Neoadjuvant Now: What's Next in Pre-Surgical Breast Cancer Treatment?

More and more breast cancer patients are now receiving treatment before surgery - but what’s next for this approach? In this episode, we look at how neoadjuvant therapy is changing, the new treatments being tested, and what it could mean for patients in the future.

Hear from the Head of the International Breast Cancer Centre (IBCC), Dr Javier Cortes as he discusses:

• (0:30) What neoadjuvant therapy is, and why it's used throughout breast cancer treatment.
• (1:52) The new drugs and treatment combinations that are currently being explored in the neoadjuvant setting.
• (3:01) How neoadjuvant therapy has evolved in the last decade.
• (3:50) The biggest benefits of giving therapy before surgery rather than after.

Tune in for a deep dive into this important research.

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Like this episode? ⁠⁠⁠Find more Breast Cancer Trials Podcast Episodes here⁠⁠⁠

Follow Breast Cancer Trials on Social Media:

• Instagram:⁠ ⁠⁠@breastcancertrials⁠⁠⁠
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Guest: Medical Oncologist, Dr Javier Cortes, from Barcelona.

Thank you for listening! If you found this episode valuable, please share it with your loved ones and help spread awareness about neoadjuvant therapy.

Next Gen Oncology: Insights for Trainees and Early-Career Clinicians

Are you a trainee or early career professional in oncology looking to connect, learn, and grow?

In this episode, we highlight the Trainee and Early Career Day at the Breast Cancer Trials Annual Scientific Meeting. A unique opportunity to network with peers, gain insights from leading researchers, and kickstart your professional development in the field of breast cancer research.

Hear from Breast Cancer Trials Clinical Fellow, Dr Michelle Li, and former Fellow Dr Adam Ofri as they discuss:

• (0:26) What the Trainee and Early-Career Day is, and who it is aimed at.
• (2:38) What you can expect from attending the Trainee and Early-Career Day.
• (4:04) How this session will help those who are starting out in breast cancer research or clinical practice.
• (6:04) Why it's so important that the next generation of researchers and clinicians become involved with Breast Cancer Trials.

Tune in for a deep dive into this important topic.

Donate to Support Life-Saving Research⁠⁠⁠

Like this episode? ⁠⁠⁠Find more Breast Cancer Trials Podcast Episodes here⁠⁠⁠

Follow Breast Cancer Trials on Social Media:

• Instagram:⁠ ⁠⁠@breastcancertrials⁠⁠⁠
• Facebook:⁠ ⁠⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠⁠⁠
• LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠⁠⁠
• X: ⁠⁠⁠@BCTrialsANZ⁠⁠⁠

Guests: Medical Oncologist, Dr Michelle Li, and Breast Surgeon, Dr Adam Ofri.

Thank you for listening! If you found this episode valuable, please share it with your colleagues. The Trainee and Early-Career Day is a free event designed for those in the early stages of their careers in medical, radiation, or surgical oncology. This multi-disciplinary event features expert presentations, MDT panel discussions, and valuable networking opportunities with leading researchers and international speakers.

Caring for the Caregivers: Preventing Burnout in Oncology

What happens when the people caring for everyone else are running on empty? In this episode, we sit down with London-based Professor of psycho-oncology, Dame Lesley Fallowfield, to explore burnout, practical self-care strategies, and ways we can better support healthcare workers before exhaustion takes its toll.

• (5:22) Some of the key warning signs that a healthcare worker might be approaching burnout.
• (9:06) How leaders and managers can better recognise and respond to the needs of their teams.
• (10:39) Programs and initiatives that are making a difference in supporting staff.
• (12:40): The stigma that surrounds healthcare workers prioritising self-care, and what needs to happen in order for this culture to shift.

Tune in for a deep dive into this important topic.

