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When Breast Cancer Changes Everything — What Do You Build Next?

What happens when a breast cancer diagnosis strips away your identity — and forces you to rebuild from the inside out?

In this deeply personal and powerful episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, Laura Carfang sits down with Christine Handy and Christine Anastos — two breast cancer survivors who turned trauma into transformation.

Christine Handy, former international model and author of Walk Beside Me, opens up about:

• Undergoing multiple mastectomy surgeries
• Breast implant illness
• Returning to the runway as a “breastless model”
• Turning her book into the award-winning film Hello Beautiful
• Reclaiming worth beyond appearance

Christine Anastos (christine@connect-and-thrive.com), environmental engineer and founder of Connect & Thrive (CAT) shares:

• Being diagnosed with DCIS while caregiving for her mother
• Cancer’s financial toxicity and hidden barriers
• Why 90% of breast cancer cases may be environmentally influenced
• Launching a public benefit corporation to bridge gaps in survivorship care

Together, these women explore:

• Identity after a cancer diagnosis
• Faith and post-traumatic growth
• The myth of “doing it alone”
• Why collaboration is more powerful than competition
• What it really means to be a “cancer disruptor”

Welcome to the conversation.

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In this powerful episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, Laura Carfang speaks with Kathy Giusti, a two-time cancer survivor who has lived with multiple myeloma for 30 years and later faced a breast cancer diagnosis as well.

Diagnosed at 37 after what she thought was a routine visit, Kathy was told she had a fatal blood cancer and would live “three years at best.” Instead of accepting that prognosis, she helped change the trajectory of cancer research by founding the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF)—a model that brought scientists, clinicians, biotech, and the FDA together to accelerate treatments.

This conversation explores survivorship, advocacy, and what patients and caregivers can do when the science is moving fast—but the system isn’t.

In This Episode, We Discuss

• Getting a shocking diagnosis after a “routine” appointment
• Why multiple myeloma was once considered a “silent killer”
• How Kathy helped build a research engine that accelerated drug development
• The difference between fast-moving science and slow-moving systems
• How Kathy’s identical twin impacted her breast cancer risk and screening
• DCIS decisions and why “there’s no right or wrong—only what’s best for you”
• Why “looking healthy” can cause people to underestimate what you’re carrying
• How to set boundaries when you’re in treatment or survivorship
• Why you shouldn’t rely on only one or two caregivers—and how to “invite people in”
• Kathy’s book: Fatal to Fearless: 12 Steps to Beating Cancer in a Broken Medical System

Resources & Links

• Follow Kathy: @kathy.giusti
• Book: Fatal to Fearless: 12 Steps to Beating Cancer in a Broken Medical System
• SurvivingBreastCancer.org: Free programs, support groups, and community
• Download the SBC App: Search SurvivingBreastCancer.org in the App Store or Google Play

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What if part of what makes cancer so hard isn’t just the diagnosis—but the spaces where care happens?

In this eye-opening episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang explores how hospital design, architecture, and the built environment directly shape the cancer experience, often in ways patients never realize—but deeply feel.

Laura is joined by Abbie Clary, Executive Director of Market Strategies and Growth for Health for All, and a nationally recognized leader in healthcare architecture and experience design. With millions of square feet of cancer and healthcare facilities in her portfolio—including projects at Memorial Sloan Kettering, MD Anderson, and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab—Abbie pulls back the curtain on how hospitals are designed, who they’re designed for, and why women are so often treated as the “outlier.”

Together, they discuss trauma-informed design, survivorship-centered care, caregiver inclusion, gender bias in medical spaces, and why healing doesn’t only happen through medicine—it happens through dignity, control, and environment.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• Why hospitals and medical spaces are often designed for a “default male”
• How architecture impacts anxiety, trauma, and healing for cancer patients
• What trauma-informed design actually looks like in practice
• Why cancer patients experience healthcare differently than other patients
• The importance of designing for repeat visits, not one-time care
• How caregivers and loved ones should be treated as part of the care team
• Why dignity, control, and privacy matter as much as efficiency
• Gender bias in medical design—from gowns to equipment to workflows
• Why women’s pain and discomfort are often minimized in healthcare
• Designing cancer centers for survivorship, not just treatment

About Today's Guest

Abbie Clary, FAIA, FACHA, is the Executive Director of Market Strategies and Growth — Health for All. Her work spans some of the most ambitious healthcare projects in the world, including Memorial Sloan Kettering’s new Cancer Care Pavilion, MD Anderson Cancer Center’s 2030 facilities master plan, and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago.

