Dear Cancer, I'm Beautiful

This episode is part of Empowered Intimacy: Getting Your Sexy Back After Breast Cancer , a series focused on helping breast cancer survivors reclaim their sexual health, confidence and intimacy. Painful sex after breast cancer is common, but that doesn't mean it is something women should be expected to accept. Too often, we're told to use more lubricant or assume vaginal dryness is the entire prob...

Living with metastatic breast cancer can mean carrying uncertainty into everyday life. There is always another scan, another appointment or another stretch of waiting, and it can be hard not to let fear take up too much space in between. This is the first episode of Between the Scans: Navigating Life With Metastatic Breast Cancer, a lived-experience series exploring what it really means to live wi...

One of the most unexpected challenges of breast cancer is suddenly needing help with the parts of life you have always managed yourself. Treatment, surgery, and recovery can make everyday responsibilities like working, cooking, cleaning, parenting, driving, and caring for others feel overwhelming or even impossible. Yet knowing you need help and allowing yourself to receive it are two very differe...

For many young women diagnosed with breast cancer, some of the most important decisions they will ever make happen within days of hearing the words, "You have cancer." While treatment planning begins immediately, patients may also be faced with urgent questions about fertility, future family-building, and preserving options they may not have expected to think about so soon. These conversations oft...

For many families, cancer doesn't affect just one person. It can shape generations.⁣ When a parent is diagnosed with cancer, children often carry more than memories. They may inherit questions, uncertainty, increased risk, and life-changing decisions of their own.⁣ ⁣ In this conversation, Ashley Dedmon shares her experience of losing her mother to metastatic breast cancer, learning she carried the...

For many women, one of the most challenging parts of life after breast cancer isn't something they expected at all: menopause. Whether caused by chemotherapy, ovarian suppression, surgery, or hormone-blocking therapies, treatment-induced menopause can arrive suddenly and bring significant physical and emotional changes that impact nearly every aspect of daily life. Yet many survivors say they were...

Divorce after breast cancer is rarely talked about openly, even though many people quietly navigate this reality, and that silence is part of what makes the experience feel so isolating. In this conversation, Asha Miller shares her experience of living through breast cancer within a long-term marriage and what it was like when that marriage later ended. Her story reflects a layered and often unack...

When Elissa Kalver was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer just days before her daughter's first birthday, she was thrown into a reality no one is ever fully prepared for. Alongside the shock and fear came something many patients experience but rarely talk about: not knowing how to ask for help or what support actually looks like in real life. In this episode, Elissa shares what those early da...

Dear Cancer, I'm Beautiful turns 5 this year! To celebrate, Dana Donofree joins me as guest host for this special milestone episode. Dana is a breast cancer survivor, fashion designer, and founder of AnaOno Intimates, creating chest-inclusive lingerie, loungewear, and post-surgery essentials that help women feel confident and supported after breast cancer surgery. In this episode, Dana and I refle...

Breast cancer and its risk can dramatically disrupt hormones and often trigger early or surgical menopause, yet menopause care is still too often treated as an afterthought. In this episode, Rachel Frankenthal, PA-C and gynecologic oncology specialist, makes the case that menopause should be a non-negotiable part of every cancer care plan from the very beginning. She explores how survivors and pre...

Being diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer while pregnant is a reality few can imagine. In this episode, Allie Kubik, triple negative breast cancer survivor and creator of @allieaftercancer, shares her journey of undergoing chemotherapy at 11 weeks pregnant after previously completing IVF, long before she knew she would face cancer. She opens up about fear, grief, fertility, and fighting f...

In this episode, guest Kia Lee shares her experience using scalp cooling during chemotherapy, keeping most of her hair while reclaiming control at a time when so much felt out of her hands. She talks about advocating for herself, navigating insurance reimbursement, and why representation matters for Black women and other underrepresented patients in cancer care.  Kia also highlights the emotional...

In this episode, host Melissa Berry sits down with Paloma Soledad, a three-time stage IV melanoma thriver, designer, and founder of LuxCare, a fashion line dedicated to creating chic, functional garments for cancer patients. Paloma shares how her experiences during treatment inspired her to create clothing that blends luxury, style, and functionality.  She opens up about her background as a design...

