“I’m sorry, the thyroid cancer was wrapped around your vocal chords.  We had to scrape them. You may never speak again.”  Never speak again?  I’m only 19! I haven’t even been heard yet! Thus, began my 53-year-long cancer journey.  But, heard I would be! My voice did return and I used it on behalf of domestic violence victims, abused children, infants born with AIDS, homeless teens and many others. The next year, the cancer metastasized to the lymph nodes on the left side of my neck resulting in a radical neck dissection. Permanent scars and disfigurement of my neck, collar ..read more

A few weeks ago we published an interview with Sarah Mandel, clinical psychologist and author, whose memoir Little Earthquakes was recently published Harper House. We hope you had a chance to listen to this interview and read her memoir, What you might not remember that Sarah is by no means the first author we have had the pleasure to have as a guest of our podcast. In this month’s edition of 'The Vault', we’ve decided to revisit three excellent episodes with author interviews which we thought listeners might have missed. Adiba Barney talks about her early and late-stage breast cancer, Dr. Pau ..read more

Recently a dear friend was diagnosed with Leptomeningeal Disease. This is  a terrifying diagnosis in an already difficult disease.  As the wonderful Emily Garnett has described so poignantly in her blog about how she felt when she had gotten the news of this diagnosis. “So this was pretty terrible news. Actually it was the absolute worst news. Left untreated lepto mets can spread very rapidly, often causing someone to die in a matter of weeks, maybe months. Even with conventional treatment options, life expectancy is considered in the span of months. I felt and continue to feel the ..read more

Living Beyond Breast Cancer’s (LBBC) 17th annual conference on Metastatic Breast Cancer is coming up very soon—April 28-30, 2023. Several members of the OMBCL podcast team will be in attendance on the ground in Philadelphia—and we hope to meet some of you there.  But if you’re not able to attend in-person, you’ll still be able to take part virtually via LBBC’s online conference platform. Either way, you’ll have a chance to learn more about bone mets, recently approved therapies, side-effects management, diet, and how to cope with the cost of cancer, and hear from people living with m ..read more

“SHARE welcomes Kate to this important new role. Although SHARE has been providing support services and educational programming for the MBC community for over 30 years, Kate’s appointment will ensure the growth and strengthening of existing programs as well as the creation of innovative additional programming to more precisely meet the needs of the community,” said Christine Benjamin, Vice President of Patient Support and Education. “She joins the staff with a deep knowledge of the needs of those living daily with MBC and a fervent desire to support and serve.” Diagnosed with M ..read more

The Our MBC Life Podcast has delved deep into what living with MBC is like and, for that reason, has become a prime resource for the community. This month we are celebrating Women’s History Month by remembering four women who, in their own way, embodied SHARE’s philosophy that “no one should have to face cancer alone”. Season 5 Episode 1: The Legacy of Lisa Laudico “Lisa was a natural leader, and her passion for raising diverse voices and uniting those living with MBC was infectious,” according to close friend Victoria Goldberg. Diagnosed de novo with metastatic breast cancer in 2017, Lisa wa ..read more

We’ve tackled many topics and this month we are inviting you to visit, or revisit, our favorite episodes from Season 5. Please enjoy these ‘Staff Picks’ by clicking the links below.  Season 5 Episode 2: MBC 101: The HER2-Low Show When diagnosed, we learn our cancer’s positive or negative HER2 status. But the highlight of the June 2022 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) was discussion of a new ‘HER2 low' status and the success of Enhertu. This drug has been found to significantly extend both progression-free survival and overall survival compared to standard of car ..read more

It’s February and that means the OMBCL team is hard at work: exploring new ideas, interviewing expert guests, and producing episodes. We’d like to give you a sneak preview of what we’re hoping will be our best season ever! Our first episode, out March 1st, will kick things off with a special look at how meditation can help MBC thrivers cope with the uncertainty and anxiety that comes from living with our diagnosis. We’ll be joined by meditation experts and members of our MBC support group for a thoughtful conversation that will include a guided mediation session. In another “Road to A Cure” ep ..read more

Living with breast cancer is obviously no joke, especially late-stage breast cancer. But, once the shock of diagnosis is absorbed and initial treatment more or less done, humor can become part of your tool kit to deal with the worry of living with this disease.   The late Beth Caldwell, a 38-year-old metastatic breast cancer patient advocate from Seattle, said, “If you don’t laugh, you’re going to cry your eyes out…it just makes things less awful. As someone who will live with disease for the rest of my life, to never laugh again would be horrific. The jokes make me feel better. The ..read more

Our hearts are overflowing with both grief and gratitude as we ramp up production on the fifth season of Our MBC Life. On August 6, Lisa Laudico, the creator and driving force behind the podcast series, died peacefully at the age of 56, surrounded by her family. It is a profound loss for the MBC community, felt nowhere more keenly than among the Our MBC Life team and SHARE staff and volunteers. But even as we mourn, we are grateful for the comfort and inspiration we find in Lisa’s amazing legacy. “Lisa was a natural leader, and her passion for raising diverse voices and uniting those living w ..read more