Thriving Together: 2026 Conference on Metastatic Breast Cancer

Facilitator: Sue Weldon
Speakers: Rana Walker, MEd, RScP; Kevin J. Hubbard, MEd, LPC, CMIP; and Erin Pellegrin, RD, LDN

Join us for this special Friday night program designed to support you throughout the conference weekend — physically, mentally, and emotionally. Each presentation builds upon the next, offering practical tools to help you stay grounded, present, and nourished as you move through a full and enriching conference experience. These are tools you can use throughout the weekend and carry with you into your everyday life.

Setting the tone: Yoga and movement

This opening session uses gentle yoga and mindful movement to help participants arrive fully and settle into the conference experience. Slow, accessible movements coordinated with breathing release tension, awaken the body, and calm the nervous system, with options for seated or standing participation.

Guided intention-setting is woven throughout the practice, fostering clarity, presence, and a supportive mindset for the day and weekend ahead and creating a grounded foundation so participants feel centered and ready to engage.

The practice is designed to support all levels and abilities, with options offered for seated or standing participation.

Mindfulness, meditation & ecotherapy

As the conference unfolds, it’s natural to feel mentally and emotionally full. This session blends mindfulness and meditation with elements of ecotherapy to help participants process information and reconnect with calm and balance. Guided practices focus on breath, body, and nature-inspired imagery to support clarity and emotional regulation.

Participants will learn simple, accessible tools to stay present, reduce overwhelm, and gently integrate their learning

Nourishment & hydration

Learn practical nutrition and hydration strategies to help you feel your best during a demanding weekend. You’ll learn simple tips for staying energized, hydrated, and nourished — supporting sustained focus, emotional resilience, and overall well-being

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Facilitator: Jean Sachs, MSS, MLSP
Speakers: Virginia Borges, MD, MMSc, and Dave Cescon, MD, PhD

During this session, hear our speaker provide treatment updates, suggest what to look for in the future, and discuss how far we have come. Presentations will be followed by a discussion and time for you to ask questions.

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Speaker: Pallavi Kumar, MD, MPH

Living with metastatic breast cancer often means navigating ongoing treatments, symptoms, and side effects that can impact daily life. This session will help you understand how palliative care can help manage symptoms such as pain and fatigue, as well as support emotional well-being.

Join us and hear from our palliative care expert explain what palliative care is, what it isn’t, and how to access it.

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Facilitator: Eucharia Borden, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C, FAOSW
Panelists: Babs Wallace, LaFreda “Freda” Chrispen, Marialuisa “Alycia” Villasana, and Melanie Ottersen

Listen to, learn from, and share with a panel of your peers. Topics will include living with uncertainty, setting goals and having hope, parenting, navigating relationships with friends and family, managing finances, work and insurance matters, and much more.

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Speakers: Elena Michaels, MD and Seth Wander, MD, PhD

To understand personalized medicine, it is important to understand the role of biomarker testing, genetic testing, and the right dose for you. Our speaker will walk you through the research currently happening to ensure that everyone receives the best treatment for their specific cancer and how this research is applicable in the clinic.

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Facilitator: Pamela J. Ginsberg, PhD
Panelists: Tia W. Cooke, Kelly Shanahan, MD, and Roxana Guerra

This session explores the evolving psychosocial experience of living long-term with a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis. We’ll discuss day-to-day coping, changes in perspective, shifting priorities, and the impact on relationships with family, friends, and community. Join our facilitated discussion with a panel sharing their lived experience including how they navigate uncertainty, find meaning, and manage the day-to-day practical demands of living with mets long-term.

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Speaker: Erin Pellegrin, RD, LDN

A metastatic breast cancer diagnosis brings unique physical and emotional demands, especially during long-term treatment. This session offers compassionate, practical guidance on how food can support energy, strength, and overall well-being.

Participants will learn how to navigate common treatment-related challenges — such as fatigue, appetite changes, digestive discomfort, taste alterations, and weight fluctuations — while still meeting their body’s nutritional needs. The talk emphasizes flexible, realistic eating strategies rather than restrictive rules, recognizing that needs can change day to day.

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Speaker: Sara Horton, MD

Hear about some of the latest clinical trials in metastatic breast cancer. Learn why they are important, how to find and participate in them, and the importance of reducing barriers so more people have access to them.

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Hosted in partnership with Project Life

Facilitator: Abigail M. Johnston, JD
Panel: Amy Beumer, PhD, and Amy Russell-Parliman, MHA

Information can be overwhelming—but when you know how to use it, it becomes the power to make choices with confidence. In this session, you will learn directly from people living with MBC whose professional backgrounds shape how they engage with their medical care. The session is interactive, featuring the basis and application of cancer biomarkers, pathology reports and scan results. Each participant will receive a practical handout to collect/record information and thoughtfully frame questions for healthcare providers—your care, on your terms, in your own way.

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Hosted in partnership with Triage Cancer

Speaker: Amanda Goodstadt, JD

A metastatic breast cancer diagnosis may involve treatment changes and significant life transitions, each with financial implications. This session will outline key insurance options, how to evaluate health care costs, and what to consider when comparing plans. We will review plan changes involving employer-sponsored coverage, COBRA, the Health Insurance Marketplace, and Medicaid, along with pathways to disability insurance and Medicare. Attendees will gain practical tools for choosing and using their coverage in ways that support their care and financial well-being.

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Speaker: Celeste Vaughan-Briggs, LCSW

This interactive session is designed to help everyone involved communicate more openly, honestly, and effectively — together.

People living with metastatic breast cancer and their caregivers often struggle with the same challenges: wanting to protect each other from worry, not knowing how to bring up difficult topics, and trying to balance hope with realistic expectations. This session will explore what gets in the way of good communication, from fear and uncertainty to role changes and emotional overload.

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Speaker: Dawnovise Fowler, PhD
Panelists: Mona Ellakany and Atiba Page

Living with metastatic breast cancer involves navigating layered trauma: the personal histories we carry, the emotional shock of a metastatic diagnosis, and the ongoing stress of treatment, uncertainty, and systemic barriers to care. Join us for a facilitated panel discussion exploring how past trauma, medical trauma, and barriers to care impact those living with metastatic breast cancer.

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Hosted in partnership with Project Life

Facilitator: April Johnson Stearns, Wildfire Journal
Panelists: Nikoo Kafi McGoldrick and Abigail M. Johnston, JD

“Tending the inner self” is a quiet, supportive writing workshop for those living with metastatic breast cancer. Together, we’ll use simple writing prompts to explore inner landscapes—thoughts, emotions, memories, and moments of meaning. This is not about writing “well,” but about listening inward, honoring your experience, and giving voice to what wants to be expressed. All are welcome, exactly as they are.

The audio version of this presentation offers two writing prompts. Pause the recording at the following time stamps and set a timer for 8 minutes to respond to the prompt in your journal:

Writing prompt #1: What my medical file won’t tell you.
Instructions: Pause at 28:12 in the audio file and set a timer for 8 minutes to journal.

Writing prompt #2: In uncertain times, I’m learning to be a person who…
Instructions: Pause at 30:19 in the audio file and set a timer for 8 minutes to journal.

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Speaker: Gregory D. Garber, MSW, LCSW

A metastatic breast cancer diagnosis touches everyone, both the person diagnosed and those that care for them. This session provides caregivers with a compassionate space to breathe, reflect, and reconnect with their own well-being. Together, we will explore the unique challenges of caregiving, share practical strategies for managing stress and uncertainty, and offer tools for setting boundaries, communicating needs, and accessing supportive resources. Participants will leave feeling validated, less alone, and better equipped to care both for their loved one and themselves.

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