Breast Cancer Stories
Kristen Vengler & Eva Sheie
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Day 203: I Still Choose to Show Up
The radiation oncologist sends Natasha to a psycho-oncologist (did you know that was a thing?) because her antidepressants aren’t working, making self-care too hard. This forces her to confront the mental health struggles caused by the abrupt end of her time in Malawi, the surprise end of her 25-year marriage, and a cancer diagnosis all happening at the same time. Missing her old pre-cancer life, but not necessarily the marriage, she is engulfed in sadness and nostalgia but chooses to still show up. == A special thank you to Doctors Without Borders for listening to the show and sending good thoughts to Natasha! If you have just been diagnosed, and are interested in telling your story from beginning to end on our podcast, send us a note on our website at breastcancerstoriespodcast.com Your support is crucial to continuing our mission, which is simply to help those with breast cancer and the people who love them through the shock of diagnosis and treatment. Support the Breast Cancer Stories podcast: https://www.breastcancerstoriespodcast.com/p/donate/ or become a premium subscriber of our newsletter at https://breastcancerstories.substack.com/subscribe **About Breast Cancer Stories** Breast Cancer Stories follows Natasha Curry, a palliative care nurse practitioner at San Francisco General Hospital, through her experience of going from being a nurse to a patient after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Natasha was in Malawi on a Doctors Without Borders mission in 2021 when her husband of 25 years announced in a text message that he was leaving. She returned home, fell into bed for a few weeks, and eventually pulled herself together and went back to work. A few months later when she discovered an almond-sized lump in her armpit, she did everything she tells her patients not to do and dismissed it, or wrote it off as a “fat lump." Months went by before Natasha finally got a mammogram, but radiology saw nothing in either breast. It was the armpit lump that caught their attention. Next step was an ultrasound, where the lump was clearly visible. One painful biopsy later, Natasha found out she had cancer; in one life-changing moment, the nurse became the patient. This podcast is about what happens when you have breast cancer, told in real time. Host and Executive Producer: Eva Sheie Co-Host: Kristen Vengler Editor and Audio Engineer: Daniel Croeser Theme Music: Them Highs and Lows, Bird of Figment Story Editor: Mary Ellen Clarkson Assistant Producer: Hannah Burkhart Cover Art Designer: Shawn Hiatt Breast Cancer Stories is a production of The Axis. PROUDLY MADE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS
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