Joan Lunden Reveals the Essentials to know about Chemo Treatment

Watch as Joan explains this part of her journey. I’m so inspired by her attitude!

With a career as remarkable and distinguished as Joan Lunden’s, it’s really no surprise that she took on her latest challenge—a diagnosis of triple-negative breast cancer—with such determination and grace.

Lunden’s keynote address, which received an unprecedented standing ovation from a packed audience at the Miami Breast Cancer Conference, continued that tradition, as she spoke powerfully and from the heart in a talk perfectly aligned with the meeting’s focus on the patient perspective.

“I am here today to put a face on the patients you see every day—to paint a picture of their experience,” said Lunden, who just 10 days ago completed an aggressive 9-month treatment regimen involving neoadjuvant chemotherapy, surgery, more chemotherapy, and radiation.

She has emerged from that experience, she said, stronger and unwavering in her commitment to advocate for women—not only those with breast cancer, but also those who may be reluctant, fearful, or “just way too busy taking care of everyone else in their lives” to get the medical advice and screening they need to prevent the disease or catch it as its earliest, most treatable stages.

“Trust me, when I say this: we will lie to you. We will lie to our doctors, because we don’t want to look bad, and we definitely don’t want to hear any bad news that will get in the way of our ‘to-do list.’”

The anxiety that so many people have about going to the doctor, she said, can be like “going to the principal’s office, afraid to get scolded”—in this case, for not exercising regularly or “losing those last 15 pounds.” She added that in the doctor’s office, women often feel vulnerable and exposed. And, although it may seem silly, Lunden conceded, “Women don’t want to get on that scale.” All this combines to discourage women from getting lifesaving tests, and for some, “They don’t catch tumors until it’s way too late.”

Breast cancer screening, and the right kind, is an issue which holds special importance for Lunden, who, like most women, “always thought the buck stopped at the mammo machine.” She also had been screened with 3D mammography, but even this technique did not detect her cancer. Lunden is one of the approximately 10% of women with extremely dense breast tissue, making their cancers harder to spot with a mammogram. Recalling advice she received during an interview with breast cancer surgeon Susan Love, MD, Lunden followed up her mammogram with an ultrasound.

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