Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach

Afleveringen

• 
  #472 Breast Cancer and The Truth About Investing in Your Healthiest Life 24.07.2026 31min

  Have you ever told yourself you'd get to it later, when there was more time, more money, more room? Most of us have. And most of us never stop to ask what the waiting is costing us. There is a question your brain reaches for first when you think about changing something in your life, and it is almost always the wrong one. In this episode, I offer you a different question, one that shifts everything from what you might lose to what you are willing to build. We look at why healthy changes so often fail to stick, and it has nothing to do with willpower. I also share research on why women stop investing in their own care, and a moment with a client living with stage four disease that changed how I think about planning a future. If money is genuinely tight, I name real organizations that exist to help, and one resource almost no one uses. Where did we learn that taking what we need means taking it from someone else? Your life is being built right now, between breakfast and lunch today.   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health  Download for iPhone:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kajabi/id1485646310 Download for Android:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kajabi.kajabiapp&hl=en_US   Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer
• 
  #471 Life After Breast Cancer - How to Dream, Believe, and Build Your Future 17.07.2026 27min

  When was the last time you let yourself want something without immediately talking yourself out of it? So many of us learned early on to keep ourselves small. Then a diagnosis arrives, and that quiet voice telling you not to ask for too much gets even louder. Have you ever found yourself making silent deals, promising to be content with less as long as you get to stay? I overheard a conversation at my kitchen table more than forty years ago that shaped what I believed I was allowed to want. What would it feel like to spot that same voice in your own life and realize it was never telling you the truth? This episode gives you a way to hold your gratitude and your wanting in the same two hands, without guilt and without apology. And let me be clear about what this is not. No one is sick because she did not believe hard enough. You will leave with one simple exercise you can do in five minutes today. Your life is allowed to be full. Your wanting is allowed to be loud.   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health  Download for iPhone:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kajabi/id1485646310 Download for Android:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kajabi.kajabiapp&hl=en_US   Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer
• 
  #470 Living Better Than Before Breast Cancer™ - Inspiration As a Daily Practice 10.07.2026 28min

  When was the last time you felt truly inspired? This episode comes out the day before the 15-year anniversary of my first breast cancer diagnosis, and as I look back over these years, one thing stands out more than almost anything else. Not a diet, not a single protocol, but inspiration. For a long time, I thought inspiration just showed up on a good day. What I have learned is that I have to go looking for it on purpose, the same way I plan a walk or plan my meals. I have come to believe it belongs in a healthy lifestyle right alongside movement, whole food, and the people closest to us. In this episode, I share how I use inspiration in seasons that are hard, including rebuilding my strength after nearly four months of pain and medication this spring. When the work feels heavy, I go looking for people who have done hard things and kept showing up, and I let their commitment remind me of what is possible within my own capacity. I also talk about being intentional about what I do not let into my mind, and why protecting my mental space is part of protecting my ability to heal. Here is my 15-year anniversary challenge to you. Go find one source of inspiration and bring it in on purpose. One thing that helps you believe a little more in yourself and what you can create. And if you do not know where to start, ask yourself, who talks about something I want more of in my life? Come tell me where you look for inspiration inside the free Living Well After Breast Cancer community.   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health  Download for iPhone:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kajabi/id1485646310 Download for Android:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kajabi.kajabiapp&hl=en_US   Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer
• 
  #469 Living Through Breast Cancer and Creating a Life That's Better Than Before 03.07.2026 38min

  July 2026 marks 15 years since my first breast cancer diagnosis. When I sat down to plan this milestone month, I had all these celebratory ideas, and then life happened. I lost people I cared about, a few clients passed, and right as I went to record, our dog of 14 years died. I want to be honest with you from the start. Life is hard, and life is wonderful, and most of the time both are true at once. That is the heart of this episode. So many of us believe we shouldn't feel joy while something painful is happening, or shouldn't let anything heavy in while things are good. But everything is good and bad at the same time, every single day. I share a conversation with a newly diagnosed woman who told me she did not want cancer to become part of her identity, and why I gently offered a different way to hold it. I also look back on 15 years that were never a straight line, including how my work evolved, my second diagnosis, and the quiet heaviness I felt when I sensed people hoped I could cure their cancer. That was never my message. My work has always been about wellness, living, and the future you are choosing to create right now. Here is what I most want you to hear. We are never done living until we are done living. And the foundation for the life you love is not discipline or willpower. It is love, loving yourself enough to care for your body through the hard things and to be willing to feel everything. Keep an eye out for July 11, when I have a very special announcement coming on the anniversary of my diagnosis.   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health  Download for iPhone:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kajabi/id1485646310 Download for Android:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kajabi.kajabiapp&hl=en_US   Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer
• 
  #468 Breast Cancer and Self-Awareness - The Outside Signs of Your Inner Health 26.06.2026 40min