⁠⁠⁠Donate to Support Life-Saving Research⁠⁠⁠

Like this episode? ⁠⁠⁠Find more Breast Cancer Trials Podcast Episodes here⁠⁠⁠

Follow Breast Cancer Trials on Social Media:

• Instagram:⁠ ⁠⁠@breastcancertrials⁠⁠⁠
• Facebook:⁠ ⁠⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠⁠⁠
• LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠⁠⁠
• X: ⁠⁠⁠@BCTrialsANZ⁠⁠⁠

Guest: Professor Dame Lesley Fallowfield.

Thank you for listening! If you found this episode valuable, please share it with your loved ones and help spread awareness about burnout in clinicians.

Intimacy and Insight: Sexual Health After Breast Cancer

Sexual health after breast cancer is a topic too often left in the shadows - yet it profoundly affects quality of life both during and post-diagnosis.

In this episode, Dr Belinda Yeo and Dr Virginia Baird open the conversation, sharing insights into how we can better support patients navigating intimacy, identity, and well-being after breast cancer treatment.

In this episode, we sit down with Belinda and Virginia to discuss:

• (0:50) Why sexual health is such an important, but often overlooked, component of breast cancer care.
• (1:23) The most commonly identified sexual health issues that patients face.
• (07:20) The changes that need to happen within clinical practice to better support breast cancer patients.

Tune in for a deep dive into this important research.

⁠⁠⁠Donate to Support Life-Saving Research⁠⁠⁠.

Like this episode? ⁠⁠⁠Find more Breast Cancer Trials Podcast Episodes here⁠⁠⁠

Follow Breast Cancer Trials on Social Media:

• Instagram:⁠ ⁠⁠@breastcancertrials⁠⁠⁠
• Facebook:⁠ ⁠⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠⁠⁠
• LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠⁠⁠
• X: ⁠⁠⁠@BCTrialsANZ⁠⁠⁠

Guests: Medical Oncologist Belinda Yeo, and Breast Clinician Virginia Baird.

Thank you for listening! If you found this episode valuable, please share it with your loved ones and help spread awareness about breast cancer and sexual health.

If you were interested in learning more listen to our online Q&A event, moderated by Author and Journalist Annabel Crabb, on Breast Cancer and Sex.

Choosing Your Path & Navigating Difficult Treatment Decisions

What happens when patients say ‘no’ to recommended treatments? The search for alternatives can be confronting for both patients and clinicians. Associate Professor Lesley Stafford explores why some patients take this path, what it means for their outcomes, and how the medical community can better navigate these difficult conversations.

In this episode, we sit down with Lesley to discuss:

• (03:38) Some of the challenges that clinicians face when trying to support a patient who refuses a recommended treatment.
• (06:09) How to approach difficult conversations between patients and clinicians.
• (09:42) How to identify and select appropriate alternative therapies.

Tune in for a deep dive into this important topic.

⁠⁠⁠Donate to Support Life-Saving Research⁠⁠⁠

Like this episode? ⁠⁠⁠Find more Breast Cancer Trials Podcast Episodes here⁠⁠⁠

Follow Breast Cancer Trials on Social Media:

• Instagram:⁠ ⁠⁠@breastcancertrials⁠⁠⁠
• Facebook:⁠ ⁠⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠⁠⁠
• LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠⁠⁠
• X: ⁠⁠⁠@BCTrialsANZ⁠⁠⁠

Guest: Clinical Psychologist, Associate Professor Lesley Stafford.

Thank you for listening! If you found this episode valuable, please share it with your loved ones and help spread awareness about breast cancer.

#breastcancer #cancertreatment #clinicalpsychology #breastcancertrials #clinicaltrials #research

Lotjpa Yapaneyepuk (Talk Together): Bridging Communities and Cancer Research

 Access to clinical trials isn't equal, and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Regional Victoria, barriers in accessing treatment for breast cancer remain. Dr Monica Green and Ms Leah Lindrea-Morrison share an initiative that's breaking down those barriers by talking together, listening deeply, and creating culturally safe pathways to clinical trials.

