So Now I’ve Got Breast Cancer

Do you know what your legal rights are when returning to work after cancer? What should your employer do to help you get back to work? Do you have to say you’ve got cancer in a job interview? This episode is all about getting back to work with Barbara Wilson, the founder of the social enterprise Working with Cancer.   ******   You can find Working with Cancer on Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/working-with-cancer   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workingwithcanceruk   Or head straight to their website: www.workingwithcancer.co.uk   You can also email them at: admin@workingwithcancer.co.uk   My amazing podcast poet is Donna Ashworth and you heard  a poem from her new book ‘Growing Brave’  - available now in all online bookstores. You can find out more about Donna on her website, or follow her on Instagram and Facebook   Season Three was kindly sponsored by Breast Friends CIC – an organisation that truly understands the power of peer support for anyone on the breast cancer journey. Head over to www.breastfriends.co.uk to find out more. If you would like to sponsor Season Four, please get in touch at hello@oriordan.co.uk.    If you’ve got a question for the show, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note.  You can find me on social media  -  Instagram, X and Facebook. A special thanks goes to medical student Tamara Enthoven for helping me to collate all the questions.   You can also watch this episode! Head to my Youtube channel @DrLizORiordan to see this season’s episodes as they are released and lots of other useful videos full of reliable information.    Subscribe to my monthly newsletter here to find out what I’ve been up to and what I’m recommending each month.    And you can now pre-order my third book ‘The Cancer Roadmap’ (out January 2025), or buy the updated edition of my first book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’. Plus, if you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is also available in all good bookshops. Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee

Is your hair starting to fall out? Do you want to know what shampoo you should be using? Is there anything you can do to stop it happening? This episode is all about hair thinning during breast cancer treatment with Jasmin Julia Gupta, founder of Cancer Hair Care. We had a great response to Jasmin’s episode in Season Two talking all about hair loss during chemo. I ran out of time to ask her all your questions, and she kindly agreed to come back and help us deal with this really sensitive subject.   ******   Cancer Hair Care home page: https://www.cancerhaircare.co.uk/   Download the FREE book including tips on hair thinning and all cancer treatments:  https://www.cancerhaircare.co.uk/book-free-download/   Speak to a Cancer Hair Care Specialist Hairdresser: https://www.cancerhaircare.co.uk/support-services-overview/contact-us/ What is minoxidil and will it help with my new hair growth? https://www.cancerhaircare.co.uk/new-hair-growth-commonly-asked-qa-2/   Making Your Own Stimulating Scalp Oil Using ROSEMARY https://youtu.be/MFKiih7NGWA?si=iGCAIi3iROKPmZRT   Book a consultation with a Cancer Hair Care Hairdresser  https://www.cancerhaircare.co.uk/support-services-overview/contact-us/   My amazing podcast poet is Donna Ashworth and you heard  a poem from her new book ‘Growing Brave’  - available now in all online bookstores. You can find out more about Donna on her website, or follow her on Instagram and Facebook   Season Three was kindly sponsored by Breast Friends CIC – an organisation that truly understands the power of peer support for anyone on the breast cancer journey. Head over to www.breastfriends.co.uk to find out more. If you would like to sponsor Season Four, please get in touch at hello@oriordan.co.uk.    If you’ve got a question for the show, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note.  You can find me on social media  -  Instagram, X and Facebook. A special thanks goes to medical student Tamara Enthoven for helping me to collate all the questions.   You can also watch this episode! Head to my Youtube channel @DrLizORiordan to see this season’s episodes as they are released and lots of other useful videos full of reliable information.    Subscribe to my monthly newsletter here to find out what I’ve been up to and what I’m recommending each month.    And you can now pre-order my third book ‘The Cancer Roadmap’ (out January 2025), or buy the updated edition of my first book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’. Plus, if you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is also available in all good bookshops. Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee

