011: Liz O’Riordan, MD | Breast Surgeon Becomes Breast Cancer Patient

After meeting Alexis, a 23-year old single mother who was dying of Stage 4 breast cancer and looking for someone to care for her baby girl, Heather’s life changed forever. Heather and her husband Steve cared for Alexis through her final months and added baby Lexi to their family, giving them four kids under 8.A year and a half later, the unthinkable happened. At just 31, Heather found a lump and was diagnosed with the same aggressive breast cancer that took Lexi’s first mom.Heather is now doing well and has used her experiences for so much good. In fact, she founded Pink Ribbon Good, a non-profit that helps support women with breast & gynecological cancer.During our conversation, Heather shares the life-changing encounter that led her to start Pink Ribbon Good, the incredible impact the organization has had on those touched with cancer, the lessons she learned from her own experience with cancer, and more!For more information, go to pinkribbongood.orgThe Cancer Liberation Project is sponsored by thekarlfeldtcenter.com

Harriet is a clinical social worker specializing in grief and loss. She helps people cope through their challenges towards eventual growth and wholeness. She facilitates groups and is a speaker. She has written one book, Living Well Despite Adversity, and is now writing her next book on the miracles of her cancer treatment journey. Harriet is a cancer thriver and is a supportive guide for others on their journey.   During our conversation, Harriet shares her family experience that led her to counsel others on grief and loss, the symptoms that eventually led to her diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, the tools she uses with her clients that helped her cope with treatment, the life lessons she learned from her challenges, and what she does currently to avoid cancer recurrence. For more information, go to rebuildlifenow.com The Cancer Liberation Project is sponsored by thekarlfeldtcenter.com

Dr. Elena is an award winning naturopathic medical doctor, specializing in endocrinology, and with over 20 years of nutrition and exercise science. Her focus is on helping women from all stages of life and especially women in perimenopause, get out of the conventional way of thinking about hormones and provide much needed relief and answers to the most common hormone related symptoms. Like many women, she struggled with PCOS, Hashimoto’s, poor gut health and infertility, and she shares the hidden truths in medicine about hormones and women’s health.During our conversation, Dr. Elena shares why balanced hormones are critical for good health, the most effective ways to test hormone levels, how you can be estrogen dominant if you’re perimenopausal or postmenopausal, why birth control is not a good idea for those with hormonal imbalances, ways to balance your hormones naturally, supplement brands she trusts, whether or not hormone replacement is safe for those with estrogen positive cancers, the safest way to take bio-identical hormones, and more!For more information, go to drelenazinkov.comThe Cancer Liberation Project is sponsored by thekarlfeldtcenter.com

Erica is a writer and longtime cancer advocate who speaks the “vocabulary of cancer” from multiple perspectives. Erica is a breast cancer survivor who lost her mom to the same disease. Her passion for cancer advocacy began nearly three decades ago while volunteering at Camp Fantastic, a summer camp for children with cancer. She is currently the leader of the Pinky Swear Foundation, a non-profit that provides financial support to kids with cancer and their families.  In her debut memoir, The Mastectomy I Always Wanted, Erica combines authenticity and vulnerability with practical advice for the mastectomy journey.  During our conversation, Erica shares what inspired her as a young adult to work with children with cancer, how she ultimately discovered breast cancer after insisting on getting screening in her 30’s, her choice to get a double mastectomy, the uplifting story behind the founding of the Pinky Swear Foundation, and some of the lifestyle changes she made post-surgery to promote well-being. For more information, go to pinkyswear.org The Cancer Liberation Project is sponsored by thekarlfeldtcenter.com 

Suzy is the Founder and President of HealingStrong. She is a 15+ year Thyroid Cancer Thriver. After surgery and conventional treatment failed and subsequent scans revealed lymph node involvement, Suzy ultimately took a very different route to healing motivated by her own experience, including the loss of 10 family members to cancer.In 2012, Suzy began HealingStrong as a blog post. That was just the start and as she brought together a group of natural thrivers and caregivers in her living room to pray about next steps, the vision for the very first HealingStrong conference in 2013 became a reality. It began as a grassroots movement in small group communities that continues today, expanding into almost every state in the United States, and internationally into many countries around the world, including bilingual Spanish and Italian speaking groups.HealingStrong continues to empower, inspire, motivate and equip group participants and members to live more whole and hope filled lives.During our conversation, Suzy shares what led to her diagnosis of thyroid cancer, the book that opened her eyes to more options when conventional treatment failed, one of the most powerful liver detoxes she believes we can do, the protocol she followed after she found out the cancer spread to her lymph nodes, how forgiveness was one of the keys to unlocking her healing, what she does currently for prevention, and how Healing Strong helps those touched by cancer.For more information, go to healingstrong.orgThe Cancer Liberation Project is sponsored by thekarlfeldtcenter.com

Dr. Connealy stands as a foremost leader and pioneer in integrative medicine. Her renowned Center for New Medicine & Cancer Center for Healing, the largest and most advanced integrative/functional medicine clinic in the U.S., attracts students and medical practitioners worldwide eager to learn from her integrative approach. Patients come from all over the world to be treated by Dr. Connealy and her skilled team. Her groundbreaking work has been captured in two influential books: The Be Perfectly Healthy Book and The Cancer Revolution Book. She was voted the top 50 Integrative Practitioners of the Year for the past 10 years. Her dedication to combining conventional medicine with holistic health continues to inspire a new era of wellness, promising improved lives for countless individuals in the years to come. During our conversation, Dr. Connealy shares why she became interested in cancer care, how cancer is just a symptom of a whole-body problem, the #1 complaint she hears from patients, the books she recommends her patients read, which tests she feels are important for cancer prevention and early detection, and what she looks at before recommending a particular diet.For more information, go to cfnmedicine.com and connealymd.comThe Cancer Liberation Project is sponsored by thekarlfeldtcenter.com