Breast Cancer Stories

Breast Cancer Stories is about what happens when you have breast cancer, told in real time. Whether you’ve just been diagnosed with breast cancer or love someone who has, this podcast is here to help you through the shock of diagnosis and treatment.

After her mother died, Dr. Tita Gray found a lump and called her doctor at UCLA, but the earliest appointments were two months out. She frantically called around for a doctor who could get her in ASAP for a biopsy. Luckily, St. Mary's in Long Beach got Tita in right away, but the news wasn't good. When Tita later saw her oncologist at UCLA, they found more cancer than expected and recommended immediate aggressive chemo. In season 3 of Breast Cancer Stories, Tita shares her story in real time as she navigates a triple negative breast cancer diagnosis, undergoes aggressive chemo and immunotherapy, and ultimately chooses to go flat following a double mastectomy.

Season 2

The second season follows Natasha Curry, a palliative care nurse practitioner at San Francisco General Hospital. 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. 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." One painful biopsy later, Natasha found out she had cancer; in one life-changing moment, the nurse became the patient.

Season 1

The first season of Breast Cancer Stories follows Kristen Vengler, a 56 year old single empty nester in San Diego, from her diagnosis of hormone positive breast cancer through chemotherapy, double mastectomy & breast reconstruction, radiation, and whatever happens after that. In 2020, Kristen moved from Austin to San Diego to start her life over after a life-shattering workplace trauma. A few months later she had that terrifying moment in the shower we all hope we never have.

Connect with us

Breast Cancer Stories is an all-time Top 10 Medicine podcast on Goodpods.

Connect with us and learn more about the show at breastcancerstoriespodcast.com

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Sponsorship opportunities available. For our media kit or to contact us visit breastcancerstoriespodcast.com.

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Episoder(58)

Day 422: The Weight is Off My Chest [Kristen Vengler]

It’s the day after Kristen’s surgery to replace her expanders with permanent breast implants, and she’s already feeling much better. For the last 33 weeks, Kristen lived with a constant 2-4 pain level...

28 Apr 202222min

Day 420: Goodbye Franken-Boobs [Kristen Vengler]

It’s the night before Kristen’s implant exchange surgery. After 9 long months, the painful, lopsided tissue expanders will be replaced with silicone gel breast implants and her constant pain will come...

21 Apr 202224min

Day 403: What They Don’t Tell You About Hormone Blockers [Kristen Vengler]

Nobody told Kristen just how horrible the side effects from the hormone blockers would be. The neuropathy in her feet causes her to walk like an old woman and she struggles with simple, everyday movem...

8 Apr 202234min

Day 365: I'm Still Here [Kristen Vengler]

Kristen returns to Austin during the holidays to help a friend recover from surgery, clear out the last of her old things from the storage unit, and close the door on 26 years of her life. A stinky si...

24 Mar 202228min

Deconstructing Kristen’s Breast Reconstruction with Plastic Surgeon Dr. Salvatore Pacella (Part 2)

In part 2 of our conversation with plastic surgeon Dr. Salvatore Pacella, we go behind the doors of the operating room to understand how the team functions and learn some surprising things about surge...

10 Mar 202222min

Deconstructing Kristen’s Breast Reconstruction with Plastic Surgeon Dr. Salvatore Pacella (Part 1)

Kristen’s plastic surgeon Dr. Salvatore Pacella joins us to deconstruct her breast reconstruction and help us understand his strategy for the multi-stage approach in which the expanders are placed at ...

3 Mar 202227min

Day 301: Another Day in the Valley [Kristen Vengler]

Two months after radiation, Kristen’s chest isn’t looking like such a hot mess anymore. But in mental health terms, we’re in the valley now and nobody knows how deep or wide that valley will be. Krist...

17 Feb 202222min

Day 248: Nothing Will Ever Be The Same Again [Kristen Vengler]

Despite increasing pain and burns from the most recent round of radiation, Kristen manages to keep up with work and spend time with a friend at the beach. With only five days left until the end of rad...

28 Jan 202228min