SIS: Sisters in Survivorship

Sisters Network
  • 5.0 (2)
  • NON-PROFIT
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

SIS: Sisters In Survivorship amplifies the voices of Black women navigating breast cancer and gives every sister the tools to advocate, heal, and thrive. Presented by Sisters Network Inc., the nation’s only African American breast cancer survivorship organization, SIS: Sisters In Survivorship is where truth meets healing. Each episode amplifies real stories from survivors, caregivers, and advocates while bringing expert insight from leading doctors and researchers. Together, we break the silence on the Black breast cancer crisis and give you the tools to take action. From early detection and mammograms, to genetic risk, triple negative breast cancer, mental health, motherhood, and survivorship, SIS provides culturally relevant insight, resources, and sisterhood that speak directly to our community. Hosted by Caleen Allen, SIS is not just a podcast - it’s a lifeline. Because too many sisters are being diagnosed young, too many are being dismissed by the system, and too many are being lost before their time. Every sister deserves to be seen. Every sister deserves to be heard. Every sister deserves to be supported. Subscribe now and join the movement to stop the silence, amplify the voices, and save more lives.

  1. 20H AGO

    Newly Diagnosed & Overwhelmed? Here’s What to Ask Your Doctor

    When a woman is first diagnosed with breast cancer, the fear and overwhelm can be paralyzing. In this segment from SIS: Sisters In Survivorship, Dr. Nina Tamarisa, breast surgical oncologist at MD Anderson, breaks down exactly how she helps patients quiet the noise, understand their diagnosis, and make informed decisions about treatment. Dr. Tamarisa shares the key questions every woman should ask her surgeon, why referrals to fertility specialists, plastic surgeons, and integrative medicine matter, and the alarming rise of breast cancer in younger Black women. ✨ A must-watch for anyone navigating a new diagnosis, supporting a loved one, or learning how to advocate for your breast health. RESOURCES:  Dr. Nina Tamirisa Website - mdanderson.org/profiles/nina_tamirisa  Website - sistersnetworkinc.org IG -  @sistersnetwork YouTube Channel - @SisInSurvivorshipPodcast

    6 min

  2. JAN 7

    7: Your Care Should Fit YOU: How to Advocate for Treatment You Deserve | Dr. Nina Tamarisa

    In this episode of SIS: Sisters In Survivorship, host Caleen Allen sits down with Dr. Nina Tamirisa, breast surgical oncologist and associate professor at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Known for her patient-first philosophy, Dr. Tamirisa breaks down what every woman should know about breast surgery, treatment options, and advocating for yourself. From lumpectomy vs. mastectomy to breast reconstruction, shared decision-making, fertility concerns, and the rise of breast cancer in younger Black women, Dr. Tamirisa offers practical, compassionate insight that could save lives. She explains why listening matters as much as treatment, how lifestyle factors like age and density influence care, and what questions women should be asking their doctors. This conversation is a must for survivors, caregivers, and women who want to understand their choices, reduce fear, and approach their treatment care with confidence. ✨ Learn more: sistersnetworkinc.org KEY POINTS: - [0:00] Introduction - [6:19] Meet Dr. Nina Tamirisa, breast surgical oncologist at MD Anderson - [7:46] The role of breast surgical oncologists vs. medical oncologists - [8:03] Why listening to patients is central to care - [9:07] Lumpectomy vs. mastectomy - [11:02] Options for women with large tumors and reconstruction choices - [14:01] Building trust with patients in moments of fear - [16:06] Questions every woman should ask her surgeon - [17:18] How age, fertility, and lifestyle affect treatment planning - [18:52] The rise of breast cancer in young Black women - [20:11] Treating women with multiple cancers in different breasts - [20:52] “Their outcome is my outcome” – Dr. Tamirisa’s philosophy - [22:22] Challenges after surgery, including lymphedema and healing - [35:34] Dr. Tamirisa’s vision for patient care and reducing disparities QUOTES: “What we're offering to you for treatment is really tailored treatment, so we're taking into account that these are the important things in your life, but we also want to offer the best in the oncologic care.” – Dr. Nina Tamirisa “Part of what drew me to surgery, I think, is that I really, really care about my patients. And I think when you make an incision, you kind of own all the things that come with that, so it ties you to that patient forever.” – Dr. Nina Tamirisa “I always try to ask what's important to you, what matters to you, and then we were going to do our best to do whatever we can to treat this and make sure it doesn't come back.” – Dr. Nina Tamirisa RESOURCES: Dr. Nina Tamirisa Website - mdanderson.org/profiles/nina_tamirisa  Website - sistersnetworkinc.org IG -  @sistersnetwork YouTube Channel - @SisInSurvivorshipPodcast

    32 min

  3. 12/17/2025

    6: The Stress–Cancer Link: 2-Time Survivor Dee Manuel Cloud on Stress, Survival & Self-Advocacy

