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Today we speak with Valerie Armand and Jennifer O'brien about their experiences with loss and end of life.  Specifically, we look at the question of when people decide enough is enough and it is ok to say no to more treatments. 

Valery is an LPN and Certified End of Life Doula with over 20 years experience serving others at the end of life. Founder of Exiting Gracefully, LLC and a Dying Your Way consultant, her passion lies in removing the stigma that society has placed on facing our mortality. She provides consulting, education and mentoring as a way to empower others, helping them navigate their own unique journey.

Jennifer O’brien is not new to loss. At a young age she lost her only brother after three weeks in a coma and her mother to pancreatic cancer. 

She had cared for uncles, grandparents and friends at end of life.  Jennifer  is the accomplished Author of the Hospice Doctor’s Widow.  Her writing  presents the raw and honest insights of a caregiver and is about being fully present during even the toughest moments, honoring grief, and going forward after devastating loss. 

Several of us in the breast cancer community are on or have been on numerous chemotherapies. We use the term line of treatment. For example, we may be on one line of chemotherapy until it stops working and then we move onto the next. The hope is that we don’t run out of options and that there will always be a new therapy to try. But when is enough enough? When do we give ourselves the permission to say I don’t want to try another drug? How do we balance quality of life over quantity. These are some of the questions we address today. Welcome to the conversation. 

Resources from today's episode
The Hospice Doctors Widow: A Journal
Dying Your Way
Exiting Gracefully LLC
Survivingbreastcancer.org/events
Ciitizen/SBCtrials: Ciitizen is free, helps you gain access and control to all your medical records and now, can also help you explore your custom Clinical Trial options!  

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