Living Beyond Breast Cancer’s 18th Annual Conference on Metastatic Breast Cancer was held April 19-21, 2024. This year’s conference offers new topics, speakers, and special wellness events.
Each year, we work alongside our conference committee to ensure that we design a conference that is informed by the community to address the needs of people living with metastatic breast cancer.
This program provides a weekend of information, inspiration, and connection. Attendees learn from medical and wellness experts, share experiences, and leave feeling empowered with resources and tips to help them make informed decisions about their care.
For those who are unable to attend in-person, our keynotes are available via livestream. They are indicated in the schedule below with a video icon (🎦).
Conference highlights
Last year, we gathered in-person for the first time since 2019 and we are excited to welcome attendees back for this year’s program. Nothing fills your cup like community, and we are excited to hold space for attendees to come together. This year’s conference focuses on the whole person; with sessions that are good for the mind, body, and soul. Here’s what you can expect from this year’s conference:
- Interactive wellness events; including a sound bath meditation and dance and movement session
- More keynotes; including talks on advances in treatment, managing stress and becoming the CEO of your health, the shared voices panel, and more!
- Resources and exhibitors; explore our exhibit hall featuring resources, products and services designed to support individuals and families affected by metastatic breast cancer.
- Shared voices panel is always a conference highlight featuring the lived experiences of people living with metastatic breast cancer
- A community that thrives together; share stories, exchange coping strategies, and find solace in the company of individuals who understand the unique challenges of living with metastatic breast cancer
What are the registration costs to attend?
Attendee: $100
Caregiver/friend: $50
Advisory committee
We are grateful to this year’s advisory committee who have partnered with us to ensure the annual conference remains relevant and inclusive of all the ways people experience this disease.
Friday, April 19
Sessions showing a video icon (🎦) are also available via livestream.
3:00 – 8:00 p.m. ET | Early registration
Get checked in and receive your name tag and conference bag.
3:00 – 7:00 p.m. ET | Thriver photo booth
Make memories in our photo booth!
4:00 – 5:00 p.m. ET | Caregiver meet-up
For caregivers only!
Connecting with other people who have similar experiences can provide emotional benefits. Hosted by a fellow caregiver, join the caregiver meetup to network with others, share stories, and make connections as the conference kicks off. An optional ice-breaker activity will be held to assist in mingling and getting to know each other.
Made possible by the generous sponsorship of Daiichi Sankyo and Relay Therapeutics.
4:00 – 5:00 p.m. ET | Conference meet-up
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 help facilitate an optional ice-breaker activity to assist your mixing and mingling.
5:15 – 7:00 p.m. ET | Networking dinner & opening keynote
Get to know your fellow attendees better during this networking plated dinner and dessert. Dinner will also include a special keynote session focused on advocating for yourself and getting the best possible care.
5:45 – 6:30 p.m. ET | Opening remarks & kick-off keynote: You are the CEO of your own health | 🎦
Facilitator:
Ricki Fairley
Panelists:
Michelle Anderson-Benjamin, Melanie Sisk
Whether newly diagnosed with MBC or making decisions about the next line of treatment, you deserve the best care available. Led by facilitator Ricki Fairley, and featuring two people living with mets, this keynote will discuss the importance of being involved in your own care, ways you can advocate for yourself and your loved ones, the importance of clinical trials and participating in them, and how you can find control in your care when things feel out of control.
7:30 – 8:30 p.m. ET | Harmony within: A self-love sound bath meditation
Facilitator:
Eunmi Chang
Embark on a transformative journey with us in a specially curated sound bath meditation aimed at nurturing self-love and boosting your confidence. Join Eunmi Chang of Eunmi’s Sound Healing & Yoga, for an immersive experience that will help you recognize and embrace the brilliance within yourself.
Our event commences with an enlightening introduction, setting the stage for a journey into self-discovery. Engage in a Pranayama/Kriya practice that paves the way for the main sound bath experience. Guided by meditation, this sonic journey empowers attendees to explore inner tranquility and harmony, leaving them rejuvenated and connected with their true essence.
