinal cord injuries. We’re once again joined by neurosurgeon, researcher and lived experience advocate, Dr. Kent New. In this episode, we finish up our discussion of the many barriers to developing treatments, focusing primarily on regulatory agencies. We then move on to consider potential solutions to the problems we've uncovered in...

More info: https://u2fp.org/get-educated/curecast/episode-120.html

What's the Holdup? - Part 3 (CureCast Episode 120)

Neurodiversity refers to the natural variation in human cognitive functioning, encompassing different neurological profiles like autism, ADHD, dyslexia, etc.  Rather than thinking of these differences as medical conditions in need of treatment, the idea of neurodiversity shifts this ideology to think about these differences as a form of natural human diversity, each offering distinct perspectives and contributions to society. This framework calls for changes in both clinical and cultural narratives but how do we approach this in the scientific community? In this episode, we discuss all things neurodiversity and talk about how neurodiverse perspectives are being included in biomedical studies in order to recognize, and support diverse neurological experiences.

Matt joined the Scott lab in September 2022. He graduated from University of California Santa Cruz with B.S. in Cognitive Science with Honors and a minor in computer science and worked in the High Level Perception Lab under Professor Nicolas Davidenko. Professionally, Matt worked at Open Minds, Silicon Valley. Working closely with self-advocates, Matt helped found the Social Innovation Lab, a UX lab focused on inclusivity and accessibility in education. Currently, his research surrounds sensory integration and voluntary motor control using non-human primate models. 

Authors: Eve Racette, Golnar Taheri

Email: thinktwicepodcast@outlook.com 
Instagram: @thinktwice_podcast
LinkedIN: Think Twice Podcast
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThinkTwicePodcast 

Disclaimer: Think Twice is a podcast for general information and entertainment purposes only. The content discussed in the episodes does not reflect the views of the podcast committee members or any institution they are affiliated with. The use of the information presented in this podcast is at the user’s own risk and is not intended to replace professional healthcare services. 

44 : Neurodiversity : Breaking the Brain Mold

This 30-second public service announcement highlights the mission of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a nonprofit that protects online privacy, free speech, and digital freedom. Learn more at https://www.eff.org/
Created for Web Critique Hub, a platform exploring website usability and digital experience. Contribute to WCH at https://webcritiquehub.wordpress.com/

Music: "Calmant" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License  
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Web Critique Hub - PSA for Electronic Frontier Foundation

This podcast from Web Critique Hub talks about how first impressions play a crucial role in a person liking a website, and how design should be inspected. It also talks about the importance of simplicity, accessibility, and quality over quantity. It builds on our earlier screencast, shifting from usability basics to user impact. People do not need to have a technical background to be a part of the WCH community. 
Check us out  at https://webcritiquehub.wordpress.com/

This podcast includes a PSA about the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a nonprofit that protects online privacy, free speech, and digital freedom. Learn more at https://www.eff.org/

Link to YouTube screencast video - https://youtu.be/7_BCxwa-v1U

Creative Commons background music credits:-
1.
"Morning" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
2.
Music: "Calmant" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Web Critique Hub - First Impressions, Design, and Digital Experience

Women’s healthcare is in crisis. It’s time to empower women to fight for the care they deserve.  

 Female health issues have been an afterthought and sidelined for too long. It’s Probably Nothing exposes the truth about how women seeking help with their health have been repeatedly failed.

Drawing on her own experience of being dismissed, undiagnosed and misdiagnosed, Naga Munchetty explores the devastating outcome of decades of ingrained medical misogyny. She hears from dozens of women and their loved ones who have sought care only to be told that their symptoms are normal or all in their head. These testimonies highlight the consequences of not being heard, which has left so many living in pain, with chronic and life-changing conditions.

This book illustrates the common problems women face and offers insights from doctors and experts on what we’re entitled to at every stage. It will arm women and their loved ones with the information and confidence to successfully advocate for the best health outcomes.

Women want to be listened to. Women want to be healthy. Women deserve to live their best lives now. It’s Probably Nothing highlights the urgent need for change.

