36 episodes
Too Young For This Shit Rosalina and Shauna
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- Health & Fitness
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5.0 • 39 Ratings
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Meet Rosalina and Shauna, two young millennials living on separate coasts, who are sharing real stories about their breast cancer diagnosis. We created this podcast to bring awareness of this disease to young women and create a supportive space where no one is alone on this journey. We dive deep into our treatment plans, journeys, struggles, and mental health while navigating life in this “new” normal. With every episode, our mission is to educate, empower, connect, and bring laughter. We are open and honest about our experiences and committed to learning and growing right alongside you.
Welcome to our community - join us for new episodes every Thursday! Any questions or thoughts contact us through tyftspodcast@gmail.com or follow us on Instagram, @tyfts_podcast
Special thanks to Brooke Chislock @Soul_Designco for our cover art.
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S3EP1 - First Year in Survivorship After Active Cancer Treatment: Health Update
There has been a continuation of appointments, scans, and findings for Shauna and Rosalina. Shortly after Season 2 wrapped, Shauna underwent a CAT scan of her abdomen due to gut upset from cancer treatment, and she shares the emotions that came from finding a mass on her liver. Rosalina went for her annual check-ups but found a suspicious mass from the ultrasound results. She describes the feelings surrounding her need for further testing and an MRI, the fear and confusion of how this seemed to be happening all over again, and remembering the last time she was told she was too young for this.
Shauna also made the decision to switch oncologists following the end of her treatments, a tough but necessary lesson in advocating for herself after feeling dismissed time and again. Her choice was validated by friends like Rosalina and members of her support group, who encouraged loyalty to self over her former oncology department.
Episode Timestamps:
[00:01:28] Housekeeping Items/Updates
[00:05:52] Start of Show
[00:06:42] Liver Mass Scare
[00:13:30] Breaking Up with Your Oncologist
[00:24:26] Not Too Young for Routine Screenings
[00:27:57] Stress of Annual Screenings After Cancer
[00:40:12] Celebrate the Little Victories
[00:44:22] Cancer and PTSD
[00:50:01] Finding Peace With Our Grandmothers
Click here to leave us a voicemail about what advocacy means to you.
Resources:
Fat necrosis info: BreastCancerNow.Org
If you enjoy this episode, please share it with your friends. Help us reach more women by subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and YouTube.You can follow us on Instagram @TYFTSpodcast and email us at tyftspodcast@gmail.com
Please consider donating to our “Buy Me A Coffee” page. Your generous support will greatly assist us in continuing to produce quality content for our listeners. Every donation will get a shoutout on our podcast and a free TYFTS sticker.www.buymeacoffee.com/tyftspodcast
If you want to submit a quote about your breast cancer journey, submit one here: Submit A Quote -
S3EP2 - Hormone Therapy Pt II: Anastrozole and Lupron | Verzenio and Tamoxifen | A Dual Approach to Hormone Therapy
In this two-part journey, Shauna and Rosalina detail the mental, emotional, financial, and physical struggle of hormone therapy through — and following — treatment. At points, Shauna felt like she was one continuous experiment, fighting fire with fire and piling on medications that put her in a dark place for the better part of a year. Rosalina and Shauna are on their five-year medication regimen, with Rosalina having experienced menopausal-like symptoms of insomnia, hot flashes, brain fog, and joint pain that lasted over a year and a half.
With the help of a new workout regimen, Rosalina no longer experiences joint pain, but her other symptoms vary from week to month. She has found other coping mechanisms to help with insomnia and shared them with Shauna, who has also been having sleepless nights and hot flashes. Shauna shifted gears with a new oncologist at the end of 2022, who — along with a newfound support group — guided Shauna with empathy and compassion as she navigated the oftentimes treacherous lanes of hormonal therapy.
Episode Timestamps:
[00:01:35] Housekeeping Items/Updates
[00:02:18] Rosalina’s Update - Side Effects of Hormone Therapy
[00:07:19] Rosalina’s Brain Fog and Fatigue
[00:11:28] Shauna’s Joy of Having a Period Again
[00:15:39] Shauna’s Update - Revisiting Hormone Therapy
[00:20:13] Starting Verzenio
[00:24:52] Diarrhea and It's Many Joys
[00:28:54] To Guinea Pig or Not To Guinea Pig
[00:35:59] Side Effects and Symptoms
[00:39:51] Advice to Your Former Self
Listen to Our Hormone Therapy Part 1 episode in S2
Click here to leave us a voicemail about what advice would you give to individuals or organizations who are considering supporting breast cancer awareness and research efforts through donations or other means?
