When you’re stuck replaying the same anger, grief or worry, those thoughts can start shaping how you see everything.

Toni Powell shares how she began questioning the stories she was telling herself, changed what she focused on and found a way out of a deeply negative pattern.

This isn’t about pretending everything is fine. It’s about recognising when your thoughts are making things harder—and learning that you don’t have to believe every one of them.

A note before you listen:This episode briefly mentions suicidal thoughts and includes some strong language. Please take care when listening. 💙

For the links to all the resources mentioned in this show, go to the episode blog page.

Connect with Luan:

• Sign up for Luan's newsletter
• Follow Luan on Instagram
• Connect with Luan on LinkedIn
• Visit Luan's website

Guests share their personal experiences of healthcare. Individual clinicians or services are not identified, and the experiences discussed are not intended as allegations about any specific practitioner or service. Experiences are shared to explore broader patterns in healthcare and the impact they can have on patients to help improve healthcare for patients.

Please read more in this Disclaimer

CREDITS:

Host & Producer: Luan Lawrenson-Woods, Self-Health Advocate

Sound engineering: Paddy from Goosewing Sounds Ltd (UK)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Part 2, Dr Julie Ayre and Luan look at memory, chat history and privacy, using Luan’s own health information as an example.

They explore whether details shared in one conversation could shape what the tool says to you later—and what to consider before handing over more than you intended.

Listen before deciding how much of your health information you’re comfortable sharing.

A note before you listen: Some conversations on Regarding Me include experiences of illness, treatment, mental health, grief and other sensitive topics. Please take care when listening. 💙

For links to the resources in this show - visit the episode blog page.

Connect with Luan:

• Sign up for Luan's newsletter
• Follow Luan on Instagram
• Connect with Luan on LinkedIn
• Visit Luan's website

Guests share their personal experiences of healthcare. Individual clinicians or services are not identified, and the experiences discussed are not intended as allegations about any specific practitioner or service. Experiences are shared to explore broader patterns in healthcare and the impact they can have on patients to help improve healthcare for patients.

Please read more in this Disclaimer

CREDITS:

Host & Producer: Luan Lawrenson-Woods, Self-Health Advocate

Sound engineering: Paddy from Goosewing Sounds Ltd (UK)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a diagnosis, ChatGPT can seem like an easy place to start when you don’t know what to ask at your next appointment. But what should you know before sharing personal health information or relying on what it tells you?

Dr Julie Ayre is a public health researcher and expert in health literacy and digital health. She joins Luan to explain in plain language how generative AI tools like ChatGPT work, how they may help you prepare questions and understand unfamiliar terms, and what to consider before using them for your health.

A note before you listen: Some conversations on Regarding Me include experiences of illness, treatment, mental health, grief and other sensitive topics. Please take care when listening. 💙

For links to the resources in this show - visit the episode blog page.

Connect with Luan:

• Sign up for Luan's newsletter
• Follow Luan on Instagram
• Connect with Luan on LinkedIn
• Visit Luan's website

Guests share their personal experiences of healthcare. Individual clinicians or services are not identified, and the experiences discussed are not intended as allegations about any specific practitioner or service. Experiences are shared to explore broader patterns in healthcare and the impact they can have on patients to help improve healthcare for patients.

Please read more in this Disclaimer

CREDITS:

Host & Producer: Luan Lawrenson-Woods, Self-Health Advocate

Sound engineering: Paddy from Goosewing Sounds Ltd (UK)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Season 1 rewind, Luan revisits the stories of three women who spoke up when they faced dismissal, bias or care that didn’t recognise their needs.

Kate Hardman made the deeply personal choice to stop life-saving medication while living with metastatic breast cancer. Sonya Lovell challenged dismissal and bias after feeling sidelined by her doctors. Rena Patel learned from her community how to speak up and ask for different care.

Their stories show that self-advocacy isn’t about being difficult. It’s about having a say in your healthcare and being heard.

