If This Is What Kills Me, At Least I Lived a Good Life

August 4th, 2022  |  Season 1  |  26 mins 34 secs

depression, foot pain, mud\wtr, reconstructive surgery

Persistent foot pain caused by chemo forces Kristen to spend hours each day on physical therapy, taping, and stretching her feet at home.

Wowing her friends with her ingenuity, she reveals that flesh-colored socks with the toes cut out are the trick to wearing flip flops to a wedding.

A few weeks after her final reconstructive surgery in a moment of darkness she candidly asks, “if this is what kills me, have I lived a good life?” Answering this question leads her to reflect on just how much her perspective has changed through this experience

The Last Night Before The Last Surgery

July 8th, 2022  |  Season 1  |  27 mins 9 secs

anniversary, foot pain, neuropathy, pre-op

On the eve of the final reconstructive surgery, which coincides with the 1-year anniversary of her mastectomy, Kristen reflects on how far she’s come and how many things are different from what she expected.

Things to Know Before You “Just Get a Port” with Dr. Aaron Fritts

June 30th, 2022  |  Season 1  |  40 mins 4 secs

backtable, chemotherapy, interventional radiologist, mediport, port placement procedures, ports

The list of things to do before starting chemo includes the seemingly ordinary task of getting a “port” or “medi-port.” Get your blood work, pick up groceries, wash the car, get a port… But port placement is actually surgery and being unprepared for the procedure can result in some pretty unpleasant surprises and unexpected pain. Interventional Radiologist Dr. Aaron Fritts explains the procedure and answers our questions.

Day 463: Porn Star Sized Breast Implants Were Never On My Bucket List

June 23rd, 2022  |  Season 1  |  18 mins 35 secs

breast reconstruction, hormone blockers, neuropathy

Six weeks after the (evil) expanders are out and new 700cc “porn-star-sized” breast implants are in, Kristen shares what it feels like to be on the other side of the painfully long process of stretching her skin to make room for the permanent replacements.

Two Nurses Turned Patients: Author Theresa Brown, RN & Natasha Curry, NP

June 15th, 2022  |  Season 1  |  37 mins 46 secs

book review, mammography, nurses, nursing, tamoxifen, ultrasound

As a nurse, you never truly understand the level of terror your patients are experiencing until you become one yourself. New York Times best-selling author Theresa Brown, RN, shares her breast cancer treatment journey along with details about her new book, “Healing.”

Natasha’s Story: Nurse Becomes Patient [Season 2 Trailer]

June 13th, 2022  |  Season 2  |  6 mins 12 secs

biopsy, lumpectomy, mammogram, san francisco general hospital, ultrasound

Natasha Curry is not your everyday average nurse. As a palliative care nurse practitioner at San Francisco General Hospital, she cares for the poorest and most vulnerable. When she discovered an almond-sized lump in her armpit, she did everything she tells her patients not to do and dismissed it. One painful biopsy later, Natasha found out she had cancer; in one life-changing moment, the nurse became the patient. This is Natasha’s breast cancer story, told in real time.

Beating Lymphedema with Lymphatic Massage Expert Christine Galione, MSPT, CLT

May 27th, 2022  |  Season 1  |  39 mins 52 secs

compression sleeves, cording, lymph nodes, lymphatic drainage, lymphatic massage, lymphatic system, lymphedema, physical therapist

When and if lymph nodes have to be removed in the course of breast cancer treatment, lymphedema is a persistent aftereffect that must be treated and cared for following surgery, sometimes for many years. Special guest and lymphedema specialist Christine Galione, MSPT, CLT is a physical therapist and expert lymphatic massage practitioner at Scripps Memorial La Jolla who has been helping breast cancer patients with lymphedema therapy since 2004.

Things You Need for Radiation with Jen Delvaux

May 13th, 2022  |  Season 1  |  47 mins 21 secs

aloe vera, ana ono, aquaphor, beachbody, mastectomy bra, miaderm, my girls skin care, radiation bra

To help make radiation go a little better, Kristen teams up with guest Jen Delvaux to talk about their radiation experiences and share the little things that made them more comfortable.

Day 422: The Weight is Off My Chest

April 28th, 2022  |  Season 1  |  22 mins 19 secs

ana ono, breast implants, exchange surgery, expanders, post-op, recovery, surgical bra

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 from the uncomfortable and awkward expanders. Today her chest looks normal again, even if it will never feel the same.

Day 420: Goodbye Franken-Boobs

April 21st, 2022  |  Season 1  |  24 mins 44 secs

acid reflux, exchange surgery, implants, side effects, tissue expanders, zometa

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 to an end.

Day 403: What They Don’t Tell You About Hormone Blockers

April 8th, 2022  |  Season 1  |  34 mins 6 secs

chemo brain, hormone blockers, neuropathy, zometa

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 movement like standing up from the couch or walking up stairs. But you know Kristen. She's not giving up without a fight.

Day 365: I'm Still Here

March 24th, 2022  |  Season 1  |  28 mins 29 secs

estrogen, lymphedema, moving, stinky armpits, zometa

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.

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

March 10th, 2022  |  Season 1  |  22 mins 1 sec

implant exchange surgery, nipple reconstruction, pain management, tissue expanders

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 surgery.

Looking back on Kristen’s extraordinary pain in the hours following surgery, we get real answers about how and why her pain was so extreme and what could have been done differently.

Dr. Pacella walks us through what to expect during the exchange surgery and subsequent nipple reconstruction coming up soon.

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

March 3rd, 2022  |  Season 1  |  27 mins 20 secs

breast implants, diep flap, fat transfer, mastectomy, plastic surgeon, tissue expanders

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 the time of mastectomy and replaced with breast implants following radiation.

Day 301: Another Day in the Valley

February 17th, 2022  |  Season 1  |  22 mins 48 secs

breast reconstruction, estrogen positive breast cancer, hormone blockers, radiation, skin damage

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.

Day 248: Nothing Will Ever Be The Same Again

January 28th, 2022  |  Season 1  |  28 mins 2 secs

bolus day, boost, radiation burns

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 radiation and “no evidence of disease,” surely there’s a celebration in store?