    On today’s episode of SIS: Sisters In Survivorship, host Caleen Allen sits down with Dee Manuel Cloud, a two-time breast cancer survivor, recovery strategist, and unapologetic truth-teller. Diagnosed first at 35 (and again at 38), Dee shares how stress, suppressed emotions, and “suffering in silence” shaped her journey as well as how she transformed her pain into purpose. From leaving an unhappy marriage, to walking away from a high-stress job, to embracing her truth as a member of the LGBTQ community, Dee opens up about the life changes that helped her not only survive but thrive. Now 17 years in remission, Dee calls herself a breast cancer recovery strategist and equips women to prioritize their health, reduce stress, set boundaries, and live authentically. She also speaks powerfully about why Black women must advocate for themselves, how stress and systemic inequities impact survivorship, and why living boldly is the only way forward. Tune in as this episode is a masterclass in resilience, advocacy, and authenticity. ✨ Learn more: sistersnetworkinc.org  🔔 Subscribe for more episodes of SIS: Sisters In Survivorship! KEY POINTS:  - [0:00] Introduction  - [3:20] Dee’s first breast cancer diagnosis at 35 - [6:43] A second diagnosis at 38 and the wake-up call about stress - [8:42] Treatment decisions: from lumpectomy to mastectomy - [12:05] Alopecia, wigs, and navigating hair loss with humor - [15:15] What she wishes she had done differently the first time - [16:14] The cost of silence and suppressed emotions - [17:30] Divorce, career changes, and coming out authentically - [19:52] Survivorship is more than ringing the bell… - [20:58] Becoming a “breast cancer recovery strategist” - [26:50] Why the Strong Black Woman narrative is dangerous - [30:51] What to say to young women newly diagnosed  - [39:29] Finding joy and purpose in helping women reduce stress QUOTES: "It's easier to live a healthy lifestyle than it is to manage sickness." – Dee Manuel Cloud "Quality of life is just as important as quantity of life." – Dee Manuel Cloud "Some gifts come wrapped in sandpaper, right? That's what breast cancer was for me… It taught me authenticity. It taught me vulnerability. It taught me to not live in fear and to go after the life I want instead of the life I thought I was supposed to want." – Dee Manuel Cloud "We don't rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the system of our strategies." – Dee Manuel Cloud RESOURCES:  Dee Manuel Cloud  Website - https://www.deemanuelcloud.com/  Website - https://www.sistersnetworkinc.org/  IG -  https://www.instagram.com/sistersnetwork/

    33 min

  4. 12/15/2025

    Steps You Can Take Today to Reduce Stress & Strengthen Your Health Long-Term

    In this powerful segment from SIS: Sisters In Survivorship, two-time breast cancer survivor Dee Manuel Cloud breaks down the truth about survivorship and why it doesn’t end when you ring the bell. She explains how stress weakens the immune system, why Black women face higher mortality rates, and how the “Strong Black Woman” narrative leads to burnout, suppressed emotions, and poor health outcomes. Dee shares the strategies that helped her stay in remission — from morning routines to accountability partners — and why boundaries, self-advocacy, and saying no are lifesaving tools for Black women. ✨ A must-watch for anyone navigating stress, survivorship, or high-pressure environments. Presented by Sisters Network Inc. RESOURCES:  Dee Manuel Cloud  Website - deemanuelcloud.com Website - sistersnetworkinc.org IG -  @sistersnetwork YouTube Channel - @SisInSurvivorshipPodcast

    8 min

  5. 12/10/2025

    How to Speak Up for Yourself in the Doctor's Office | Athena Jones on Self-Advocacy

    When doctors dismiss your symptoms, it can cost you everything. In this powerful segment from SIS: Sisters In Survivorship, award-winning journalist and two-time breast cancer survivor Athena Jones shares why Black women must challenge their doctors, push for screening, and ask for proof — not reassurance. She explains how insisting on answers saved a 31-year-old woman’s life, why bringing someone with you to appointments matters, and how sisterhood through Sisters Network Inc. offers life-saving support. ✨ This clip is a must-watch for any woman who’s ever felt dismissed in a doctor’s office. Self-advocacy saves lives. RESOURCES:  Athena Jones IG - @iamathenajones Website - sistersnetworkinc.org IG -  @sistersnetwork YouTube Channel - @sistersnetworkinc.8895/featured

    6 min

  6. 12/03/2025

    5: Diagnosed Twice Before 40: Athena Jones on Early Detection & Surviving Breast Cancer

