BRCA & Beyond

Career, job, and money struggles as a previvor or cancer survivor. A cancer diagnosis or genetic mutation finding, like BRCA or Lynch syndrome, changes more than your health; it changes your career, your job, and your income. This episode covers the real financial and professional cost of previvorship and survivorship that nobody prepares you for. Topics covered: building a career while managing s...

What does it really mean to live with a BRCA1 gene mutation? How do you make life-changing decisions when hereditary cancer runs through your family? In this episode of BRCA & Beyond , I sit down with Kristen Jordan (@sheinheritsstrength), a wife, mother, nurse practitioner, and BRCA1 previvor , who shares her deeply personal journey through genetic testing , hereditary cancer risk, and preven...

In this solo episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa talks about a message she received from someone in her past suggesting that because she is healthy now, she should move on from talking about cancer, genetic mutations, BRCA, surgeries, and the emotional weight of it all. That message opened up a much bigger conversation about what it really feels like to live with a genetic mutation, hereditary ca...

In this deeply personal episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa Stachelski takes listeners behind the scenes of her experience participating in the Dear Body Project through BRCAStrong, a powerful initiative that brings together twelve women impacted by hereditary cancer, BRCA mutations, breast cancer, and life-changing surgeries to celebrate their strength, resilience, and stories. What began as a b...

What happens after you learn you have a hereditary cancer risk? For many people, the answer is uncertainty. Genetic testing can provide important information, but it often leaves individuals wondering what to do next, which specialists to see, and how to navigate the emotional weight of the decisions ahead. In this episode, I sit down with Randi Eichenbaum, founder of MOTA, to talk about her perso...

What happens after genetic testing? For many people, receiving a positive genetic test result is just the beginning. The real challenge often comes next: navigating uncertainty, making medical decisions, and having difficult conversations with the people you love. In this episode of BRCA & Beyond , I sit down with Dr. Marleah Dean Kruzel, a BRCA2 previvor, researcher, speaker, and Associate Pr...

What if one of the biggest advocacy wins for the hereditary cancer community happened quietly… and most people never even heard about it? In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa breaks down the groundbreaking ICD-10 recognition recently granted for Lynch syndrome, BRCA1, BRCA2, and Li-Fraumeni syndrome, and why this could become one of the most important systemic changes hereditary cancer pat...

In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa sits down with author and Lynch Syndrome advocate Tiffany Graham Charkosky for an emotional and deeply honest conversation about genetic legacy, motherhood, grief, and learning how to live fully in the face of hereditary cancer risk. Tiffany shares her journey of losing her mother at just 11 years old before her family ever knew Lynch Syndrome was part...

What happens after the diagnosis… when life around you starts moving again, but internally everything feels permanently changed? In this deeply honest episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa Stachelski opens up about the emotional loneliness that can follow a BRCA diagnosis, hereditary cancer risk, genetic mutations, cancer, preventative surgeries, and medical trauma. This conversation goes beyond th...

What happens after the diagnosis… after the genetic test… after the doctor’s appointment ends? In this powerful episode of BRCA & Beyond , Marisa sits down with Elana Silber, CEO of Sharsheret, to discuss how the organization is transforming support for individuals and families navigating BRCA mutations, hereditary cancer risk, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, preventative surgeries, IVF with PG...

What happens when you move over 1,000 miles away… and suddenly realize rebuilding your medical team means more than finding new doctors—it means confronting the reality that many parts of the healthcare system still lack basic education around what it means to care for a previvor. In this episode of BRCA & Beyond , Marisa shares the emotional and practical realities of starting over medically...

What if one conversation, one decision, could change the way you think about your health forever? In this episode of BRCA and Beyond, I’m joined by Kathy Baker, founder and executive director of My Faulty Gene, a nonprofit focused on helping people access genetic testing and better understand their hereditary cancer risk. Kathy shares her personal journey through breast and ovarian cancer, the rol...

What happens when cancer risk isn’t just a possibility… but a pattern in your family? In this episode of BRCA & Beyond , I’m joined by Vanessa Federico, also known as the BRCA Babe, who shares what it’s really like to grow up knowing hereditary cancer is part of your story. Vanessa is a BRCA1 carrier and one of three sisters, where she and one sister carry the gene and the other doesn’t. That...

