Episodes

Sept. 17, 2024

Day 326: It’s a Reminder I’m Alive [Dr. Tita Gray]

Returning to life cancer-free hasn’t been easy, but Tita stays positive and isn’t letting anything take her spirit down. Her chest is healing, and she doesn’t feel like any less of a woman without breasts. Rather, it reminds her that she's alive and...

Aug. 27, 2024

Day 233: I'm the Most Happy & the Least Happy [Dr. Tita Gray]

When she first looked down after her double mastectomy, Tita didn’t panic. But adjusting to life without a bra has been strange. Nothing could prepare her for the emotions of losing a part of her body. But her tumor is gone, and no cancer was found...

Aug. 20, 2024

Day 220: The Pizza and Pasta Phase [Dr. Tita Gray]

Tita's finally starting to feel like herself again after six grueling months of chemo. With no more nausea, she can actually enjoy pizza and pasta without feeling sick. Her mastectomy is coming up soon, and her oncologist is calling for radiation....

Aug. 13, 2024

Day 178: I’ll Be Replacing My Breasts With Tattoos [Dr. Tita Gray]

Tita's latest MRI shows her tumor is shrinking. She's planning a butterfly tattoo after her double mastectomy to symbolize her metamorphosis. She shares what keeps her strong and optimistic: a job focused on helping others and a supportive circle of...

Aug. 6, 2024

Day 117: It Is What It Is [Dr. Tita Gray]

Tita’s white blood count drops so low she has to reduce her chemo infusions to every other week. Zarxio injections and immunotherapy help keep it in a healthy range. The new schedule extends her treatments through May, leaving her mentally drained....

July 30, 2024

Day 73: One of Those Mondays [Dr. Tita Gray]

Feeling worse than usual and suspecting her chemo dosage might be too high, Tita asks her doctor for another mammogram and ultrasound to check visually for signs of cancer. Dismayed to find out she needs two more months of chemo than expected, she...

July 23, 2024

Day 45: It’s Too Much [Dr. Tita Gray]

After her second triple infusion of chemo, Tita is feeling worse than ever—no appetite, headaches, achy joints, the whole side effect shebang. The silver lining is that her oncologist can no longer find the lump. She checks herself regularly, hoping...

July 16, 2024

Day 25: Stop Asking Me How I’m Feeling [Dr. Tita Gray]

Triple negative breast cancer means aggressive chemo, and for Tita, dealing with everyone else's worry on top of it is too much. With her first chemo session completed, she's determined not to let cancer overshadow her gratitude for the good things...

July 9, 2024

Day 1: A Horrifying Diagnosis [Dr. Tita Gray]

Following the loss of her mother and some traumatic family drama that came with it, Dr. Tita Gray discovered a lump in her breast. Scared but determined, she moves quickly to get a biopsy and finds out she has breast cancer. Further scans show it’s...

June 27, 2024

Kristen Update: I’d Prefer to Have a 2nd Type of Cancer

The results of Kristen's PET scan showed two lymph nodes lighting up, one in the gastro-hepatic area of her abdomen and the other in the lining of her esophagus. While it could just be inflammation, Dr. Ali wants her to see a gastroenterologist but...

May 29, 2024

Kristen Update: Shouldn’t I Be in the Hospital?

After a fiasco in Escondido involving multiplying rodents and toxic air quality, Kristen’s on the move again. The pulmonologist found ground glass lungs and an enlarged heart, then Dr. Ali found an enlarged lymph node between her liver and stomach...

Nov. 7, 2023

Natasha Update: Recurrence is a Nonstop Obsessions

About to turn 60, Natasha is in a dark place thinking of other things that can go wrong with her health if she’ll have to go it alone. Even though a routine MRI is clear, she obsesses about cancer spreading to other areas that aren’t being checked....

Oct. 23, 2023

Alicia’s DIEP Flap Reconstruction [Part 2 - After Surgery]

5 months after her DIEP flap reconstruction surgery, Alicia returns with an update. Although the original plan was to do a DIEP flap on both sides, it didn’t turn out that way and she still has an expander on the other side. Still unsure what to do...

May 11, 2023

Alicia’s DIEP Flap Reconstruction [Part 1 - Before Surgery]

With the BRCA mutation and a family history of breast cancer, the “clock” started ticking for Alicia with biannual screenings at age 30. She tried to keep up with the screening schedule, but had young children and decided to go to nursing school. Nine...

May 2, 2023

Natasha Update: Out, Dang Port!

Natasha’s port is out and is huge, resembling a miniature computer mouse. She still believes getting a port was the best decision she’s ever made and now that it’s gone, she can wear her old clothes again. While she enjoys living alone and is back...

April 14, 2023

Defeating Stage 3 Breast Cancer: Kristen Vengler’s Courageous Battle on Cancer U Thrivers with Andrea Wilson Woods

In this episode of Cancer U Thrivers, hear Kristen’s interview with author, speaker, entrepreneur, and patient advocate Andrea Wilson Woods on her podcast Cancer U Thrivers. Kristen walks Andrea and her audience through her experience with stage 3...

Feb. 9, 2023

Kristen Update: The Last of the Post-Treatment Horrors and Indignities (We Hope)

After a hard fall, Kristen breaks several ribs and at a scan to check for a ruptured implant, the radiologist sees a Skittle-sized spot near her breast implant just in time for the two year anniversary of her diagnosis. On the heels of a brand new...

Jan. 26, 2023

Day 295: The Trauma Has Made Me Softer [Natasha Curry, RN, NP]

Natasha adjusts to post-treatment daily life, continuing with hormone blockers and finally seeing a mental health professional. While working with less fortunate patients who don't have mittens or cold caps, Natasha looks back with gratitude on how...

Jan. 5, 2023

Day 246: Here, Have Another Biopsy [Natasha Curry, RN, NP]

After a scan shows a 1.2 cm nodule on her thyroid, Natasha goes for a biopsy which comes back with complicated results. Not wanting any more surgery or radiation right now means there’s a difficult decision to make. Three and a half weeks of...

Dec. 15, 2022

Day 203: I Still Choose to Show Up [Natasha Curry, RN, NP]

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...

Dec. 1, 2022

Day 175: Healthcare Nonsense and Red Tape [Natasha Curry, RN, NP]

Natasha is given three options for radiation treatment, but it’s a challenge since everyone has been making decisions for her up to this point. She decides on three and a half weeks of radiation to the breast and the lymph nodes in the armpit. Down to...

Nov. 17, 2022

Day 160: Cancer Free But Now What? [Natasha Curry, RN, NP]

It’s been two weeks since Natasha’s lumpectomy and because no evidence of cancer was found during surgery, she has been declared “cancer free” by her surgeon. The day of surgery was long and a little emotional from the anesthesia, but recovery has...

Nov. 3, 2022

Day 146: Covid Ruins Everything Again [Natasha Curry, RN, NP]

After Natasha and friends travel to Mexico to celebrate the end of chemo, it’s her turn to catch COVID which delays her lumpectomy surgery for a week. Her nerves are shot from constant fear of the unknown. Because there’s nothing visible on her most...

Oct. 27, 2022

Day 111: Covid Ruins Everything [Natasha Curry, RN, NP]

Thanks to the incredible cold cap technology, Desert Essence shampoo, and seldomly using a brush, after six rounds of chemo Natasha still has her hair. Meanwhile, everything else is falling apart. Plans to celebrate at a fancy restaurant are wrecked...