How do you keep going when your world falls apart? Can you make a difference and turn a bad thing into a good thing? Is it possible to get your fitness back when treatment ends? To kick off Season 3 of So Now I’ve Got Breast Cancer, I’m speaking to a  very special guest, the Olympian Donna Fraser OBE. She’s  a quadruple Olympian sprinter who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009 while she was still a professional athlete. She has since been awarded an OBE for her services to equality, inclusion and diversity in the workplace and is a proud ambassador for the charity Breast Cancer Now.    Here are the resources that Donna mentioned: Breast Cancer Now https://breastcancernow.org/ Her Spirit App https://www.herspirit.co.uk/ Donna’s website www.donnafraserofficial.com   If you’re a person of colour going through a breast cancer diagnosis, you may also find these support groups useful:  Black Women Rising - https://www.blackwomenrisinguk.org/ South Asian supernovas - @southasiansupernovas     ****** My amazing podcast poet is Donna Ashworth and you heard  a poem from her new book ‘Growing Brave’  - available now in all online bookstores. You can find out more about Donna on her website, or follow her on Instagram and Facebook   Season Three was kindly sponsored by Breast Friends CIC – an organisation that truly understands the power of peer support for anyone on the breast cancer journey. Head over to www.breastfriends.co.uk to find out more. If you would like to sponsor Season Four, please get in touch at hello@oriordan.co.uk.    If you’ve got a question for the show, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note.  You can find me on social media  -  Instagram, X and Facebook. A special thanks goes to medical student Tamara Enthoven for helping me to collate all the questions.   You can also watch this episode! Head to my Youtube channel @DrLizORiordan to see this season’s episodes as they are released and lots of other useful videos full of reliable information.    Subscribe to my monthly newsletter here to find out what I’ve been up to and what I’m recommending each month.    And you can now pre-order my third book ‘The Cancer Roadmap’ (out January 2025), or buy the updated edition of my first book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’. Plus, if you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is also available in all good bookshops. Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee

I know what it’s like to have your sex life turned upside down by breast cancer treatment. I’d only been married for a couple of years and neither my husband Dermot or I were prepared for what was about to happen. I wanted him to divorce me and find a woman with 2 healthy breasts and a libido to match.And I know I’m not alone. You’ve sent me so many questions about this that have made my heart break just reading them, and I’m thrilled that we’ve got Charlene Douglas with us this episode to answer them. Charlene, aka The Intimacy Coach UK,  is a  sex and relationship therapist known for her TV appearances on Married at First Sight and The Sex Clinic. She delivers workshops for Macmillan about cancer, sex and intimacy, and she talks about the importance of getting to know ourselves again before we even speak to our partners.   ******   Here are the websites Charlene mentioned: OMGYES -  https://start.omgyes.com/ Ferly - mindful sex - https://weareferly.com/ Climax.how - https://climax.how/ The College of Sex and Relationship Therapists can be found here - https://www.cosrt.org.uk/ And The Menopause Charity is here - https://www.themenopausecharity.org/ More information about Ohnuts - https://www.jodivine.com/products/ohnut-classic-buffer-rings?page=2 And there are loads of brands of sex cushions out there - just search ‘sex cushions’ to see some options.     Charlene’s website The Intimacy Coach UK contains information and resources for anyone struggling with questions about their sex life - and details of how you can book therapy sessions with Charlene herself - https://www.theintimacycoachuk.com/   And she has a book coming out! You can pre-order it here:  Come Closer: Everything You Ever Wanted to Ask a Sex and Relationship Therapist: Amazon.co.uk: Douglas, Charlene: 9780241678879: Books   You can also find Charlene on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/charlenedouglasofficial/?hl=en   And join Charlene’s Facebook group for women here - Pleasure, Fun, and Intimacy! - For Women Who Want More. | Facebook    Charlene also contributed to the booklet  ‘Pleasure & Intimacy: A Guide for People Living with Cancer’ which you can download here - https://issuu.com/fruitflycollective/docs/sex_cancer_book   My amazing  podcast poet is Donna Ashworth and you heard  a poem from her new book ‘Wild Hope - available now in all online bookstores. You can find out more about Donna on her website, or follow her on Instagram and Facebook   You can also watch this episode! Head to my Youtube channel @DrLizORiordan to see this season’s episodes as they are released and lots of other useful videos full of reliable information.    And that’s the last episode in this series! Thanks so much to everyone who’s sent a question and sorry that I haven’t been able to include all of them.    If you’ve got a question for Season 3, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note.    You can find me on social media  -  Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    You can still sign up to my monthly newsletter here    And another place to find out more about breast cancer is my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’. If you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is also available in all good bookshops.   Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee here.   I’ll see you later this year for Season 3 x

