BRCA

Episode #146: Scars Don't Mean You're Broken

We all have scars.

The physical ones that we see, and all of the ones that are there that we can’t.

But we feel them. We know them. And, sometimes, we discover we have them years into our adult lives and the shame, the guilt, the overwhelm of processing it all can be all consuming and incredibly fucking daunting to face.

TW: self loathing, body image, medical procedures/needles

In todays episode and in honor of mental health awareness month, Amanda talks about her journey with scars — both physical and beyond. And shares some truth bombs & support around how you can start your own journey in detaching yourself from the shame and guilt of the scars you keep.

LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAYS EPISODE:

Episode 144

Amanda’s book, I Chopped Off My Tits

WORK & CONNECT WITH AMANDA:

Patreon - join her “close friends” list on Instagram at the $5+ level

Amanda’s Instagram | Website | Tik Tok

Join her email list for all the important things / future group coaching & teaching announcements

Episode #115: 30 Things I Would Tell My Twenty Something Year Old Self

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…and the list goes ON on todays very special episode of the podcast when I celebrate turning 30 by sharing thirty things I would tell my twenty something year old self.

I’ve been doing an episode like this since I started the podcast and it’s always my favorite way to celebrate my birthday and take stock of the lessons I’ve learned so I can share them with all of you.

Writing these out, I got really in my feels — le duh, it’s me.

My twenties were a bumpy AF ride — and everything I’ve learned have come from so much:

The moments of celebration, alignment and fierce confidence….from coming out as bi & poly and owning my unique way of loving to publishing a book to getting my preventative double mastectomy to creating a life & businesses that I love and beyond.

And, of course, the moments of shame, overwhelm & not-enoughness…from my eating disorder cycle to navigating panic attacks to having my heart broken…and so many more things that I dive into and share on todays episode of the podcast.

Sending so much love to my younger self and to all of you — we’re all simply doing our best, eh? Let’s keep showing up through all the fears, the feels and, of course, the fucks.

LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAYS EPISODE:

LIVE YOUR F*CK YES LIFE VIRTUAL SUMMIT TICKETS — SELF LOVE & BODY CONFIDENCE EDITION

Live Your F*ck Yes Life Community — become a Patron!

Youtube version of the podcast

WORK & CONNECT WITH AMANDA:

Amanda’s Instagram | Website

Amanda’s book, I Chopped Off My Tits

1:1 coaching with Amanda — I am accepting 1-2 new coaching clients for 2021. Apply here to set up an initial call to see if this work together is a good fit.

Join her email list & get access to her fears & feels embodiment playlists

Episode #109: Looking Back on My Three Year Journey With BRCA | A Solo Episode

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When I saw that December 3rd 2020 fell on a Thursday — the same day a podcast has dropped into your earbuds almost every day barring season breaks for the last (almost) 3 years, I knew that the Universe knew what was up.

This date will forever go down in history as a reminder of me navigating my preventative double mastectomy for two reasons:

1) On December 3rd, 2018, I went under the knife and had my surgery.

2) On December 3rd, 2019, I released my book I Chopped Off My Tits into the world.

So when I was thinking about how to honor what this day means to me, and, really, what the last almost 3 years of sifting through the fears and feels around all things BRCA — I thought it would be pretty epic to go back to when it all began: February 6th, 2018, two days after my 27th birthday, when I got the call from my doctor that I was, in fact, positive for the BRCA 1 gene and travel through time together via the podcast and my book and current real time expressions.

Fear? Working through the feels? Sifting through anything that impacts our mental health, physical health, relationships, work, sex lives and beyond? It can feel OVERWHELMING AF. Especially because we’re endlessly taught that we need to have our shit together through the mess. The shoulds can be so f*cking suffocating. I know because I was there, love.

And I hope this episode reminds you that no matter what you’re facing, you’re not alone in the mess. I’ve got you. The Live Your F*ck yes community has you. So curl up and let’s go on this journey together.

LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAYS EPISODE:

GET YOUR COPY OF I CHOPPED OFF MY TITS HERE!