  Your body has been talking to you your whole life. The question is whether anyone ever taught you to listen. In this episode, I want to widen the lens on how you read your own body. We have lost so much of the generational knowledge our mothers and grandmothers once passed down, and now we tend to wait until something hurts before we pay attention. But your body speaks in subtleties long before that. I share one of my great loves, Ayurveda, the 5,000-year-old healing system I studied for three years, and its practice of observation called the eightfold examination. What fascinates me most is how closely it aligns with modern functional nutrition's Nutrition Focused Physical Exam. We walk through what your tongue, skin, hair, nails, and eyes may be reflecting about your gut health, your nutrient status, your oxidative stress, and even your blood sugar, backed by research going back nearly 80 years. Here is what matters most. This is not about self-diagnosis. None of these signs are proof of anything on their own. They are invitations to pay attention, not verdicts to fear. My hope is that noticing your body builds confidence instead of anxiety, the quiet confidence of a woman in a loving conversation with her body rather than at war with it. If you take one small thing from this episode, try this. Tomorrow morning, look at your tongue and just notice. Do it for a week. That is the practice.   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health  Download for iPhone:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kajabi/id1485646310 Download for Android:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kajabi.kajabiapp&hl=en_US Here is the link to the FREE Ayurveda Mini-Course that I talked about in this episode: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/mybody   Here are the references: Foundational Asif T, Mohiuddin A, Hasan B, Pauly RR. Importance of Thorough Physical Examination: A Lost Art. Cureus. 2017;9(5):e1212. Newton C. The Functional Nutrition-Focused Physical Exam. IFNA Track 3 Module 2. Tongue Jeghers H. Nutrition: the appearance of the tongue as an index of nutritional deficiency. New England Journal of Medicine. 1942;227:221-8. Khayamzadeh M, Najafi S, Sadrolodabaei P, Vakili F, Kharrazi Fard MJ. Determining salivary and serum levels of iron, zinc and vitamin B12 in patients with geographic tongue. J Dent Res Dent Clin Dent Prospects. 2019;13(3):221-226. Chiang CP, Chang JY, Wang YP, Wu YH, Wu YC, Sun A. Atrophic glossitis: Etiology, serum autoantibodies, anemia, hematinic deficiencies, hyperhomocysteinemia, and management. J Formos Med Assoc. 2020;119(4):774-780. Skin Salem I, Ramser A, Isham N, Ghannoum MA. The Gut Microbiome as a Major Regulator of the Gut-Skin Axis. Front Microbiol. 2018;9:1459. Wang X, Li Y, Wu L, et al. Dysregulation of the gut-brain-skin axis and key overlapping inflammatory and immune mechanisms of psoriasis and depression. Biomed Pharmacother. 2021;137:111065. Jafferany M, Franca K. Psychodermatology: Basics Concepts. Acta Derm Venereol. 2016;96(217):35-7. Reunala T, Salmi TT, Hervonen K, Kaukinen K, Collin P. Dermatitis Herpetiformis: A Common Extraintestinal Manifestation of Coeliac Disease. Nutrients. 2018;10(5):602. Stefanadi EC, Dimitrakakis G, Antoniou CK, et al. Metabolic syndrome and the skin: a more than superficial association. Diabetol Metab Syndr. 2018;10:9. Hair O'Connor K, Goldberg LJ. Nutrition and hair. Clin Dermatol. 2021;39(5):809-818. Arck PC, Overall R, Spatz K, et al. Towards a "free radical theory of graying": melanocyte apoptosis in the aging human hair follicle is an indicator of oxidative stress induced tissue damage. FASEB J. 2006;20(9):1567-9. Zhang B, Ma S, Rachmin I, et al. Hyperactivation of sympathetic nerves drives depletion of melanocyte stem cells. Nature. 2020;577(7792):676-681. Poonia K, Bhalla M. Premature Graying of Hair: A Comprehensive Review and Recent Insights. Indian Dermatol Online J. 2024;15(5):721-731. Nails Singal A, Arora R. Nail as a window of systemic diseases. Indian Dermatol Online J. 2015;6(2):67-74. Cashman MW, Sloan SB. Nutrition and nail disease. Clin Dermatol. 2010;28(4):420-5. Eyes Knapp A. The Eye as a Guide to Latent Nutritional Deficiency Diseases. Bull N Y Acad Med. 1946. Wakamatsu TH, Dogru M, Tsubota K. Tearful relations: oxidative stress, inflammation and eye diseases. Arq Bras Oftalmol. 2008;71(6 Suppl):72-9. Seydou A, Arnould L, Gabrielle PH, et al. Plasma Fatty Acids Pattern and Dry Eye Disease in the Elderly: The Montrachet Population-Based Study. Nutrients. 2022;14(11):2290. Bu Y, Shih KC, Tong L. The ocular surface and diabetes, the other 21st Century epidemic. Exp Eye Res. 2022;220:109099. Rahman A, Yahya K, Ahmed T, Sharif-Ul-Hasan K. Diagnostic value of tear films tests in type 2 diabetes. J Pak Med Assoc. 2007;57(12):577-81. Seifart U, Strempel I. Trockenes Auge und Diabetes mellitus [The dry eye and diabetes mellitus]. Ophthalmologe. 1994;91(2):235-9. Campagnoli LIM, Varesi A, Barbieri A, Marchesi N, Pascale A. Targeting the Gut-Eye Axis: An Emerging Strategy to Face Ocular Diseases. Int J Mol Sci. 2023;24(17):13338. Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer
• 
  #467 Male Breast Cancer - What You Need to Know with Jake Messier 19.06.2026 1u 4min