Is it true that sugar feeds cancer? Do you really need to detox? What should you eat when you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer? As a breast surgeon I had no idea my patients were scouring the internet looking for a miracle diet, but the minute I became a patient I realised how much misinformation is out there regarding what we should eat. On this episode I’m going to set the record straight with the help of Dr Clare Shaw, consultant oncology dietitian and author of The Royal Marsden Cancer Cookbook.   ******   Here are some of the resources Clare mentioned:    British Dietetic Association  https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/cancer-diets-myths-and-more.html   World Cancer Research Fund https://www.wcrf-uk.org/healthy-eating/  https://www.wcrf-uk.org/health-advice-and-support/living-with-cancer/living-with-cancer-your-questions-answered/ Cancer Research UK https://news.cancerresearchuk.org/2023/07/19/lets-get-to-the-bottom-of-it-7-common-cancer-myths-unpicked/    And you can download the Royal Marsden guide to food safety here - https://patientinfolibrary.royalmarsden.nhs.uk/document/download/1417   My amazing  podcast poet is Donna Ashworth and you heard  a poem from her new book ‘Wild Hope - available now in all online bookstores. You can find out more about Donna on her website, or follow her on Instagram and Facebook   If you’ve got a question for the show, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note.    You can find me on social media  -  Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    If you’ve got a question for season two, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note.    You can find me on social media  -  Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    You can also watch this episode! Head to my Youtube channel @DrLizORiordan to see this season’s episodes as they are released and lots of other useful videos full of reliable information.    AND MY BRAND NEW MONTHLY NEWSLETTER IS HERE! Find out what I’ve been up to and get some useful recommendations by subscribing here    Another place to find out more about breast cancer is my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’. And if you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is also available in all good bookshops. Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee here.

Have you found out that you need to have radiotherapy? Do you want to know how it works or why you need it in the first place? Maybe you're worried about the side effects? In this episode I’m going to answer all your questions about radiotherapy with this weeks’ experts, Jo and Naman, the two therapeutic radiographers behind the award-winning podcast RadChat.   ******   You can find out all about Radchat and loads of radiotherapy support sites here    My amazing  podcast poet is Donna Ashworth and you heard  a poem from her new book ‘Wild Hope - available now in all online bookstores. You can find out more about Donna on her website, or follow her on Instagram and Facebook   If you’ve got a question for the show, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note.    You can find me on social media  -  Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    If you’ve got a question for season two, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note.    You can find me on social media  -  Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    You can also watch this episode! Head to my Youtube channel @DrLizORiordan to see this season’s episodes as they are released and lots of other useful videos full of reliable information.    AND MY BRAND NEW MONTHLY NEWSLETTER IS HERE! Find out what I’ve been up to and get some useful recommendations by subscribing here    Another place to find out more about breast cancer is my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’. And if you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is also available in all good bookshops. Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee here.

One of the questions I dreaded getting asked when I worked as a breast surgeon was ‘How do I tell my children?’ I don’t have children of my own, and I had no idea what to say. My breast care nurses would step in and I would breathe a sigh of relief. Judging from all your questions this week, telling your children you have cancer can be fraught with anxiety, worry, guilt and stress. And that’s the last thing you need when you’re going through breast cancer treatment.   This week’s guest is here to help. Caroline Leek is the founder and director of the FruitFly collective. Caroline’s mission at FruitFly is to help families talk about cancer, death and grief and to support children of any age with the tools they need to help them cope and know they’re not alone, and I’m thrilled she was able to join me - IN PERSON - for this special episode which you can also watch on my Youtube channel.    ******   Here are some of the websites Caroline mentioned:  www.parentingwithcancer.org www.fruitflycollective.com www.pipskit.com Ruth strauss foundation  - for people facing end of life - https://ruthstraussfoundation.com/ Mummys star - https://www.mummysstar.org/  http://www.riprap.org.uk/  You can also book tickets to the Parenting with Cancer conference in May here - (delegates are bothe healthcare professionals and parents) https://buytickets.at/fruitflycollective/1059526   If you’ve got a question for the show, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note.    You can find me on social media  -  Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    You can also watch this episode! Head to my Youtube channel @DrLizORiordan to see this season’s episodes as they are released and lots of other useful videos full of reliable information.    AND MY BRAND NEW MONTHLY NEWSLETTER IS HERE! Find out what I’ve been up to and get some useful recommendations by subscribing here    Another place to find out more about breast cancer is my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’. And if you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is also available in all good bookshops. Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee here.

