Saddle Up: Breast Cancer Awareness — Your Next Right Steps

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Hey friend, welcome to our Thursday Saddle Up segment.

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I am so glad that you're here.

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We just had the most encouraging week.

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We had a conversation with my surgeon, Dr.

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Elizabeth O'Leary for breast cancer

Awareness month, and that was Tuesday.

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So today, this is a quick, practical

roundup about what you can do

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this week to protect your health.

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Peace, not panic.

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First, the headline.

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I wish every woman could hear.

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Breast cancer is often

curable when it's found early.

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There are so many advances

and they're happening fast.

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So this isn't a fear episode.

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This is a nudge to take one small step.

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And the next few minutes we're

gonna cover appointments to make

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the am I a high risk question.

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Dense breast plus better imaging,

lifestyle lovers that actually

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matter, and a quick mindset reset.

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So you can do this with peace,

trust me, I wish I would've known

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this, you know, two years ago.

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So here are the appointments you need to

make your annual mammogram starting at 40.

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If you're due or overdue,

open up your calendar.

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Calendar right now and block five minutes

after the sub episode to schedule it.

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No family history.

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Still go.

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Dr.

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O'Leary reminded us that 80% of women

diagnosed have no family history.

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That was me.

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And I'm cured because we caught it.

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Felt something.

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Don't wait.

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If you notice a change, a new lump

skin, dimpling nipple discharge.

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Unusual.

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Unusual discharge, any pain.

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Call your provider.

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It's okay to be that patient.

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You are not overreacting.

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You are advocating.

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Finding out if your high

risk starts at age 25.

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I had no idea that that was the case.

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If your daughter, daughter-in-law,

or niece is 25 to 35, send them

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this episode and invite them to

book a high risk clinic visit.

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You can Google high risk

breast clinic plus your city.

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Or you can ask your gynecologist

or primary care for a referral,

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or you can go to Lady Slipper

Breast Center in Minnesota.

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If a close relative does have

breast cancer, ovarian, prostate,

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pancreatic, certain skin cancers,

ask about genetic testing.

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'cause the science does keep evolving.

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A negative years ago might

not include today's panels.

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So testing can guide smarter screening

and sometimes prevent cancers.

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And what drove me to do the genetic

testing was I knew that it was going

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to, even if it didn't show me anything

right now, it could help in the future

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for someone to look at my genes, my

name is not attached to see if there's

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any relevancy with other genes.

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Now you know how we get that thing

that says you have dense breast tissue.

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If your mammogram letter

says dense breasts, it means

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that M mammograms can miss.

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That doesn't mean to be scared.

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It means to be strategic.

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So ask your provider whether your

risk profile plus density makes

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you a candidate to alternate

mammogram and breast MRRI each year.

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Or you can do those, um,

3D mammograms as well.

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So remember, you, your

plan can be personalized.

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One of the many reasons

that I'm grateful for Dr.

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O'Leary is how she

personalized every step.

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So I could still heal and feel like me

and live the life that I wanted to live.

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So the fourth thing I wanna talk about

in this, in these key takeaways is

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that lifestyle levers that matter.

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So remember, we can't control

everything, but we can support

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our bodies and keep it doable.

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Number one, have joy and

don't be too hard on yourself.

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I was such a rule follower.

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I think it made me stress out.

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So these are things that I'm gonna

throw at you that I want you to do

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just for with fun and grace and to

excuse it if it doesn't always happen.

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But these are the things that are

gonna ha help you move your body.

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Aim toward like 300 minutes

a week of total movement,

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including some strength work.

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And this is like.

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Taking the stairs or walking the

dog, cleaning a floor, you know,

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whatever it is, just move your body.

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And then nutrition, she said it's

really hard to find the perfect

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diet, but we know whole foods, um,

you know, not processed things, real

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foods, protein and plants most days.

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So maybe I think I could chase trends.

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And I think that could

make, make me go bonkers.

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So don't chase the trends.

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I now say a prayer, thank you Jesus,

for this food that will bless my body.

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And it's generally

something really healthy.

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And sometimes I throw in a

little bite of a cinnamon roll

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on a Sunday morning breakfast.

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So here's the, here's the

thing that I don't think we

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talk about enough is alcohol.

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So if you drink, consider cutting back or

cutting it out because alcohol is clearly

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linked with higher breast cancer risk.

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It's partly because there's an

estrogen effect, and for me,

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removing that nightly glass of.

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Wine.

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It brought me more peace than I expected.

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And you know, she mentioned that the

Surgeon General, the last one had wanted

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to put a warning on alcohol labels,

just like lung cancer is on cigarettes.

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And for some reason it didn't happen.

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But there is a connection

and it truly does cause.

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Breast cancer, stress and sleep.

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Stress is not just in your head, it's

in your hormones and your immune system.

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So, you know, maybe just like pick one

little calming practice, like a 10 minute

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walk after dinner or breath work or, or

your phone down 30 minutes before bed.

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I always love that gratitude

list and, and my prayers.

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So here is the last thing that I wanna

talk about is that mindset reset.

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You know, I love that mindset

reset and it's, it's for peace.

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And I used to white knuckle everything.

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I thought that the harder it

was, the better it worked.

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What healed me wasn't fear, it

was surrender plus wise action.

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So here's your script.

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If anxiety pops up.

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Here's a little prayer.

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God, I'm placing my health in your hands.

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Lead me to the right steps

and the right people.

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Give me courage to act and peace to rest.

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Say it out loud while you click

schedule on your mammogram.

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So again, just quickly your checklist.

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Book your mammogram.

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Forward this to 25 to 35 year olds.

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Check your mammogram letter to

see if you have dense breasts.

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Choose maybe one lifestyle

thing that you can do.

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Maybe write your prayer on a note card.

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Keep it in your pocket when you need it.

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So I just want to be encouraging

to you because I made my journey

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through breast cancer and the cure

much scarier than it need to be.

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I wish that I could be where I am now when

I went through it, but that's life, right?

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And I've learned, and I wanna share that

with you because it is curable and they.

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They're learning so much all the time,

but the most important thing with breast

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cancer or anything is to just go in and

get it checked out because like I found.

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You can cure it.

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It doesn't have to grow.

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It doesn't have to get worse yet.

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It might be a little bit scary, but it's

a lot less scary than it could have been.

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So saddle up, make that call, send the

text, take the walk, say the prayer.

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You are not alone, and

there is so much hope ahead.

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I am cheering for you.

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I love you, and I will see you next week.