#436 Breast Cancer Recovery and The Block of Familiarity
Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach
Release Date: 11/07/2025
Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach
Cold and flu season can feel extra challenging after breast cancer, especially when energy is already low after the holidays. In Episode 444, Laura shares gentle, practical ways to support your immune system during winter without fear or pressure. You will learn how the immune system works, why it is not meant to stay activated, and how sleep, stress, and hormone shifts influence immune health. Laura also discusses seasonal food wisdom, herbs and spices, movement during winter, emotional care, and how making choices from self-love supports resilience. This episode focuses on nourishment, rest,...
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This episode comes out the day after Christmas, when many of us are surrounded by more stuff, more noise, and more overwhelm. In this episode, we talk about how clutter is not just physical. It can show up in our thoughts, our emotions, and even our schedules. We explore how rumination and constant busyness can keep the nervous system stuck in stress, and why clearing space in your environment and your calendar can support healing after breast cancer. Using research from the American Psychiatric Association, we take a deeper look at rumination, emotional attachment, and how mindset work is a...
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As the year comes to a close, Laura reflects on a powerful pattern many women experience after breast cancer: feeling like an observer in their own life rather than an active participant. In this episode, Laura explores how trauma, uncertainty, constant stimulation, and comparison can lead to disconnection and low-level dissociation. She explains why stillness is often avoided, how the nervous system actually resets, and why intentional living is key to reclaiming agency after cancer. This conversation is an invitation to move out of autopilot, reconnect with your body and values, and step...
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In this episode, I sit down with Kristie Howlett, NP, to talk about a topic so many women worry about but rarely get complete information on. Kristie brings her years of oncology and integrative experience into this discussion about bone health, estrogen changes, metabolic influences, and the difference strength training truly makes. I loved the way Kristie explained how muscle communicates with bone, why sunlight and circadian rhythm matter more than most women realize, and what she routinely sees in her practice when women finally receive personalized support rather than a blanket...
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What does abundance really mean when you are healing from cancer? In this episode, Laura talks with cancer survivor and health coach Hayley Dubin about manifestation, mindset, intuition, and the small actions that create meaningful change. About Hayley Dubin: Hayley is a Certified Health Coach, Metabolic Terrain Advocate, and founder of reVIVE Wellness. She is also the host of The Cancer Liberation Project Podcast. As a 27-year ovarian cancer survivor, she supports people who have completed treatment or who have a strong family history of cancer. Her work focuses on helping clients...
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After breast cancer, many women stay stuck in patterns of hypervigilance, overthinking, poor sleep, and emotional overwhelm without realizing the deeper cause: their body doesn’t feel safe. In this episode, we explore: • How the nervous system processes safety • Why childhood patterns affect you today • Why fear of judgment activates the same pathways as physical threat • How safety influences digestion, sleep, inflammation, and healing • Daily practices that shift your body out of protection and into presence This is a powerful conversation for anyone who feels tired, wired,...
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In this episode, Laura speaks with three-time stage-four cancer survivor Paloma Soledad, the creator of Luxcare Clothing, chemical-free, Sun-safe, adaptive, and sustainably made pieces designed for women in cancer treatment and recovery. Paloma shares her story of immunotherapy, lymphedema, and living in a post-cancer body, and how her background in fashion led her to create clothing that honors both comfort and beauty. Topics include: • How cancer inspired her slow-fashion brand • The hidden chemicals in fabrics and why they matter for survivors • UPF 50+ fabrics and sun safety...
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In this episode, Laura explores a question that often brings women more confusion than clarity: “What is my purpose?” Drawing from her own reflections and from coaching breast cancer survivors, she reframes the conversation around a far more supportive question: “Am I living on purpose?” You’ll hear how intentional living supports cognitive health, stress resilience, emotional wellbeing, and metabolic healing after breast cancer. Laura breaks down the psychology and neuroscience behind purposeful living, explains why so many of us resist it, and shares simple, doable ways to build...
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Why do we keep holding on to things that don’t serve us, relationships, habits, or clutter that drains our energy? In this episode, Laura Lummer explores how the brain’s desire for safety keeps us clinging to what’s familiar, even when it hurts us. You’ll hear about two fascinating studies on the psychology of familiarity and habit formation, and learn how awareness, curiosity, and small acts of release can help you create space for what’s truly meant for you. 💬 “Comfort feels safe, even when it’s not healthy. But awareness is what frees you.” Join Laura inside the Better...
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When you’ve lived through breast cancer, life often feels like a mix of opposites, gratitude and fear, healing and side effects, joy and grief. In this episode, Laura shares what it means to hold space for both the good and the hard, and how allowing energy to flow supports both emotional and physical healing. She explores the science of psycho-neuro-immunology, the lymphatic system, and fascia, and connects it to traditional healing wisdom about flow and stagnation. Learn how to create physiological safety, release stored emotions, and find balance in the space between the light and the...
info_outlineWhy do we keep holding on to things that don’t serve us, relationships, habits, or clutter that drains our energy? In this episode, Laura Lummer explores how the brain’s desire for safety keeps us clinging to what’s familiar, even when it hurts us.
You’ll hear about two fascinating studies on the psychology of familiarity and habit formation, and learn how awareness, curiosity, and small acts of release can help you create space for what’s truly meant for you.
💬 “Comfort feels safe, even when it’s not healthy. But awareness is what frees you.”
Join Laura inside the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Membership to keep doing the deep work of alignment and healing.
Explore more support:
- Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/lifecoaching
- Becoming You 2.0 Program: https://www.thebreastcancerrecoverycoach.com/you
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