One of the first questions my patients asked when I told them they needed chemo was ‘Am I going to lose my hair?’. And when your hair does fall out, there are even more questions. Why does it come back grey and curly? How do I explain to my children that I’m bald? Where can you find a decent wig? On this episode I’m going to answer all your questions about hair loss with this week’s guest, Jasmin Julia Gupta, founder of the charity Cancer Hair Care. She's a hairdresser and a hair loss expert who  consults with the NHS and major charities like Breast Cancer Now, Macmillan and the Teenage Cancer Trust, and she wrote the first ever ‘Afro hair chemotherapy guide.   ******   The Cancer hair Care website can be found here:  https://www.cancerhaircare.co.uk/ You can find out how to find a wig or cancer-specific hair care, you can order a hair-loss doll and learn more about scalp cooling.  This is the Paxman support site just for cold caps :  https://coldcap.com/   You can download the free book Jasmin mentioned here https://www.cancerhaircare.co.uk/book-free-download/   To contact Jasmin’s team’s Phone Support Service: https://www.cancerhaircare.co.uk/support-services-overview/contact-us/   My amazing  podcast poet is Donna Ashworth and you heard  a poem from her new book ‘Wild Hope - available now in all online bookstores. You can find out more about Donna on her website, or follow her on Instagram and Facebook   If you’ve got a question for the show, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note.    You can find me on social media  -  Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    If you’ve got a question for season two, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note.    You can find me on social media  -  Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    You can also watch this episode! Head to my Youtube channel @DrLizORiordan to see this season’s episodes as they are released and lots of other useful videos full of reliable information.    AND MY BRAND NEW MONTHLY NEWSLETTER IS HERE! Find out what I’ve been up to and get some useful recommendations by subscribing here    Another place to find out more about breast cancer is my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’. And if you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is also available in all good bookshops. Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee here.

Just hearing the words ‘you need chemotherapy’ can turn your world upside down. I hated telling my patients they needed it, and when I found I out I would have it myself, I felt lost.Would my hair fall out? How bad would it be? Would it work? How would I cope? Add to that the other drugs we give patients - targeted therapies and immunotherapy - it can feel like treatment never ends. That’s when you need someone in your pocket you can call for help, and on this episode  we have Rachel Clifton, a Macmillan Breast Oncology Nurse Specialist. I worked with her when I was a consultant at Ipswich and I knew she was the one to answer all your questions. Not only is Rachel an incredible nurse, but she’s passionate about raising the profile of metastatic breast cancer, with the ‘Secondary. Not Second Rate’ campaign. But there’s more - she’s even been a nurse advisor for Holby City.   ******   Rachel’s go to sources are  Breast Cancer Now, which has useful information about chemo here, and Macmillan, whose chemo pages for breast cancer are here    She also mentioned the amazing Cancer Hair Care - who will be on the show next week! But if you can’t wait their website is here.    The Cancer Care Map can also signpost you to support services near you - see their website here My amazing  podcast poet is Donna Ashworth and you heard  a poem from her new book ‘Wild Hope - available now in all online bookstores. You can find out more about Donna on her website, or follow her on Instagram and Facebook   If you’ve got a question for the show, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note.    You can find me on social media  -  Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    If you’ve got a question for season two, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note.    You can find me on social media  -  Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    You can also watch this episode! Head to my Youtube channel @DrLizORiordan to see this season’s episodes as they are released and lots of other useful videos full of reliable information.    AND MY BRAND NEW MONTHLY NEWSLETTER IS HERE! Find out what I’ve been up to and get some useful recommendations by subscribing here    Another place to find out more about breast cancer is my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’. And if you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is also available in all good bookshops.   Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee here.

