And now for the pink hangover
The Breasties launch, our favorite stories from October, podcast updates, and the products that saved Natasha's hair during chemo
What’s happening 🗞️
🍈🍈 The Breasties app - The Breasties’ cancer community app is now live! Now there’s a way to safely connect beyond Facebook groups.
🍈🍈 In our latest episode (Day 175: Healthcare Nonsense and Red Tape) Natasha talks about how strange it feels to have three options for radiation treatment when everyone has been making the decisions for her up the this point.
🍈🍈 It’s not unusual for women to experience a sense of gaslighting from doctors when they express their fears that they may have breast cancer. In this article from Good Housekeeping, a woman with two generations of women ahead of her both diagnosed with breast cancer starting feeling pain and found a lump in her breast, but was sent home by her doctor because she was “too young” to get a mammogram. After going to a different doctor and still fighting tooth and nail to get tests, she found out her body was right.
🍈🍈 TODAY shared the story of a 34-year-old woman who went to several doctors for unexplainable pain and didn’t know what was wrong until her husband found a lump in her breast. After an ultrasound, mammogram, and biopsy, she was diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer.
A Recap: The Best of Pinktober
We filtered through the noise so you don’t have to. Some of our faves:
🗞️ Breast Cancer Is Not a "Battle" to Fight (Oprah Daily) - Not everyone relates to the warrior language, and it’s exhausting being a “fighter” all the time.
🗞️ For Some Breast Cancer Survivors, October is the Cruelest Month (New York Times) - Some people don’t realize that spreading awareness with symbols and pink overload can serve as an uncomfortable reminder to breast cancer survivors.
🗞️ Some Breast Cancer Survivors Express Concern Over 'Pinkwashing': Companies Sell Pink Products To Raise Awareness, But Don't Donate Much (CBS News) - A group of survivors say their suffering is fueling sales and not enough research. Selling pink products without donating to breast cancer organizations (aka “pinkwashing”) is so draining for those affected by the disease.
Two organizations worth checking out:
The nonprofit that we love so well, The Breasties, launched the website pinkisnottheproblem.org to help people get straight to the truth when they notice companies pinkwashing. It lists questions to ask companies claiming to donate to breast cancer causes along with some unsettling facts about some of these companies.
The Pink Agenda is another nonprofit that partners with companies to make a real impact on the lives of women diagnosed with breast cancer rather than putting up a facade.
Our latest episode 🎧
Day 175: Healthcare Nonsense and Red Tape
Down to just 104 pounds, Natasha feels like a scarecrow in her clothes. Hoping to gain 10 pounds by the end of the hormone blocker infusions, she finds high calorie meals, drinks shakes with over 500 calories, and chooses “Pepsi heavy” instead of diet.
Now back to work with a new perspective, she feels guilty about getting upset over her own infusions when some of her patients are on chemo for life and frustrated with the stupidity of the disconnected healthcare system. Natasha is fired up, and this one is good. Don’t miss it.
Another podcast we ❤️
Three breast surgeons discuss breast health, from debunking breast cancer myths to educating listeners about breast cancer without being overly medical.
Things We ❤️ Right Now
A showcase of the products that helped Natasha keep her natural, beautiful hair!
❤️ DigniCap - cold caps for hair retention through chemo
❤️ Desert Essence Shampoo - this shampoo along with the cold cap helped Natasha keep her hair
❤️ The Breasties app - The Breasties’ cancer community app is now live! Now there’s a way to safely connect beyond Facebook groups.
Thank You
🙏 Thank you to our listeners for continuing to be so supportive of Natasha as she tells her story. If Natasha and Kristen have touched you or helped you in any way, we would truly appreciate if you shared our podcast with friends.
🙏 Thank you to DigniCap cold caps for helping Natasha keep her hair through chemo.
🙏 Thank you again to Dana Donofree of Ana Ono for being on the podcast. ICMYI, here’s a link to listen to Things You Need for Surgery with Dana Donofree. Don’t forget to buy yourself some holiday Ana Ono gifts through us and get 15% off using code STORIES15 while supporting the podcast.
🙏 Thank you to Christine C., Erin R., Sarah T., and Schuler Service for your generous donations! It is supporters like you who allow us to continue doing what we do in hopes of helping women diagnosed with breast cancer.
To support the Breast Cancer Stories podcast & keep it going, here’s the link to donate.