Saturday, April 20
Sessions showing a video icon (🎦) are also available via livestream.
8:00 – 10:00 a.m. ET | Registration
Get checked in and receive your name tag and conference bag.
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET | Exhibits
Visit our conference exhibitors. Learn about their products and services to support your health and well-being.
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET | Refresh & Restore relaxation lounge
Visit this quiet, calm space as needed throughout the day. Conference attendees can spend time away from noise and the other stimuli of conference spaces to refresh, restore, and recharge. The Refresh & Restore relaxation lounge is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Lilly.
8:30 – 9:30 a.m. ET | Breakfast & exhibits
Enjoy breakfast, network with others, and visit our exhibitors.
9:45 – 11:00 a.m. ET | Opening day remarks & keynote: Testing in MBC | 🎦
Speaker: Debu Tripathy, MD
Learn about tests that look for mutations, or changes, in tumors and in the blood to develop a tailored treatment plan that targets those mutations. Get to know the different kinds of tumor and blood biomarker tests and the differences between these and genetic tests for an inherited mutation. Find out which tests can be used today for treatment decisions and which are under study or used in clinical trials. Dr. Tripathy will explore ways to access these tests, their strengths and limitations, and the hope these tests offer to make personalized medicine a reality.
10:00 – 11:00 a.m. ET | Breakout: Care for the caregiver: When someone you love has metastatic breast cancer
Speaker: Celeste Vaughan-Briggs, LCSW
A diagnosis of MBC not only affects the person who has been diagnosed but also the people who care and share in their lives. Caregivers face many challenges including fears for the future, juggling everyday matters, and navigating communication. Join this session to safely explore these issues and identify your needs as a caregiver, while gaining tools for managing stress, concern, and fear.
Made possible by the generous sponsorship of Daiichi Sankyo and Relay Therapeutics.
11:00 – 11:30 a.m. ET | Stretch and snack break & exhibits
Enjoy a stretch and light snacks and visit our conference exhibitors.
11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. ET | Remarks & keynote: Medical advances in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer | 🎦
Speaker: Maryam Lustberg, MD, MPH
Hear about drugs that have been approved for metastatic breast cancer over the last 2 years and how they impact each subtype of breast cancer. Learn how these latest approvals compare with previous standard-of-care therapies, what we know, and what we don’t, and hear about the exciting drugs and approaches in the pipeline for the next 3 to 5 years.
1:15 – 2:30 p.m. ET | Lunch & exhibits
Enjoy a plated lunch, a time out from the conference, and a visit with our conference exhibitors to learn more about their products and services to support your health and well-being.
2:30 – 3:45 p.m. ET | Remarks & keynote: Empower yourself with palliative care | 🎦
Speaker: Kimberly A. Curseen, MD
Understand how palliative care (supportive oncology) can provide you with the information and tools you need to address impactful side effects of treatment and aid in your overall quality of life. Learn how to access these supportive services no matter where you receive treatment and use it to live well – body, mind, and soul.
3:45 – 4:00 p.m. ET | Stretch and snack break & exhibits
Enjoy a stretch, light snack, and a last chance to visit our conference exhibitors.
4:00 – 5:15 p.m. ET | Remarks & keynote: A hands-on toolbox for managing stress & anxiety | 🎦
Speaker: Pamela Ginsberg, PhD
In this presentation, Pamela Ginsberg, PhD, will address the psychological impact of metastatic breast cancer on the patient. Although the psychological impact of this disease is often overlooked in patient care, it is widely documented that addressing these issues and developing coping strategies helps patients navigate the disease process, manage side effects, improve treatment compliance, and help overall psychological function. Patients will learn specific and immediately applicable strategies for coping in the long term with the disease and its psychosocial repercussions.
Sunday, April 21
Sessions showing a video icon (🎦) are also available via livestream.
8:00 – 9:00 a.m. | Gentle morning yoga
Facilitator: Michelle Stortz, C-IAYT
Start your morning with this chair-based yoga class designed to wake up your mind and body. Through gentle movement (many adaptations offered) and breathwork, you'll leave feeling vibrant and ready for the day ahead.