Are you struggling to decide what breast surgery to choose? Do you want to know if it’s worth having both breasts removed? How do you work out whether to have a breast reconstruction? There are so many things to consider when it comes to breast surgery, and in this episode I’m going to answer all your questions with this week’s guest, Anushka Chaudhry. She’s a Consultant Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon and like me and is committed to making sure her patients get the best possible care. She also dedicates her spare time to helping her patients. She set up the Aurora Breast Cancer Wellbeing Charity and posts videos on Instagram to explain breast cancer treatment. We’re  really lucky to have her as a guest.    ******   You can follow Anushka on instagram -  @askanushka   Or visit her website: www.anushkachaudhry.com   Her support group Aurora for younger women with breast cancer is here: @aurorabreastcancerwellbeing   And you can follow South Asian Supernovas here: @southasiansupernovas     My amazing  podcast poet is Donna Ashworth and you heard  a poem from her new book ‘Wild Hope - available now in all online bookstores. You can find out more about Donna on her website, or follow her on Instagram and Facebook   If you’ve got a question for the show, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note.    You can find me on social media  -  Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    You can also watch this episode! Head to my Youtube channel @DrLizORiordan to see this season’s episodes as they are released and lots of other useful videos full of reliable information.    AND MY BRAND NEW MONTHLY NEWSLETTER IS HERE! Find out what I’ve been up to and get some useful recommendations by subscribing here    Another place to find out more about breast cancer is my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’. And if you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is also available in all good bookshops.   Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee here.

I'm really excited to tell you that we're starting season 2 with a bit of sparkle. Amy Dowden is one of the highest ranked ballroom and Latin American dancers in the county, and star of Saturday Night blockbuster TV show Strictly Come Dancing.  And like many of you, I was so  angry and sad  when she told us that she had breast cancer in May last year at the age of 32. She’s bravely shared each step of her journey, and  I’m thrilled that Amy has joined me to talk about her diagnosis, dealing with breast cancer in public, and of course, her  dancing.    ******   Amy’s new series of Dare to Dance will be available on BBC iPlayer from 10th March.  My amazing  podcast poet is Donna Ashworth and you heard  a poem from her new book ‘Wild Hope - available now in all online bookstores. You can find out more about Donna on her website, or follow her on Instagram and Facebook   If you’ve got a question for season two, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note.    You can find me on social media  -  Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    You can also watch this episode! Head to my Youtube channel @DrLizORiordan to see this season’s episodes as they are released and lots of other useful videos full of reliable information.    Another place to find out more about breast cancer is my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’. And if you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is also available in all good bookshops. Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee here.  

I’m  excited to announce that So Now I’ve Got Breast Cancer is back! Season two is coming soon, packed full of useful - and reliable - information for anyone who’s just been diagnosed, from how to tell your kids, to how chemo works, and what to eat… all powered by YOUR questions.  Here’s a little flavour of season one, and details below of how you can get in touch.   ******   If you’ve got a question for season two, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note. You can find me on social media (see below), or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .  You can also watch the podcast this season! Head to my Youtube channel @DrLizORiordan to see this season’s episodes as they are released and lots of other useful videos full of reliable information.    You can follow me on social media for regular updates - Instagram, Twitter and Facebook    Another place to find out more about breast cancer is my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’. And if you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is also available in all good bookshops.   Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee here.

