On today’s episode, I am speaking with Angela Pohl. Angela is an ultramarathon runner who was training for a 100 mile race when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2021. Angela was initially a guest on the podcast back in September 2021 and is back now to talk about life now that she completed active treatment over a year ago. She received neoadjuvant chemotherapy with TCHP, had a bilateral mastectomy, radiation, and Kadcyla. About a year ago, she decided to transition to a plant-based lifestyle and she shares what her experience has been like, tips and tricks to start making small changes to your diet and what running looks like now. You can find Angela on instagram at @goodrunning26.2. If you have been wanting to incorporate more plants into your diet, this is the episode for you!

On today’s episode, I am speaking with Dr. Kellie Reed, a board-certified dermatologist based in Austin, TX who specializes in general medical dermatology (including surgical and pediatric) as well as aesthetic skin care.She is a native Texan and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business Honors Program. She completed her medical training at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. She returned to Austin to complete internship and residency at The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School. On today’s episode, we talk about all things skin – skin cancer prevention and screening, skin care, and Dr. Reed shares her top three tips for taking care of your skin. You can find her on instagram at @SkinDrReed and in clinic at Westlake Dermatology (https://www.westlakedermatology.com/kellie-reed-md/). This is 30 minutes of packed skin knowledge and a conversation you don’t want to miss!

On today’s episode, I am speaking with Nicole Seagriff and Shayla Martin. Nicole is a two time breast cancer survivor and the President of The Pink Agenda. Shayla is a breast cancer survivor (about to reach her 5 year cancerversary in October 2023), serves on the leadership council of The Pink Agenda and is running the 2023 NYC Marathon with Team TPA! As I am also running with Team TPA, on this episode, we talk about breast cancer survivorship, movement, healing and transformation after cancer and all about TPA (how it came to be, its mission and so much more). This episode will absolutely inspire you to do the “next hard thing!”

On today’s episode, I am speaking with Dr. Narjust Florez, a thoracic medical oncologist and Associate Director of the Cancer Care Equity Program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and faculty at Harvard Medical School. Her clinical interests include targeted therapy for lung cancer, care of women with lung cancer and aspects of their cancer survivorship-including sexual health! She is the principal investigator of the Sexual Health Assessment in Women with Lung Cancer (SHAWL) Study, the largest study to date evaluating sexual dysfunction in women with lung cancer. She is also a leading researcher in cancer health disparities, gender and racial discrimination in medical education and medicine. In this conversation, we talk about it all – you will learn a ton! You can find Dr. Florez on Twitter @NarjustFlorezMD or Instagram @drnarjust.

On today’s episode, I am speaking with Anne Keane. Anne was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer when she was 36 years old and had a 1 year old daughter at the time. She has now been living with triple positive metastatic breast cancer for nearly 7 years. Anne is a runner and recently ran the 2023 Boston Marathon as part of the The Dana Farber Marathon team, raising $29,000 for research. We have some hard conversations about living with metastatic disease and how she recently told her daughter about breast cancer. Anne talks about her marathon experience, including a foot injury leading up to the race, getting to the start line, and what got her through the really difficult movements during the race itself. Anne was originally on the Interlude Podcast in October 2021 and it was wonderful to have her back on again now. I urge you all to take a listen to this episode!

On today’s episode, I am speaking with Bri Rickertsen. Bri was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 35 in 2020 and she used movement and meditation to get through chemotherapy, surgery, radiation and targeted treatment. Now that she is done with active treatment, her goal is to increase the number of cancer survivors and thrivers – in and out of treatment – who are reaching exercise and movement guidelines. She is the founder of The Nifty 150 – an approach aimed at providing recommendations for 150 minutes of suggested cardio and strength workouts (alongside stretching and meditation) each week, using the classes on the Peloton platform. She is building a community, educating and empowering survivors and thrivers to find workouts that meet their needs. Make sure you follow along on Instagram @the_nifty_150!

On today’s episode, I am speaking with Morgan Adams. Morgan Adams is a holistic sleep coach for women who struggle with getting a good night’s sleep consistently. Her goal is to help women feel better and live better, and the key to both begins with a good night’s sleep. Morgan is a former insomniac who spent almost a decade using prescription sleeping pills despite knowing that her overall sleep quality suffered. She’s also a two-time breast cancer survivor who advocates for a lifestyle of disease prevention, risk reduction, and integrating holistic strategies into cancer treatment. Find and follow her on Instagram @morganadams.wellness.

On today’s episode, I am speaking with Dr. Brooklyn Olumba. Dr. Olumba is a clinical pharmacist, BRCA2 mutation carrier, and a 3-year breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed with stage 1B breast cancer at the age of 28 following an annual breast MRI at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She is passionate about genetic testing, patient advocacy, and using social media as tool to connect community members together. Brooklyn shares her experience navigating breast cancer during the pandemic, being a healthcare provider as a patient, the good and bad of social media, the importance of allowing yourself space to feel and react to emotions (while being ok having a temporary pity party!), the advocacy work she is doing, and where she is now. Find and follow her on Instagram at brooklyn_style!

On today’s episode, I am talking all about cancer and mental health. We know that impacts on mental health are extremely prevalent throughout the entire spectrum of cancer from diagnosis through treatment and beyond. Yet, there remains a significant stigma in talking about and addressing mental health. In this conversation, you’ll hear about anxiety and depression – how to identify symptoms, risk factors and both non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic ways to begin to manage anxiety and depression. I share how to find a therapist and talk about social isolation, toxic positivity, survivor’s guilt, support for caregivers, and much more.

Welcome back to the Interlude Podcast. You are listening to Episode 133, a conversation with Chelsey Gomez.

On today’s episode, I am speaking with Chelsey Gomez, the artist known as “Ohyouresotough.” She is a two time survivor of Hodgkin lymphoma and owns a non traditional cancer brand of the same name, “Ohyouresotough” which emphasizes humor as a way to cope with cancer and chronic illness. Chelsey uses her art to advocate for the AYA (adolescent and young adult) cancer community and the cancer community as a whole. She has also published several children’s books and adult coloring books focusing on various aspects of cancer. Chelsey talks about how her cancer diagnosis and treatment led her to realize what was lacking in the cancer community, how that prompted her to make her first drawing to express what she really felt about having cancer (rather than what other people told her she should feel) and how it transformed from a sketch to her work now. We speak about the language that we use around cancer, how phrases like “let me know how I can help” can be unintentionally hurtful, the importance of communication in the doctor-patinet relationship, mental health, social media, financial toxicity, and so much more. You can find Chelsey on social media @ohyouresotough or on her website http://www.ohyouresotough.com.