And Then Came Breast Cancer - A Future Dreams Podcast

Getting a breast cancer diagnosis is traumatic enough when it comes as a surprise. What if you know there’s a higher chance you might get breast cancer because of a genetic fault? Not only that, it might get passed on to your children. If you have close relatives who have had breast or ovarian cancer you may have a higher risk of developing the disease yourself...

What is the difference between a radiotherapist and a radiologist ? Stage 3 and Grade 3 ? If you’re told you have carcinoma in situ, how bad is that? When you are diagnosed with breast cancer it marks the beginning of the steepest learning curve you’ve probably ever been on. You’re learning a whole new lexicon while you are coping with the stress and the fear of knowing you now have a serious illness...

The drugs you take when you’ve had a breast cancer diagnosis can prolong your life by reducing the chances of your cancer coming back. But they can also come with some pretty unpleasant side effects- from hot flushes and fatigue- to pain and depression.

In this episode, Victoria speaks to women who’ve experienced a variety of hormone therapy treatments- and gets some advice and guidance from consultant medical oncologist Dr Fharat Raja, who specialises in breast cancer care...

It may sound obvious, but what you eat during and after breast cancer treatment is hugely important for the way in which you deal with the illness, and helps you towards the hoped-for recovery. In this bonus edition of the podcast, guest presenter Louise Court talks to nutritionist and dietician Jane Clarke who shares advice and ideas drawn from her more than 30 years of experience in this field...

It should be one of the happiest stages of a woman’s life when they find out they are having a child. But in around one in a thousand pregnancies cancer, in one of its forms, can rear its ugly and unwelcome head. The changes in a woman’s body during that time can disguise breast cancer symptoms. Getting a diagnosis then or soon after giving birth can be psychologically, emotionally, and physically draining-and frightening. But there is help out there...

It would be impossible to do a series helping women when they get a breast cancer diagnosis if we don’t talk about dying-or the fear of dying. For many people that is a conversation they don’t want to have or it may be a conversation they don’t want to have right now- which is understandable. Others find it therapeutic and helpful to have frank conversations about it...

Dawn Butler is the Labour MP for Brent Central and became the first elected African-Caribbean woman to become a government minister in the UK. Dawn arrived in Westminster via work on a market stall, a family-owned bakery ,and as a computer programmer. She also has breast cancer and was diagnosed last year, during Covid.

She has decided for the very first time, to share her story with presenter Victoria Derbyshire on this podcast...

When you’re diagnosed with breast cancer, your friends will play a big part in how you deal with the treatment and emotions that follow. It could be a voice at the end of a phone in the middle of the night or a ready-made meal hand-delivered to your door, but the strength and support of your mates will mean a lot. But of course, some friends don’t know what to say, and go quiet...

Being diagnosed with Breast Cancer is frightening enough, but imagine getting that distressing news when you are in your 20s? In this episode, host Victoria Derbyshire talks to women who were given the news when their adult life had only just begun.

Brought to you by the Future Dreams Breast Cancer Charity, "And Then Came Breast Cancer" is for everyone whose lives have been touched by the disease. If you would like to contact us for help and advice please email podcast@futuredreams...

This special edition of the podcast comes from The Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre, at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, where every single day, work is going on to get to the day in the future, when breast cancer is no more. Host Victoria Derbyshire visits Professor Clare Isacke and her team of scientists in the lab she runs, doing vital work to give people with breast cancer hope for the future...