Episode 6

Episode 44

Episode 78

WORK & CONNECT WITH AMANDA:

Amanda’s Instagram | Website

1:1 coaching — I am accepting 2-3 new coaching clients come Jan 2021. Apply here to set up a call to see if we’re a good fit.

Episode #106: Using Pleasure To Cope With Trauma And Grief - A Conversation with Alyssa Pressman

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Hi loves.

Todays episode is different — you may notice that there’s no typical intro music/snippets — because it didn’t feel right today. This week has been heavy. Hell, this year has been a fucking trip. And I wrestled with the idea of not releasing a podcast episode today — I wasn’t sure how we would be experiencing this post election day time. And when I woke up yesterday morning, in a mix of deep feels/sadness and hope for a brighter future in the US, I knew that this conversation, with a soul human of mine, was one that I needed to share with all of you today.

And with that, I’d like to introduce to you my friend and kindred spirit, Alyssa Pressman (she/her).

Alyssa is a Licensed Clinical Therapist & Certified Sex + Relationship Coach. She specializes in pleasure & joy post trauma, grief & with chronic illness. She loves supporting women in moving closer to themselves, to other people and to creating lives that feel in deep alignment with their unique desires. She is a BRCA1 mutation carrier like me, and a person living with chronic illness and pain. Reaching for joy and pleasure has been deeply healing for her. When not working, you can find her dancing, lounging, reading or cooking, usually scantily clad if not naked. She loves talking, learning and sharing on all things sex, relationships, death, healing & dark nights of the soul-you know, all the super casual things.

I invite you to take this one on a walk outside, or curl up with a cup of tea and absorb these words as a way to get away, for a moment, from the chaos. You are so loved.


Things we discuss in todays episode:

  • Alyssa’s wake up call around a chronic illness that made it impossible to have penetrative sex without serious pain in her younger twenties

  • How her work as a sex & relationship coach started to empower her sexually, in a more wholistic way

  • Pelvic floor struggles

  • BRCA and the other piece of the fear with our mutual diagnosis: ovarian cancer

  • Self pleasure practices & building a relationship with your pussy

  • How to claim your sexuality as your own and experience life changing pleasure

  • Redefining what sex and pleasure is

  • How to talk to your partner(s) around how to have more connected intimacy with one another

  • Boobs, the beauty of being un-partnered, using pleasure as a form of self care and beyond

Episode #81: Twenty Nine Lessons I Learned in This Past Year | A Solo Birthday Edition Episode

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Happy start to season 4 of the podcast!!

Before I deep dove into all the juicy content coming your way this season (AND BREAKING OPEN SOME TOPICS THAT WE HAVE NEVER COVERED ON THE POD), I wanted to share my heart with all of you and go back to my annual birthday tradition of sharing all of the lessons I’ve learned in the past year! 2019 was a BIG one my friends.

Spoiler alert: I get super emotional on today’s episode. What’s new.

Welcome to the mess, the shifts, the joy and all the in-between!

Things I cover in today’s episode:

  • The intense awakening I’ve had in the last 3 months and what I’ve been up to since the end of season three

  • 29 lessons I learned in my 29 years on this earth

  • We cover things from relationships to identity to personal growth to health and beyond!

LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE:

Teami blends — use code LYFYL for 20% at checkout!

GET YOUR COPY OF I CHOPPED OFF MY TITS HERE!

If/Then the musical

Shout out the pod on Instagram and tag @amandakatherineloy and don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review on Itunes!

WORK WITH AMANDA:

UNAPOLOGETICALLY CONFIDENT COURSE

Join the Live Your F*ck Yes Life Membership

Episode #78: I Chopped Off My Tits | A Solo Episode

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This week marks the year anniversary of my preventative double mastectomy.

And it also marks the launch of my new book, I Chopped Off My Tits.

It’s been a pretty surreal time in my life and I’ve been spending so much of it in reflection, and I wanted to share my heart with you all this week around what the last year has meant to me, where I’m at now and what I’ve learned most around fear, trauma, hard AF decisions and vulnerability.