Resources:
The Monarch Trial: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32954927/
Verzenio Copay Assistance: https://www.verzenio.com/savings-support
If you enjoy this episode, please share it with your friends. Help us reach more women by subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and YouTube.You can follow us on Instagram @TYFTSpodcast and email us at tyftspodcast@gmail.com
Please consider donating to our “Buy Me A Coffee” page. Your generous support will greatly assist us in continuing to produce quality content for our listeners. Every donation will get a shoutout on our podcast, as well as a free TYFTS sticker.
www.buymeacoffee.com/tyftspodcast
If you want to submit a quote about your breast cancer journey, submit one here: Submit A Quote -
S3EP3 - Post Breast Reconstruction Update: Facing Challenges, Second Revisions, and the Emotional Impact
Rosalina shares the impact she’s facing from the breast reconstruction, including scarring, healing concerns, and the need for revisions. She opens up about the uncertainties during her breast reconstruction process, her relationship with her plastic surgeon, and the struggle to find closure in her reconstruction journey.
Shauna shares her decision to pursue a second revision, focusing on achieving symmetry and considering fat grafting on her non-cancer side. She also touches on contemplating the LAT tissue flap option and the factors that influenced her decision.
Episode Timestamps:
[00:01:27] Let's Talk Foobs
[00:04:14] Shauna’s Decision on Revision Surgery
[00:09:53] Nipple Tattoos: Yay or Nay
[00:11:44] Rosalina's Reconstruction Journey
[00:19:55] Feeling Uncertain About Your Plastic Surgeon
[00:25:49] I am Wonderwoman
[00:30:27] Surgery Surprises
[00:32:22] In Pursuit of a Female Doctor
[00:33:52] Tape the T*****s And It's Still Not Right
[00:41:20] Never Wanting a Boob Job
[00:44:57] Sunscreen For Protection
Click here to leave us a voicemail about what is it like to be a Previvor?
If you enjoy this episode, please share it with your friends. Help us reach more women by subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and YouTube.You can follow us on Instagram @TYFTSpodcast and email us at tyftspodcast@gmail.com
Visit our website and check out our resources: https://tyftspodcast.com/
If you want to submit a quote about your breast cancer journey, submit one here: Submit A Quote -
Season 3 Trailer
The wait is over. Catch a glimpse of what's in store for this season. Mark your calendars for the first episode's premiere on Thursday, September 7th.
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Tit Talks #1 - CMS Codes & DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction
In this episode of "Tit Talk," Rosalina explores the challenge posed by the federal government agency CMS, and the significant development in 2019 that affected one of the most popular breast reconstruction surgery options, the DIEP Flap Reconstruction.
She examines how this surgery was no longer 100% covered by insurance due to changes in policy, creating challenges for patients and surgeons alike and potentially resulting in financial difficulties, particularly for underserved communities who would be burdened with out-of-pocket costs. Rosalina addresses the financial hardships faced by individuals diagnosed with breast cancer and emphasizes the critical need for equitable access to appropriate treatment options.
The episode wraps up by highlighting the efforts of the Community Breast Reconstruction Alliance (CBR), Dr. Elizabeth Potter, various patient-driven advocacy organizations, and individuals who tirelessly advocated for the reversal of the billing code changes. Their successful initiatives led to CMS reversing its decision by August 2023.
Rosalina encourages listeners to reflect on the broader implications of this issue and stresses the importance of ensuring fair access to breast reconstruction choices for all cancer patients.
Resources:
https://cbralliance.org/https://www.lbbc.org/news/women-who-rebuild-both-breasts-with-diep-flap-surgery-see-more-issueshttps://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Programs-and-Initiatives/Other-Insurance-Protections/whcra_factsheethttps://www.lbbc.org/news/stop-new-limits-on-breast-reconstructionhttps://www.healthcentral.com/condition/breast-cancer/cost-of-breast-cancer-treatmenthttps://www.breastcancer.org/news/diep-flap-surgery-cms-code-changehttps://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/Group-letter-to-CMS-re-DIEP-flap-surgery-code-4-3-23.pdfTRAM Flap: https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/surgery/breast-reconstruction/types/autologous-flap/tramCPT Billing Codes For DIEP Flap:S2066, S2067, and S2068
If you enjoy this episode, please share it with your friends. Help us reach more women by subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and YouTube.