To mark the end of the month I’m releasing another bonus episode! This is  a conversation I had in my previous podcast Don’t Ignore the Elephant which was hugely popular and I think could help you too.  It’s all about sex, and I’m in conversation with sex expert Sam Evans - aka Sam Talks Sex.    After Annice’s episode on the menopause, I had so many questions about sex and intimacy, and a lot of your queries are answered in this show. We cover sexual health, sexual pleasure, why lube is your best friend and how to learn to be intimate again when cancer has stolen your sex drive. I had emails from women crying tears of happiness after listening the first time, thanking me for letting them know they’re not alone. I hope it can do the same to you.   Follow Sam on Instagram here   And find out more about Jo Divine here ******   If you’ve got a question for me for season two, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note. You can find me on social media (see below), or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    If you want to find out more about breast cancer whilst you’re waiting for the next series to drop, you can watch the videos on my YouTube Channel  or read my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’   If you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is available in all good bookshops.   You can follow me on social media for regular updates - Instagram, Twitter and Facebook  Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee here.

Happy New Year everyone! While I prep season two I’m sharing a couple of bonus episodes with you. They’re conversations from my last podcast,  Don’t Ignore the Elephant. I covered the things that no-one else talks about, and it touched a lot of people at the time.  They’re subjects I’m really passionate about as a breast cancer patient myself, so that’s why I’m re-releasing them now as part of ‘So Now I’ve Got Breast Cancer’. This re-run is all about taking the fear out of death and dying, with Palliative Care Physician Dr Kathryn Mannix. After listening to Kris Hallenga talk about her living funeral and coming to terms with the end of her life, I thought this would be the perfect listen. So many people got in touch when it aired the first time to say it had brought them peace, and I really hope it does the same for you.   You can find out more about Kathryn’s book here   ******   If you’ve got a question for me for season two, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note. You can find me on social media (see below), or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    If you want to find out more about breast cancer whilst you’re waiting for the next series to drop, you can watch the videos on my YouTube Channel  or read my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’   If you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is available in all good bookshops.   You can follow me on social media for regular updates - Instagram, Twitter and Facebook    Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee here.

Getting a diagnosis of breast cancer can be terrifying. One of the first thoughts that ran through my mind 8 years ago when I found a lump was ‘Am I going to die?’ It’s often the first question my patients asked me when I told them they needed chemo. You could say it’s a ridiculous question to ask, as we are all going to die at some point, but the fear of dying from breast cancer is real. This week’s guest, Kris Hallenga, has been living with that fear for the last 14 years. She’s the founder of CoppaFeel and author of ‘Glittering a Turd’, and I know she’s an inspiration to many of you. She was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer when she was only 23, and she’s achieved more in those years than many of us do in a lifetime.   ******   If you want to find out more about Kris and her work, you can find her here:   Instagram - @howtoglitteraturd Website - How To Glitter a Turd Her book - Glittering a Turd Her podcast - Glittering a Turd  Her charity - CoppaFeel   You can also learn more about funerals and living funerals via Legacy of Lives    If you want to read more of  Donna Ashworth’s poems, her new book ‘Wild Hope’ is available in all online bookstores. You can find out more about Donna on her website, or follow her on Instagram and Facebook   If you’ve got a question for me, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note. You can find me on social media (see below), or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    If you want to find out more about breast cancer whilst you’re waiting for the next episode to drop, you can watch the videos on my YouTube Channel  or read my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’   If you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is available in all good bookshops.   You can follow me on social media for regular updates - Instagram, Twitter and Facebook  Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee here.   This is the last episode of our first series!    Thank you to all my brilliant guests, to our incredible poet Donna Ashworth and of course to you - for listening, and for sharing all your questions and stories with me.   I've really enjoyed making this and it's been so moving to hear about how the podcast is helping you - so keep your feedback coming.   I'll be re-releasing some old episodes of my previous podcast here  in the new year while I prep for Season 2 - I hope you enjoy them.   

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 Thomas. She’s the National Clinical Lead for Lymph Wales and she’s my go-to woman whenever I’ve got a question about lymphoedema.   ******   You can email Melanie at  LymphoedemaNetworkWales@wales.nhs.uk   To find out more about lymphoedema and LVA surgery, visit her website    You can also follow Melanie on Twitter (X)    If you want to read more of  Donna Ashworth’s poems, her new book ‘Wild Hope’ is available in all online bookstores. You can find out more about Donna on her website, or follow her on Instagram and Facebook   If you’ve got a question for me, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note. You can find me on social media (see below), or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    If you want to find out more about breast cancer whilst you’re waiting for the next episode to drop, you can watch the videos on my YouTube Channel  or read my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’   If you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is available in all good bookshops.   You can follow me on social media for regular updates - Instagram, Twitter and Facebook  Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee here.

