So Now I’ve Got Breast Cancer

Are you scared that you’ll get lymphoedema? Has anyone actually told you what it is? Do you wonder if there’s anything you can do to prevent it ? I’ve had so many questions about this - and it’s something that has worried me ever since I was diagnosed all those years ago. On this episode, I’m going to put your mind at ease and tell you everything you need to know with this week’s guest Dr Melanie...

Do you ever wonder if every breast cancer patient is treated the same? I thought they were until I listened to this week’s guest talking about her experiences during  treatment. Several of you shared your own stories with me saying that cancer isn’t talked about in your community.  You’re also wondering why you don’t see yourself represented in breast cancer spaces. On this episode, I’m speaking a...

Did you know that exercise should be the first treatment you get for breast cancer? Maybe you’re motivated to finally get fit but you don’t know where to start? Or has someone told you that exercise can stop your cancer coming back but you don’t believe it’s true? On this episode I’m answering all your questions about breast cancer and exercise with this week’s guest, Dr Kathryn Schmitz from the U...

Are you struggling to cope with the menopausal side effects of breast cancer treatment? Do you lie awake at night tossing and turning as the sweat pours off your body? Maybe you wish there was something you could take when HRT is off the table? On this episode I’m going to answer all your questions about breast cancer treatment and the menopause with this week’s guest, Professor Annice Mukherjee....

Being diagnosed with breast cancer floored me mentally. I could handle the side effects of chemo by swallowing tablet after tablet, but I couldn’t stop the thoughts running through my head.  Like many of you, I would lie awake until the small hours of the morning thinking things like ‘Am I going to die?’, ‘IIs it going to come back?’ ‘How am I going to get through this?’ On this episode I’m going...

How do you find a bra that fits after a mastectomy? Has your relationship with your breasts changed and you’re struggling to accept your new shape? Or maybe you don’t know how to check your breasts now that everything’s changed?  This episode is all about breast health after breast cancer and I’m joined by the incredible Dr Philippa Kaye to answer your questions. She’s a well-known GP, a regular o...

I’m kicking off this new season - and new podcast - with a special show. I’ll explain what to expect from So Now I’ve Got Breast Cancer, answer some of your questions and introduce you to our new podcast poet, the incredible Donna Ashworth.   *******   If you want to find out more about the signs and symptoms of secondary breast cancer, here  are some great resources: abcdiagnosis.co.uk Future Dre...

I’ve got  a very special announcement for you… the podcast is changing! It’s time to say goodbye to Don’t Ignore the Elephant, and hello to my new podcast - So Now I’ve Got Breast Cancer. I’m going to be focusing on all the issues that people you like face, when you’ve  been diagnosed with breast cancer. You could say I’m an expert in breast cancer. After all, I was a consultant breast surgeon bef...

This week’s guest is Natalie Woodward, a truly remarkable young woman. She was diagnosed with metastatic bowel cancer at the age of 36, but after a full year of treatment, the cancer started to grow. In the middle of the pandemic, she literally had the mother of all operations to remove it. She had to learn to walk again. To dance again. To accept she would never have sex again. And yet there is s...

This week’s guest is Eleanor Mills, award-winning journalist, editor and broadcaster who founded of Noon, an online community to bring together women celebrating the opportunities of midlife. She describes it as a time for transformation and reinvention as a Queenager, and I want to be one.    Many of us reach a mid-life clusterf*ck when everything can seem to crumble around us – divorce, bereavem...

This week’s guest is Alex Hewitt, founder of AOK events, and he’s come on to talk about how he coped with severe anxiety when his world was crumbling around him. He wants to set a good example for his sons by opening up about his own mental health problems and encourage others to do the same.  I’ve often wondered if men find it harder than women to talk about depression, anxiety and other mental h...

This week’s guest is Maggie Hope. She’s a Psychotherapist and Counsellor and she’s come on to talk to me all about therapy. What is it? How do you know if you need it? What to expect when you have it?   I’ve needed therapy at several times of my life, and I was ashamed to tell people about it. We talk about the importance of removing the stigma from therapy, and how to talk to our friends and fami...

This week’s guest is Felicity Cornelius-Mercer. She’s become the female James Blunt of Twitter by defending attacks on her husband Johnny Mercer, MP with humour and wit.    We talk about the realities of living life in the public eye and what it’s like to work with your husband and still make a marriage work, and a little bit about male grooming.  We also chat about how hard it is to be a politici...