A nationally sought-after speaker and TEDx presenter, Abbie’s work focuses on transforming healthcare through strategic, human-centered design—bridging architecture, culture change, patient experience, and health equity. Her mission is simple but radical: design healthcare spaces that actually support healing, dignity, and belonging.

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What happens when a breast surgeon becomes a breast cancer patient—and then faces a second diagnosis years later?

In this deeply personal and illuminating episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang is joined by Dr. Anne Peled, a board-certified breast, reconstructive, and plastic surgeon who has treated thousands of patients—and also navigated her own early-stage breast cancer diagnosis, followed years later by a new primary DCIS diagnosis.

Together, Laura and Dr. Peled unpack what patients are rarely told about DCIS (stage zero breast cancer), the difference between recurrence and a second primary cancer, and how advances in surgery are transforming survivorship—including sensation-preserving mastectomy.

This conversation bridges clinical expertise and lived experience, offering clarity, compassion, and permission to choose the path that aligns with your body and values.

In this episode:

• What DCIS really is—and why “stage zero” can be misleading
• Recurrence vs. second primary breast cancer: why biology matters
• Lumpectomy vs. mastectomy and why survival outcomes are often the same
• How guilt and self-blame show up after a second diagnosis
• Being diagnosed with breast cancer as a physician
• Navigating treatment when your colleagues are your caregivers
• The evolution of oncoplastic surgery and patient-centered care
• Why loss of breast sensation is under-discussed—but life-changing
• How sensation-preserving mastectomy works
• What questions to ask your surgeon about sensation, nerves, and recovery
• Making decisions based on your priorities—not fear or pressure

About today's guest

Dr. Anne Peled is a board-certified plastic, reconstructive, and breast surgeon in private practice in San Francisco and Co-Director of the Sutter Health California Pacific Medical Center Breast Cancer Center of Excellence. Trained at Amherst College, Harvard Medical School, and UCSF, Dr. Peled completed a unique fellowship combining breast oncologic surgery and reconstruction.

Her clinical and research work focuses on oncoplastic surgery, preserving and restoring sensation after mastectomy, improving patient outcomes, and breast cancer risk reduction. She is also a breast cancer survivor herself, bringing rare dual insight to patient care.

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What happens when you’re diagnosed with stage 2B breast cancer, start a new job, and are asked to lead a COVID response—all at the same time?

In this powerful episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang sits down with Samira Daswani, founder and CEO of Manta Cares, to talk about what it really means to navigate cancer when the system isn’t built for you.

Diagnosed at 30 and undergoing chemotherapy during the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Samira shares how she worked through treatment, wrestled with impossible decisions about hormone therapy, and struggled with the loss of control that so many cancer patients feel—but rarely name.

Out of a sleepless night during chemo, Samira created a simple paper planner just to survive her own care. That tool would eventually become Manta Cares: a personalized, cancer-specific platform designed to give patients and care partners the thing most people never get—a map.

In this candid, founder-to-founder conversation, Laura and Samira explore:

• Being diagnosed with breast cancer during COVID
• Working through chemo and surgery while leading critical healthcare programs
• Deciding whether to stay on hormone therapy—and living with that choice
• Why cancer care feels like being dropped into a hike without a map
• How patient-built tools can restore agency, clarity, and peace of mind
• The emotional cost of fixing a system that failed you
• What’s next for Manta Cares, including mobile tools and AI companions

This episode is for anyone who has ever thought:
There has to be a better way.

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What does it really mean to be diagnosed with DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ)—often called “stage zero” breast cancer?

In this in-depth episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang is joined by a breast surgical oncologist, a radiation oncologist, and a patient advocate to unpack why DCIS can be both reassuring and deeply complex. While survival rates are excellent, treatment decisions often involve difficult trade-offs between reducing recurrence risk and preserving long-term quality of life.

The panel explores how advances in tumor biology, radiation techniques, and genomic testing—particularly the DecisionRT test—are helping clinicians and patients personalize care. Together, they discuss when radiation may meaningfully reduce recurrence risk, when it may be safely avoided, and how shared decision-making empowers patients to choose treatment paths based on information rather than fear.

Guests:

Dr. Erica Giblin, a breast surgical oncologist in Indianapolis and Director of Breast Surgical Oncology at Ascension, who brings a surgeon’s perspective on balancing effective treatment with long-term survivorship.

Dr. Fleure Gallant, a nationally recognized leader in breast radiation oncology and Radiation Medicine Lead for the Breast Disease Management Team at Northwell Health Cancer Institute, whose work focuses on delivering highly personalized, quality-of-life-centered care.

