Beyond thrilled to share my book (!!!) Beyond The Pink: Navigating Life, Health and Breast Cancer is available for pre-order!! It will be released by @gcpbalance@hachetteus on September 29, 2026.
This book is for anyone affected by breast cancer in any way: whether you have been newly diagnosed, are a survivor, living with breast cancer, are a previvor, or are a family member or friend wanting to learn more.
Youāll find everything from information on screening, biopsies, diagnosis and making your treatment plan to information on lifestyle, equity in care, fertility, menopause, genetics, clinical trials, navigating relationships, mental health, sexual health, and so much more. My greatest hope is that helps people thrive.
It has been such an honor for me to have the opportunity to write this book and truly a dream come true and I cannot wait to share it all with you!!
Pre-orders are HUGE as they signify that this book and this topic matters and I would be so grateful if you can pre-order (anywhere books are sold and link in my bio!). Comment BOOK and Iāll send you pre order link!
Thank you all for your immense support so far in this process!!
On May 15, 2026, the FDA approved Enhertu in early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer ā with two new approvals:
1ļøā£ Neoadjuvant Enhertu (before surgery) for stage IIāIII HER2+ breast cancer
This approval is based on the DESTINY-Breast11 trial, which compared neoadjuvant T-DXd-based regimens with standard chemotherapy + HER2-targeted therapy (AC-THP) high-risk HER2+ breast cancer.
ā ļø Important: this trial did NOT include TCHP, which is commonly used in the US, because this was a global trial and treatment patterns differ internationally.
Researchers looked at pathologic complete response (pCR) ā meaning no invasive cancer remaining in the breast or lymph nodes at surgery after treatment.
pCR rates:
āŖļø43% with T-DXd alone
āŖļø56.3% with AC-THP
āŖļø67.3% with T-DXd ā THP
The highest pCR rates were seen in hormone receptor-negative/HER2+ disease (83.1%). The pCR rates in HR+/HER2- was 61.4%
For comparison, TCHP pCR rates are about 60%.
2ļøā£ Adjuvant Enhertu (after surgery) for residual disease after neoadjuvant treatment.
This approval is based on DESTINY-Breast05, a phase III trial comparing T-DXd with Kadcyla in HER2+ early breast cancer patients with residual invasive disease after neoadjuvant therapy.
At 3 years:
āŖļø92.4% of patients receiving T-DXd were alive without invasive recurrence vs 83.7% with Kadcyla
āŖļøThis translated into a 53% reduction in the risk of invasive recurrence or death
Importantly, there were also fewer CNS (brain/spinal cord) recurrences with T-DXd (17 vs 26 patients).
šøThis was a higher-risk population (not everyone with residual disease was eligible for the study and to receive Enhertu)
Notably, the FDA approvals are broader than the exact trial populations, so it remains to be seen how Enhertu will ultimately be used in clinical practice (is it for everyone? Does it replace TCHP? Do we use it adjuvantly or neoadjuvantly)
We need to monitor heart function regularly on Enhertu and it can cause interstitial lung disease/pneumonitis (inflammation of the lungs) so we need to monitor for that closely.
Let me know all your questions! #enhertu #her2 #breastcancer
Whenever someone hears that I had breast cancer, one of the first questions they ask is āhow did you discover it?ā I always tell them that I felt a lump. But that actually isnāt true⦠I have a hard time really talking about this but months before there was a palpable lump I noticed a rippling on my skin. Like a little indentation of some sort. Truthfully, I had no idea what it was and it was subtle enough that it just lived in the back of my mind. Quietly. Eventually being diagnosed stage 3, when it had already spread to my lymph nodes has caused me to look back and wonder if things could have been different. Could have caught it earlier? Is it my fault that I didnāt notice? While I canāt go back, I share some of these difficult confrontations in the hope that more young woman will be AWARE & maybe can change their own outcomes š my oncologist @drteplinsky is on tomorrows #PINK365 episode and I couldnāt not be more excited about this conversation youāre all about to hear !!!!
New study published this week in JAMA Network Open (Tatum et al) looked at GLP-1 medications in patients with breast cancer and their impact on overall survival (death from any cause) and recurrence-free survival (time without breast cancer recurrence).
Researchers used a large database of >840,000 patients with breast cancer diagnosed between 2006-2023. Patients who received 2+ GLP-1 prescriptions (starting 6 months before diagnosis or anytime after) were included.
They created 3 matched cohorts:
š¹ Cohort 1: Patients with obesity (without diabetes)
GLP-1 users were compared with non-users (1,610 patients/group).
-10-year overall survival: 96.0% vs 88.6%
-65% lower relative risk of death
-56% lower risk of recurrence
š¹ Cohort 2: Patients with type 2 diabetes
GLP-1 users were compared with patients on insulin or metformin (2,323/group).
