Cancer for Breakfast

Hold onto your headscarves, y’all! The guidelines have changed, and the whitecoats think we should stop feeling it on the first. Don’t they know how much #cancerpeople love a hashtag?! Mmhmm—multiple medical orgs have put the kibosh on breast cancer screening until age 45. The gals (Amy and Stef, not a gross euphemism for boobs) are fired up and taking on big Cancer. Cancer dot gov, that is, AKA T...

CANCER FOR BITCHFEST | We’ve been squirreling away your complaints big and small like precious little acorns, and they’ve finally grown into a mighty oak of objections! A pine of protest! A…gripevine? Anyway, we’re airing your grievances, from A (awkward convos with clueless doctors) to, well, X at least. (Exes who slide into your DMs post-diagnosis, that is!) Our precious listeners came through a...

Did you know that LGBTQ+ people can be cancer people? You did. Oh. Well we sure hope you’re ready for an episode about the queer cancer experience. Stef (she’s here! She’s queer!) leads us and our furry little line of marching RATS on a pride parade rife with…increased morbidity, mortality, and poorer outcomes??? Maybe that explains the low attendance! In letters: the pain caused by being misgende...

Real talk: did YOU know that “annoying and oblivious” can also be a trait of...other Cancer People?! (And no, we’re NOT talking about the astrological sign.) Amy wants “oldies” to be aware of what they say around “newbies;” venting is fine, but if you don’t have any steam to let out, maybe just close your lid. Then: flax and soy and cancer, oh my! WTAF is up with phytoestrogens and hormone recepto...

Listen, we need to talk about your drinking. And our drinking. Do booze and cancer mix? Some of us feel judged by peers, family, and even ourselves for post-diagnosis merriment. Do you have fear and shame around cracking a beer? The gals ponder: can deciding to “live a little” cause us to “die a little” (more quickly)? Some listeners say “bottoms up!” while others just can’t hang with the more sev...

The gals celebrate Stef’s most recent scan results; after a long weekend of them playing very hard to get Stef wonders, is this MyChart glitchery, or oncologist witchery? In letters—more MyChart tricks, thanks to that uncaring bitch The Cares Act, for a listener dealing with thyroid cancer reoccurrence. Then, a daughter wants to know if her stage 4 mom is fleeing the nest for good, and when is it...

Is there anything better than a cancer bestie you can text at 2am? Not for our money, and Amy’s cancer dance card is full AF. Then: DCIS is no picnic and we’ve got the letter to prove it. Stef launches into mom-mode with tips on how YOU too can make friends. Spoiler: your community is probably still somewhere out there. “C” writes in with a familiar story of 2B BC misdiagnosed while breastfeeding....

The gals are on the campaign trail, (fully vaccinated and ready to kiss some babies!) and they want YOU...to tell the dental hygienists and acupuncturists of the world to leave diagnosing cancer to the professionals, mmkay? Perhaps they need an inservice on medical trauma from us, the medically traumatized? Then, throw on your autumn sweaters for this listener letter: a cancer person contrasts the...

Friends and fam: can't live with em, can't live (through our cancer diagnoses) without em. This episode is dedicated to the nearest and dearest of the diagnosed (ok, and the lookie-loos). Listen, sometimes we throw you under the bus, and sometimes you fall off the curb on your own. The gals name their least favorite cancer cliches and unhelpful platitudes and wonder: why can't anyon...

Mother's Day is upon us, and we've got some Cancer for Breakfast in bed for you, Mom! This isn't your girlfriends' boozy brunch; we're talking medicine, mortality, and motherhood. You didn't think we'd sugarcoat it, did ya?? Amy wants her friends to feel the love even when their mamas are gone; Stef just wants a hammock. A series of beautiful letters hits cancer...

Cancer messes with your body, your sex life, and your self esteem, and the physical changes can make it hard to recognize ourselves inside our new "scratch and dent" bodies. Then: a virgin, a mother, and (suddenly!) a crone--the gals go taboo-busting in menopause land (this IS Cancer for Breakfast, after all). Why does hair have SO MUCH power? We hear during "Letters"--it can a...

Cancer scams abound, and the gals are comin’ in hot. It seems every Chris, Dick, and Jessica have something to cell you--we mean SELL you--to cure cancer holistically. If that book, recipe, cleanse or coaching session advises you to steer clear of surgery or chemo, we advise you to run! Could the real cure be Rastafarian vegetables? In non-cancer news, should Amy name her wine cellar Amy's Wi...

Stef can’t believe how much she hearts her new cardiologist, Amy's pharmacist flashes her (she loves it!), and we ask and answer: what the absolute hell is up with MyChart automatically dropping results into YourChart now? Is a rogue coder trying to ruin our lives? Stef explains; Amy complains. Thanks, CARES Act. Not! We read letters from a cancer aunt, a super-dramatic update from “pre-vivor...

Stef writes a winning essay, and an innocent trip to the farmer’s market ends with Amy accidentally abusing her drugs again. A listener is bummed on the Amisode so the gals chat about the minefield that is real-deal cancer talk and why we make this podcast, anyway. We've got good R.A.T.S. for Her2+ colon and breast cancers, and letters today include a power outage during chemo, a gift fit for...

Have you heard the good news? Well you’re about to, because Stef has some! Amy’s got lumps of surgeon drama and needs more skin in the game. We answer the age-old question: why is my radiologist grunting like that? In an action-packed letter, a gal’s gotta get back to chemo, but her best friend is lost in the woods and ends up in prison. RATS gets a glow up with a theme song by cancer slayer Jessi...

It's time for your girl Amy's diagnosis story! What up to the "Stage 2B ER/PR+ Her2- IDC, grade 3 w/ a side of DCIS**" homies in the crowd!! We've got another misdiagnosis (hey docs, what do they teach you in medical school, anyway?) and a lot of lost time. Luckily, a boob-biting baby re-rings the breast cancer alarm 13 months later and that bitch--the cancer, not the baby...

It's finally time for diagnosis stories! First up, Stef tells about the time she got diagnosed with HR+, Her2- invasive lobular carcinoma. Come for the initial misdiagnosis, stay for the life-changing bone scan (and the laughs...there really are laughs!).  (This episode was recorded in December 2020.) Risk of Fear Spiral: medium-high. Eyes wide open, friends; this is stage IV talk. Hosted on...

The gals have a big mail day and share letters from listeners. It's all mail, all episode. What's a foob? What's a poem? Nobody knows... and more! Letters  for future episodes can be sent to cancerforbreakfast@gmail.com or Instagram @cancerforbreakfast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The unspiritual gals get spiritual! Stef gets a no-strings-attached religious gift that's a literal string attached (to her body), Amy realizes she isn't Barbara Hershey in that one movie, we discuss how cancer tells you lies that can masquerade as intuition, and we recall death-centric conversations that have gone incredibly wrong and incredibly right.  Learn more about the RATS discuss...

Amy and Stef talk with their voices for the very first time. Topics include: pee feelings during scans, when your facebook support group doesn’t appreciate your bummer poetry, chemical menopause, and AIM circa 1996.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.