And Dr. Leona Hamrick, Vice President of Global Medical Affairs at PreludeDx, a board-certified physician associate with decades of experience in internal medicine and oncology diagnostics—and an 11-year stage III breast cancer survivor who brings the patient voice into every scientific conversation.

Topics Discussed:

• What DCIS is—and why it’s considered non-invasive breast cancer
• Why DCIS is classified as stage zero, regardless of size
• How DCIS differs from invasive breast cancer and LCIS
• Why a DCIS diagnosis can still be emotionally traumatic
• Standard treatment approaches: lumpectomy, mastectomy, radiation, and hormone therapy
• When and why radiation therapy is recommended after DCIS
• How radiation schedules have evolved (5 days vs. 3–6 weeks)
• What DecisionRT measures and how it helps predict recurrence risk
• Why tumor biology matters more than age alone
• Shared decision-making vs. fear-based decision-making
• Quality-of-life considerations, especially for younger patients
• Why more options can sometimes feel more overwhelming
• The importance of second opinions and patient self-advocacy
• How DCIS care is moving toward personalization and de-escalation

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What happens when breast cancer comes back — even after doing “everything right”?

In this deeply honest conversation, Laura Carfang sits down with Teresa Baglietto, a four-time cancer survivor, author, and podcast host, to talk about what it really means to live with cancer recurrence, fear, and long-term survivorship.

Teresa shares what it felt like to discover her first breast cancer lump (“it was like a block of cement”), how she navigated a recurrence after bilateral mastectomy, and the treatment decisions that ultimately saved her life — including why she chose not to take chemotherapy or tamoxifen.

Together, Laura and Teresa explore the emotional and practical realities of survivorship: fear of recurrence, making medical decisions without complete information, balancing career and health, and finding purpose after cancer.

This episode is for anyone newly diagnosed, living with metastatic or recurrent disease, or learning how to live after cancer — when the world expects you to “move on,” but your body and mind remember everything.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• What a breast cancer lump can actually feel like
• Being diagnosed after delaying a mammogram
• Breast cancer recurrence after mastectomy
• Radiation vs chemotherapy and treatment decision-making
• Oncotype DX testing and personalized care
• Saying no to tamoxifen after severe side effects
• Fear of recurrence and how it shows up years later
• How cancer reshapes career, identity, and purpose
• Why having a plan can help you survive the unknown
• Finding meaning and community after diagnosis
  
  

About Our Guest
Teresa Baglietto is a four-time cancer survivor, author of The Ripple Effect, and host of the podcast InShok. Her work focuses on resilience, leadership, and navigating life’s hardest moments with intention and courage.

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Breast Cancer Stopped My Life—Music and Meditation Helped Me Breathe Again: How Music and Meditation Support Healing During Breast Cancer Treatment

A breast cancer diagnosis can abruptly stop life in its tracks—canceling plans, disrupting careers, and forcing an unfamiliar stillness. In this deeply moving episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang, Ed.D. sits down with Elizabeth Borowsky, a professional pianist and composer, and Jesika Harmon, a meditation coach and wellness guide, to explore how music and meditation became powerful tools for healing during cancer treatment.

Together, they tell the story of an unexpected reconnection that led to a creative collaboration: Sonisah Meditation—a unique fusion of live piano music and guided meditation designed to help people move through illness, grief, and life’s hardest moments with greater clarity and compassion.

This conversation is a reminder that healing is not only physical—it’s emotional, spiritual, and creative. Whether you’re living with breast cancer, supporting someone you love, or navigating another season of uncertainty, this episode offers permission to slow down, listen inward, and discover new ways to heal beyond medicine.

Resources:

Elizabeth Borowsky and Jesika Harmon co-created Inner Harmony, a meditation album combining live piano composition with guided mindfulness practices. Their work introduces Sonisah Meditation—from sonus (sound) and niseion (experience through trial)—a new approach to healing through sound and stillness.

📍 Available on:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6KmlM20xrcRU9qQfGnkXEb?referral=labelaffiliate&utm_source=1011lBVpP95B&utm_medium=Indie_Distrokid&utm_campaign=labelaffiliate
• Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/inner-harmony/1846165188?uo=4
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-JylYyr_EE

Learn more about our guests:

Elizabeth Borowsky:

https://www.elizabethborowsky.com/inner-harmony

Jesika Harmon:

https://www.meditationwithjesika.com/s-projects-basic

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