It’s Probably Nothing: Critical Conversations on the Women’s Health Crisis (and How to Thrive Despite It), By Naga Munchetty, Read by Naga Munchetty

May is Mental Health Awareness Month! To commemorate the month and continue ongoing discussions of the mental health crises facing youth today, WCA is releasing a new Ground Truthing podcast episode. This time, it's an episode from our podcast archives, featuring a conversation with Dr. Adam Weissman of the Weissman Children's Foundation, and the Child & Family Institute. Give this episode a listen to hear about mental health data from the past few years, and mental health programs currently operating in Westchester County.


Special thanks to Paula Santa-Donato for lending her voice and expertise as this episode's narrator. Thanks also to Damian Travier, Executive Director, of the Access Psychology Foundation, and Dr. Adam Weissman, for their contributions to WCA's mental health initiatives, including the annual Mental Health Round Table.

Edited by Ryan Arecco, Development & Operations Associate at WCA.

From the Podcast Archives: Mental Health Awareness Month with Dr. Adam Weissman

President Trump’s nomination of RFK Jr. for HHS raises alarms due to anti-vaccine misinformation, DEI dismissal, and ties to Samoa’s measles outbreak. Black communities fear health equity setbacks and eroded trust in healthcare disparities.

RFK Jr HHS Nominee Deadly for Black Health Equity?

Since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan, women and girls have faced systemic violence and the stripping of human rights. Women have been denied the ability to join the workforce, access education, and cannot let their voices be heard outside the house. In this episode, Raziya Masumi tells us about the brutal treatment of women and girls under the Taliban. Raziya is a legal expert, and leads the Afghanistan Task Force at Genocide Watch. 

The Lives of Women & Girls Under the Taliban

In this episode of The Lens: Living Diverse, Ben chats with Sophia Alexander – a future social worker, passionate advocate, and proud Black woman of Grenadian descent. Sophia opens up about her experience being diagnosed with glaucoma and the impact of meeting other Black individuals with sight loss for the first time. She dives into the complexities of navigating vision loss in her personal life, career, and community, as well as the intersection of her many identities. Through vulnerability and strength, Sophia talks about how she came to embrace her sight loss and what self-acceptance looks like today. Tune in as Ben and Sophia celebrate resilience, representation, and the dynamic force that is Sophia – changing the narrative in every space she enters.

You can find Sophie on:
TikTok: @SophiaDynamic  
Instagram: @SophiaDynamic

The Lens: Living Diverse – Embracing Identity and Vision with Sophia Alexander

Get your critical thinking caps on! ‘Think Twice’ discusses controversial topics in the field of neuroscience with the goal of bringing more nuance and rigor to mainstream media. We’ll take you past the headlines by breaking down relevant neuroscience topics, interviewing experts in the field and overcoming misinformation/disinformation with evidence-based content. This podcast is run by a small group of graduate students at the Centre for Neuroscience Studies at Queen’s University. We hope to bring down barriers to the dissemination of scientific information, give early-career neuroscientists a voice, and foster a culture of entertaining and accessible science communication.

A space where internet users share feedback on website usability and digital experience.
https://webcritiquehub.wordpress.com/

Publishers of award-winning fiction and non-fiction audiobooks for adults and children. Listen to exclusive clips from our books and free audioook extracts here on Soundcloud.

The Health Design Podcast brought to you by the Journal of Health Design(www.journalofhealthdesign.com). Features interviews with the world's leading health design experts including clinicians, designers, patients, authors and researchers. Better health by design.

Ground Truthing unites community voices from across Westchester County to discuss topics that impact children and families. Guests represent content experts, advocates and youth voices. The show will highlight bright spots and critically question existing policies and practices through data-informed conversations. Hosted by GPS4Kids Program Manager and WCA staff, Erica Ayala.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Unite 2 Fight Paralysis exists to unite and empower the international spinal cord injury community to cure paralysis through advocacy, education, and support for research. Get Educated and Get Involved.

The CNIB Podcast Network is a collection of audio programming designed to give a voice to people across the CNIB community as they share their personal stories of life with sight loss. Listen to the episodes on any of the platforms listed below. If you enjoy what you hear, subscribe!

New tracks tagged #Advocacy