  This Father's Day episode is personal for me. I lost my brother to testicular cancer in 1993, and that loss taught me how dangerous it is when we do not talk about the cancers that catch our loved ones off guard. So I am honored to share this conversation with Jake Messier, a stage four metastatic male breast cancer advocate known on social media as The Guy With Stage Four Breast Cancer. Jake found a lump while putting on deodorant in early 2023 and, like most men, never imagined it could be breast cancer. That delay may have shaped his stage four diagnosis. In our conversation, he opens up about the isolation of being one man in a pink world, the support groups that turned him away, and the harder truth that almost no research exists on how this disease behaves differently in men, which is part of why it is roughly 30 percent more fatal in men than in women. We also talk about the work he is building now, including the Male Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the male mouse project, and a male cell line registry, plus the men's health questions so many of us carry for the people we love. His closing advice is simple. Be aware of your partner's normal, so you can recognize the abnormal. Please share this episode with the men in your life. It could be the reason one of them does not wait.   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health  Download for iPhone:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kajabi/id1485646310 Download for Android:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kajabi.kajabiapp&hl=en_US   Connect with Jake Messier, MBA: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theguywithstage4breastcancer/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@stage4breastcancerguy Website: https://www.theguywithstage4breastcancer.com/   Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer
• 
  #466 Breast Cancer and Mental Health - You Deserve Support 12.06.2026 31min

  June is Mental Health Month, and in this episode, I want you to hear something clearly. Your mental and emotional health is not a side note to breast cancer or to life after it. It deserves to be a priority, right alongside your physical health. I share a recent stretch of unrelenting pain that pulled me away from my walks and workouts, and how quickly that started to weigh on me mentally, because I want you to know you are not alone in that heaviness. We look at what the research actually shows about how long anxiety and depression can linger after a diagnosis, why isolation makes it harder, and how support changes everything. I also talk honestly about both lifestyle and medication. Nourishing your body and moving it genuinely support your brain, but they do not replace medical care, and reaching for medication when you need it is an act of love, not a failure. I close with a simple reframe. When "what is wrong with me" shows up, try asking "what do I need right now?" instead. You deserve support, friend. Come join us in the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community on the Breast Cancer Recovery Coach app.   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health  Download for iPhone:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kajabi/id1485646310 Download for Android:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kajabi.kajabiapp&hl=en_US   Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer
• 
  #465 The Spice Rack - A Simple Way to Support Your Health After Breast Cancer 05.06.2026 19min

