Solo Episode: Internal Security Vs. External Safety
Release Date: 10/09/2025
Beth Martinetti: Family, Fertility, and Identity after Hereditary Cancer Diagnosis
Walking the Genetic Line
Episode Summary When Beth Martinetti—Pilates instructor, mother of three, and lifelong student of her own body—discovered multiple genetic mutations at 45, it was the latest chapter in a lifetime shaped by both visible and invisible challenges. Beth shares her journey from adolescent injury and Ehlers-Danlos diagnosis, through complicated pregnancies, to a midlife cascade: mysterious symptoms, pivotal encounters with validating doctors, and ultimately, the discovery that she carries BRCA1, CHEK2, and a variant in BARD1. Still in the thick of surgical recovery, Beth invites us into her...
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Dr. Corinne Menn: The Truth About Hormone Replacement for BRCA Carriers and Previvers
Walking the Genetic Line
Guest: Dr. Corinne Menn Theme: Claiming agency in hereditary cancer risk, surgical menopause, and a new era of HRT care Episode summary When Dr. Corinne Menn—board certified OB/GYN, Menopause Society certified practitioner, 23+ year breast cancer survivor, and BRCA2 carrier—joins us, she brings unparalleled lived and clinical expertise to walking the genetic line. In this conversation, Dr. Corinne Menn shares her deeply personal journey: breast cancer at 28, the loss of her mother to ovarian cancer, and the years navigating her own genetic risk and premature menopause. Together, we...
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Martha Kaiser: From Melanoma Diagnosis to Genetic Discovery – A Journey of Agency and Ancestry
Walking the Genetic Line
Guest: Martha Kaiser Theme: Walking with CDKN2A, Ancestral Discovery, and Agency in Rare Genetic Mutations Episode Summary When Martha Kaiser discovered she carries the rare CDKN2A gene mutation—known for elevating risks of melanoma and pancreatic cancer—her journey shifted from uncertainty, loss, and family trauma to active agency and deep exploration. In this conversation, she shares not only the medical dimensions of living with a lesser-known mutation, but how intergenerational silence, gut intuition, and the drive to protect her children led her to become both a patient advocate and a...
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Solo Episode: What “Evidence-Based Care” Really Means: Bridging Science, Trauma, and Healing Hereditary Cancer
Walking the Genetic Line
🧬 Episode Summary In this solo episode, host Sara Champie, LCSW, explores one of the most common phrases in medicine and psychology—evidence-based care—and what it really means when we apply it to lived human experience. Sara walks us through the two definitions that often get conflated: evidence-based research, which measures outcomes in controlled studies, and evidence-based practice, which integrates science, clinical wisdom, and a client’s unique values and culture. She then bridges these frameworks through the lens of hereditary cancer risk, showing how the most profound healing...
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Katherine Lewandowski: Reclaiming Self After Preventative Surgery
Walking the Genetic Line
Guest: Katherine Lewandowski Theme: Choosing care, surviving change, and finding a stronger self after prophylactic surgery Episode summary When Katherine learned at 43 that she carried BRCA2—shortly after her father’s metastatic prostate cancer diagnosis—she moved from shock and shame to decisive action. In this conversation, she shares how grief, meticulous research, and a values-aligned care team led her through prophylactic bilateral mastectomy with DIEP flap reconstruction and surgical menopause—and why she now feels more like herself: stronger, clearer, and more alive. We...
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Lisa Sharpstone: Choosing on Her Own Terms
Walking the Genetic Line
Episode Summary In this deeply moving conversation, we meet Lisa, a 50-year-old woman from the UK navigating her BRCA2 genetic mutation. After undergoing an oophorectomy and preparing for a double mastectomy, Lisa shares candidly about her journey through testing, family reactions, and the intimate decisions around reconstruction, femininity, and sexuality. Together, we explore how genetic testing within the Jewish community intersects with intergenerational trauma, cultural history, and personal agency. Lisa’s story highlights the ripple effects of genetic information across families, the...
