What happens when you’re diagnosed with stage 2B breast cancer, start a new job, and are asked to lead a COVID response—all at the same time?

In this powerful episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang sits down with Samira Daswani, founder and CEO of Manta Cares, to talk about what it really means to navigate cancer when the system isn’t built for you.

Diagnosed at 30 and undergoing chemotherapy during the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Samira shares how she worked through treatment, wrestled with impossible decisions about hormone therapy, and struggled with the loss of control that so many cancer patients feel—but rarely name.

Out of a sleepless night during chemo, Samira created a simple paper planner just to survive her own care. That tool would eventually become Manta Cares: a personalized, cancer-specific platform designed to give patients and care partners the thing most people never get—a map.

In this candid, founder-to-founder conversation, Laura and Samira explore:

Being diagnosed with breast cancer during COVID
Working through chemo and surgery while leading critical healthcare programs
Deciding whether to stay on hormone therapy—and living with that choice
Why cancer care feels like being dropped into a hike without a map
How patient-built tools can restore agency, clarity, and peace of mind
The emotional cost of fixing a system that failed you
What’s next for Manta Cares, including mobile tools and AI companions

This episode is for anyone who has ever thought:
There has to be a better way.

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