Shows / BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
If you're a hereditary cancer previvor, in treatment, or a cancer survivor, this podcast is for you.
BRCA & Beyond is a hereditary cancer podcast for previvors, survivors, and mutation carriers navigating a genetic mutation, including BRCA1, BRCA2, Lynch syndrome, PALB2, CHEK2, ATM, TP53, CDH1, PTEN, RAD51C, RAD51D, STK11, and beyond.
Whether you're weighing genetic testing, navigating a family history of cancer, considering preventive surgery, in active treatment, living in survivorship, or…
Episodes
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
BRCA1, IVF, Breast Cancer, and Finding a New Normal: Margot Casino’s Story
What happens when a genetic test taken just for fun reveals a BRCA1 mutation? In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Margot Casino shares her hereditary cancer…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Pancreatic Cancer, Lung Cancer & Your Genes: What We Know and What We Don’t
November is both Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month and Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and both hit close to home for me. When we get our genetic test results…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Hope, Progress, and Lung Cancer Awareness with Chris Draft and Tracy Milgram
November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and in honor of it, I’m sitting down with lung cancer advocate Chris Draft of Team Draft and the Chris Draft Family…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
When the Pink Comes Down: Breast Cancer & Hereditary Risk Beyond October
October ends, but living with breast cancer or hereditary cancer risk doesn’t. In the finale of BRCA & Beyond’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month series, host…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Life After Breast Cancer Isn’t a Straight Line: Ashley Urbanski on Healing and Starting Again
What does life after breast cancer really look like when you’re in remission but still healing? Diagnosed at 38 with no family history and negative genetic…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
It Wasn’t Just Luck: Rachel Sobel on Breast Cancer, Early Detection & Self Advocacy
What happens when breast cancer has always felt like a possibility and then suddenly becomes your reality? In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa sits down…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Your First Breast Reconstruction Consult: What to Know with Dr. Jason Rosenberg
What should you expect at your first breast reconstruction consultation, and how do you know if a plastic surgeon is the right one for you? Whether you’re…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Building What Cancer Care Was Missing: Kelly Rovetto of Re-Femme
What happens when someone who has spent more than a decade working in oncology suddenly becomes the patient? Kelly Rovetto spent more than a decade working in…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Learning Your Body Again: What Life Is Really Like After Mastectomy (Breast Cancer Awareness Month Series: Episode 5 of 6)
What does it actually feel like to live in your body after a mastectomy? In Episode 5 of the Breast Cancer Awareness Month Series, Marisa moves beyond the…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
When Prevention Becomes Survivorship: Gila Pfeffer on BRCA1 & Breast Cancer
What happens when the steps you take to prevent cancer unexpectedly become part of your cancer story? In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa sits down with…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Meeting Yourself Again: Body Image After Mastectomy & Breast Surgery (Breast Cancer Awareness Month Series: Episode 4 of 6)
What happens when the surgery is over, but you don’t recognize the body looking back at you? In Episode 4 of the BRCA & Beyond Breast Cancer Awareness Month…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Saying Goodbye to Your Breasts: The Grief Before a Mastectomy (Breast Cancer Awareness Month Series: Episode 3 of 6)
Deciding to have a mastectomy and being emotionally ready to lose your breasts are two very different things. In Episode 3 of BRCA & Beyond’s Breast Cancer…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Breast Cancer at 37: The Mammogram That Changed Everything | Claudia McConnell
What happens when you feel completely healthy, have no lump or symptoms, and a mammogram changes everything? Claudia McConnell was just 37 when a mammogram…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
When Every Choice Feels Hard: Breast Cancer, Mastectomy & High Risk Decisions (Breast Cancer Awareness Month Series: Episode 2 of 6)
What do you do when every option in front of you feels hard? For people facing breast cancer or living with a high risk of developing it, some of the biggest…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
When You Become Afraid of Your Own Breasts: Breast Cancer & Hereditary Cancer Risk (Breast Cancer Awareness Month Series: Episode 1 of 6)
What happens when your breasts go from simply being part of your body to something you’re suddenly afraid of? In the first episode of BRCA & Beyond’s Breast…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
The Emotional Impact of Genetic Risk with Emily Epstein of Weill Cornell
What happens emotionally after you learn you have an increased risk for cancer? A genetic test can give us important information about our health and our…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Previvor Day: The Parts of Hereditary Cancer Risk No One Sees.
