Our BC Life

Season one of Our BC Life is now available! We are grateful for the courage and strength of the survivors who have shared their inspiring stories with us. We encourage you to share this podcast with your friends and family who may also be interested in hearing about the world of early-stage breast cancer survivorship. This compilation of all 2023 episodes aims to give our listeners a bird’s-eye view of the journey of a breast cancer survivor because it’s more than just a pink ribbon; it’s our BC Life. We hope you enjoy listening and find it informative and inspiring.

Life can be challenging and sometimes knock you to your knees. Guest Karen D. Adams, Invasive Ductal (IDC), HER2+, ER+/PR- survivor, was put to the test as she mourned the death of her father and was diagnosed a few months later with breast cancer and then colon cancer a few years later. She also walks us through the changes of her relationship with food, especially soul food, in her survivorship stage.

Even with a strong family history of multiple types of cancers, guest Dawn Freeman, a DCIS with one recurrence survivor, was always into fitness and eating right. She was born with Addison’s disease, also called adrenal insufficiency, which is an uncommon illness that occurs when the body does not make enough of a certain hormone. She had been planning to leave her job and was getting all of her health screenings before resigning. Then she received the cancer call – no symptoms and was found on a mammogram. Dawn, who identifies as a Black lesbian, had many complications with her treatment and surgeries which caused her to experience body dysmorphia. Listen as she shares her holistic bag of tips on protecting your peace and calming the mind, body, and spirit.

This episode includes our first-ever previvior! Guest Kellie Goss, a BRCA1 previvor, has a strong family history of breast cancer. Her mom and little sister were diagnosed with breast cancer, and she knew it would only be a matter of time before she got the cancer call. Thanks to a persistent OB-GYN, she finally agreed to genetic testing and take a proactive approach for her health.

Listen as she talks about her mental and spiritual struggles after receiving her results that were so significant (80% risk of getting ovarian cancer and 75% risk of getting breast cancer) that she opted to have a prophylactic double mastectomy and hysterectomy.

She had a doctor with a plan, and now she needed to be the patient with a plan. Guest Andrea “Andi” Gamble, an invasive lobular (ILC) survivor, comes from a family of breast cancer – her mother, herself, and then her sister. The plans Andi didn’t realize she would need were how to cope with implants, painful expanders, delayed exchange surgery due to COVID, PTSD, and the loneliness and isolation that can often come once in the survivorship stage. There was no roadmap to handle all of the overwhelming physical, mental, and emotional toll of breast cancer.