Videos

If you're about to start chemo, your list of things to do probably includes getting a port. But port placement is actually surgery and being unprepared for the procedure can result in some unpleasant surprises or unexpected pain. Since it's surgery, you should probably ask WHO will put your port…

Was a pleasure to be featured on The Clarita Escalante Show. We talked about my story, how to support someone you love as they experience the overwhelming process of breast cancer treatment, and much more. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-70-breast-cancer-story-with-kristen-vengler/id1561363489?i=1000571546055

Although Kristen and Natasha's stories are different in many ways, they both share one common experience: mammograms missed their cancer. Season 2 includes a brand new perspective in real-time, big conversations with experts, and unfiltered discussions between Natasha and Kristen as they compare and contrast their stories.

Natasha was diagnosed with breast cancer just a few months after her husband ended things over a text message while she was on a Doctors Without Borders mission. She couldn’t help but ask herself, “What next?” Full episode: https://youtu.be/a61yLZ4_jIU

“Let’s start living rather than just being a disease. You can be both at the same time.” Wow! Did these words from Natasha give you goosebumps or what? Full episode: https://youtu.be/1QrsOPpVmlc #podcast #breastcancer #nurse

To some, the constant negative talk surrounding cancer becomes overbearing. Natasha likes looking at everything on academic mode rather than personal mode. In this clip from our latest episode titled Day 0- Part 2: The Pathologist Never Calls With Good News, Natasha talks about her distaste for the idea that…

Huge thank you to author Theresa and Natasha for telling us how it feels to go from being a nurse to being a patient. ❤️ Theresa joins us in our recent episode to discuss her book “Healing: When a Nurse Becomes a Patient.” https://www.amazon.com/Healing-When-Nurse-Becomes-Patient/dp/1643750690 More words like these from Theresa…

Kristen and Dana Donofree CEO of Ana Ono team up to share the must-haves as you go into surgery. 👀📝 Dana gave the history behind Ana Ono and how its most popular products came to be. If you've ever wondered where all that pink money goes, we talk about breast…

In the latest episode, the realization of how much of her journey is still ahead despite chemo ending soon has Natasha losing touch of her nurse role and feeling more like a patient. She shares her thoughts on celebrating the end of chemo despite having radiation and surgery still ahead…

Since her cold cap saved her hair throughout chemotherapy treatment, Natasha is DigniCap's #1 advocate! In “Day 111: Covid Ruins Everything,” she shares her appreciation for all the things that helped her keep her beautiful hair.🤍☃️💆🏻‍♀️ Full episode: https://youtu.be/goTl4Zd4KiE

Although chemo was far from easy, Natasha is realizing she viewed it as a safety net because she was being monitored and taken care of so much during her treatment period. Now that she’s finished with her treatments, she’s feeling vulnerable and worrying the tumor will grow back. Hear more…

Natasha has had her fair share of traumatic things happen to her. Her anger and denial stage of recovering from it overpowered her mind for the past year, but she’s finally starting to feel her tears come out. Hear how she is trying to heal both emotionally and physically on…

Natasha’s overload of knowledge from her years as a nurse working with cancer patients causes her more worry than peace throughout her personal experience. Hear the emotions going through her mind after finishing radiation in Day 246: Here, Have Another Biopsy. ❤️ Full episode: https://youtu.be/lteA1Pkaorg #radiation #radiationtherapy #biopsy #breastcancersurvivor

In this episode of Cancer U Thrivers, Kristen walks author, speaker, entrepreneur, and patient advocate Andrea Wilson Woods and her audience through her experience with stage 3 breast cancer, from finding her tumor in the shower, to chemo, her mastectomy and reconstruction, to radiation and beyond. Full episode: https://youtu.be/2Z79HxVYyqg

If you've wanted to travel somewhere far away but you've been holding yourself back... this is your sign to TAKE THAT TRIP. 🙌🏻❤️ Natasha's port is out, she's gaining healthy weight back, and she's living life to the fullest! Full episode: https://youtu.be/fS7_0iJ-Gmc #podcast #breastcancer #breastcancerfree #breastcancersurvivors #her2

Who else wants to know what happens to dead cancer cells? 🤔 Listen to our latest episode, "Recurrence: Natasha’s Nonstop Obsession" to find out how Natasha's been feeling lately. ❤️ full episode: https://youtu.be/iR8CFhdqp9I #podcast #breastcancer #breastcancerfree #breastcancersurvivors #her2

Kristen’s on the move again after a rodent fiasco in Escondido. Also found ground glass lungs, an enlarged heart, and an enlarged lymph node. Waiting to get a PET scan. Fingers crossed as we play the waiting game again. ❤️🤞🙏 New Kristen update is out now, and we'll be sharing…

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. Puzzling through the scenarios (as if she has a choice), Kristen hopes for a second, new kind of cancer rather than…

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 the earliest appointment is almost two…

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 and asked for a PET scan. With recurrence always lurking,…

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. Following her mother’s…

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 next, Alicia is…

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 uneventful years went by until she…

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 at work five days a…