-10-year overall survival: 96.9% vs 76.4%
-91% lower relative risk of death
-67% lower risk of recurrence
š¹ Cohort 3: Patients with type 2 diabetes
GLP-1 users were compared with patients taking SGLT2 inhibitors like Farxiga or Jardiance (4,052/group).
-There was NO significant difference in survival or recurrence between groups.
Important limitations:
šøNo detailed tumor biology or treatment data
šøNo information on whether patients consistently took the medications
šøNo weight change data
šøPossible unmeasured differences between groups despite matching
šøMany patients had not been followed for the full 10 years, so later long-term estimates are based on fewer patients and are less precise
So what does this mean? š¤·āāļø
This study does NOT prove GLP-1 medications improve breast cancer outcomes and they should not be used solely for that purpose. However, there is a signal here that GLP-1s may potentially improve outcomes in some patients with breast cancer, and more research is needed.
Importantly, these findings were seen in patients who met approved indications for GLP-1 medications. We do not yet have data on microdosing or use outside approved indications and this should be an individualized discussion with your doctor.
Let me know your thoughts/questions! #glp1 #breastcancer
From breakthrough treatments to the future of personalized cancer care, we had an insightful conversation with Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky on the latest advancements in metastatic breast cancer treatment.
We discussed the FDAās review of camizestrant, the growing role of ESR1 mutation testing, liquid biopsies, and how precision oncology is helping shape more individualized care for patients. Dr. Teplinsky also shared compassionate advice on navigating the emotional side of a diagnosis and gave us a preview of her upcoming book, Beyond the Pink: Navigating Life, Health, and Breast Cancer.
#BreastCancerAwareness #CancerCare #PrecisionMedicine #MetastaticBreastCancer
A celebrity told 13 million people on a podcast that ivermectin cured Stage 4 cancer.
That claim doesnāt stay online. It walks into my clinic.
I was quoted in @nytimes this week, alongside @drteplinsky , on the troubling surge in ivermectin and fenbendazole prescriptions among cancer patients after that episode aired.
Hereās what I want you to know:
No human trials have shown these drugs treat cancer. Fenbendazole isnāt even approved for human use. And we have zero safety data on combining them with real cancer therapies.
And hereās what people miss:
Patients arenāt falling for misinformation because theyāre naive. Theyāre facing the hardest moment of their life. Treatment timelines that feel impossibly slow. Side effects that test every ounce of resolve. An exhausting search for hope.
Thatās not a failure of intelligence. Itās a system not meeting people where they are.
A single podcast reaches more people in a week than every oncologist in America will counsel in a year. We canāt out-shout that.
But we can keep showing up with data, with empathy, and with the truth that science is still the most powerful tool we have against cancer.
Save this for someone who needs it and share it with someone considering a āmiracle cure.ā
Follow @shikhajainmd for more on cancer care, misinformation, and the human side of medicine.
NYT article link in bio.
#Oncology #HealthMisinformation #Ivermectin #WomenInMedicine
An honor to be quoted in todayās @nytimes article on ivermectin and cancer, after a new study showed an increase in the rise in ivermectin prescriptions. The article goes into what we know about ivermectin and what we donāt. Key points: there are virtually no human data (a handful of clinical trials are enrolling) and preclinical data in cells and mice models do not translate into effectiveness in humans.
I am often asked about the study of ivermectin in combination with an immunotherapy for metastatic triple negative breast cancer. That study has published data on 8 patients and 6 developed disease progression.
There are challenges to studying ivermectin in cancer clinical trials: the concentration of ivermectin required to show anticancer activity in the lab is much higher than what is used for parasitic infections and high doses needed for potential cancer treatment could lead to severe side effects effects in humans, including neurologic concerns.
Anecdotal data is not proof and we have to be very careful with using anecdotal data when harms are involved. Delaying proven cancer therapies to pursue untested therapies can lead to adverse cancer outcomes and we have no safety data on combining ivermectin with current cancer therapies.
This is a question we are asked a lot about in oncology and hopefully this is helpful. Share your thoughts and questions. Comment ivermectin and will share a gift link to the NY Times article.
From new treatments to personalized careāwhatās next in breast cancer?
Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky shares insight, hope, and guidance for patients navigating it all.
@drteplinsky
/allhealthgo/
We are gearing up for the 2026 @ascocancer Annual Meeting in just a few weeks but in the meantime, the 2026 ESMO (European Society of Medical Oncology) Breast Meeting just happened in early May in Berlin. I have been following along with the studies presented so letās dive in!
This is Part 1: SERDs in early stage HR+/HER2- BC, ctDNA in early stage HR+/HER2- BC and the antibody drug conjugate, Trodelvy, in HER2+ MBC. (More in part 2 soon!)
Check it out at drteplinsky.substack.com or comment ESMO and Iāll DM you the link!