Ready for some Joy? It’s a summer episode full of it!! Come along for this joyful journey.

Are you living with ER+/HER2- or TNBC MBC and tired of hearing about new HER2 therapies and wondering when it will be your turn? Just after the meeting SHARE welcomed Dr. Timothy Pluard from University of Missouri-KC School of Medicine to a webinar highlighting promising data from trials and labs across the globe presented at the this year’s meeting,

We are ending season 2 on a positive note with a dash of joy from Dar Finkelstein and a conversation with our Trailblazer of the Month Caroline Johnson, founder of Kentucky-based non-profit organization Twisted Pink whose sole mission is to raise funds for MBC. Even though there is still no cure, our odds of getting to a cure through better funded research and science are improving because of the contributions of allies like Caroline Johnson.

join us for our discussion about the LGBTQ2S+ community and MBC. Co-host Natalia Green moderates a panel with Bob DeVito and Rainy Orteca, two guests living with MBC, and who are part of the LGBTQ2S+ community along with the co-founder of Queering Cancer, Dr. Evan Taylor. We also sit down with Kimiko Tobimatsu , a Canadian human rights lawyer and an award-winning graphic novelist whose book, Kimiko Does Cancer, tells the story of her breast cancer diagnosis at the age of 25 and the challenges she faced as a queer person, living with breast cancer.

Welcome to a special episode of our podcast. In April of 2021 a prominent clinical psychologist Dr Anne Kane joined SHARE’s Program Project Manager Deb Hackenberry in a discussion about the implications of facing mortality while also living as Dr Kane puts it as fully, richly, and deeply as possible. This episode is an audio version of the webinar about a very real, yet seldomly discussed issue.

Want to know why we call it “magic?” Hear from people living with MBC about their experiences. While they all agree and encourage others to seek Palliative Care they also are aware of the barriers to access. Our guests cover it all. And it gets real.

“It is very important for us who are living with MBC to be able to go to a place where we know it’s safe to just be who we are.” This month’s Trailblazer is Project Life, a virtual wellness house that recently set up residence in cyberspace. The co-hosts Victoria Goldberg and Dar Finkelstein speak with the founder and the CEO of Project Life Leslie Glenn and its COO Jackie Seiner about the origin of the project, MBC wellness and survivorship.

This month we have focused on quality-of-life issues and this episode is part one of a two part series on the “Magic of Palliative Care”. At times the term “palliative care” is misunderstood and so we also use the newer term ‘supportive care’ to better explain how this care supports your quality of life as you go through MBC treatment. We first turn our focus to the medical providers who help us manage symptoms and treatment side effects and, by doing so, improve multiple aspects of our lives.

The MBC Alliance asks the question “How can we ensure Black people are better represented in cancer research? Finding the answer starts with patient voices.” The BECOME Project is positioned to do just that. BECOME project lead Stephanie Walker and committee member Sheila Fuhs join Lisa Laudico to talk about the important initiative and how YOU can get involved.

In this special bonus episode we bring to life some of the readings from the Wildfire Community. Several writers living with MBC voice their own work to share thoughts on nature, dating, grief and so much more. Thanks to April Stearns and Wildfire for making these available for us to share.

We’ve talked about many MBC related topics this season but mental health is one we ask about in every interview we conduct. Writing as a self-care tool is one we wanted to explore. April Stearns talked about it as the “legacy of story.” On this episode we explore living with MBC and the healing power of writing.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz shares with us the power of the patient advocate voice and the impact of personal stories. She talks about how her own experience with breast cancer has shaped her approach to issues related to healthcare. We are so thrilled to get a legislator’s perspective as we explore Our MBC Life.

Welcome to the Episode 2 of the Trailblazer series. Have you ever asked yourself if Wonder Woman was real? Ask no more. She lives and her name is Jamil Rivers. She is also our Trailblazer of the Month. Jamil was diagnosed with MBC at age 39. She is a mother of three, a caregiver, a full-time CEO of a non-profit organization , the board president of METAvivor and if that’s not enough, she has recently embarked on a new venture—The Chrysalis Initiative, a project dedicated to eliminating disparities in outcomes for Black women with breast cancer.  Also in this episode is a Dash of Joy from Our MBC Life’s own Dar Finkelstein. Dar is committed to living a life of joy and she shows us all how to do it. An episode full or hope, inspiration and joy.

“I see so much in the metastatic community this idea of just paying it forward, this idea of, yeah, this might not actually help me right now, but I'm still going to bring it up and I'm still going to advocate for it because it will help somebody else.” This is the story about the power of advocacy. Meet some of the individuals and organizations who are advocating for metastatic breast cancer every day wherever the work takes them.

Judy Perkins joins co-host Victoria Goldberg to share her incredible story. She is a unicorn and a clinical trial success. Judy tells the whole story - the good, the bad, the joyful, the difficult, the grief, the friendship. And when asked is MBC chronic - well we don’t bleep out her reaction.

We know the challenges of trials and the barriers to recruitment as outlined in part 1. Now in Part 2 we explore solutions with patient advocates and medical professionals who are working to find ways forward. Clinical Trials from a Patient Perspective Part II. Let’s solve this.

Our first season 2 trailblazer focuses on the patient - providing them with free services that enable them to focus on healing and time with their families. Through their Thriver Fund, 305 Pink Pack also provides dedicated to support to those living with metastatic breast cancer. Meet Rosemary Carrera of 305 Pink Pack and come south with us to Miami. Also in this episode is a Dash of Joy from Our MBC Life’s own Dar Finkelstein. Dar is committed to living a life of joy and she shows us all how to do it. An episode full or hope, inspiration and joy.

What’s it like to try and find a trial as a patient? What are the challenges and hurdles that have to be overcome? How do we get to a better place? In this episode we hear the perspective of patients and then go to the experts to get some answers. Part 1 of a 2 part series on Clinical Trials.