Rochesterian talks space travel, a future beyond Earth, and weightlessness

12:00: Rochesterian talks space travel, a future beyond Earth, and weightlessness

1:00: Understanding breast cancer: risk, screening, and proposed legislation

“We all know we need to take care of this earth, but we also need to be prepared to reach beyond it.” That’s what Rochester-based entrepreneur Aaron Newman said to reporters after returning to solid ground, following his Blue Origin flight last week. Newman became the 717th human to pass the Karman Line. He says his trip was about more than exclusive space tourism, and he wants this experience open to everyone. We discuss how to do it with our guest:

• Aaron Newman, Blue Origin astronaut and founder of Exploring Our Deep World
  

Then in our second hour, every October, the color pink can be seen on products and websites with the stated goal of raising awareness for breast cancer. Some advocates argue that this "pinkwashing," as it's called, has commercialized the disease and put screening on the backburner. This hour, a local radiologist shares everything you need to know about screening guidelines: who should get mammograms, when, and what insurance will cover. We also explore two different pieces of proposed legislation — one that could reduce barriers to screening, and a second that could help people with metastatic breast cancer access benefits. Our guests:

• Avice O'Connell, M.D., FACR, FSBI, radiologist with Rochester Regional Health
• Christina Thompson, executive director of the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester 
• Erin Bowman Park, survivor advocate

"Connections with Evan Dawson" is livestreamed each day on the WXXI News YouTube channel. Watch here.