  What do I even eat? If that question has ever stopped you in your tracks, this episode is for you. So many of us cycle through the same handful of foods week after week, then feel guilty for not eating more variety. And when we try to fix that, it often turns into more recipes, more shopping, and more pressure to find the perfect anti-cancer diet. In this episode, I want to take that pressure off. The easiest way to add more plants to your plate is probably already in your kitchen. Your spice rack. Herbs and spices are not just flavor; they are plants and parts of plants, and they bring a whole range of beneficial compounds to your meals in just a couple of teaspoons. We talk about: Why variety matters more than any single super food How one pot of chili can deliver 25 different plant foods Turning one chicken into five meals by changing the seasoning How to know if a spice is still good and how long they really last How to buy and store spices so you actually use them Bringing in new flavors through teas and spice blends This is not a new diet or a new set of rules. It is one simple, enjoyable way to nourish your body using what you already have.   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health  Download for iPhone:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kajabi/id1485646310 Download for Android:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kajabi.kajabiapp&hl=en_US Grab the free guide: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/spices   Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer
• 
  #464 Acceptance After Breast Cancer - Letting Go of the Timeline 29.05.2026 18min

  Last week there was no podcast episode. For the first time in a long time, I simply didn't have the physical or emotional energy to show up behind the microphone. After navigating one of the most challenging health seasons I've experienced since my stage 4 diagnosis, I realized I couldn't just move on without talking about what this experience taught me. The lesson was acceptance. Not giving up. Not settling. Not pretending difficult things aren't difficult. Acceptance means acknowledging reality instead of exhausting yourself fighting against it. In this episode, I share what I've been going through, how self-imposed timelines create unnecessary suffering, and why so many of us judge ourselves for not being where we think we should be by now. We discuss: • Acceptance versus resistance • Healing after breast cancer • Letting go of unrealistic timelines • Self-compassion during difficult seasons • The psychology of "should" thinking • Living with uncertainty • Finding peace during setbacks • Why healing is rarely linear If you've been frustrated with where you are in your healing, your health, your relationships, your career, or your life, this conversation is for you.   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health  Download for iPhone:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kajabi/id1485646310 Download for Android:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kajabi.kajabiapp&hl=en_US   Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer
• 
  #463 The Most Important Thing I've Done to Heal From Breast Cancer Isn't What You Think 15.05.2026 30min

  What is the most important thing I've done to support healing after breast cancer? Mindset work. Not positive thinking. Not pretending things are fine when they're not. Not forcing affirmations I didn't believe. I'm talking about the work of examining what I believed was possible for my body and my future and learning how to update those beliefs. In this episode, I share why mindset work became the foundation of my healing journey after a stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis and how neuroscience shows that our brains constantly predict what's possible based on past experiences, conditioning, fear, and environment. We talk about: • Why belief systems impact behavior and healing • The brain as a predictive machine • How fear and conditioning shape health decisions • The connection between self-compassion and consistency • Why changing habits starts with changing beliefs • How small actions help create new evidence for the brain This conversation is about learning to believe that healing, peace, health, and change may actually be available to you.   References Barrett, L.F. & Simmons, W.K. (2015). Interoceptive predictions in the brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(7), 419-429. Hutchinson, J.B. & Barrett, L.F. (2019). The power of predictions: An emerging paradigm for psychological research. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 28(3), 280-291. Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215. Bandura, A. (1997). Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York: Freeman. Neff, K.D. (2023). Self-Compassion: Theory, Method, Research, and Intervention. Annual Review of Psychology, 74, 193-218.   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health  Download for iPhone:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kajabi/id1485646310 Download for Android:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kajabi.kajabiapp&hl=en_US   Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer
• 
  #462 Breast Cancer and Metabolic Health - Learning Your Body's Love Language 08.05.2026 28min