What does it actually feel like to live with a genetic mutation like BRCA, Lynch syndrome, or other hereditary cancer risks? Not the medical side. Not the statistics. In this episode, I’m talking about the space in between — the place where you’re not sick, but you’re not untouched either. Living with a genetic mutation or high cancer risk changes how you think, how you make decisions, and how you...

Will I Ever Feel Normal Again? Healing and Finding a New Normal After a cancer diagnosis, genetic mutation discovery, or life-changing medical news, one question quietly sits in the back of so many minds: Will I ever feel normal again? In this episode of BRCA & Beyond , Marisa shares an honest conversation about the emotional reality that often follows a diagnosis. Beyond the appointments, dec...

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month , and in this episode I’m sharing the story that started everything. At 37 years old, I was diagnosed with stage 1 colon cancer after experiencing symptoms that many people dismiss — bloating, cramping, and blood in my stool. A colonoscopy not only found the cancer, it removed it before it had the chance to spread. In this episode, I talk about: • The col...

If you’re preparing for a mastectomy—whether it’s a preventative mastectomy because of a BRCA gene mutation or a mastectomy as part of breast cancer treatment—this episode is for you. I recorded this one because I have quite a few women in my own circle heading into mastectomies this month, and this has been an ongoing conversation between me and these women for weeks now. Real texts, real voice n...

What really happens after you get your genetic test results? In this episode of BRCA & Beyond , Marisa sits down with genetic counselor Sharon Pollack from JScreen to walk through what genetic testing can reveal—and what those results can mean for you and the people you love. Sharon has a strong background in both cancer and reproductive genetics. She earned her master’s degree in human geneti...

Cancer Prevention Month… For Us, It’s Every Day With a Genetic Mutation February is Cancer Prevention Month. But for those of us living with a genetic mutation like BRCA , prevention isn’t something we think about once a year—it’s part of everyday life. In this episode of BRCA & Beyond , Marisa shares an honest, real conversation about what cancer prevention actually looks like when your risk...

In this episode of BRCA & Beyond , Marisa sits down with Rori Zura—breast cancer survivor, certified Cancer Exercise Specialist, and founder of Foobs & Fitness to talk about what recovery really looks like for previvors and survivors, before, during, and after surgery and treatment. After navigating years of breast health concerns and a strong family history of cancer, Rori was diagnosed w...

In this episode of BRCA & Beyond , Marisa talks about what healing can look like after preventative surgery, when survival mode eases, but your nervous system and emotions are still catching up. This conversation covers scanxiety, fight-or-flight responses, and the emotional side of recovery that can show up long after surgeries are done. From nervous system regulation to unexpected body image...

🎙️ Episode Description Marisa sits down with the two women behind the powerful film Love, Danielle —actor, writer, and producer Devin Sidell and executive producer Amy Byer Shainman for an honest, thoughtful conversation about the emotional side of hereditary cancer, identity, healing, and what it really means to rebuild your life after a life-changing diagnosis. 🎬 About the Film When Danielle, a...

Ovarian cancer risk changes the way you think about your body and your future in ways that reach far beyond a medical chart. In this episode, Marisa shares the deeply personal story behind one of the hardest decisions she has ever had to make. She opens up about choosing a salpingectomy to reduce her ovarian cancer risk while protecting her hormones, her long-term health, and her quality of life....

I’ve never really loved New Year’s Eve. Even as a kid, it always made me feel a little sad, like I could feel time moving before I really understood what that meant. And after my diagnosis, that feeling changed into something deeper. Suddenly, a new year wasn’t about becoming better or fixing myself. It was about being here. Still breathing. Still holding my kids. Still getting another chance at a...

Three days before Christmas in December 2022, my world shifted. In this episode, I share what it was really like to receive heavy medical news during the holidays, before there was a plan, answers, or clarity. Just fear, uncertainty, and the pressure to keep showing up while the rest of the world was celebrating. This conversation isn’t just about one diagnosis. It’s about navigating medical uncer...