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Nipples, nipples, nipples! Press-on fake ones, rebuilt, or tattooed, the options are many.  In this, the final installment of their cancer journey, Collin and Steph break down the last steps of breast reconstruction surgery:

Implant Exchange, during COVID.
The  difference between the implant placement surgery and the double mastectomy.
Whether or not nipples are necessary  part of their relationship.  
Tamoxifen, the "anti-viagara" and medical menopause. 
Figuring out your new body and  trying to discover your new normal.
Survivors guilt .
How your " last steps" are actually the "first steps"  of dealing with your experience. 
Plus some final advice for caregivers and patients. 

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As much fun as chemo was, radiation is a whole new level of sucking. 

In this episode, Steph and Collin dissect what it means to have a massive laser shot at your chest, and how the monotony of treatment  can take its toll on even the happiest couple. 

They'll discuss...
The process of aligning the radiation lasers, and making form-fitting breast shields.
How  daily radiation treatment becomes  a "part-time job" for both of them.
Ways to make  treatments a little more fun ( parking garage game anyone?)
The cumulative toll of all these procedures, and how the worst of it gradually sneaks up on you.
And yes, the "Pinkening"  and making Aquaphor your best friend. 

Listener note: DO NOT TO  GOOGLE RADIATED BREASTS!!!

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If there anything that can kill your libido faster than cancer... and chemo ...and radiation ... and drugs ...and recovery,  it's news to us. 

 Collin and Steph  get fully frank to talk about  sex (yes, mostly from memory ). 

They'll disect the little things you don't notice while "fighting the fight", look at how these little steps start to create physical distance in your relationship, and how you can stop the emotional bleed. Maybe. (Like we said, not doctors or therapists.)

Can people get over the cancer hurdle to restart your love life? Download and find out. 

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Steph and Collin talk the actual "skinny" about Chemo treatment, like...

Fear of chemo, and how it's not  exactly your "grandmother's chemo anymore."
The effects of Steph's particular drug cocktail of Taxotere & Cytoxan, 
How to "pre-game" with steroids and benadryl.
Neulasta your best friend and worst enemy.
 Whether or not to get a chemo port implanted in your chest 
And Cold Caps or Shaving?  To hair or not to hair, the debate rages.

Plus all the things can that make a chemo treatment more pleasant ( if that's even possible).

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When the pathology on Steph's excised tumor and lymph nodes from the double mastectomy comes back officially making her cancer STAGE 2, Steph and Collin have to start making decisions about  treatment options. 
To Chemo or NOT to Chemo ?  
Will Radiation screw up all the new  "boob work"?  
What are the odds of reoccurrence if you just do nothing?   
And when your not totally sure, sometimes you just need a "CANCER-CATION" for a brief respite of normal. 

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With the major hurdle of surgery over and post-op easing , Stephanie and Collin  finally look at the  " Frankenboobs" and talk  reconstruction and physical rehabilitation . 

The removal of surgical drains and the bizarreness that is  filling of chest expanders.
How the nagging voices of "female body image"  can start to invade 
 Realizing physical vulnerability and how to give yourself grace in recovery.

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They've made it through surgery, so easy sailing from here on, right? Please?! Nope.  

This is not even  the halfway point, as Collin and Stephanie have to deal with 
convalescence, rehab and a bunch of stuff they maybe should have known but didn't.  

Trigger Warning: This episode mentions blood and poop, probably more than it should, so... ya know. 

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We finally get to  surgery day  . Or as Steph  affectionately calls it  "DOUBLE D-DAY", and things don't go exactly as planned. 

From a dog  in the pre-op ward,  to  someone forgetting to remove their underwear before the operation, Collin and Stephanie still manage to come out the other side. 

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The march to surgery day continues, but first there's a few stops to be made :
 
DNA counseling, anyone? 
How about a "What to Expect When You're Expecting a Double Mastectomy" seminar? 

And don't forget post surgery bra shopping and getting your first look at the fake nipples you can buy.  

It's all becoming more and more real as Collin and Steph prepare for the big day. 

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So when do you tell people you have cancer?  Or, do you even have to?  

On this episode, we'll weigh the pros and cons of both approaches. (Pro for telling? Cancer presents! Con for letting people know? Having to answer the question posed in the episode title.)  


There is no "right way" to do this one, but here's how Collin and Steph's version played out.