Warning: I get super teary eyed on this one.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for taking this journey with me.

I love you all more than I can say.

BOMB ASS WAYS TO CONNECT

GET YOUR COPY OF I CHOPPED OFF MY TITS HERE!

Shout out the pod on Instagram and tag @amandakatherineloy and don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review on Itunes!

WORK WITH AMANDA:

Join the Live Your F*ck Yes Life Membership

Book a consult for 1:1 work in emotional/binge eating and mindset

Episode #77: Q&A: Cultivating Gratitude, How BRCA and Getting A Double Mastectomy Changed my Relationship, Monogamy and Beyond | A Solo Episode

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In this episode, I’m answering your questions directly from Instagram! In this “Ask me Anything” episode, nothing is off limits. Loved doing this and definitely going to incorporate more Q&As in the future to incorporate all your Live Your F*ck Yes Lifers into the podcast content more! Feel free to email me amandakatherineloy@gmail.com for any questions you’d want covered!

WORK WITH AMANDA:

Join the Live Your F*ck Yes Life Membership — use code LYFYL for 10% off!

Book a consult for 1:1 work in emotional/binge eating and mindset

BOMB ASS WAYS TO CONNECT

Shout out the pod on Instagram and tag @amandakatherineloy and don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review on Itunes!

GET ON THE I CHOPPED OFF MY TITS VIP BOOK LIST

Episode #72: Double Mastectomy Updates & Where I'm At Now With the BRCA Gene | A Solo Episode

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So many of you have sent in requests for an in depth update about how I’m doing post double mastectomy and where I’m at with my journey with BRCA — so ask and ye shall receive!

I dig into this way more indepth in my book — which is launching December 3rd, 2019 and I read an excerpt from it for the FIRST TIME IN TODAY’S EPISODE! You heard it here first sistah.

But in the meantime, here is the good, the bad, the ugly — the UPDATE.

You are not alone love. I’m in your corner, always.

LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE:

GET ON THE I CHOPPED OFF YOUR TITS VIP BOOK LIST

Work with Amanda:

Join Amanda’s Email list

Book a consult for 1:1 work in emotional/binge eating and mindset

Join Amanda’s fitness community

BOMB ASS WAYS TO CONNECT

Shout out the pod on Instagram and tag @amandakatherineloy and don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review on Itunes!

Episode #71: What It's Really Like to Live With Breast Cancer and Be A Badass B*tch with Anaono Founder Dana Donofree

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Diagnosed with breast cancer at 27, Dana Donofree founded AnaOno out of her own necessity and desire for pretty, sexy, beautiful lingerie. After a bilateral mastectomy with implant reconstruction her own bras no longer fit and she was certain there must be more than just sports bras and camisoles (as nothing in the traditional lingerie market fit her surgically-altered body any more). With a degree in fashion design from Savannah College of Art and Design, and a quite successful fashion industry career, she took her 10+ years experience and put it toward designing, launching and growing AnaOno.

Dana is very active in the breast cancer community and is involved with several non-profits, including Living Beyond Breast Cancer board and she is a Metavivor advocate. Her story has been featured on USA Today, The Today Show, HuffPost, New York Times, INStyle, and many others.

However, she is most proud of being able to make a difference in the lives of women worldwide and is honored to continue to spread her mission of beauty, confidence and empowerment.

Things we talk about on today’s episode:

  • The things we are never told about breast cancer

  • Dealing with an aggressive breast cancer diagnosis at the age of 27

  • The true stats of breast cancer and the importance of being an advocate for yourself

  • What it’s like to live like you’re dying

  • Navigating being 10 years out of her cancer diagnosis

  • Finding light and creating an impact on the other side of trauma

  • How she melded her love of fashion and design and her diagnosis into a mission that changes so many peoples lives

  • The brilliance of her company AnaOno

LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE

Live Your F*ck Yes Life Membership — Use code LYFYL for 10%

GET ON THE I CHOPPED OFF YOUR TITS VIP BOOK LIST

Dana’s Instagram | AnaOno Instagram

Knitted boobs

BOMB ASS WAYS TO CONNECT

Connect with Amanda on Instagram

Shout out the pod on Instagram and tag @amandakatherineloy and don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review on itunes!

