ChemoSkinny: The Podcast We Hope You Never Have To Listen To

Steph and Collin talk the actual "skinny" about Chemo treatment, like...Fear of chemo, and how it's not  exactly your "grandmother's chemo anymore."The effects of Steph's particular drug cocktail of Taxotere & Cytoxan, How to "pre-game" with steroids and benadryl.Neulasta your best friend and worst enemy. Whether or not to get a chemo port implanted in your chest And Cold Caps or Shaving?  To hair or not to hair, the debate rages.Plus all the things can that make a chemo treatment more pleasant ( if that's even possible).

If there anything that can kill your libido faster than cancer... and chemo ...and radiation ... and drugs ...and recovery,  it's news to us.  Collin and Steph  get fully frank to talk about  sex (yes, mostly from memory ). They'll disect the little things you don't notice while "fighting the fight", look at how these little steps start to create physical distance in your relationship, and how you can stop the emotional bleed. Maybe. (Like we said, not doctors or therapists.)Can people get over the cancer hurdle to restart your love life? Download and find out. 

As much fun as chemo was, radiation is a whole new level of sucking. In this episode, Steph and Collin dissect what it means to have a massive laser shot at your chest, and how the monotony of treatment  can take its toll on even the happiest couple. They'll discuss...The process of aligning the radiation lasers, and making form-fitting breast shields.How  daily radiation treatment becomes  a "part-time job" for both of them.Ways to make  treatments a little more fun ( parking garage game anyone?)The cumulative toll of all these procedures, and how the worst of it gradually sneaks up on you.And yes, the "Pinkening"  and making Aquaphor your best friend. Listener note: DO NOT TO  GOOGLE RADIATED BREASTS!!!

Nipples, nipples, nipples! Press-on fake ones, rebuilt, or tattooed, the options are many.  In this, the final installment of their cancer journey, Collin and Steph break down the last steps of breast reconstruction surgery:Implant Exchange, during COVID.The  difference between the implant placement surgery and the double mastectomy.Whether or not nipples are necessary  part of their relationship.  Tamoxifen, the "anti-viagara" and medical menopause. Figuring out your new body and  trying to discover your new normal.Survivors guilt .How your " last steps" are actually the "first steps"  of dealing with your experience. Plus some final advice for caregivers and patients. 

After surviving an 18 month onslaught of  three different unrelated cancers, Stephanie and her husband Collin looked up and realized they were still together.   This was not a given.They had both read articles warning that roughly half of all couples in their situation split up , specifically if the cancer entails more than a simple surgery and ongoing treatment. to make matters worse,  the third cancer  was invasive breast cancer and resulted in what 1 in 8 women potentially have to go through  surgery, chemo, radiation, and ongoing chemical support.  At the start of this "cancer train" they looked for info that was frank about what was about to happen, how they would feel about it , and what they should be prepared for as a couple. So this is their podcast, a warts and all telling of their breast cancer ride, told from a year out of the whole ordeal ( thanks COVID)  talking  step by step about: 1. What happened medically (There will be blood.)2. How they felt about it at the time.3. And what they wish they would have known going in. This is for all those having to hear those three words - if you know, you know -  and their caregivers  who are going along for the ride.  This is not the be all and end of the cancer experience. They were lucky. Or have been lucky so far.But no matter what your journey is like, we hope you find some solace in knowing that you are not alone. We're here, cheering you on. Oh and FUCK CANCER.  'Cause yeah, it's like that. 

When the pathology on Steph's excised tumor and lymph nodes from the double mastectomy comes back officially making her cancer STAGE 2, Steph and Collin have to start making decisions about  treatment options. To Chemo or NOT to Chemo ?  Will Radiation screw up all the new  "boob work"?  What are the odds of reoccurrence if you just do nothing?   And when your not totally sure, sometimes you just need a "CANCER-CATION" for a brief respite of normal. 

With the major hurdle of surgery over and post-op easing . Stephanie and Collin finally look at the " Frankenboobs" and talk reconstruction and physical rehabilitation . The removal of surgical drains and the bizarreness that is filling of chest expanders.How the nagging voices of "female body image" can start to invade and realizing physical vulnerability and how to give yourself grace in recovery.

They've made it through surgery, so easy sailing from here on, right? Please?! Nope. This is not even the halfway point, as Collin and Stephanie have to deal with convalescence, rehab and a bunch of stuff they maybe should have known but didn't. Trigger Warning: This episode mentions blood and poop, probably more than it should, so... ya know.

We finally get to surgery day, and things don't go exactly as planned. From a dog running where it should not have been. to someone forgetting to remove their underwear before the operation, Collin and Stephanie still manage to come out the other side.

The march to surgery day continues, but first there's a few stops to be made. DNA counseling, anyone? Or how about a "What to Expect When You're Expecting a Double Mastectomy" seminar? And don't forget post surgery bra shopping and getting your first look at the fake nipples you can buy. It's all becoming more and more real as Collin and Steph prepare for the big day.

So when do you tell people you have cancer? Or, do you even have to? On this episode, we'll weigh the pros and cons of both approaches. (Pro for telling? Cancer presents! Con for letting people know? Having to answer the question posed in the episode title.) There is no "right way" to do this one, but here's how Collin and Steph's version played out.

Your hosts Stephanie and Collin take you further into the "post-lump discovery" part of their story, showing you what to expect on hospital visits where all the Doctors look like they just walked off the set of a network TV medical series. They explain how it went down in the run-up to surgery, explore what kind of "feels" it gave them in the moment, and poses the question - if they had a time machine, what advice would the give themselves before this phase of their cancer journey started?

After learning how cancer often kills relationships, happy Hollywood couple Collin and Stephanie decided to throw open the doors of their post surgery marriage and talk about all the icky personal stuff no one warned them about when discussing the "C Word." With three cancer surgeries and no divorces under their belts, actress and fitness instructor Stephanie and her writer/director husband Collin have figured out some of the tricks to make things work from surgery to chemo and beyond. So feel free to jump in and listen to other people work out their issues for a while. ChemoSkinny, the one podcast you hope you never need to hear.