A note before you listen: Some conversations on Regarding Me include experiences of illness, treatment, mental health, grief and other sensitive topics. Please take care when listening. 💙

Rewind episodes

• Kate Hardman – Pausing Life-Saving Treatment to Regain Femininity-How Do You Decide?
• Josie Thomson – Menopause, Gaslighting, and the Power of Self-Advocacy
• Dr Susannah Graham – This Isn't Just Me: The Power of Community, Connection and Speaking Up

Connect with Luan:

• Sign up for Luan's newsletter
• Follow Luan on Instagram
• Connect with Luan on LinkedIn
• Visit Luan's website

Guests share their personal experiences of healthcare. Individual clinicians or services are not identified, and the experiences discussed are not intended as allegations about any specific practitioner or service. Experiences are shared to explore broader patterns in healthcare and the impact they can have on patients to help improve healthcare for patients.

Please read more in this Disclaimer

CREDITS:

Host & producer: Luan Lawrenson-Woods is an award-winning women’s health advocate, speaker and host of the Regarding Me and Rewritten Me podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A healthcare appointment is your time to ask questions, understand your options and make sure the conversation includes what matters to you.

In this Season 1 rewind, Luan revisits advice from author and award-winning advocate Dr Liz O’Riordan, neuroscience-based leadership coach Josie Thomson and surgeon Dr Susannah Graham.

Luan reflects on what they shared about preparing your questions, managing the self-doubt that can stop you asking them, and remembering that consent is a two-way conversation, not just a signature.

Your questions aren’t a burden. They’re part of the conversation.

A note before you listen: Some conversations on Regarding Me include experiences of illness, treatment, mental health, grief and other sensitive topics. Please take care when listening. 💙

Connect with Luan:

• Sign up for Luan's newsletter
• Follow Luan on Instagram
• Connect with Luan on LinkedIn
• Visit Luan's website

Guests share their personal experiences of healthcare. Individual clinicians or services are not identified, and the experiences discussed are not intended as allegations about any specific practitioner or service. Experiences are shared to explore broader patterns in healthcare and the impact they can have on patients to help improve healthcare for patients.

Please read more in this Disclaimer

CREDITS:

Host & producer: Luan Lawrenson-Woods is an award-winning women’s health advocate, speaker and host of the Regarding Me and Rewritten Me podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Your personal history of disease is a PhD in you. You know yourself, and your voice needs to be heard. But a sudden diagnosis can leave you too shocked to speak up.

Gill Stannard was diagnosed with cancer within hours of seeing a GP. She shares how she found herself trying to be the “good patient” as she was fast-tracked through major surgery and chemotherapy.

Gill talks about what she wishes she’d known before treatment, including that it was okay to pause, ask questions and ask for more time. And how she found her voice again.

If you are on active treatment for cancer, please check all supplements with your oncologist, oncology pharmacist and/or integrative medicine physician.

A note before you listen: Some conversations on Regarding Me include experiences of illness, treatment, mental health, grief and other sensitive topics. Please take care when listening. 💙

For links to the resources in this show - visit the episode blog page.

Connect with Luan:

• Sign up for Luan's newsletter
• Follow Luan on Instagram
• Connect with Luan on LinkedIn
• Visit Luan's website

Guests share their personal experiences of healthcare. Individual clinicians or services are not identified, and the experiences discussed are not intended as allegations about any specific practitioner or service. Experiences are shared to explore broader patterns in healthcare and the impact they can have on patients to help improve healthcare for patients.

Please read more in this Disclaimer

CREDITS:

Host: Luan Lawrenson-Woods, Self-Health Advocate

Post-production: Paddy from Goosewing Sounds Ltd (UK)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes it takes hearing another woman say, “That happened to me too,” to realise something wasn’t okay.

When Rena Patel was diagnosed with cancer at 40, she felt isolated, unseen and unheard in a healthcare system that didn’t account for the diverse needs of women from ethnic minority backgrounds.

From not being shown how radiotherapy burns could look on her skin to being offered wigs that didn’t match her hair, Rena began to recognise the gaps in her care. She connected with a community of women who understood, helped her trust what she was feeling and gave her the confidence to speak up, so other women—and her daughter—might have a different experience.

A note before you listen: Some conversations on Regarding Me include experiences of illness, treatment, mental health, grief and other sensitive topics. Please take care when listening. 💙

For the links to all the resources mentioned in this show, go to the episode blog page.