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Solo Episode: Internal Security Vs. External Safety
Walking the Genetic Line
Episode Summary: In this solo episode of Walking the Genetic Line, therapist and host Sara Champie invites listeners to explore a subtle but powerful distinction: the difference between external safety and internal security. Through a trauma-informed lens, Sara reflects on how our nervous systems constantly scan for safety—and how our earliest relationships shape the way we respond to uncertainty and risk throughout life. Drawing from Polyvagal Theory, interpersonal neurobiology, and her own clinical practice, Sara offers an honest look at what it means to live in an unpredictable...
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Dr. LaDeana Jeane: Integrative Oncology and the Personal Side of Hereditary Cancer Risk
Walking the Genetic Line
Episode Summary In this powerful conversation, Dr. LaDeana Jeane—naturopathic doctor and integrative oncology specialist—shares her expertise and personal story. LaDeana blends medical training with lived experience, offering a unique perspective on how hereditary cancer risk intersects with hormonal health, prophylactic surgeries, and long-term survivorship. She opens up about undergoing a bilateral mastectomy at just 19 years old following her mother’s breast cancer diagnosis, the decades-long journey of recovery and reconstruction, and the courage it has taken to bring her story into...
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Bonus Episode: Fear and HRT
Walking the Genetic Line
Episode Summary: In this solo episode, I explore one of the most debated areas of care for BRCA mutation carriers: hormone replacement therapy (HRT). While evidence—including the 2016 North American Menopause Society (NAMS) Practice Pearl—supports the use of systemic HRT for many BRCA carriers after risk-reducing surgery, fear and cultural stigma around hormones continue to shape medical recommendations. I discuss why some doctors may still discourage HRT for BRCA2 carriers, not because of strong scientific evidence, but because of lingering emotional and cultural fears around breast...
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Danielle Service: The Patriarchy Wants My T*ts
Walking the Genetic Line
This podcast, Walking the Genetic Line, was made to create a container in which there are no right or wrongs about how to relate with genetic testing results. This space was made to explore how we are impacted hereditary cancer, what influences our experience, what we wrestle with— and FEEL—about this information. Danielle Service brought her raw, unfiltered truth to this interview: how genetic testing felt like an unnecessary burden for the first chapter, how that changed over time, and the questions and concerns she still has about the social and cultural context of the risk management...
info_outlineEpisode Summary:
In this solo episode of Walking the Genetic Line, therapist and host Sara Champie invites listeners to explore a subtle but powerful distinction: the difference between external safety and internal security. Through a trauma-informed lens, Sara reflects on how our nervous systems constantly scan for safety—and how our earliest relationships shape the way we respond to uncertainty and risk throughout life.
Drawing from Polyvagal Theory, interpersonal neurobiology, and her own clinical practice, Sara offers an honest look at what it means to live in an unpredictable world—especially when faced with hereditary cancer risk. She reminds us that while we can’t guarantee safety, we can cultivate security: a grounded, loving relationship with ourselves that helps us meet life’s unknowns with compassion and trust.
This episode is a guided reflection for anyone learning to hold both helplessness and agency, fear and courage, loss and love—all at once.
Key Themes:
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The difference between external safety and internal security
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How early attachment shapes our felt sense of safety
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Polyvagal Theory and the body’s constant search for cues of safety
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Reframing helplessness as an entry point to personal agency
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Building internal trust through compassion and self-connection
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What “healing” really means when safety can’t be guaranteed
Reflection Invitation:
As you listen, take a moment to notice where you feel helpless—and where, alongside that helplessness, you might also find a small act of agency or self-kindness. Healing begins not in control, but in relationship—with ourselves.
Connect & Resources:
If this episode resonates, subscribe and share it with someone navigating their own genetic risk.
You can connect with Sara on Instagram or TikTok @facetherisktogether or visit sarahchampieLCSW.com to explore 1:1 or group support.
Download the free guide: “10 Questions to Ask Yourself After a Genetic Mutation Diagnosis.”