What does it really mean to be a previvor and live with hereditary cancer risk when you don’t have cancer, but your life has still been changed by it? In this…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Ovarian Cancer Risk: The Bigger Picture | Series Finale (Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month Series part 9 of 9)
After a month of conversations about ovarian cancer risk, screening, fallopian tubes, fertility, preventive surgery, surgical menopause, HRT, and hereditary…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Understanding Your Ovarian Cancer Risk with Moffitt Genetic Counselors
What does it actually mean when you're told you have an increased genetic risk for ovarian cancer? In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa is joined by…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Removing My Ovaries Could Prevent Cancer. So Why Am I Hesitating? (Ovarian Cancer Awareness Series, Part 8 of 9)
Removing your ovaries can significantly reduce ovarian cancer risk for people with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. But knowing what is medically recommended and…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
What Do I Need to Know About HRT Before Removing My Ovaries? (Ovarian Cancer Awareness Series, Part 7 of 9)
What should you know about hormone replacement therapy before having your ovaries removed? For women with BRCA1, BRCA2 and other hereditary cancer risks…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Little Orphan Ashley: Her Mom’s Ovarian Cancer and the Search for Answers | Dayna Ashley Dorsey
What happens when your family medical history is something you have to fight to uncover? In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa sits down with Dayna A…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
What Happens to My Body After My Ovaries Are Removed? (Ovarian Cancer Awareness Series, Part 6 of 9)
What actually happens to your body when your ovaries are removed before natural menopause? In Episode 6 of the BRCA & Beyond Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Why Would I Remove Healthy Ovaries to Prevent Cancer? (Ovarian Cancer Awareness Series, Part 5 of 9)
What does it mean when your doctor recommends removing healthy ovaries to prevent a cancer you don’t have? In Episode 5 of the BRCA & Beyond Ovarian Cancer…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Dating as a Previvor with Tracy Milgram, Founder of BRCA Strong
Dating is vulnerable enough on its own. But what does dating look like when you're also carrying a hereditary cancer risk, a history of preventive surgeries…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
How Does Ovarian Cancer Risk Affect Your Fertility? (Ovarian Cancer Awareness Series, Part 4 pf 9)
A hereditary cancer diagnosis can change more than how you think about cancer prevention. It can suddenly put a timeline on decisions about fertility, family…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
What Do Fallopian Tubes Have to Do With Ovarian Cancer? (Ovarian Cancer Awareness Series, Part 3 of 9)
What do your fallopian tubes have to do with ovarian cancer risk? Research has changed the way we understand ovarian cancer, including evidence that many…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
There Is No Reliable Ovarian Cancer Screening Test. So What Are We Doing? (Ovarian Cancer Awareness Series, Part 2 of 9)
There is no reliable screening test for ovarian cancer. So what are we actually doing when we go in for CA125 blood work and a transvaginal ultrasound? This is…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
You Have a Higher Risk of Ovarian Cancer. Now What? (Ovarian Cancer Awareness Series, Part 1 of 9)
You have an increased risk of ovarian cancer. Now what? This is Episode 1 of 9 in our Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month series, where we spend September looking…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Jackie Wendell: Lynch Syndrome, Medical Dismissal & Uterine Cancer at 30
In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa sits down with Jackie Wendell, a Lynch Syndrome advocate and uterine cancer survivor, for an honest conversation about…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
One Year of BRCA & Beyond: The Hereditary Cancer Podcast I Needed
BRCA & Beyond is officially one year old. In this anniversary episode, I’m sharing how my experience as a BRCA2 previvor and colon cancer survivor led me to…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
"Where Were These When I Needed Them?" — Healing Pads for Mammograms & Menopause
In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa sits down with Founder & CEO Troy Sutton and his mom and co-founder, Debbie Sutton, to talk about The Healing…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Cancer, Genetics & the Blame Game
Why do people feel the need to explain why someone got cancer? From diet and stress to vaccines, chemicals, genetics, and lifestyle choices, a cancer diagnosis…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Killer Tits Club: How Alexa Meyer Turned a Breast Cancer Diagnosis at 33 Into a Movement
There's no one right way to move through a breast cancer diagnosis. Alexa Meyer's way involved asking every question, trusting her body, and building a…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
ATM Gene Mutation, Stage 1 Breast Cancer & Why Genetic Testing Matters with Krista Brown
If you've been diagnosed with an ATM gene mutation, have a family history of breast cancer, or are wondering whether genetic testing could change your future…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Scanxiety: Waiting for Test Results, Biopsies, & Pathology
Scanxiety is something almost everyone in the cancer and hereditary cancer community knows all too well but it's not talked about nearly enough. In this…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Career and Job Struggles as a Previvor or Survivor
Career, job, and money struggles as a previvor or cancer survivor. A cancer diagnosis or genetic mutation finding, like BRCA or Lynch syndrome, changes more…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Living with BRCA1: Kristen Jordan on Family History, Prevention & Advocacy
