Losing Weight Boosts Quality of Life in Early-Stage Breast Cancer

At the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, Dr. Jennifer Ligibel, director of the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies and Healthy Living at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, presented early results from the Breast Cancer Weight Loss (BWEL) study. The findings showed that among women with early-stage breast cancer, losing weight led to better physical and mental health, and also helped ease fatigue.
Listen to the episode to hear Dr. Ligibel explain:
the design of the BWEL study
why the women in the study had to have hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative or triple-negative breast cancer
the next steps for the study

Jennifer Ligibel, MD, is professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is also a senior physician in the Breast Oncology Center and director of the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies and Healthy Living at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
This podcast episode is made possible, in part, by a grant from Lilly.
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