Our MBC Life SHARE Cancer Support

Research for triple negative breast cancer is growing, but current treatments still continue to fail the vast majority of people living with triple negative MBC.  Data from the National Cancer Institute gives a five-year relative survival of only 12.8% of women diagnosed with triple negative MBC. Those women have what's called an exceptional response to treatment; more simply, we call them “unicorns” – beings that can bring wonder & hope.  The stories of well-known triple negative MBC unicorns such as Karen Peterson and Barbara Bigelow bring inspiration.  Today, we share the stories of two additional women: Dr. Toni Willis and Colleen Broughton have both lived for 8 years with TN metastatic breast cancer.  Being an exceptional responder is what everyone with MBC hopes for – we wanted to give a chance for Colleen and Toni to share the miraculous, the miserable, and the mundane of surviving far longer than they expected to.

MUSIC CREDIT:

The Things That Keep Us Here · Scott Buckley

Lisa Manning and Tony Laudico met in Tokyo,  Japan where they were both working at the time. It was a serendipitous encounter of a Canadian and an American, and the beginning of their version of a modern fairy tale romance.  They lived happily for 27 years in many countries around the globe and made thousands of memories with their extended families, friends and two wonderful sons.  But unlike many fairy tales that end when a couple dies on the same day after a long life together, Tony and Lisa’s fairy tale had a different ending.  Lisa Manning Laudico died on August 6th 2022 after five years of living with metastatic breast cancer. She died quickly and unexpectedly within one week.  Tony was suddenly faced - as it turns out totally unprepared - with the stunning reality of becoming a widower and the future without the love of his life,  his partner and best friend. A year later, soon after the one year anniversary of Lisa’s passing, Tony got in touch with our Executive Producer Victoria Goldberg and suggested that they meet and talk about Lisa’s last days and how he was able to survive these past 12 months without her.  It is remarkable and at times a heart wrenching account of Tony’s struggle to comprehend a life without the partnership that had sustained and defined him for 30 years, his whole adult life.
He will talk about  the anguish of loss, a nightmare of "death-duties", the true meaning of grief, and the solace of friendship.
Although not always easy listening, it is an uplifting testament to the power of love.


*Special thanks to John Martyn for the use of his song 'Small Hours' - One World (1977)

With the holiday season fast approaching, it is a great time to talk about gratitude and how important it is to have a joyful life. Making gratitude a part of your life, just like breathing, is such a huge help if you are searching for joy. But you can't just conjure up a life lived in gratitude. Unlike being thankful, which exists in the mind, gratitude is an appreciation that comes from the heart. It has to be cultivated and practiced. Today's 'Think Joy Thursday' explores ways to do this and even offers some helpful hints to make joy a habit in your life.

Young Adults & MBC is an episode that explores the lives of those diagnosed under the age of 40 with Stage IV breast cancer. First up, our Senior Producer, Natalia Green, interviews Angelica Valadez, initially diagnosed with early stage breast cancer in 2020 then diagnosed with MBC in 2022. Next, she interviews Sooz Stever, a YSC State Leader for Utah diagnosed with early stage TNBC in 2016 and MBC ally, dedicated to improving the lives of those living with metastatic breast cancer.
We’ll discuss how we as young women focus on finding a community, overcoming obstacles and learning to navigate life as a young person with metastatic breast cancer everyday.

 Welcome to the  episode 7 of our Meditation Mondays series, created with MBC patients in mind. In today's meditation, we will be focusing on our life and the 10,000 joys and the 10,000 sorrows that have passed through it and all of our lives
Sit back and prepare to become calm and relaxed for the next 12 minutes 
Inspired by a very enthusiastic response to monthly meditation sessions from one of SHARE’s MBC support groups. These sessions are on average  under 20 minutes long. Our meditation leader is Barbara Chutroo,  an MBC patient herself and a member of the group.

Barbara is a longtime meditator and experienced meditation teacher. She's also a movement therapist and a clinical social worker.
Thanks for listening!

To find all the past episodes  for this series, click  on the MeditationMondays tab at the top of our landing or follow this link:  https://www.ourmbclife.org/vault/meditation
 Do you like this series? We welcome feedback
Email:
ourmbclife@sharecancersupport.org
 Send us a voice recording via email or through SpeakPipe on our website. 
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Each October, Our MBC Life marks Breast Cancer Awareness month with a special episode dedicated to all those who died from metastatic breast cancer over the past year. 
But one podcast can’t begin to encompass and reflect the true toll of all of the lives cut short by this ruthless and terminal disease. Here’s the hard truth about MBC, according to advocacy and research organization Metavivor: In the US alone, an estimated 42,360 women and 530 men will die from the disease in 2023—117 per day. And despite the optimism around early detection and prevention that infuses “Pinktober” and its focus on survivorship, one in three diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer will eventually progress to become metastatic. Only 10% are metastatic at their first breast MBC diagnosis. 
This painful and sobering reality—that so many of us ultimately develop the kind of breast cancer that kills—needs to be part of the annual month-long conversation about breast cancer. Most importantly, it should help to guide decisions about how breast cancer research funds are invested. Shockingly, the estimated share of breast cancer research dollars that go to MBC is 5%. And while new treatments are extending survival for many with MBC, the disease is still terminal. 
To live with your own diagnosis or to be a loved one, caregiver, or friend of someone with MBC is to inhabit a community of loss. Every day, we confront the reality of mortality and struggle to balance fear with hope, and sorrow with joy. “We Remember” is OMBCL’s opportunity to give voice to the profound grief we share and to honor and celebrate each person we’ve lost. It’s a chance to express our gratitude for the extraordinary and unique ways they made our lives richer. And it is also an opportunity to channel some of our grief, fear, and anger into advocacy for the attention, support, and research needed to truly put us on the Road to a Cure.

MUSIC CREDITS:

'Memories' by Maroon 5

'Mandy Love Theme' by Jóhann Jóhannsson

'Season Suite: Late Winter, Early Spring' by John Denver 

'Fly Me To The Moon' by Frank Sinatra 

'Rêverie, L 68' by Claude Debussy 

'Songbird' by Fleetwood Mac

'All Boundaries Are Conventions' by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, and Reinhold Heil