    On today's episode, award-winning journalist and former CNN correspondent Athena Jones opens up about her journey as a two-time breast cancer survivor.  Athena shares how early detection, resilience, and advocacy shaped her fight for breast cancer. She discusses the disparities affecting Black women, the urgent need for research and policy change, and her forthcoming documentary, Sisters Keepers, which exposes the racial inequities in breast cancer care. She also highlights some of the survival and systemic barriers, as well as the hope that technology and community can bring.  Here’s the real deal: we don’t just need awareness — we need action. Tune in!  ✨ Learn more: sistersnetworkinc.org  KEY POINTS:  - [00:00] Introduction - [2:59] Athena’s first diagnosis at age 36 - [5:01] On choosing double mastectomy & reconstruction treatment - [6:47] Diagnosed again at 39: Chemo, radiation, and another fight for survival. - [7:50] Athena continues being a White House reporter (while undergoing chemotherapy). - [11:22] How therapy and a support system helped Athena - [12:51] Launching Sisters Keepers documentary - [17:44] Breast cancer risk models rely on white populations, excluding women of color. - [22:13] The gap and crisis in Black Women’s Health - [32:53] Hope in AI Technology: New tool “Mirai” - [39:58] Embracing the journey as a journalist to advocate QUOTES:  “I did a double mastectomy. I was 36 years old… I had no family history I was aware of. This is why it wasn't on my radar.” – Athena Jones “My breast cancer wasn't hereditary. It was something else. But no one can give me a straight answer as to what caused it, which is so true in so many cases.” – Athena Jones “I chose to keep working. I'm a journalist. I had a kind of high-powered job, and I was obsessed with continuing to advance in my career, and I didn't want to pause for this pesky but deadly, potentially health problem.” –  Athena Jones RESOURCES:  Athena Jones IG - @iamathenajones Website - sistersnetworkinc.org IG -  @sistersnetwork YouTube Channel - @sistersnetworkinc.8895/featured

    41 min

  7. 11/26/2025

    Grief Isn’t a Journey; It’s a Language | Dr. John Onwuchekwa

    Black breast cancer survivors carry invisible grief - the loss of hair, fertility, mobility, relationships, and life before diagnosis. In this powerful 5-minute segment from SIS: Sisters In Survivorship, Dr. John Onwuchekwa reframes grief as a language, not a journey. He explains why joy and sadness can coexist, why “getting over it” is the wrong expectation, and how learning to speak grief brings healing, peace, and connection. ✨ Watch this if you’ve ever felt unseen in your pain. Grief doesn’t end, we just become fluent in it. RESOURCES John Onwuchekwa  Website | johno.co IG | @jawn_o Website - sistersnetworkinc.org IG -  @sistersnetwork YouTube Channel - @sistersnetworkinc.8895/featured

    5 min

  8. 11/19/2025

    4: Grief After Cancer: Healing the Loss No One Talks About | Dr. John Onwuchekwa

    Grief is more than death. Sometimes, it’s seen in the silent ache of lost selves, broken bonds, changing bodies, and futures that never arrived. In this conversation, Dr. John Onwuchekwa helps us reframe grief not as a journey with an end, but as a language we must learn to speak. As an Atlanta-based pastor, author, and entrepreneur, John shares why grief so often feels isolating, how every grief story is also a love story, and how community and safe spaces can transform sorrow into healing. He tells us that, “It's more helpful for us to think of grief not as a journey, but a language. And the goal of a language is not to finish, it's to become fluent.”  Tune in to hear a perspective on grief that will leave you feeling seen, understood, and better equipped to navigate loss. KEY POINTS - [2:01] What is ambiguous grief? - [3:47] The hardest part isn’t the loss itself. - [6:35] How joy and sadness can coexist. - [8:44] Grief is not a journey; it’s a language. - [11:22] Why grief needs safe spaces and connection. - [14:13] Every grief story is a love story. - [16:53] Ways to help survivors process and move forward. - [18:23] How to support someone grieving. - [29:16] There’s no right or wrong way to handle grief. QUOTES “The biggest problem is not the loss, it is the loneliness that comes after that loss.” – John Onwuchekwa “Grief starts, but it does not have an end. And so if we continue to think about grief as a journey and talk through it like that, then what we do is we tend to send folks in search of light at the end of a closed tunnel.” – John Onwuchekwa “The more ambiguous the loss, the more tangible the comfort needs to be. So, the more ambiguous the loss, the more we need to work to create some type of ritual or place or something that people can tangibly come back to…”  – John Onwuchekwa RESOURCES John Onwuchekwa  Website | johno.co IG | @jawn_o Website - sistersnetworkinc.org IG -  @sistersnetwork YouTube Channel - @sistersnetworkinc.8895/featured

    35 min
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About

SIS: Sisters In Survivorship amplifies the voices of Black women navigating breast cancer and gives every sister the tools to advocate, heal, and thrive. Presented by Sisters Network Inc., the nation’s only African American breast cancer survivorship organization, SIS: Sisters In Survivorship is where truth meets healing. Each episode amplifies real stories from survivors, caregivers, and advocates while bringing expert insight from leading doctors and researchers. Together, we break the silence on the Black breast cancer crisis and give you the tools to take action. From early detection and mammograms, to genetic risk, triple negative breast cancer, mental health, motherhood, and survivorship, SIS provides culturally relevant insight, resources, and sisterhood that speak directly to our community. Hosted by Caleen Allen, SIS is not just a podcast - it’s a lifeline. Because too many sisters are being diagnosed young, too many are being dismissed by the system, and too many are being lost before their time. Every sister deserves to be seen. Every sister deserves to be heard. Every sister deserves to be supported. Subscribe now and join the movement to stop the silence, amplify the voices, and save more lives.

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