Real Talk About Breast Cancer

Breast cancer affects patients, survivors, families and health care professionals in many ways, one of them being the law. When someone receives a diagnosis, their job is often the first place that they may be legally impacted. Our jobs provide us with income and health insurance. Therefore, it is important to know your rights in the workplace so that you can protect yourself and have the knowledge of how to ask for what you are legally entitled to. Joining us today on the show is Shelly Rosenfeld, Director at the Cancer Legal Resource Center. She’ll help explain your rights to take time off work, the antidiscrimination laws that apply both to an employee and an interviewee, and what reasonable accommodations are under federal and state laws.

Susan G. Komen’s Worship in Pink is a volunteer-driven breast health educational program powered by local faith-based communities. The program empowers faith communities with knowledge and resources to take an active role in their breast health. Here today to discuss the Worship in Pink program and why it is so important for Black congregations are Desiree Elder, Associate Pastor at First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem, and Se’Nita Harris, an FCBC church member and Komen’s Multicultural Marketing Manager.

Women newly diagnosed with breast cancer are often desperately seeking connection from others who have been through the journey before, looking for real women with real answers. Today’s guest, Krisdee Clark, is the author of the blog The Blonde Bombshell. This is a place where she shares her personal breast cancer journey and gives hope to women that life on the other side, though different, can be wonderful again. Krisdee is a 3-year breast cancer survivor, recently finished a reign as Mrs. American 2022 and was the 2023 keynote speaker at the Susan G. Komen Advocacy Days on Capitol Hill where she also met with Congress and the Senate to obtain more co-sponsors for bills that Komen is leading for women’s health. Krisdee is here today to share her story and how she truly believes that the real part of surviving is the thriving you can do after.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, SusieCakes and Susan G. Komen are teaming up with limited edition desserts created to raise awareness and support their shared vision of a world without breast cancer. Susan Sarich, SusieCakes founder and CEO, leads a workforce that is 80 percent female and has been vocal about the fact that supporting Komen is more than a charitable endeavor – it’s a personal mission. She has not shared, however, how personal. Over the past 3 years, Susan has been on her own breast cancer journey – she’s been diagnosed and treated for breast cancer twice, undergoing multiple surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation and has kept all this news private. She has now decided to share her breast cancer story to raise more awareness and is here today to tell us why this mission and partnership means so much to her. Folks, get ready because this woman is truly incredible.

Real Talk was created to talk about real issues and although the average age at the time of a breast cancer diagnosis is 62, young women are being diagnosed every day. We’ll use this conversation to share the experiences of what it is like to go through breast cancer at a younger age, before many women even get married, have children or have an established career. We’ll also use Maria and Jeanelle’s lived experiences to provide help (hope) and inspiration to others in this situation. Both women have been fierce advocates for themselves and the care they needed. Women who are struggling to be heard and believed can draw on their experiences to keep speaking up. This is also a great conversation to educate doctors and health care providers that no one is too young for breast cancer and should be taken seriously.

[00:00:00] Adam Walker: From Susan G Komen, this is Real Pink. A podcast exploring real stories, struggles, and triumphs related to breast cancer. We’re taking the conversation from the doctor’s office to your living room. Metastatic breast cancer, also called stage four, is when breast cancer is spread beyond the breast to other parts of…