How do those living with and at risk of breast cancer “trust” science, when science has a history of being untrustworthy, and especially so in their treatment of the BIPOC community? As discussed in the episode, “Trust in Science: A Panel Conversation,” the labor of building trust is often shifted to the individual. For example, a common solution to the lack of data and research on the BIPOC community, is, as BCAction Board Member Tamatha Thomas Haase describes, imploring BIPOC folx to “join more clinical trials!” But there is a lack of collaboration between science and people who live with the reality of breast cancer every day, and we know that there is much more that needs to be done before getting to this point. What building trust could look like, as described by Tigerlily Founder and CEO Maimah Karmo, is flipping the script – putting people with breast cancer on stage in our research panels, and the scientists in the audience. This podcast episode explores this and other necessary takeaways from the conversation between these two leaders, and facilitated by BCAction Executive Director Krystal Redman, at the 18th Annual Billie Gardner Loulan Memorial Benefit, which took place om May 19, 2022. Founded by former BCAction Board Member JoAnn Loulan, the Billie Gardner Loulan Memorial Benefit honors JoAnn’s mother and others who have died from breast cancer, and raises crucial funds for Breast Cancer Action’s work to address and end breast cancer. 

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Stories play a powerful role in our culture and in social change, because they connect our communities, inform and expand our perspectives, and illuminate areas in need of change. In this podcast episode, “Storytelling: A Powerful Agent of Change,” we speak with our very own Executive Director, Dr. Krystal Redman (KR), and Dena Taylor, author of the book “I Don’t Want To Be Pink” and longtime BCAction supporter. KR speaks to the power of storytelling: how storytelling documents our histories, translates our lived experiences into real data, how storytelling can propel the breast cancer movement, and how to ethically engage in sharing personal narratives for political change. Then Dena joins us to not only share her person breast cancer story, but to speak to the healing and political power of doing so. Tune in to this dynamic episode and learn how YOU can share your story – as a person living with or at risk of breast cancer, as a caregiver, or as someone impacted by the disease (which is all of us). Your support, collaboration, and sharing of your personal stories have made possible BCAction’s historic wins and outsized achievements. None of our work would be possible without the participation of activists who are unafraid to share how breast cancer has impacted our lives, and who continue to hold policymakers and corporations accountable through a collective action framework.  

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At Breast Cancer Action’s October event Radical Disruption & Compassionate Resistance, we hosted a panel of four expert breast cancer activists who spoke to the power of our 2021 Think Before You Pink® campaign Stop Banking on Breast Cancer. The panel featured BCAction Program Manager Jayla Burton, BCAction Executive Director Krystal Redman, nationally-known biologist, author, and former cancer patient Dr. Sandra Steingraber, and BCAction Board Member and American Indian Cancer Foundation Health Equity Manager CoCo Villaluz. Together, the panelists elucidated never-before-explored connections between breast cancer, fossil fuels, financial institutions, and environmental racism that brought the campaign to life. They demonstrated why we must take action to stop Susan G. Komen’s Pink Ribbon Banking Program – and the cancer-causing fossil industry overall. The panelists went beyond the analytical and they touched on the personal stories and challenges that have driven their commitment to this work, which brought home the importance of this bold campaign.

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Individuals who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and/or Queer have stories of navigating breast cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment that aren’t represented in the heteronormative pink ribbon narrative. In this episode, host BCAction Program Manager Jayla Burton speaks with Laurie Merges, who tells the story of navigating her breast cancer diagnosis. Additionally, Jayla speaks with Scout, Executive Director of the National LGBT Cancer Network, about the realities of the healthcare system for people with queer and trans identities. Scout also provides a sneak peek of the findings from their organization’s OUT survey. Together, the dialogue between host Jayla, Laurie, and Scout explores breast cancer risk factors specific to the LGBTQ community, the heteronormative biases in guidance about sex and intimacy during breast cancer treatment, and the layers of missing data and research needed to improve health outcomes. It is clear from this conversation that to honor and center the LGBTQ breast cancer experience, practitioners and the breast cancer movement must address breast cancer by treating not just a body part, but the person as a whole.