What does it really mean to live with a BRCA1 gene mutation? How do you make life-changing decisions when hereditary cancer runs through your family? In this…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Genetic Mutation, BRCA, and Cancer Survivorship: Living Fully While Carrying Hereditary Cancer Risk
In this solo episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa talks about a message she received from someone in her past suggesting that because she is healthy now, she…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
The Dear Body Project Through BRCAStrong: Healing Invisible Scars After BRCA & Cancer
In this deeply personal episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa Stachelski takes listeners behind the scenes of her experience participating in the Dear Body Project…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Hereditary Cancer Risk: The Roadmap Patients Have Been Missing | Randi Eichenbaum of MOTA
What happens after you learn you have a hereditary cancer risk? For many people, the answer is uncertainty. Genetic testing can provide important information…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Navigating Genetic Risk as a Family with Marleah Dean Kruzel, Ph.D
What happens after genetic testing? For many people, receiving a positive genetic test result is just the beginning. The real challenge often comes next…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
The Advocacy Win That Could Change Hereditary Cancer Care Forever
What if one of the biggest advocacy wins for the hereditary cancer community happened quietly… and most people never even heard about it? In this episode of…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Living Proof: Tiffany Graham Charkosky on Lynch Syndrome, Loss, & Genetic Legacy
In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa sits down with author and Lynch Syndrome advocate Tiffany Graham Charkosky for an emotional and deeply honest…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
The Loneliness After Diagnosis: How Relationships Change
What happens after the diagnosis… when life around you starts moving again, but internally everything feels permanently changed? In this deeply honest episode…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Sharsheret CEO Elana Silber on BRCA, Genetic Risk, & Family Support
What happens after the diagnosis… after the genetic test… after the doctor’s appointment ends? In this powerful episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa sits down with…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Genetic Mutation, New Doctors & Starting Over
What happens when you move over 1,000 miles away… and suddenly realize rebuilding your medical team means more than finding new doctors—it means confronting…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
From Diagnosis to Advocacy | Kathy Baker on BRCA, Genetic Testing & the Story Behind My Faulty Gene
What if one conversation, one decision, could change the way you think about your health forever? In this episode of BRCA and Beyond, I’m joined by Kathy…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
When BRCA Runs in Your Family:
What happens when cancer risk isn’t just a possibility… but a pattern in your family? In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, I’m joined by Vanessa Federico, also…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Not Sick, Not Fine: Living With a Genetic Mutation
What does it actually feel like to live with a genetic mutation like BRCA, Lynch syndrome, or other hereditary cancer risks? Not the medical side. Not the…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Will I Ever Feel Normal Again?
Will I Ever Feel Normal Again? Healing and Finding a New Normal After a cancer diagnosis, genetic mutation discovery, or life-changing medical news, one…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Colon Cancer at 37: Symptoms I Didn’t Ignore & Why Early Detection Saves Lives
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and in this episode I’m sharing the story that started everything. At 37 years old, I was diagnosed with stage 1…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Preparing for a Mastectomy
If you’re preparing for a mastectomy—whether it’s a preventative mastectomy because of a BRCA gene mutation or a mastectomy as part of breast cancer…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
What Happens After Genetic Testing?
What really happens after you get your genetic test results? In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa sits down with genetic counselor Sharon Pollack from…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Cancer Prevention Month… For Us, It’s Every Day With a Genetic Mutation
Cancer Prevention Month… For Us, It’s Every Day With a Genetic Mutation February is Cancer Prevention Month. But for those of us living with a genetic mutation…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
From Prehab to Rehab for Previvors & Survivors
In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa sits down with Rori Zura—breast cancer survivor, certified Cancer Exercise Specialist, and founder of Foobs & Fitness…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
When Survival Eases, and Deeper Healing Begins
In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa talks about what healing can look like after preventative surgery, when survival mode eases, but your nervous system…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Love, Danielle - A Film About Previvorship
🎙️ Episode Description Marisa sits down with the two women behind the powerful film Love, Danielle—actor, writer, and producer Devin Sidell and executive…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
Why I Didn’t Remove Everything
Ovarian cancer risk changes the way you think about your body and your future in ways that reach far beyond a medical chart. In this episode, Marisa shares the…
- BRCA & Beyond | A Hereditary Cancer Podcast
I Was Alive… But I Wasn’t Living Yet
I’ve never really loved New Year’s Eve. Even as a kid, it always made me feel a little sad, like I could feel time moving before I really understood what that…