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 about this with Leanne Pero MBE, founder of Black Women Rising, who's leading the charge in making breast cancer more inclusive for women of colour.    ******   You can follow Leanne Pero MBE on Instagram here   Black Women Rising is also on Instagram here   Find out more on the Black Women Rising website    If you want to read more of  Donna Ashworth’s poems, her new book ‘Wild Hope’ is available in all online bookstores. You can find out more about Donna on her website, or follow her on Instagram and Facebook   If you’ve got a question for me, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note. You can find me on social media (see below), or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    If you want to find out more about breast cancer whilst you’re waiting for the next episode to drop, you can watch the videos on my YouTube Channel  or read my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’   If you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is available in all good bookshops.   You can follow me on social media for regular updates - Instagram, Twitter and Facebook    Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee here.

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 University of Pittsburgh. She’s dedicated her life to researching the benefits of exercise for cancer patients and her book, 'Moving Through Cancer: An Exercise and Strength Programme for the Fight of Your Life', is my go-to guide.   ******   If you want to read Kathryn’s book, Moving Through Cancer, it’s available here and in all good bookshops.    You can also read more on the Moving Through Cancer website (movingthroughcancer.com) or follow Kathryn on Instagram or X (Twitter.   If you want to read more of  Donna Ashworth’s poems, her new book ‘Wild Hope’ is available in all online bookstores. You can find out more about Donna on her website, or follow her on Instagram and Facebook   If you’ve got a question for me, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note. You can find me on social media (see below), or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    If you want to find out more about breast cancer whilst you’re waiting for the next episode to drop, you can watch the videos on my YouTube Channel  or read my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’   If you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is available in all good bookshops.   You can follow me on social media for regular updates - Instagram, Twitter and Facebook  Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee here.

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. She’s a consultant endocrinologist, and the author of ‘The Complete Guide to the Menopause.’   ******   You can get a copy of Annice’s book 'The Complete Guide to the Menopause: Your Toolkit to Take Control and Achieve Life-Long Health' here or in all good bookshops.    You can also follow Annice on X (Twitter) and Instagram .   The MSK research we mentioned about supplements is here.   And here is where you can find British Menopause Society guidance about  HRT and how to treat menopause.     The new medication I mentioned from the US - Flibanserin - has a write up here if you want to learn more about it.    And the amazing Maggies has some menopause advice here.       If you want to read more of  Donna Ashworth’s poems, her new book ‘Wild Hope’ is available in all online bookstores. You can find out more about Donna on her website, or follow her on Instagram and Facebook.   If you’ve got a question for me, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note. You can find me on social media (see below), or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    If you want to find out more about breast cancer whilst you’re waiting for the next episode to drop, you can watch the videos on my YouTube Channel  or read my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control.'   If you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is available in all good bookshops.   You can follow me on social media for regular updates - Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.  Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee here.  

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 to help you deal with the tough stuff with the help of the amazing Professor Dame Lesley Fallowfield, who has dedicated her life to helping women like us deal psychologically with a cancer diagnosis.   ******   You can watch the video Lesley mentioned from Shore-C about friends and families’ reactions to an advanced breast cancer diagnosis here   You can find more info about the Flat Friends charity here for women who have had a mastectomy.    Follow this link to find out more about Maggie’s Centres and the counselling they offer to cancer patients   If you want to read more of  Donna Ashworth’s poems, her new book ‘Wild Hope’ is available in all online bookstores. You can find out more about Donna on her website, or follow her on Instagram and Facebook   If you’ve got a question for me, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note. You can find me on social media (see below), or e-mail me at hello@oriordan.co.uk .    To find out more about breast cancer whilst you’re waiting for the next episode to drop, you can watch the videos on my YouTube Channel  or read my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’   If you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is available in all good bookshops.   You can follow me on social media for regular updates - Instagram, Twitter and Facebook  Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee here.