Episode 3: What You Don’t Know Until You Do, With Dr Charlotte Tottman: The Showing Up and The Letting Down: Surprises and Disappointments in RelationshipsWe recommend that listeners exercise self-care when listening to the Upfront About Breast Cancer What You Don’t Know Until You Do with Dr Charlotte Tottman podcast, as some may find the content upsetting. Each episode is raw and real and covers a range of topics, some of which may be triggering for people at various stages of their journey....

Episode 4: What you don’t know until you do, with Dr Charlotte Tottman: The Mirror Image: Body Image DifficultiesWe recommend that listeners exercise self-care when listening to the Upfront About Breast Cancer What You Don’t Know Until You Do with Dr Charlotte Tottman podcast, as some may find the content upsetting. Each episode is raw and real and covers a range of topics, some of which may be triggering for people at various stages of their journey. The intention is to have meaningful...

Episode 5: What You Don’t Know Until You Do, with Dr Charlotte Tottman: The Snow Globe Effect: Change of PerspectiveWe recommend that listeners exercise self-care when listening to the Upfront About Breast Cancer What You Don’t Know Until You Do with Dr Charlotte Tottman podcast, as some may find the content upsetting. Each episode is raw and real and covers a range of topics, some of which may be triggering for people at various stages of their journey. The intention is to have meaningful...

Episode 6: What You Don’t Know Until You Do, with Dr Charlotte Tottman: The Meltdown: Post Treatment AdjustmentWe recommend that listeners exercise self-care when listening to the Upfront About Breast Cancer What You Don’t Know Until You Do with Dr Charlotte Tottman podcast, as some may find the content upsetting. Each episode is raw and real and covers a range of topics, some of which may be triggering for people at various stages of their journey. The intention is to have meaningful...

Episode 7: What you don’t know until you do, with Dr Charlotte Tottman: The Next Version of You: Managing ExpectationsWe recommend that listeners exercise self-care when listening to the Upfront About Breast Cancer What You Don’t Know Until You Do with Dr Charlotte Tottman podcast, as some may find the content upsetting. Each episode is raw and real and covers a range of topics, some of which may be triggering for people at various stages of their journey. The intention is to have meaningful...

Episode 8: What You Don’t Know Until You Do, with Dr Charlotte Tottman: Learning New Dance Steps: Sexuality and IntimacyWe recommend that listeners exercise self-care when listening to the Upfront About Breast Cancer What You Don’t Know Until You Do with Dr Charlotte Tottman podcast, as some may find the content upsetting. Each episode is raw and real and covers a range of topics, some of which may be triggering for people at various stages of their journey. The intention is to have...

Episode 9: What You Don’t Know Until You Do, with Dr Charlotte Tottman: Exercise is Annoying (‘cos it works): The Psychological and Physical BenefitsWe recommend that listeners exercise self-care when listening to the Upfront About Breast Cancer What You Don’t Know Until You Do with Dr Charlotte Tottman podcast, as some may find the content upsetting. Each episode is raw and real and covers a range of topics, some of which may be triggering for people at various stages of their journey. The...

Episode 10: What You Don’t Know Until You Do, with Dr Charlotte Tottman: The Iron Fist: Fear of Cancer RecurrenceWe recommend that listeners exercise self-care when listening to the Upfront About Breast Cancer What You Don’t Know Until You Do with Dr Charlotte Tottman podcast, as some may find the content upsetting. Each episode is raw and real and covers a range of topics, some of which may be triggering for people at various stages of their journey. The intention is to have meaningful...

We recommend that listeners exercise self-care when listening to this podcast, as some may find the content upsetting.Let’s be Upfront about the impact of breast cancer on sexual health. Sex and intimacy are very personal but important parts of life. Breast cancer and treatment can affect sexual wellbeing and intimacy for each person and their partner in different ways, including experiencing loss of self-esteem due to physical changes to your body.Joining us for this episode of Upfront is...

We recommend that listeners exercise self-care when listening to this podcast, as some may find the content upsetting.Let’s be Upfront about managing fatigue related to breast cancer treatments. Fatigue is a common side effect of treatments related to breast cancer, particular chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Fatigue doesn’t always go away with rest and sleep and may last for months after treatment is finished, and for people with metastatic breast cancer, lifelong treatment means fatigue...

We recommend that listeners exercise self-care when listening to this podcast, as some may find the content upsetting.Let’s be Upfront about hair loss and breast cancer. Perhaps the most noticeable side effect of some chemotherapy treatments is hair loss. A bald head, especially for women is sometimes the first physical sign that screams ‘cancer patient’. It’s a lot to deal with on top of a diagnosis and whilst it might pale in comparison to a life-threatening illness it has a big impact...

We recommend that listeners exercise self-care when listening to this podcast, as some may find the content upsetting.Let’s be Upfront about peripheral neuropathy. The term refers to a loss of sensation, tingling and pain in the hands and feet, which is a side effect of some chemotherapies. Peripheral neuropathy can significantly affect quality of life with pain, loss of balance and impaired sleep.Joining us for this episode of Upfront is Sue Dowe and Dr Kate Webber. Sue underwent extensive...

