breast cancer

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 #96: "The New Normal": A Conversation With My Breast Cancer Soul Sistah Allison moran

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To round up the month of May and this wild time we’re living in, I wanted to have a candid conversation around this concept that we keep throwing around in society right now as “the new normal”.

“When will life get back to normal?”

“What is normal now?”

What is our world going to look like post COVID? What are WE going to look like? Feel like?

The term new normal is one that might be new to your world — but to mine, it’s permeated through it like a rip tide. I’ve always heard the phrase “new normal” so much in the cancer community. And while I have never personally had cancer, being a woman with BRCA and someone impacted by breast and ovarian cancer genetically, I have connected with so many womxn in the community who are fighting cancer as we speak or are in remission.

I knew I wanted to tackle this on the podcast — especially as many places start to ease up their boundaries around what is or is not safe to do, and I couldn’t have had a better person to have this conversation with than Allison Moran — a dear friend of mine in the breast cancer community and badass human that I am so thrilled to introduce you to.

LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE:

Ali’s Instagram | Youtube

My Cancer Journal

WORK & CONNECT WITH AMANDA:

Amanda’s Instagram | Website

Join the Live Your F*ck Yes Life Membership — now 50% off through the end of the month!

GET YOUR COPY OF I CHOPPED OFF MY TITS HERE!


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 #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! 

photos by Kyle Wilson , Zeke D and Cam Frontain