Episode #49: Mood swings, menstrual cycles and my journey of going off the birth control pill | A Solo Episode

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On today’s episode I’m deep diving into the past year of navigating my body and hormones after going off the birth control pill.

This time last year, I remember sitting in a coffee shop with my friend Jen talking all about the birth control pill. She had decided to go off of it 6 months prior and was sharing her experience with me and it got me thinking ... "why have I been on the pill for so goddamn long?"

I mean OBVIOUSLY to not have a baby. But the reason I went on the pill in the first place? I was 15 years old and my doctor misdiagnosed me with PCOS and said "here, just take the pill. It'll help your symptoms." And she was right, it did. And I didn't question it (and hadn't questioned it for years).


But that conversation got me thinking about how I'd been putting synthetic hormones into my body for 12 years of my life without question ('cause ya know, everyone is on the pill, right?) and that I hadn't even thought to question it.  And after my 27th birthday, after all of the medical stuff going on with me at the time, and the incredible conversation I had with Claire Baker on episode 7 of the podcast and speaking with my doctor, I decided to officially go off of the pill. 

Now I want to preface this by saying this is in NO WAY a "you need to go off the pill" podcast. YOU are the only person that can make choices for YOUR body (and girlfriend, you 100% know what's best for YOU and where you're at in life), but this past year has given me SO much insight into my body and my hormonal health

So here is MY story based off of my personal findings, speaking with my trusted hormone experts, my doctor and MY BODY.

Things I cover in today’s episode:

  • My journey with the birth control pill

  • What is actually happening to your body when you’re on the pill

  • Why I decided to go off the pill and what path I decided to go with

  • The nitty gritty of what it's really like to get an IUD inserted

  • Embracing my body and learning to love myself via my menstrual cycle

  • The pressure to show up in a way that goes agains our bodies in a masculine focused world

  • Reframing cramps and our periods as positive and beautiful experiences

    *edit: the Paraguard lasts 10 years not 5!

Episode #44: What It's Like To Get a Double Mastectomy At the Age of 27 | A Solo Episode

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EPISODE SNEAK PEEK

“I lost an entire six hours of my day. One minute I was holding my husbands finger and the next minute I was blinking half awake in the ICU saying I was nauseous.”

Happy season 2 my Live Your F*ck Yes Lifers!

Holy balls, it’s good to be back. I’ve missed you guys.

Season 2 is about to be incredible so hold onto your hats — the lineup of conversations are seriously so juicy and amazing and I can’t wait for you guys to hear them.

But before we get there, I thought it was only fitting to kick off the start of season 2 with the true tell all about my preventative double mastectomy and what it’s really been like.

So many of you have been asking about the nitty gritty deets so today, we get into all of that and more.


Things I cover in today’s episode.

  • Navigating trauma and facing your fears head on

  • Fears I had heading into surgery, body dysmorphia and sex

  • Breast cancer awareness, the BRCA gene, major surgery

  • What I did to prep for it

  • The nitty gritty of my personal choices

  • What recovery has really looked like

Episode #39: What you need to know about the BRCA gene

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EPISODE SNEAK PEEK

“When you have a mutation of one of these genes, that’s when you have a significant risk of developing one of those cancers in your lifetime.”

I was so honored to share my full story about the BRCA gene and my decision to get a preventative double mastectomy later this year on my friend Jen Wille’s podcast a few weeks back and I knew I needed to share this conversation with all of you.

This is the most vulnerable I’ve felt all year. And I would not be me if I didn’t share that with you.

So here goes. Dig in, and if you have any questions about anything I talk about, please do not hesitate to reach out. I am always here for you.

