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 198: Why I Decided to Have Radiation [Kristen Vengler]

Weary and desperate for a break in the relentlessness of breast cancer treatment, Kristen makes the decision whether or not to proceed with radiation. While the medical team followed a tight protocol ...

13 Jan 202238min

Day 176: This Is Not The Outcome We Wanted [Kristen Vengler]

Kristen goes into the operating room hopeful that this milestone is the end of her cancer, but wakes up ten hours later realizing the number of drains in her chest means the worst possible outcome. Th...

30 Des 202132min

Day 160: What Snacks Do You Bring to a Double Mastectomy? [Kristen Vengler]

How do you prepare to have a part of your body removed forever? What snacks do you bring to a double mastectomy? For Kristen, the list starts with a good pillowcase, her Anna Ono robe, her softest Kyt...

16 Des 202117min

Day 151: How I Got Mentally Ready For A Double Mastectomy [Kristen Vengler]

Kristen readies herself for the impending double mastectomy and reflects on her original thought process in which the bad old boobs are swapped for good new boobs and that’s the end. While watching Ni...

2 Des 202113min

Day 131: I Regret Not Noticing This Sooner [Kristen Vengler]

Kristen is exhausted and ready to be done with chemo. When Scripps' entire computer system goes down from a ransomware attack, her appointments come to a screeching halt. A chemotherapy session is del...

12 Nov 202121min

Day 77: Did the Tumor Shrink? [Kristen Vengler]

After 11 long weeks of chemotherapy we’re at the clinic to see Dr. Ali, the oncologist. Kristen is hopeful because she can see her tumor and it appears on the surface like it’s getting smaller. But th...

5 Nov 202118min

Day 60: Strange Chemo Side Effects That Nobody Tells You About [Kristen Vengler]

Kristen adjusts to Taxol, the drug used in the second phase of chemotherapy, which brings bizarre side effects requiring special booties and mittens to prevent permanent nerve damage in her hands and ...

28 Okt 202118min

Day 28: This Might Be What Kills Me [Kristen Vengler]

4 weeks after starting chemo, the “new normal” is here. Kristen describes what it feels like to have no hair and as the physical effects of chemo present new challenges, she realizes that breast cance...

21 Okt 202120min