The post Uncovering LGBTQ Breast Cancer Realities appeared first on Breast Cancer Action.

Most of us are familiar with the serious health inequities that exist among different racial, ethnic, and cultural groups when it comes to illness. Breast cancer is no exception. Join BCAction Program Manager Jayla’s conversation with four podcast guests: Marissa Thomas, co-founder of For the Breast of Us, Darci Green, Executive Director of Latinas Contra Cancer, Caroline Nguyen, Program Assistant at the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, and Dr. Krystal Redman, Executive Director at BCAction. This discussion covers the unique challenges and programmatic priorities specific to the Black, Latinx, and Asian communities of breast cancer activists while exploring the landscape of disparities, the disconnect between health care systems and communities of color, and the limitations of screening and mammography to address these inequities.

The post Addressing Disparities: Screening vs. Systemic Change appeared first on Breast Cancer Action.

In this episode, Breast Cancer Action’s Environmental Health Consultant Heather Sarantis interviews Dr. Barbara Cohn, the lead research principal investigator of the study “Linking Neighborhood and Individual Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) to Breast Cancer.” This study is a unique research project made possible by the partnership of Breast Cancer Action and Child Health and Development Studies, and it features a massive, multi-generational data set that started in 1959 with 15,000 women, and has spanned three generations. The breadth of this data allows this ACEs study to pose questions that most researchers can’t begin to touch, including: Can where you live affect your breast cancer risk? If so, how? Does living in a racially segregated neighborhood contribute to an increased risk of breast cancer? What about more aggressive forms of breast cancer? And are these experiences a form of childhood trauma? Although the research team is in the early stages of analyzing the data, we’ve already seen some incredibly thought-provoking results. To learn more about the study and ACEs, tune in to this interview with Dr. Barbara Cohn.

The post The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on Breast Cancer appeared first on Breast Cancer Action.

Health risks from fossil fuels touch almost every aspect of our lives. In addition to vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions, a wide range of everyday products are made from fossil fuel-based chemicals, including cosmetic products, pesticides, and plastics. In this episode, The Fossil Fuel to Breast Cancer Pipeline, we spoke with Dr. Carol Kwiatkowski about the booming plastics industry and what it means for our health. Dr. Kwiatkowski previously served as the Executive Director of the Endocrine Disruption Exchange, TEDX and now serves as the Science and Policy Senior Associate at the Green Science Policy Institute. She is also an Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University. Our conversation explores the current boom in plastics production and connects the dots with the breast cancer crisis.

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In recent decades researchers have identified more than 200 chemical exposures that may increase the risk for breast cancer. Despite these scientific advances, the country’s primary cancer agency, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), downplays these connections. This withholding of information not only affects the ability for individuals and healthcare providers to identify health protective measures, it also hamstrings important national efforts to create systemic changes that can support breast cancer prevention. Join Heather Sarantis in conversation with Dr. Julia Brody, Executive Director and Senior Scientist at Silent Spring Institute, to understand the significance of the National Cancer Institute, and why it is so important that the agency update its approach to breast cancer prevention.

The post What the National Cancer Institute Leaves Out About Environmental Exposures appeared first on Breast Cancer Action.

Having breast cancer is stressful​ but nearly everyone who’s been diagnosed is told to avoid stress. ​What’s the connection between emotional strain and cancer? In her role as an associate professor at Temple University, our guest, Dr. Lauren Ellman, studies prenatal and childhood factors that contribute to mental health disorders. Join the conversation with Karuna and Lauren as they discuss the data on chronic stress, including the toll of systemic racism, ​that explain some of the health impacts like ​increased breast cancer risk—even decades later.

The post Stress, Racism, and the Breast Cancer Connection appeared first on Breast Cancer Action.

What happens when the Medical Industrial Complex meets the FDA? How much influence do pharmaceutical and medical device companies really have ​on the drugs and devices we put in our bodies? In this episode, Karuna talks with award-winning independent medical investigative journalist and author Jeanne Lenzer about the intersection of money and medicine. Tune in to learn about the impact of the multibillion dollar medical industrial complex on our healthcare ​system—and what it means for you and for anyone living with and at risk of breast cancer. And join the conversation about where we’re going ​when the COVID-19 crisis ​passes, and what we can do to transform our healthcare system. Listen in and share your thoughts on Twitter and Facebook.