Here are a few things we discuss in todays episode:

  • My one non negotiable to start my day every day

  • The power (and fear) attached to sharing stories while navigating it in real time

  • My intention word of 2018 and the irony of it all

  • The ins and outs of the BRCA gene and how it impacts women vs. men

  • Navigating the idea of having kids now

  • The options for reducing your risk when you have the gene

  • Facing things you’re absolutely terrified of head on

  • Talking about my BOOBS in detail

  • The exact surgery I’m getting

LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE

TEAMI BLENDS TEAS — use code LYFYL for 15% off your purchase

Episode 21: Having the courage to live life with intention, radical self care and growing up in foster care with Jen Wille

Previous podcast episodes where I touch on BRCA // Episode 10: Finding strength in unexpected places & Episode 6: Facing Fear Head On

Jen’s podcast First & Foremost

FORCE

BOMB ASS WAYS TO CONNECT

Join our community where we chat all things real talk, and you get the inside scoop on guests, a chance to ask questions & be surrounded by a tribe of ladies who GET you!

Shout out the pod on Instagram and tag @liveyourfuckyeslife or leave a review on itunes to get featured on the podcast! 

Episode #19: The Power of Community and finding your Breast Friends with Paige MORE

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EPISODE SNEAK PEEK

"I knew I didn't want to live like that for the rest of my life.  I wanted to be a warrior, not a worrier."

Paige is a three time Emmy award winning producer who describes herself as everybody’s new breast friend. In 2017, Paige had a preventative double mastectomy after discovering she carried the BRCA 1 genetic mutation. After feeling alone during her entire decision making process, Paige decided to start sharing her story on Instagram to give other women the hope that they too could become warriors not worriers. After building a community online, Paige decided to start putting together free events for women who have been affected by cancer and The Breasties was born.

The Breasties is a 501(c)(3) organization that puts together free events and free weekend wellness retreats for young women who have been affected by cancer. Her along with the three other cofounders of The Breasties are helping women move mountains around the world. 

Here are some things we discuss in todays episode:

  • Her story of how she found out she had the BRCA 1 mutation and her journey since that moment.
  • The power of social media and finding your community
  • How our perspective shifts after going through something challenging in our lives
  • What you didn't know about BRCA
  • The path to making a difficult decision
  • Showing up as your authentic self

LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAYS EPISODE

Paige's Instagram | Website 

JUNE 2018 CHICAGO BREASTIE EVENT

My first solo episode of the pod

 

BOMB ASS WAYS TO CONNECT

Join our community where we chat all things real talk, and you get the inside scoop on guests, a chance to ask questions & be surrounded by a tribe of ladies who GET you!

Shout out the pod on Instagram and tag @liveyourfuckyeslife or leave a review on itunes to get featured on the podcast! 

Episode #6: Facing Fear Head On | Solo Episode

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EPISODE SNEAK PEEK

"Some days you feel on top of the world and some days you feel like a hot a** mess. And sometimes you go through something in your life that completely knocks you off your feet -- in amazing ways and in terrifying ways -- and I'm facing the latter right now." 

This is the last thing I thought I'd be sharing with you on the podcast today.

On February 6th, 2018, two days after my 27th birthday, I got a call that changed everything. That shook me to my core and has left me processing and spinning and navigating this new found identity.

I almost didn't share this. 

But it's my mission to be transparent AF and share the mess and goddamn if this is not the messiest thing in my own life right now.

And I hope it brings some light to yours. That you feel just a little less alone. And that if you're going through something like this or know someone in your life that is, that this gives you the strength to know that whatever you are facing, you are STRONG enough to navigate it.

Feel the feels, take action and show up for your goddamn life.

Here are a few things I touch on in todays episode:

  • Why I'm in the midst of another "quarter life crisis"
  • The power of your gut
  • Why I chose the word UNAPOLOGETIC for 2018
  • The fear I'm facing every single freaking day
  • The power of a shower sob fest
  • Choosing to be a warrior, not a worrier

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photos by Kyle Wilson , Zeke D and Cam Frontain