You can follow us on Instagram @TYFTSpodcast and email us at tyftspodcast@gmail.com -
S2E1: New Year, Same Struggle
Trigger Warning: This episode discusses depression and briefly mentions the ideation of suicide.
Welcome to Season 2! We’re f**ing ecstatic to bring you another season of TYFTS. Rosalina and Shauna recorded this episode back in January 2021. They discussed so many different topics, from relationships with friends and families moments that they felt like giving up on treatment, pulling the cancer card, etc. We also celebrated Shauna’s cancerversary(Jan 5th & Jan 14th) - she has two, lol, and Rosalina’s birthday on Jan 26.
[00:00:00] Teaser
[00:00:24] Intro
[00:01:03] Start of Episode
[00:03:20] Going Back to Work After Chemo
[00:04:06] Relationship Changes After Cancer Diagnosis
[00:25:49] When You Feel Like Just Giving Up
[00:34:44] Pulling the Cancer Card
[00:40:40] Cancer-versary
[00:44:08] Hair Loss and Regrowth
[00:53:14] Living a Double Life
[01:00:14] 2021 Accomplishments
[01:03:46] Looking to the Future: 2022
[01:07:46] Outro
Companies mentioned:
Hairwithacause - They offer hair extensions after chemotherapy helping all women look and feel their best throughout recovery.
Follow on IG: @hairwithacause
Hairwithacause.com
Abridge App - an audio app where you can record your doctor’s appointments, and it’ll transcribe your audio and define medical terminology.
If you enjoy this episode, please share it with your friends. Help us reach more women by subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and YouTube.
You can follow us on Instagram @TYFTSpodcast and email us at tyftspodcast@gmail.com
Visit our website, and check out our resources: https://tyftspodcast.com/
Customer Reviews
This Too Shall Pass
I just watched a rerun of your interview on the Kelly Clarkson show for the first time. 9/13/23. I too am a breast cancer survivor—of 23 years! I was diagnosed at the age of 45. Still I went through the same grieving of my youth as you are. I too was the first in my family. I thought, “I don’t know anyone else going through this nor do I have any friends going through this who understands.” It’s the year 1999 the Internet was new. No Podcasts or social media, and it was really scary listening to ladies in their 60s sitting in the Chemo chairs telling me that they were going through a second diagnosis of breast cancer now in Stage 4.
Over these past 23 years I have gone through it all— Lumpectomy ✅ Masectomy ✅ Reconstruction surgery✅ Chemotherapy ✅, Radiation✅, 5 years of taking drugs that gave me awful bone pain,✅ Scans✅ MRIs✅.
So yes, I can totally relate.
I want to tell you ladies don’t let breast cancer rob you of living a full and Blessed life! I was determined to look, feel and experience the life I dreamt of. I retired after 35 years, a mother of 3 and now a grandmother of 4. I’ve Traveled all over the world and I am still living my “blessed life”.
Your ATTITUDE will determine your ALTITUDE! Make a list of everything you would like to do—professionally, personally, socially and spiritually. What are you actively doing to accomplish those things?
Like you I started mentoring women that I encountered going through breast cancer—the old school way. It gave me purpose and a sisterhood of ladies who I shared the experience with. But I also felt a responsibility to show them that my life does not belong to “Cancer”!
Make the years count!! Don’t stare “watching the paint dry!” You will soon discover that the months will turn to years, the years will turn to decades and decades to a full and Blessed life! Linda T.
Incredible Show With Great Hosts
TYFTS is a great source of information, but also Shauna and Rosalina’s friendship is both inspiring, comforting, and fun to listen to. Really looking forward to the rest of Season 3!
Incredible inside look
These two ladies bring a new and raw insight into the world of breast cancer. As someone who hasn’t dealt with a personal diagnosis but works frequently with people who have, this podcast has opened my eyes to all of the things that happen behind closed doors. Thank you Shauna & Rosalina for sharing your experiences on TYFTS.