Join Melissa Berry as she welcomes Annie Bond, metastatic breast cancer thriver, advocate, and comedian, to share her first-time experience at SABCS 2025. Together, they explore the moments, conversations, and insights that matter most for metastatic patients and advocates, focusing on advocacy, representation, and the power of patient voices. This episode highlights the urgent need for more data...

Life after a breast cancer diagnosis can feel overwhelming with so many "must-dos," advice, and pressure to find a new normal. In this episode, Melissa Berry sits down with Jen Delvaux, breast cancer survivor and Certified Integrative Health Practitioner, to explore a practical, sustainable approach to resetting your lifestyle after breast cancer without burnout or overwhelm. Jen shares her person...

This episode is part of the special series Empowered Intimacy: Getting Your Sexy Back After Breast Cancer, where getting your sexy back is about reclaiming confidence, connection, and desire after a breast cancer diagnosis. Melissa Berry sits down with Chelsey Pickthorn, a patient advocate living with stage four triple-negative breast cancer, and Dr. Don Dizon, Chief of Hematology and Oncology at...

In this episode, Melissa sits down with Dr. Anne Peled, a board-certified plastic surgeon and breast cancer survivor, to answer the questions patients often wish they had asked before their mastectomy. Drawing from both her professional expertise and personal experience, Dr. Peled guides listeners through the emotional and physical considerations that can be overlooked before surgery. This convers...

Melissa sits down with Dr. Laila Agrawal, a board-certified breast oncologist who leads a sexual health clinic dedicated to the breast cancer community. As part of the "Empowered Intimacy: Getting Your Sexy Back After Breast Cancer" series, they talk about how to restore sexual comfort, pleasure, and connection after a breast cancer diagnosis. Dr. Agrawal offers practical guidance on vibrators, lu...

In this episode, host Melissa Berry sits down with Dr. Rebecca Knackstedt, a dedicated and compassionate plastic surgeon and Assistant Professor of Surgery at Duke University to discuss the transformative power of breast pre-habilitation.  Specializing in microsurgical breast reconstruction and certified in Functional Medicine, Dr. Knackstedt has cared for thousands of women preparing for breast c...

In this episode of "Empowered Intimacy: Getting Your Sexy Back After Breast Cancer," host Melissa Berry opens up an important conversation about dating, intimacy, and meaningful connection after a breast cancer diagnosis. She is joined by Dani Trops, breast cancer advocate, a young survivor and content creator known for her honesty, humor, and empowering approach to sharing life after cancer, and...

In this episode of, "Empowered Intimacy: Getting Your Sexy Back After Breast Cancer," we open up an important conversation about sexual health after a breast cancer diagnosis. Melissa is joined by her friend Deltra, a mom of five living with triple-negative metastatic breast cancer, and Dr. Laila Agrawal, a board-certified medical oncologist dedicated to putting sexual health at the forefront of c...

In this episode, Melissa sits down with Erin Bradshaw, EVP for Patient Services & Navigation at the Patient Advocate Foundation, to explore the complex world of insurance denials and step therapy. Together, they discuss the surprising ways AI is already impacting patient advocacy, from helping navigate appeals to streamlining the process of getting the care you need. They explore whether AI is a h...

In this inspiring episode of, "Dear Cancer, I'm Beautiful,"  Melissa sits down with Ivonne Jimenez, Restorative Medical Tattoo Artist and Founder of Zyanya Beauty. Inspired by her mother's breast cancer journey, Ivonne helps survivors reclaim confidence through realistic areola tattooing. They discuss both permanent and temporary designs, the importance of consulting with plastic surgeons and rese...

In this very informative episode of Dear Cancer, I'm Beautiful, Melissa sits down with Dr. Krystle Zuniga, a Board Certified Oncology Dietitian, to talk about a concern many breast cancer patients face: weight gain during treatment. Dr. Zuniga sheds light on why the number on the scale doesn't tell the whole story and shares why nutrition combined with resistance training is key to overall health...

In this compelling episode, host Melissa Berry continues the series "Decoding Destiny: Navigating Breast Cancer with Genetic Insight" with a heartfelt conversation with Krista Brown, also known on Instagram as the Cancer Prevention Coach. Krista, an oncology nurse navigator and breast cancer survivor, shares her journey of living with an ATM gene mutation and the empowering role of genetic testing...