Show Notes
Kate Ellis believes we need to change how we think about breast cancer – before it becomes personal. In this candid conversation, Kate shares her powerful story of facing breast cancer diagnoses at ages 42 and 43, during the peak of the pandemic.
Her journey through single mastectomy, reconstruction, chemotherapy, induced menopause, oophorectomy, and nipple reconstruction offers vital insights for all.
Turning her experience into advocacy, Kate is passionate about empowering people to understand their bodies and speak up for their health, challenging the notion that anyone is “too young” for breast cancer awareness.
Here are some other things we talked about in our conversation today and where you can find them in this episode.
2:55 – Kate’s Story
Kate talks about her breast cancer journey from diagnosis to recovery.
6:38 – Personalized Medicine
Kate introduces genomic testing and the various types of treatment based on your type of cancer.
7:44 – Slammed Into Menopause
Menopause is a different experience with different challenges when younger women are forced into menopause because of cancer. Kate discusses some options that were available to her based on her type of cancer to dealing with her symptoms.
12:27 – The Importance of Self-Advocacy
Kate emphasizes the importance of advocating for yourself for your treatment plan and overall health care. Self-advocacy helped her get treatment sooner.
19:52 – Breast Cancer and Genetics
Is breast cancer genetic? Kate’s got statistics and talks about her false sense of security.
20:58 – Know Your Lemons
Get to know your body and do regular self-breast exams. Kate recommends a great resource – Know Your Lemons, which aims to improve early detection of breast cancer.
22:04 – Size Doesn’t Matter
We discuss what it means to have dense breasts and the implications for your cancer risk. Kate recommends checking out Desnse Breast Canada to learn more about dense breast tissue.
27:48 – Breast Cancer, COVID, and Mental Health
Kate breast cancer hourney impacted her mental health and was further exacerbated by COVID.
32:24 – Lumps Into Lemonade
Follow Kate’s journey on her Instagram page where she talks publicly about her journey that has connected with women all over the world.
36:37 – Talking to Your Kids About Cancer
How to talk to your kids about a cancer diagnosis. Kate recommends the book, What did you think of today’s episode? We want to hear from you!
Thank you so much for listening to the show. Here is how you can connect with us at This Is Perimenopause.
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