9:15 – 10:30 a.m. ET | Remarks, continental breakfast & keynote: Shared voices: Learning from each other | 🎦
Panelists: Brittney Beadle; Kathryn Edick; Jonise Louis; and Toni Willis
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.
10:30 –11:00 a.m. ET | Break
Take a quick break before coming back to join us for our closing keynote session to make your action plan for managing nutrition and meal prep!
11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. ET | Remarks & closing keynote: Your personal action plan for managing nutrition and meal preparation | 🎦
Speakers: Stacy Kennedy, MPH, RD, CSO, LDN, CPT
Join Stacy Kennedy, a board-certified specialist in oncology nutrition, as she provides practical strategies to help you achieve your nutritional goals. Through Stacy’s presentation, you will be able to identify what your nutritional needs are and how to achieve them. Learn how to manage side effects through easy-to-implement eating tips and changes to your diet, better understand your gut health, and find additional resources. Stacy will do some myth busting and take your questions. Leave the conference feeling like you have a way forward to make nutrition a part of your wellness plan.
12:30 p.m. ET | Closing conference remarks | 🎦
Gather as a conference community for our closing conference remarks.
Speakers
Michelle Anderson-Benjamin
Patient Advocate
Brittney Beadle
Patient Advocate; Author
Eunmi Chang
Certified Yoga Teacher & Sound Healer
Kimberly Curseen, MD
Director, Supportive and Palliative Care Outpatient Services, Emory Healthcare
Kathryn Edick
Patient Advocate, Michigan
Ricki Fairley
CEO, TOUCH, The Black Breast Cancer Alliance
Pamela J. Ginsberg, PhD
Consulting Psychologist
Stacy Kennedy, MPH, RD, CSO, LDN, CPT
VP of Operations & Associate Director of Wellness, Synergy Private Health
Jonise Louis
Patient Advocate, Florida
Maryam Lustberg, MD, MPH
Director, The Breast Center, Smilow Cancer Hospital; Chief, Breast Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center
Melanie Sisk
Patient Advocate, North Carolina
Michelle Stortz, C-IAYT
Oncology Yoga Therapist
Debu Tripathy, MD
Professor of Medicine & Chair, Breast Medical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Celeste Vaughan-Briggs, LCSW
Program Manager, Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program; Oncology Social Worker at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson
Toni Willis
Patient Advocate, Texas
Exhibitors
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Living Beyond Breast Cancer
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2Unstoppable
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American Brain Tumor Association
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AnaOno
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Beading Cancer Together
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Beautycounter
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Breastcancertrials.org
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Cancercare.org
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Cancer Today Magazine/American Association for Cancer Research
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The Chrysalis Initiative
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Facing Hereditary Cancer Empowered (FORCE)
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FemmePharma
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For The Breast Of Us
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Gilead
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Joint Joint
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KISQALI
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Menarini Silicon Biosystems
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METAvivor Research & Support
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Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance
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Pfizer Oncology
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Pillar Patient Advocates
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Plus Therapeutics
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Sandoz
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Stemline Menarini
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Survivingbreastcancer.org
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Susan G Komen
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Tigerlily Foundation
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Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation
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TOUCH, The Black Breast Cancer Alliance
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UPMC/Hope For OTHERS
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Unite for HER
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Young Survival Coalition (YSC)
Thank you
Presenting sponsors
Title sponsors
Signature sponsor
Benefactors
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Cancer Today Magazine/American Association for Cancer Research
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Eisai
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Sandoz
Supporter
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TerSera
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Tutu Project of the Carey Foundation
Friend
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BJNB Foundation
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La Roche-Posay Laboratoire Dermatologique
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Lynda Gross Guardian Angel Fund
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Menarini Silicon Biosystems
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Paula A. Seidman Fund
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Pillar Patient Advocates
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PLUS Therapeutics
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Sermonix Pharmaceuticals
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