Most of us would rather not think about breast cancer until we are forced to do so. Kate Ellis is on a mission to change that paradigm. Whether you have been impacted by breast cancer or not, you don't want to miss our raw and honest discussion about Kate’s breast cancer experience. Kate was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 42, at the height of the pandemic, and again at 43. She has undergone a single mastectomy, breast reconstruction, chemotherapy, forced menopause, plus an oophorectomy, and nipple reconstruction. Kate hopes to make some lemonade out of the lemons cancer has given her, and it is her biggest wish that people with breasts and chests get to know their bodies and advocate for themselves, even if they are “too young” for breast cancer.

Here are some other things we talked about in our conversation today and where you can find them in this episode.

2:55 - Kate’s Story
Kate takes us through her breast cancer journey from diagnosis to recovery.

6:38 - Personalized Medicine
Kate tells us about genomic testing and how there are various types of treatment based on your type of cancer. 

7:44 - Slammed Into Menopause
It’s a different experience and comes with different challenges when younger women are forced into menopause because of a cancer diagnosis.  Kate tells us about some of the options that were available to her based on her type of cancer to aid in dealing with symptoms.

12:27 - The Importance of Self-Advocacy
Kate emphasizes the importance of advocating for yourself when it comes to your treatment plan and overall health care. She believes her self-advocacy helped her get treatment sooner.

19:52 - Breast Cancer and Genetics
Is breast cancer genetic? Kate shares some statistics with us and talks about the concept of a false sense of security.

20:58 - Know Your Lemons
Get to know your body and do regular self-breast exams. Kate believes this can help you get diagnosed earlier. She recommends a great resource called Know Your Lemons, which aims to improve early detection of breast cancer worldwide.

22:04 - Size Doesn’t Matter
We discuss what it means to have dense breasts and what that means for your cancer risk. Kate recommends a website called Desnse Breast Canada to learn more about dense breast tissue.

27:48 - Breast Cancer, COVID, and Mental Health
Kate describes how breast cancer impacted her mental health and how that was further exacerbated because of COVID.

32:24 - Lumps Into Lemonade
Follow Kate’s journey through her Instagram page. She tells us how talking publicly about her journey led her to a community where she has connected with women all over the world.

36:37 - Talking to Your Kids About Cancer
Kate gives us advice on how to talk to your kids about a cancer diagnosis. She recommends the book, Cancer Hates Kisses, which is helpful for kids between the ages of 4-8.

42:35 - The Best Gift
Find out why Kate named her tumors Carol Baskin & Joe Exotic. 

What did you think of today's episode? We want to hear from you!