#469 Living Through Breast Cancer and Creating a Life That's Better Than Before#469 Living Through Breast Cancer and Creating a Life That's Better Than Before
The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach
Laura Lummer reflects on 15 years of life with breast cancer, sharing how grief, joy, and self-love can coexist. She talks about embracing cancer as part of your identity while intentionally building a life that feels better than before diagnosis.
38:58•3 Jul 2026
Living Through Breast Cancer While Building a Life You Truly Love
Episode Overview
- Accept breast cancer as a meaningful part of your identity rather than trying to shut it out.
- Allow yourself to feel both grief and joy, recognising they often exist side by side.
- Use lifestyle changes to support your body and quality of life, not as a guaranteed cure.
- Practise deep self-love by caring for your body and emotions as you would someone you cherish.
- Be willing to feel fear and discomfort as you move towards the goals and experiences you truly want.
“You must be willing to feel everything. And if you are willing to feel everything, there's nothing you cannot do.”
What drives someone to seek a life that feels better than before cancer? This episode follows Laura Lummer as she marks 15 years since her first breast cancer diagnosis and reflects on how joy and pain often turn up together. As she puts it, "Life is hard. And life is wonderful.
And most of the time both are true at once." You’ll hear Laura talk frankly about recent losses, including clients and her family dog, alongside happy moments like a much-loved visit from her husband’s daughter. That mix of heartbreak and happiness becomes the core message: trying to shut out the “bad” doesn’t work, because life is one big, messy, integrated experience.
Laura shares a striking conversation with a newly diagnosed woman who said, "I don't want this to become a part of my identity." Laura gently argues that once cancer enters your life, it’s already part of who you are, and pretending otherwise blocks real healing. She encourages women to acknowledge their diagnosis as meaningful, without letting it be the only story they tell about themselves.
The episode also traces how Laura’s coaching work has shifted—from focusing on post-treatment recovery to being pulled deeper into active cancer support, and then back towards a clearer focus on wellness, future goals, and intentional living. She talks about clients who put huge pressure on diet and lifestyle to "cure" cancer, reminding them that lifestyle is there to support the body and help them live the kind of life they want. Threaded through everything is self-love and emotional courage.
Laura says, "You must be willing to feel everything. And if you are willing to feel everything, there's nothing you cannot do." If you’ve had a breast cancer diagnosis and wonder whether life can still feel rich, joyful and yours, this episode might nudge you to ask: how much more could you allow yourself to live and love, right now?
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