We recommend that listeners exercise self-care when listening to this podcast, as some may find the content upsetting.Let’s be Upfront about looking back on a breast cancer experience and talk about some of the things you might wish you had of known. Often described as an emotional rollercoaster, no two breast cancer experiences are the same. A common theme, however, is people reporting the immense adjustment required to adapt to a ‘new normal’ once hospital-based treatment has ended. For...

We recommend that listeners exercise self-care when listening to this podcast, as some may find the content upsetting.Let’s be Upfront about hereditary breast cancer. It’s widely known that inherited genetic mutations, or faults in genes associated with breast cancer such as BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes, can occur in some families and increase the risk of breast cancer.But what does the term ‘family history’ of breast cancer mean? What does a positive genetic test mean for someone’s breast cancer...

We recommend that listeners exercise self-care when listening to this podcast, as some may find the content upsetting.We know that cancer is now the biggest killer for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and that indigenous women are less likely to survive a breast cancer diagnosis than non-indigenous women.In this episode, we’re joined by Professor Jacinta Elston, an Aboriginal woman from Townsville who has been through breast cancer herself. Jacinta draws on her own lived experience, as...

Let’s be Upfront about where we’re at with COVID-19 at the end of what’s been a difficult year for all Australians and our health system. In this special episode of Upfront, BCNA CEO Kirsten Pilatti is joined by Cancer Australia CEO Dorothy Keefe, who looks back at the impact of the pandemic on the cancer space, potential silver linings to COVID-19 and how we ensure we are equipped to deal with the ongoing effects of the pandemic in a COVID-normal world.We recommend this episode of Upfront is...

Let’s be Upfront about the fact that men get breast cancer too. 63 year-old Tasmanian Phil Purnell had no idea that men could get breast cancer when he found a lump in his breast and was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma (stage 2 breast cancer) in March. In this episode, Phil shares a candid insight in to his breast cancer journey as a man, which was further complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic.Also joining us is breast cancer specialist, radiation oncologist and author, Professor John...

We recommend that listeners exercise self-care when listening to this podcast, as some may find the content upsetting. In this special episode of Upfront About Breast Cancer, we’re joined by federal parliamentarian Peta Murphy MP. Peta was first diagnosed with early breast cancer at age 37, and found out she had metastatic breast cancer nine years later, just two days after she was sworn in to parliament. We invited Peta to put a rear-view lens on her life with breast cancer and write a...

We recommend listeners exercise self-care when listening to this podcast, as some may find the content upsetting.  Let’s be upfront about caring for someone with breast cancer. Being a carer can mean many different things, and usually involves providing both practical and emotional support to a loved one. In this episode, we are joined by Joel Domigan, whose wife Jules was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer at the age of 34, when the couple had just fallen pregnant with their first...

  We recommend that listeners exercise self-care when listening to this podcast, as some may find the content upsetting. Let’s be Upfront about breast cancer in young women. Well known TV personality and business owner Sally Obermeder was 40 weeks pregnant with her first child when she was diagnosed with triple negative Stage 3 breast cancer. One week after her daughter was born, she returned to hospital to begin chemotherapy. In this episode, Sally speaks candidly about her personal...

Let’s be Upfront about ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS. Non-life-threatening and often referred to as ‘stage 0 breast cancer’, the experience and treatment of DCIS can be significant and frightening, so it’s important to understand the facts. There is a lot of confusion about what DCIS is, its inconsistent terminology and why treatment options can be so significant if it’s not actually considered invasive breast cancer. In this episode, we’re joined by Ellis Zonderhuis, who was diagnosed...

Let’s be Upfront about palliative care. To many, those two words prompt fear, and thoughts of death and dying. In reality, palliative care offers so much beyond just end of life care for those living with metastatic breast cancer; focusing on symptom management and ensuring quality of life. In this episode, we’re joined by BCNA Community Liaison Marie Pandeloglou, who, following a breast cancer diagnosis 10 years ago, has been living with metastatic breast cancer for the past five years. Also...

Let’s be Upfront about invasive lobular carcinoma. The second most common form of invasive breast cancer, picking up lobular carcinoma on mammograms can be difficult as they often don’t present as a lump in the breast. In this episode, we’re joined by BCNA board member, surgical oncologist and specialist breast surgeon Professor Bruce Mann to help break down all of the information around invasive lobular carcinoma. This episode covers: What invasive lobular carcinoma is Detection of...

In this episode, Upfront sits down with Australian Olympic legend and BCNA board member Raelene Boyle AM, MBE. Speaking openly and honestly about her cancer journey, Raelene discusses the mental impact of her breast cancer diagnosis, the experience of survivor guilt, how the darkness can still overwhelm her and the strategies she’s developed over the years to pull herself out of it. This episode takes a deep and personal look at Raelene’s life as well as the important and celebrated role she...

Let’s be Upfront about where we’re at with COVID-19 (coronavirus). With restrictions beginning to ease in some parts of the country, we’re taking a good look at the current situation and what it means for people at different stages of their breast cancer journey. In this episode, we’re joined by BCNA board member, surgical oncologist and specialist breast surgeon Professor Bruce Mann, as well as BCNA CEO Kirsten Pilatti. This episode covers: The anxiety many women are experiencing about...