Thriving Together: 2025 Conference on Metastatic Breast Cancer

Get checked in and receive your name tag and conference bag.

Make memories in our photo booth!

For caregivers only!

Connecting with others who share your experiences can boost your mood and relieve stress. Hosted by a fellow caregiver, join the caregiver meetup to share stories and make connections as the conference kicks off. An optional ice-breaker activity will be held to assist in getting to know each other.

For all conference attendees!

Attend this special get-together to meet other attendees, hear about conference highlights, and learn how to stay connected throughout the weekend. Your hosts are LBBC’s Hear My Voice volunteers, our leadership corps of people living with metastatic breast cancer. You will be welcomed by peers who were once new to this conference and now give back by advocating and sharing their own experiences living with mets. Hear My Voice volunteers will also facilitate an optional ice-breaker activity to get the socializing going.

Get to know your fellow attendees better at this plated dinner and dessert. During dinner, hear from people living long-term with metastatic breast cancer in a special keynote session.

Facilitator:
Eliza Park, MD, MSc

Panelists:
Coming soon

Hear from others living long-term with metastatic breast cancer and how they manage treatment changes, side effects, and difficult decisions about their careers and relationships. The panel will also share their thoughts on how and where to spend your time and energy, including great tips to get the most out of your conference weekend. Whether you are newly diagnosed or have been living with metastatic breast cancer for a while, join us as we kick off this year’s conference.

Facilitator: Michelle Stortz, C-IAYT

After a day of travel and excitement, join us for this gentle yoga class and meditation. Through gentle yoga movement you will relax your body, then end your day with a short meditation to support a restful night before the weekend.

Get checked in and receive your name tag and conference bag.

Visit our conference exhibitors. Learn about their products and services to support your health and well-being.

Visit this quiet, calm space as needed throughout the day. Attendees can spend time away from the noise and stimuli of active conference spaces to refresh, restore, and recharge.

The Refresh & Restore relaxation lounge is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Lilly

Enjoy breakfast, network with others, and visit our conference exhibitors.

Speaker: Virginia Kaklamani, MD, DSc

During this session, learn what personalized medicine is and how it may impact your care and treatment. Hear about the rapid pace of personalized medicine science, clinical trials underway, and what the future holds for choosing treatments that are specific to you.

Speaker: Eliza Park, MD, MSc

A metastatic diagnosis not only affects the person diagnosed but also the people who care about and for them. Caregivers face many everyday challenges, including fears for the future, juggling household and financial matters, and navigating difficult conversations. In this session, safely explore these issues and identify your needs as a caregiver, while gaining tools for managing stress, concern, and fear.

Enjoy a 30-minute break in programming to leave your seats, stretch your legs, grab a snack, and visit our conference exhibitors

Medical updates in MBC: What you need to know
Speaker: Eleonora Teplinsky, MD

Hear about the most recent drug approvals in metastatic breast cancer and how they impact each breast cancer subtype. Our speaker will cover what we know, what we don’t know, and what is coming down the pipeline.

Insurance and personalized medicine: Accessing what you need
Facilitator: Lisa A. Schlager
Panel: Coming soon

Science is moving fast, is health insurance keeping up? Hear from a panel of advocates as they share their experience accessing the tests and treatments needed for their care. Learn what pharmacy benefit managers and laboratory benefit managers are and how they might impact your cancer care. Hear what others have experienced and get information to help you access the care you need.

Enjoy a plated lunch, a break from the conference, and visit with our conference exhibitors to learn more about their health and well-being products and services.

Access to treatment: Addressing disparities in MBC
Facilitator: Coming soon
Panel: Coming soon

Join this moderated session to hear a panel of peers discuss access and barriers to care, and what equitable care looks like from a clinical perspective. Join this conversation as panelists share their personal experiences and thoughts on what needs to be done to reduce barriers.

Living with and treating bone metastasis
Speaker: Pallav Mehta, MD

The bones are the most common place for breast cancer to spread. In this session, learn about screening tests, treatment options, strategies to limit side effects, managing bone pain, and maintaining bone strength. Get updates on clinical trials studying new treatments and quality of life.

Enjoy a 30-minute break in programming to leave your seats, stretch your legs, grab a snack, and visit our conference exhibitors

Speaker: Amy Comander, MD

With new treatments come new side effects. Join this session to hear Dr. Comander’s perspective on the collateral damage of treatment and the long-term side effects of being on so many treatments, as well as dose and frequency adjustments to manage them. Get the information you need to talk to your care team.

Facilitator: Project Life

“Glimmers of Hope” is an evening celebration of the preciousness of our lives with metastatic breast cancer that fosters community, joy, and connection. Dress in white to symbolize unity and resilience, and bring an item of color to represent something meaningful to you. The event features interactive activities to spark meaningful conversations and build new friendships, as well as uplifting music. Hosted in partnership with Project Life, we hope the evening fosters lasting connections and honors the hope that shines in these difficult times.

Facilitator: Sami Mansfield, ACSM-CET, PN1

Join Sami Mansfield, certified cancer exercise specialist and lifestyle medicine expert, as she takes you through an all-level exercise class that includes strength, core, balance, and mobility moves. Leave with endorphins for the day and exercise strategies to put into your regular routine.

Enjoy breakfast, network with others, and get ready to join morning breakouts.

Lifestyle medicine: unravel the myths of nutrition and exercise and learn actionable strategies
Speaker: Sami Mansfield, ACSM-CET, PN1

Learn from certified cancer exercise specialist and lifestyle medicine expert Sami Mansfield about incorporating useful, practical, and personalized nutrition and exercise strategies into your life. Join this session to bust through myths and emphasize what matters, all with a practical lens that incorporates preference, learn modifications, and an emphasis on your personal goals.

Sex & intimacy: A quality-of-life matter
Speaker: Jennifer Barsky Reese, PhD, FSBM

Loss of sexual desire, or diminished, painful or absent sensations? Explore the physical challenges of intimacy while dealing with a long-term illness. Gain effective strategies for managing the impact of treatment on arousal and sexual function. Learn about helpful resources as well as tools for improving your sexual health.

Integrative oncology: Empowering your treatment journey
Facilitator: Lesley Kailani Glenn
Speaker: Ana Maria Lopez, MD, MPH

Integrative oncology is a holistic approach to cancer care, combining conventional treatments like chemotherapy and surgery with complementary therapies such as acupuncture, yoga, mindfulness, art therapy, and journaling, to name a few. This blended approach focuses on managing symptoms, reducing side effects, and improving the overall quality of life for individuals undergoing cancer treatment. Integrative oncology empowers patients, giving them a sense of control over their treatment journey while supporting mental resilience and physical health. This session will offer both an introduction to integrative oncology and a hands-on therapeutic art experience for its participants.

Take a quick break before coming back to join us for our closing keynote session

Facilitator: Michelle Bronzo, MA, LPC, LCPC, LMHC, CT
Panelists: Coming soon

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.

The Shared voices panel has been generously sponsored by Gilead.

Gather as a conference community for our closing remarks.