Connect with Luan:

• Sign up for Luan's newsletter
• Follow Luan on Instagram
• Connect with Luan on LinkedIn
• Visit Luan's website

Guests share their personal experiences of healthcare. Individual clinicians or services are not identified, and the experiences discussed are not intended as allegations about any specific practitioner or service. Experiences are shared to explore broader patterns in healthcare and the impact they can have on patients to help improve healthcare for patients.

Please read more in this Disclaimer

CREDITS:

Host: Luan Lawrenson-Woods, Self-Health Advocate

Post-production: Paddy from Goosewing Sounds Ltd (UK)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Finding cancer information online is easy. Knowing what to trust is much harder, especially when it comes from someone sharing a personal story.

Dr Liz O’Riordan, a breast surgeon who's had breast cancer three times, knows this from both sides. When she became a cancer patient, she discovered how difficult it could be to find clear, balanced information online, even with her medical background.

Liz talks with Luan about how testimonials, natural treatments and claims about supplements can draw people in, and how to check the accuracy of online advice before it affects your health or costs you money.

For all the resources in this show - including where to find Liz's books - visit the episode blog page.

Connect with Luan:

• Sign up for Luan's newsletter
• Follow Luan on Instagram
• Connect with Luan on LinkedIn
• Visit Luan's website

Guests share their personal experiences of healthcare. Individual clinicians or services are not identified, and the experiences discussed are not intended as allegations about any specific practitioner or service. Experiences are shared to explore broader patterns in healthcare and the impact they can have on patients to help improve healthcare for patients.

Please read more in this Disclaimer

CREDITS:

Host: Luan Lawrenson-Woods, Self-Health Advocate

Post-production: Paddy from Goosewing Sounds Ltd (UK)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A metastatic breast cancer diagnosis doesn’t mean the decisions about your body stop being yours.

Breast reconstruction isn’t always offered to people living with metastatic disease. But Kate Hardman knew it was something she wanted to explore, even though it would mean briefly pausing the medication keeping her cancer stable.

Kate shares how she had conversations with her medical team about what she wanted for her body.

A note before you listen: Some conversations on Regarding Me include experiences of illness, treatment, mental health, grief and other sensitive topics. Please take care when listening. 💙

For the resources mentioned in this show, visit the episode blog page.

• ConnSign up for Luan's newsletter
• Follow Luan on Instagram
• Connect with Luan on LinkedIn
• Visit Luan's website

Guests share their personal experiences of healthcare. Individual clinicians or services are not identified, and the experiences discussed are not intended as allegations about any specific practitioner or service. Experiences are shared to explore broader patterns in healthcare and the impact they can have on patients to help improve healthcare for patients.

Please read more in this Disclaimer

CREDITS:

Host: Luan Lawrenson-Woods, Self-Health Advocate

Post-production: Paddy from Goosewing Sounds Ltd (UK)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Making a decision about alcohol for your health is one thing. Explaining that decision to friends, family or colleagues can be another.

Kath Elliott changed her relationship with alcohol shortly before being diagnosed with breast cancer. She talks with Luan about standing by that choice in social situations, without judging anyone else or feeling obliged to share the whole story.

Kath shares simple ways to respond when people ask questions, encourage you to ‘just have one’ or keep pushing after you’ve said no.

A note before you listen: Some conversations on Regarding Me include experiences of illness, treatment, mental health, grief and other sensitive topics. Please take care when listening. 💙

For the resources mentioned in this show, visit the episode blog page.

Connect with Luan:

• Sign up for Luan's newsletter
• Follow Luan on Instagram
• Connect with Luan on LinkedIn
• Visit Luan's website

Guests share their personal experiences of healthcare. Individual clinicians or services are not identified, and the experiences discussed are not intended as allegations about any specific practitioner or service. Experiences are shared to explore broader patterns in healthcare and the impact they can have on patients to help improve healthcare for patients.

Please read more in this Disclaimer

CREDITS:

Host: Luan Lawrenson-Woods, Self-Health Advocate

Post-production: Paddy from Goosewing Sounds Ltd (UK)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.