  In this week's episode, I want to invite you to think about your body differently. What if your cravings, fatigue, bloating, brain fog, and energy shifts are not signs that your body is failing you… but signs that it's trying to communicate with you? After years of working with metabolic health, blood work, and nutrition genomics, I've realized something important. The problem is not the information itself. The problem is the lens we hear it through. So many women hear lab results and genetic information as proof that something is wrong with them. But your body is not broken. Your genetics are your body's blueprint. Your labs are your body's feedback. Your symptoms may be your body asking for support. In this episode, I share a powerful mindset shift that came from a coaching conversation with a client and I read a personal "love letter" written from my own body to me based on my labs, genetics, and healing journey. This episode is about learning to listen instead of judge. Because your body has been talking to you all along.   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health  Download for iPhone:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kajabi/id1485646310 Download for Android:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kajabi.kajabiapp&hl=en_US   Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer
• 
  #461 Personal Growth After Breast Cancer — Without The Drama 01.05.2026 22min

  What if you didn't have to wait for something to go wrong to grow? In this episode, I'm sharing why so many women stop reaching for support once life starts to feel stable and how that pattern quietly keeps you stuck. We talk about the difference between the discomfort of crisis and the discomfort of growth, and why choosing growth creates a completely different life experience. I also walk through the connection between your emotional state and your physical health, including how stress, joy, and connection influence inflammation and immune function. This is about continuing to show up for yourself, not because something is broken, but because you want more out of your life.   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health  Download for iPhone:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kajabi/id1485646310 Download for Android:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kajabi.kajabiapp&hl=en_US   Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer
• 
  #460 Why Emotional Pain Feels Physical - What Every Breast Cancer Survivor Needs to Know 24.04.2026 40min

  Emotional pain is not just in your head. It is happening in your body. In this episode of the Nutrition After Breast Cancer: Just the Facts series, we look at the connection between emotional and physical pain through both lived experience and research. When you feel exhausted, overwhelmed, or stuck in a loop of thoughts, there is a biological reason for it. Your nervous system is responding exactly the way it was designed to. But understanding that changes everything. You will walk away with a clearer picture of: Why pain can feel overwhelming and never-ending How your brain processes emotional experiences Why avoidance can quietly shrink your life What it looks like to actually move through pain in a healthy way This is a grounded, honest conversation about what it means to live in a body that has been through something hard and how to care for it moving forward.   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health  Download the app: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/breast-cancer-recovery-coach/id6720763813       REFERENCES Roerink, M.E., van der Schaaf, M.E., et al. (2015). Fatigue in chronic inflammation — a link to pain pathways. Arthritis Research & Therapy, 17(1), 294. Research on central sensitization in chronic pain conditions. On memory, the amygdala, and emotional pain reactivation: Hanson, R. Research on negativity bias and memory encoding. LeDoux, J.E. Research on the amygdala, fear memory, and emotional reactivation. Research on the autobiographical memory system and the persistence of pain (neurocognitive framework for chronic pain). On naming emotion and nervous system regulation: Lieberman, M.D., Eisenberger, N.I., Crockett, M.J., Tom, S.M., Pfeifer, J.H., & Way, B.M. (2007). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychological Science, 18(5), 421–428. On self-compassion and physiological regulation: Neff, K.D. Research on self-compassion, cortisol, and heart rate variability. On psychological and emotional stress as inflammatory drivers: Alschuler, L. Cancer Therapies teachings, Metabolic Terrain Institute of Health.   Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer
• 
  #459 Building a Life That's Better Than Before Breast Cancer™ with Cheri Henderson 17.04.2026 59min

