The days and weeks after a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming. While everyone's individual diagnosis and prognosis is different, new treatments can extend and improve the quality of life for people with metastatic breast cancer in a way that means metastatic breast cancer can share some similarities the treatment of chronic illness. In this episode of Upfront About Breast Cancer, host Kellie Curtain talks to oncologist Professor Fran Boyle and Rachelle Gebert, a mother of two small children who was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2016 about symptom management, treatment side effects and coping mentally with the challenges of a metastatic diagnosis amid the challenges and responsibilities of day-to-day life.

Rachelle died in April 2021. She was happy for us to continue to share this content and her story.

RESOURCES:

• BCNA's My Journey Online Tool
• BCNA's Hope & Hurdles Kit
• BCNA's free and confidential metastatic breast cancer phone counselling service
• BCNA Online Network
• Telling your children (bcna.org.au)
• Metastatic breast cancer hub (bcna.org.au)
• Metastatic breast cancer - where to find support (bcna.org.au)
• Fear of cancer progression (bcna.org.au)
• Metastatic breast cancer: an introduction (BCNA fact sheet)
• Exercise and breast cancer (BCNA fact sheet)
• Upfront About Breast Cancer - Episode 6: Telling your children you have cancer

Upfront About Breast Cancer is a production of Breast Cancer Network Australia. Our theme music is by Tara Simmons, and this episode was made possible through the Supporting Women In Rural Areas Diagnosed with Breast Cancer program, funded by the Australian Government through Cancer Australia.