Breast cancer drug approved, Women and contraception, Grief and music

A new type of drug for one of the most common types of breast cancer is now going to be available in the NHS in England. In Wales, the drug is approved for use but its funding is still to be decided, and the drug hasn't been approved for use in Scotland and Northern Ireland yet. Some 3,000 women a year could benefit after a clinical trial showed it can slow the progression of the disease. Nuala McGovern discusses how the drug works and who could benefit with Dr Liz O'Riordan, a former breast cancer surgeon who herself has had breast cancer and is currently in remission.

Emily MacGregor is a music historian and trombonist. After the sudden death of her father, a jazz guitarist, she found she wasn’t able to bear the sound of music. The very thing that once connected them became a source of pain and silence. In her new book, While the Music Lasts, she explains how she reconnected with her father through the pieces left on his music stand, from tangos to Handel, Cádiz to Coltrane. She joins Nuala to talk about how she learnt to navigate grief and how she discovered the joy of music again.

Between 2021 and 2022 the number of women having abortions rose by 17%. A recent study in the BMJ reported that, amongst women having abortions, the number of women using hormonal contraception fell from 18.8% in 2018 to 11.3% in 2023. Over the same period, the number of women undergoing abortions who were not using any contraception when they conceived went up by 14%. So are women turning their backs on hormonal contraceptives? Does this change lie with the contraceptives themselves, women’s access to contraception or could there be other factors like the increase in the use of fertility apps? Nuala speaks to Dr Paula Briggs, Consultant in Sexual & Reproductive Health, and journalist Barbara Speed.

In 2014, the Church of England passed the necessary laws to allow women to become bishops. For some, this was a controversial decision. In an attempt to smooth that change the five guiding principles were introduced which allowed those who felt unable to accept women’s ministry to flourish within the church. Now WATCH, Women and the Church, are calling for those provisions to be removed. Nuala speaks to Reverend Martine Oborne, Chair of WATCH, and Dr Ros Clarke, Associate Director of Church Society.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Emma Pearce