  Cheri lives in Duluth, Minnesota with her adventure partner, Brent, along the stunning shores of Lake Superior. A two-time breast cancer thriver—first diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Stage IIIA in 2019 at 39 years old, and again with Metastatic Breast Cancer in 2021 at 41—Cheri continues to live life with strength, joy, and purpose. She leads an active, outdoor-centered lifestyle and seeks inspiration in nature, camping, fishing, hiking, and traveling. Cheri finds peace in collecting rocks, capturing her surroundings through photography, and nurturing deep connections with her family and friends. With over seventeen years of experience in the outdoor and fashion industries in leadership roles, Cheri blends her professional expertise with a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Communicating Arts to share her story through the power of writing. Cheri is a published author whose work has appeared in Wildfire Journal, the only literary magazine created for and by those "too young" for breast cancer and the Boundary Waters Journal, a nationwide wilderness canoe country magazine. Cheri is also trained as a 2026 Hear My Voice Breast Cancer Advocate with Living Beyond Breast Cancer, a national nonprofit organization providing trusted information and a community of support to those newly diagnosed, in treatment, post-treatment, and living with metastatic disease. Cheri looks to alchemize her experience into advocacy and chooses to live intentionally every day to honor her health and healing.   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health  Get The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach app: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/breast-cancer-recovery-coach/id6720763813 Learn about the Becoming You 2.0 coaching program https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/you Follow Cheri: https://www.instagram.com/chender1/ Episode #420 https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/420 Wildfire Magazine https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/ Boundary Waters journal https://www.boundarywatersjournal.com/   Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer  
• 
  #458 Breast Cancer Recovery - How to Use The Science of Mindset to Create Better Health 10.04.2026 51min

  What if your thoughts were creating physical changes in your body? In this episode, we are looking at the science behind mindset and how your brain, your expectations, and your thought patterns influence your health in very real ways. From negativity bias to the nocebo and placebo effects, I break down the research that shows how your mind impacts stress, symptoms, and healing. You will learn why fear-based thinking feels automatic, how it affects your body, and how to start shifting your thoughts in a way that actually works. This is not about positive thinking. It is about understanding how your brain works and learning how to guide it.   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health  Download the app: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/breast-cancer-recovery-coach/id6720763813       REFERENCES Baumeister, R.F., Bratslavsky, E., Finkenauer, C., & Vohs, K.D. (2001). Bad is stronger than good. Review of General Psychology, 5(4), 323-370. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1037/1089-2680.5.4.323  Rozin, P., & Royzman, E.B. (2001). Negativity bias, negativity dominance, and contagion. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5(4), 296-320. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0504_2  Beecher, H.K. (1955). The powerful placebo. Journal of the American Medical Association, 159(17), 1602-1606. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/303530  de la Fuente-Fernández, R., Ruth, T.J., Sossi, V., Schulzer, M., Calne, D.B., & Stoessl, A.J. (2001). Expectation and dopamine release: Mechanism of the placebo effect in Parkinson's disease. Science, 293(5532), 1164-1166. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1060937  Kaptchuk, T.J., Friedlander, E., Kelley, J.M., et al. (2010). Placebos without deception: A randomized controlled trial in irritable bowel syndrome. PLOS ONE, 5(12), e15591. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0015591  Benedetti, F., Amanzio, M., Vighetti, S., & Asteggiano, G. (2006). The biochemical and neuroendocrine bases of the hyperalgesic nocebo effect. Journal of Neuroscience, 26(46), 12014-12022. https://www.jneurosci.org/content/26/46/12014 Haas, J.W., Bender, F.L., Ballou, S., Kelley, J.M., Wilhelm, M., Miller, F.G., Rief, W., & Kaptchuk, T.J. (2022). Frequency of adverse events in the placebo arms of COVID-19 vaccine trials: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Network Open, 5(1), e2143955. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2788172     Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer  
• 
  #457 Training Through Treatment with Kristy Griggs 03.04.2026 41min

  In this episode, I'm joined by Kristy Griggs, founder of Training Through Treatment, to talk about the role exercise played in her experience with stage four breast cancer. Kristy was told to rest during treatment. But what she discovered was that movement helped her physically, mentally, and emotionally in ways she did not expect. She shares how she navigated the difference between needing rest and choosing to show up anyway, how exercise supported her through treatment, and how it ultimately led her to create a nonprofit that helps others access movement during cancer care. Listen to learn: • The difference between "I need rest" and "I feel uncomfortable but can still move" • How exercise supported treatment and recovery in real time • Why community matters during and after a diagnosis • What "vigorous exercise" actually means and why it matters • How to start moving even when energy is low This conversation is a reminder that movement does not have to be perfect to be meaningful.   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health  Training Through Treatment Website: https://www.trainingthroughtreatment.org/   Follow Training Through Treatment on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/training_through_treatment?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==   Follow Kristy: https://www.instagram.com/kristygriggs?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==     Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer  
• 
  #456 The One Book That Will Change Your Life After Breast Cancer 27.03.2026 33min