This week’s guest is the inspirational Jaz Ampaw-Farr, an award-winning motivational speaker who shifts mindsets and leaves her audience on a high. She’s known in the US as the ‘British Oprah’ who’s gone from broken to Beyonce (if you squint a bit).   She had an awful childhood, subjected to poverty and horrific abuse at a very young age, but a handful of teachers helped her change her trajectory....

My second guest is the wonderful Debbie Bliss MBE. She’s the most published knitwear designer in the world. She revolutionised the pattern industry and makes knitting cool. But she also looks cool as well. Debbie has had thymus and breast cancer and has accepted her new figure after a mastectomy. She’s a savvy business woman in her seventies and there’s no sign of her stopping any time soon.  As w...

The first episode of season two it a little bit different. It’s a legacy listen with my mum, Isobel. She was diagnosed with metastatic bone cancer three months before we recorded the interview. I wanted to chat to mum and find out what it was like for her when I got breast cancer, before talking about her own experiences as an amputee.   Sadly Mum died less than three months later from a pneumonia...

How do we talk more openly about divorce? In the final episode of season one, veteran broadcaster Jane Garvey talks to me about her own experience of splitting up in the spotlight, why you should get on with your ex for the sake of your children, and how to kickstart your career when you reach ‘middle age’, whatever that might be.   Jane almost needs no introduction. After launching Radio 5 Live s...

Do you ever talk openly and honestly about money? Do you feel guilty or ashamed over how much you spend? Do you know how much is in your bank account at any given time? Does your partner know about your debts? Do your children know how to save for the future?   Davinia Tomlinson is founder of RainChq, an organisation promoting financial inclusion to women. She talked to me about when we should spe...

Clara Swedlund is a physique coach and sports psychologist who overcame bulimia and binge-eating in her teens and early twenties. She competes in bikini bodybuilding competitions and helps clients like me train to get strong and fit for life. She’s only too aware of the impact of social media when it comes to defining what a perfect body looks like, and how important it is to be kind to yourself....

Orla Chennaoui began her career as a news journalist but moved over to sports for the London 2012 Olympics. In 2019 she joined Eurosport as the lead presenter for cycling events, in a very male-dominated field. She was diagnosed with post-natal depression after the birth of her first child, and lives with anxiety on a daily basis. Orla spoke to me about how she’s learnt to reframe anxiety into som...

Kathryn Mannix is one of the UK’s leading palliative care specialists who carefully and tenderly encourages us to talk and learn more about the ultimate elephant in the room - death.   Kathryn’s written two brilliant books on the subject - With the End in Mind And her latest book - Listen   Kathryn is also a patron of End of Life Doula UK , an invaluable resource if you’re looking after someone wh...

Have you ever wondered what it’s like when a doctor becomes a patient? I thought I was unlucky when I got breast cancer but then I spoke to my next guest, the American ophthalmologist Dr Will Flanary. He had testicular cancer twice - first  a med student and then as a junior doctor. But that’s not all. In 2020 Will had a cardiac arrest and his amazing wife did CPR for ten minutes to bring him back...

For anyone with an interest in sex, intimacy and love - this show is for you.  Sex after illness, cancer, the menopause, bereavement and when you’re older. Sex expert and retired nurse Sam Evans founder of Jo Divine and who’s personally helped me - joins me to talk about sex, more sex, lube and more lube and how embracing experimentation and making it fun can really help!     There’s a wealth of i...

My first guest is the wonderful actor, writer and producer Greg Wise. He’s appeared on stage and screen as well as getting behind the lens to produce documentaries. At the moment he’s starring in Strictly Come Dancing, inspired by his sister Clare. Greg looked after her as she was dying from breast cancer. He picked up her blog when she was too unwell to write, which became a beautiful book.   He...

Don’t Ignore the Elephant is a brand new podcast hosted by Dr Liz O’Riordan, the breast surgeon with breast cancer. For too long we’ve been scared to be open and honest about things that embarrass us or scare us. Things like depression, grief, and losing your sex drive. The elephants in the room. Liz will be getting them out in the open and asking the questions that everyone else is too afraid to.