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The COVID-19 pandemic shines a spotlight on the structural problems of our profit-driven healthcare system—but these failings aren’t new, as Karuna and global health activist Gregg Gonsalves discuss in the latest episode of our podcast. Dr. Gonsalves, an AIDS activist turned Yale epidemiologist, was awarded a MacArthur “Genius” fellowship in 2018. Join the conversation about health activism and the lessons of HIV/AIDS and breast cancer in the age of COVID-19. And find out what you can do to challenge political inaction, demand deeper investments in public health, and focus resources on overlooked communities.

The post Lessons from HIV/AIDS and Breast Cancer in the Age of COVID-19 appeared first on Breast Cancer Action.

From COVID-19 to breast cancer, what happens when science gets politicized? Join the conversation with Karuna Jaggar and Michael Halpern of the Union of Concerned Scientists as they explore the intersection of politics and science. You’ll learn about a proposed rule that would undermine the EPA’s ability to regulate polluting industries. ​Find out what you can do to make sure that the best science is used to guide government decisions to protect public health and safety. Listen in a​nd share your thoughts on Twitter or Facebook.

The post The Risks of Sidelining Science – From the Coronavirus to Breast Cancer appeared first on Breast Cancer Action.

Learn about the risks of breast implants, a common medical device implanted in hundreds of thousands of people each year. People choose implants for breast augmentation, gender transition, and reconstruction after mastectomy, and as many as 100,000 women a year get implants related to breast cancer. Join Karuna’s conversation with Diana Zuckerman, President of the National Center for Health Research, and Raylene Hollrah, who developed a rare cancer caused by her textured breast implants. Whether you already have implants or are considering them, you’ll want to hear what Diana and Raylene have to say about the history and regulation of breast implants, and the experience of women living with them. You’ll also learn how you can help hold the FDA accountable for ensuring that implants are safe and effective.

The post Breast Implants: What You Need to Know appeared first on Breast Cancer Action.

Join our conversation with Sharon Lerner, award-winning investigative journalist, who’s written a powerful and groundbreaking series on PFAS. Learn about these toxic chemicals used in every day products, first developed by corporate giant 3M seventy years ago. And find out what Lerner uncovered about how 3M has tried to conceal the serious health risks of PFAS while continuing to develop new chemicals in the class. Take a deeper dive into our 2019 Think Before You Pink Campaign, Say Never to Forever Chemicals. Find out why we’re calling on 3M to stop pinkwashing and how you can make a difference.

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The post 3M’s Post-its Peel Off But PFAS Are Forever appeared first on Breast Cancer Action.

Karuna and Jayla Burton, Breast Cancer Action’s Program Officer, take you behind the scenes of our 2019 Think Before You Pink^® campaign. Why is Breast Cancer Action targeting corporate giant 3M in this year’s campaign? What’s wrong with 3M’s pink ribbon Post-its? What are PFAS, why does 3M produce these toxic chemicals, and who is affected? Tune in and learn how you can take action.

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Why does Breast Cancer Action call October Breast Cancer Industry Month? Want to know where all the money from pink ribbon purchases goes? Angry at being told to “fight like a girl” so you can “beat” breast cancer? Join Karuna Jaggar and Yamini Ranchod to talk about pink ribbon culture and marketing, and what we can do together to make real change. Get in touch and tell us your story.

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Put on your headphones and get fired up! The pilot for the Breast Cancer Action Podcast is out. Be sure to subscribe today using the links at the bottom of this page; you can also listen on our website.

We’ll bring you our one-of-a-kind content and analysis–now in a podcast. Together we’ll talk to scientists, thought leaders, activists, and women living with breast cancer. We’ll peel away the pink washing and expose the truth about the breast cancer industry, and we’ll also give you tools you can use to make a difference.

Join our audio adventure! Subscribe, rate, and review today and help us take our new podcast to the top of the charts. Find the Breast Cancer Action Podcast on iTunes, Google, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Thanks for listening!

The post The Breast Cancer Action Podcast appeared first on Breast Cancer Action.