  This week's episode is a personal one. It came from a hard week, a lot of physical discomfort, and a moment of asking a simple question. Why don't we talk about this more? Not just the physical challenges after breast cancer, but the internal rules we carry about how we should handle them. In this episode, we talk about "manuals." The invisible rulebooks we all have that shape how we think, feel, and react. These manuals tell us: How we should act How others should act What is acceptable What is not And most of the time, we don't even realize they're there. When life doesn't match those rules, we feel frustration, anger, or sadness. But what if the problem isn't what's happening? What if it's the rule we're holding onto? Listen to learn: How hidden expectations create emotional suffering Why most of our rules were written without our awareness How to recognize when a "manual" is running your reactions What it looks like to question and rewrite those rules How letting go of expectations can change your relationships This episode invites you to pause, get curious, and start noticing the rules you've been living by. Because you get to decide if they still belong in your life.   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health    Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer    
• 
  #455 Weight Loss After Breast Cancer 20.03.2026 40min

  In this week's episode, we're talking about weight loss after breast cancer and menopause, and why it often feels like nothing is working. You're eating well. You're making changes. And your body is not responding the way it used to. We begin with a simple question. If weight loss is just calories in and calories out, why does it feel so different now? Think about Survivor. Everyone loses weight. But that is a short-term survival state, not a healthy or sustainable one. After cancer treatment, the body may still be operating from a place of stress, inflammation, and hormonal change. From a terrain perspective, that matters. In this episode, we explore: The impact of stress and cortisol on weight How detoxification supports metabolic function Why sleep and circadian rhythm influence fat loss What changes after menopause You'll also hear how research connects chronic stress, disrupted sleep, and hormonal shifts to changes in metabolism and weight regulation. This is not about doing more. It is about understanding your body in a way that allows you to support it differently.   Resources Mentioned: How to Eat Without Fear and Guilt After Breast Cancer:  https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/eat Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health    Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer  
• 
  #454 Hope For Cancer with Chelsea Hassink 13.03.2026 50min

  In this episode of the Better Than Before Breast Cancer podcast, Laura Lummer sits down with Chelsea Hassink to talk about her experience navigating a stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis and the path that led her to explore integrative cancer care. Chelsea discovered a lump shortly after turning 40 and was quickly diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer that had metastasized to her liver. Within weeks, she began chemotherapy and entered the world that so many people with cancer know well. As she moved through treatment, Chelsea began researching other approaches that might support her body and improve how she felt during therapy. That curiosity eventually led her to the Hope For Cancer treatment centers, where she explored non-invasive therapies such as hyperbaric oxygen, hyperthermia, ozone therapy, and nutrient infusions as part of an integrative program. In this conversation, Laura and Chelsea discuss the fear many patients feel when considering integrative care, the importance of asking questions, and why finding a treatment path that aligns with your values and intuition can be an important part of the healing journey. This episode shares Chelsea's story and the insights she gained along the way.   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health  Follow Chelsea: https://www.instagram.com/hassink_health_bites/ Hope For Cancer Centers: https://hope4cancer.com/     Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer        
• 
  #453 The Truth About Ketosis - Breast Cancer and Nutrition, Just the Facts 06.03.2026 26min

  In this final episode of the Nutrition After Breast Cancer: Just the Facts series, we break down ketosis clearly and responsibly. Ketosis is not a cure for cancer. It is not a replacement for chemotherapy or radiation. But research, including the Keto-CARE trial at The Ohio State University and ongoing metabolic oncology work at Boston College, suggests that metabolic ketosis may influence insulin signaling, inflammation, and treatment response. This is a grounded, research-based conversation designed to help you understand your options without fear or hype.   In this episode we cover: -What metabolic health really means -The Warburg Effect explained simply -Ketosis vs ketoacidosis -How ketones influence inflammation -How therapeutic ketosis is being studied -Genetic variants that may affect fat burning -When ketosis may help -When caution is needed   Resources Mentioned: Work with Laura: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/health      Let's Connect! If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, please share it with a friend or leave a review. Every share helps spread this message of hope, healing, and whole-person wellness. 💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching 💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community 👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach 👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach 🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer