After big changes, how do you learn to accept your body?

For many of us, loving ourselves and finding someone to love is already hard enough. In this episode's featured book, the protagonist is dealing with all this – plus a mastectomy and genetic variant that puts her at higher risk of cancer.

We discuss cancer risk, relationships and self-acceptance on episode 33, “Navigating breast cancer risk, BRCA and blossoming romance.” Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Episode summary

Alison, the protagonist in the romance novel “Four Weekends and a Funeral,” is pretending that she was still dating her ex-boyfriend at the time of his death. (It’s complicated.) On top of that, she’s recently undergone a double mastectomy after finding out she a gene variant that puts her at high risk for breast cancer. Author Ellie Palmer, who has the same variant, and Mayo Clinic expert Dr. Jessica Fraker join us to talk about navigating breast cancer risk and life post-mastectomy.

In this episode, Dr. Millstine and her guests discussed:

• What’s a BRCA variant? Dr. Jessie Fraker explains what it means to have certain gene changes that put you at higher risk of breast and other cancers. If you find out you are at higher risk for breast cancer, you may have a lot of appointments and decisions to make around prevention, including screening and possible preventive mastectomy. When Ellie underwent her own mastectomy, she wanted people to be real with her — so she tries to present this scenario honestly in the book.
• Balancing personal and family emotions. Women may find out they have a BRCA gene change after a close relative is diagnosed with breast cancer. This can mean dealing with a lot of emotions: trying to cope with your loved one’s diagnosis, trying to help your loved one cope, and anxiety about your own potential to develop cancer.
• Self-esteem, body image and sex after surgery. Having your breasts removed via a double mastectomy can lead to adjustments to your self-image, the way your approach your body, and sex.

More resources. Listen to these Read. Talk. Grow. episodes:

• Getting real about breast cancer with authors Dr. John and Liza Marshall
• The alcohol-breast cancer connection with author Clare Pooley and Dr. Karen Anderson

Questions for discussion:

• Mastectomy — as well as other life- and body-changing experiences such as pregnancy, injuries and many cancer treatments — can force you to reacquaint yourself with your body. If you’ve experienced a change like this, what helped you on your journey to self-acceptance?
• Knowing that you are at higher risk of a disease like cancer can be both empowering and frightening. If you’ve had to manage a high risk of disease, share your wisdom or life experience.