Breast Friends Cancer Support Radio

When Laura White was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 37, her life was turned upside down.She has a family with two young boys and a job. Managing both is hard enough but to add a serious cancer diagnosis makes the challenge even greater. Well-meaning friends try to be of help, but it's hard to know what to do unless you've walked the same path. She found support among a local group of young survivors, but turned to Breast Friends radio show to gain understanding and knowledge that would ultimately help her through her journey. Listen in as Laura shares her heart-felt message with our global community.

A breast cancer diagnosis impacts not our our physical health, but can cause serious issues with our emotional health. Many women suffer serious hits to their self-esteem as they suffer the loss of breasts, hair, enter into early menopause, suffer sexual anxieties and much more. Today, our guest, Sharon Henifin, Certified Life Coach, who is also one the co-founders of Breast Friends will discuss in depth the issues that impact so many survivors and provide tips on how to overcome our current crisis and improve our self-esteem.

Cancer costs are getting in the way of healing. Patients and their families are anxious that they do not have the financial resources to pay for treatment. The goal of this program will be to educate patients and the professional support community about the availability of financial assistance programs

Surgical drains are a common occurrence for cancer patients. Depending on the type of drain, it can be very cumbersome process to clean them. Our guest today has developed an easier way.

When Jennifer Batten, guitarist for Michael Jackson and Jeff Beck, got diagnosed with breast cancer, she didn't let it stop her. She continued to travel the globe as a guest guitarist. But, it did cause her to reconsider her lifestyle, including diet, exercise and more. Listen in to Jennifer's story in this exciting episode

We've all heard that music is the universal language but does it help in our recovery from illness? We will talk about the role of music in helping us heal from emotional or physical trauma with our special guest, Julianne Johnson. She will share her personal journey through the world of music starting at age 2 and how music became her life. Besides performing, Julianne teaches music and is the choir director for the Worship in Pink choir.

When treatment ends for a cancer patient, it doesn't mean everything will return to normal, The term new normal fits the situation better. Finding a way to talk about the physical restoration, and more importantly, the emotional restoration, is even better still, Reconstruction of a survivor goes well beyond the physical reconstruction. The emotional reconstruction is even more difficult. Join us today as we discuss this often underestimated part of the journey with our guest Wanda Johnson.

Do you remember Dear Abby or Ask Ann? Maybe you've heard of the radically empathetic advice column in the NYTimes called The Sweet Spot, which is excerpted from the Dear Sugar podcast hosted by Steve Almond and Cheryl Strayed. On this week's program, hear about a new kind of advice column for the cancer community called Dear Hope. We talk with the writer behind Hope to find out what led her to share mindful advice to support those living with or after cancer.

Cancer survivors need guidance in their exercise programming to make sure that it is safe and effective. Understanding the side effects of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation can enable you to improve your health and feel better through a proper exercise program. Please join Carol Michaels as she discusses when and how often one should exercise during and after treatment. She will also speak about managing fatigue, lymphedema, osteoporosis, range of motion and strength while reviewing what exercises are safe and unsafe.

The lens of scientific research that approaches cancer from the perspective of the whole person reveals new discoveries. Changing self-talk, surrendering fear, properly nourishing the body help you live a life that radiates gratitude, even during the storms. The journey of life is not always simple, easy or what we plan, but it can always be rich and full. The mind-body connection is real. Discover how love and a positive approach to healing transforms the experience of cancer and your life!

Cancer can take over your life. While some survivors seem to flow through the treatment and have little or no transition into life after cancer, others find that more difficult to do. Many experience some level of depression. Some of those have extreme depression. Listen in to Cancer Coach - Mama Bear as she talks about her journey through depression and back and how she now spends her life coaching others through their cancer experience.

Finding JOY in daily living is a choice and something we should all strive for. For those battling cancer, it can be very challenging. Our guest today is a two time survivor who made that choice to take her journey and turn it into something positive, something that brings her JOY. At Breast Friends, we call this the Twinkle. It's that thing that makes you light up when you talk about it. Working with us, Michelle found her twinkle, Listen in today as she shares her story and shares how you can find that special place in your life that brings out the best in you. (This episode is in honor of Kristen Janes, who introduced to us the concept of the Twinkle. We thank her and have been teaching her concept ever since.)

Do you know the warning signs of hereditary cancer? Breast cancer before age 50…triple negative breast cancer…male breast cancer…ovarian cancer…aggressive prostate cancer…pancreatic cancer…colon cancer. These are red flags that warrant talking to a genetic counselor. Join us to learn more about BRCA and “newer” mutations that increase the risk of cancer.

Have you been diagnosed with lymphedema? Do you have chronic swelling following surgery for breast cancer or are you about to have surgery? Learn how massage therapies can reduce post-surgical swelling and bruising with our guest expert Jill Nelson.

Join us as we explore the benefits of Integrative Mind Body Medicine with guest Avinoam Lerner. Lerner is a Cancer Recovery Specialist and an integrative Medicine practitioner. His innovative approach to cancer recovery highlights the multidimensional nature of illness and the need to treat not only the body but also the Mind. Failing to do so; he argues, means treating only part of the illness, the physical part. This results all too often, in cancer resurfacing in secondary medical conditions. Tune in and learn about the role of the Subconscious Mind in sickness and health and how you can mobilize your own Mind to improve the rate of your recovery.

This show is about empowering women to recover not only from the debilitating effects of breast cancer but breast cancer treatment. Too often recovery is addressed as a black and white issue - either conventional medicine or alternative medicine. Our guest will discuss the integrative approach combining the best of both worlds.

It is common for individuals affected by cancer to struggle to make sense of what they have been through or are currently experiencing. Consequently, this has effects on outlook and general well-being. A growing body of research literature has shown that when people with cancer have discovered a sense of purpose, they end up feeling better. Meaning-centered therapy is a unique process in which individuals are guided in the journey of discovering this meaning.

Survivor Pat Wetzel will share her journey as a lymphoma survivor and she created the Anti-Cancer Club and the Cancer Road Trip

Approximately 266,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually. The treatments, while lifesaving, can have significant side effects that decrease not only day-to-day quality of life but may have residual effects that remain for years after treatment. We will discuss the pros and cons of using integrative care, both during and after treatment, and how it may help to improve quality of life as well as treatment outcomes for these women

This week, we will talk about the latest scientific data and discussion around why cannibis helps with the side affects of cancer treatment. Our guest, Cesar Escobar, has educated and counseled people about cannabis for the past 15 years. His primary objective is empowering the community with knowledge of the endocannabinoid system in order to raise awareness of natural health, and to help transform our social dependence on pharmaceutical medicine.