In this episode, we sit down with Monica and Leah to discuss:

• (05:46) The historical, cultural, and systemic factors that influence trust in medical research and clinical trials, among indigenous communities.
• (08:25) Strategies or initiatives that have been effective in improving access or building those stronger relationships with communities in regional Victoria.
• (10:58) The role of community engagement and co-design in creating a more inclusive and culturally safe research opportunity for patients.
• (13:15) How clinicians and researchers can better support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients to consider and navigate trial participation.
• (16:00) What an equitable and accessible trial landscape looks like, and how we can get there.

Tune in for a deep dive into this important research.

⁠⁠⁠Donate to Support Life-Saving Research⁠⁠⁠

Like this episode? ⁠⁠⁠Find more Breast Cancer Trials Podcast Episodes here⁠⁠⁠

Follow Breast Cancer Trials on Social Media:

• Instagram:⁠ ⁠⁠@breastcancertrials⁠⁠⁠
• Facebook:⁠ ⁠⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠⁠⁠
• LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠⁠⁠
• X: ⁠⁠⁠@BCTrialsANZ⁠⁠⁠

Guests: Dr Monica Green and Ms Leah Lindrea-Morrison from Victoria.

Music: Noa Zulu - Meditension

Thank you for listening! If you found this episode valuable, please share it with your loved ones and help spread awareness about creating culturally safe pathways to clinical trials.

4CASTING the Future: Innovations in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Triple negative breast cancer remains one of the most challenging types to treat because it lacks the common treatment targets, grows and spreads aggressively, is highly diverse and currently has limited effective therapies - but new research is changing the story.

Associate Professor Rachel Dear takes us inside the 4CAST trial, showing how science moves from bench to bedside and what this could mean for the future of triple-negative breast cancer treatment.

In this episode, we sit down with Rachel to discuss:

• (01:32) What makes triple-negative breast cancer so difficult to treat?
• (02:26) What pre-clinical findings led to the development of the 4CAST clinical trial?
• (08:37) The future of treatment for triple-negative breast cancer.

Tune in for a deep dive into this important research.

⁠⁠⁠Donate to Support Life-Saving Research⁠⁠⁠

Like this episode? ⁠⁠⁠Find more Breast Cancer Trials Podcast Episodes here⁠⁠⁠

Follow Breast Cancer Trials on Social Media:

• Instagram:⁠ ⁠⁠@breastcancertrials⁠⁠⁠
• Facebook:⁠ ⁠⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠⁠⁠
• LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠⁠⁠
• X: ⁠⁠⁠@BCTrialsANZ⁠⁠⁠

Guest: Medical Oncologist Rachel Dear, from Sydney.

Thank you for listening! If you found this episode valuable, please share it with your loved ones and help spread awareness about triple-negative breast cancer.

Listen to Your Heart: Cardiac Care After Breast Cancer

Breast cancer treatments save lives, but sometimes it can leave the heart at risk. Professor Thomas Marwick sheds light on cardiac care for breast cancer survivors, exploring how monitoring and management strategies can protect heart health long after treatment ends.

In this episode, we sit down with Thomas to discuss:

• (01:09) The common cardiac risks associated with breast cancer therapies.
• (02:24) Patient monitoring during and post-treatment.
• (04:07) Balancing effective treatment while protecting cardiac function.
• (05:19) Emerging technologies to improve detection and prevent cardiac events from occurring.

Tune in for a deep dive into this important research.

⁠⁠⁠Donate to Support Life-Saving Research⁠⁠⁠

Like this episode? ⁠⁠⁠Find more Breast Cancer Trials Podcast Episodes here⁠⁠⁠

Follow Breast Cancer Trials on Social Media:

• Instagram:⁠ ⁠⁠@breastcancertrials⁠⁠⁠
• Facebook:⁠ ⁠⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠⁠⁠
• LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠Breast Cancer Trials⁠⁠⁠
• X: ⁠⁠⁠@BCTrialsANZ⁠⁠⁠

Guest: Cardiologist, Professor Thomas Marwick

Thank you for listening! If you found this episode valuable, please share it with your loved ones and help spread awareness about breast cancer and heart health.