Brandy (00:01.07)
Hi, this is Brandy Schantz and you're listening to Living Chronic. And today I am speaking with Rachel Myers. She is a breast cancer survivor and now a coach helping women who are going through this journey themselves. So welcome.
Rachel Meyers (00:19.33)
Thank you. So great to be here.
Brandy (00:23.21)
So tell me a little bit about your story. I know you're a breast cancer survivor. You were triple positive, which was something I had to learn about. I was not familiar. So tell me a little bit about your journey.
Rachel Meyers (00:38.978)
Sure. So, um, I know your podcast is about autoimmune issues. Um, about 10 years ago, after I had my son, I had some kind of mysterious autoimmune disorder and went from doctor to doctor to doctor for years until finally I changed my diet and lifestyle and it kind of just went away. And you know, a few years after that, um, I found
a change in my breast and asked my doctor and I was young. I was 44 and she just said, I don't think it's anything, I don't feel a lump, but let's get you checked out just in case. And I did a mammogram and ultrasound and they did find that it was breast cancer. And once they did the biopsy and tested it, it was triple positive, which means.
It was positive for estrogen, progesterone, and a hormone called HER2. And the HER2 is just an aggressive hormone that makes the cancer spread faster in your body.
Brandy (01:47.99)
Interesting. So how did your treatment go?
Rachel Meyers (01:54.57)
Yeah, so I had surgery and then chemo and radiation. At the time that I was going through this a couple years ago, everybody that has triple positive is suggested to do chemo and radiation. And so I did surgery in January and chemo in February. And then I finished.
Brandy (02:01.517)
Mm-hmm.
Brandy (02:13.67)
Mm-hmm.
Rachel Meyers (02:24.186)
and
Rachel Meyers (02:27.638)
the end of March with chemo and then I started radiation a few weeks after that. So it was all like bam, bam. Let's get this out.
Brandy (02:37.646)
Okay. Yeah, it goes very quickly when the C word is brought up.
Rachel Meyers (02:40.222)
Yeah, but it feels slow, you know, it felt like it took forever.
Brandy (02:45.783)
Well, it's, you know, it's quick when the doctors start moving, but it is very slow because it's your life and you're stuck in this holding pattern of trying to fight this disease, this cancer that's taking over and you just want to be at the end of it.
Rachel Meyers (03:02.655)
Yes, exactly.
Brandy (03:05.762)
You know, I've said many times, it's difficult to prepare you for being a sick person. And the doctors, they do the best they can. They know what they know. But what we really need is a pamphlet. What do I need to know now that I'm sick? And it should probably be a book because I've learned a lot over the last 10 years. And you've taken that concept and brought it into coaching.
because of course, having somebody there with you who's been through it, who understands and who can help you to process is important.
Rachel Meyers (03:36.802)
Yeah.
Rachel Meyers (03:45.27)
Yeah, I think the hard thing is, you know, my oncologist is male and he has no idea what it feels like to have breast cancer and all the emotions that you go through and the fear and the feeling like you don't deserve this or what did I do? Like trying to figure out where this came from and how I got it. And he just doesn't understand that anxiety and the fear that comes along with that. And so once I finished treatments, I really wanted to help other women.
And I felt like this would be a good way to reach out and to be available for women that need someone to talk to who's also been through what they've been through.
Brandy (04:25.618)
Right. So what does a coaching session with you look like? You know, what happens? So, you know, I'm diagnosed with breast cancer tomorrow. What next?
Rachel Meyers (04:35.03)
Yeah, that's a really good question. It can be different every time, but usually the client will show up with one thing that they want to work on in the session. And it might be something like fear of recurrence. That's a very common issue for women with breast cancer to present with. And fear kind of stands in the way of what we want to do in our lives.
Brandy (04:47.285)
Mm-hmm.
Brandy (04:53.71)
Mm-hmm.
Rachel Meyers (05:00.886)
What I'll usually do is just get to the bottom of why they're feeling fear. You know, where did it come from? Um, how is it affecting them in their life? And what feelings are attached to that fear? And, and we talk about ways to overcome it and to challenge some thought, some thoughts that aren't very healthy for them. And, you know, we, like I said, we can.
Brandy (05:07.662)
Mm-hmm.
Rachel Meyers (05:29.01)
Once we get to the bottom of the thoughts and the problems, then we can start to move on and create healthier thoughts.
Brandy (05:39.798)
And that's really important. I've done so many shows on this podcast where we discuss the connection between your brain and your health, whether that be pain that you're feeling or, you know, that connection between your brain and your gut, the connection between your brain and your recovery, it's really quite strong.
Rachel Meyers (06:03.126)
Absolutely. And I find that most of the women that I coach had some kind of trigger before they had breast cancer. And I did as well. I had a very stressful year and I won't go into what happened, but it was almost like I couldn't even emotionally manage my life anymore. And then I got cancer and it was like a wake up call that, hey, something needs to change. You can't keep going on like this. And I just dropped everything, all the hard things. I'm like, I'm just
Brandy (06:08.89)
Mm-hmm.
Brandy (06:19.297)
Great.
Rachel Meyers (06:30.762)
letting them go, I'm just going to do treatments right now and that's all I can do. And then when they were over, I was kind of left with this life with nothing because I had just dropped it all. And I was like, what do I want to do now? You know, how do I want to go forward? What do I want my future to look like? And to me, it looked like I want to help others that are in this position to have an easier time.
Brandy (06:49.861)
Mm-hmm.
Brandy (06:58.434)
And we appreciate that because each one of us, having gone through an illness, especially a cancer, it's difficult, it's emotional, it's draining, and the negative thoughts do easily crop up and take over your whole day. And it's interesting you talked about these triggers because there are so many different triggers that we're learning, and there's still a lot of research out there.
triggers that cause these things. For me, of course, my trigger for the Crohn's disease was the burn pits in Afghanistan. We hear a lot about various stresses leading to things, different kinds of environmental events, and I don't think we talk about that much at all. Most people are shocked. I was shocked when it was first said to me, the Crohn's disease, it's the burn pits.
I know my breathing problems are from the burn pits. That makes sense. But how would I get a whole entire autoimmune disorder that affects my guts out of that? How would you get cancer?
Rachel Meyers (08:08.022)
Yeah, I think we don't understand the human body as well as we need to yet. And everybody is so different that it's hard to just put everyone in a blanket together and say, you got this because of this. But like you said, sometimes it can be a physical trigger or an environmental trigger, or even an emotional trigger. Like in my case, my life was just so out of control emotionally. I was just, wasn't handling things well. And it was.
Brandy (08:08.442)
So.
Brandy (08:13.99)
Okay.
Brandy (08:18.608)
Right.
Rachel Meyers (08:33.837)
trigger upon trigger upon trigger upon trigger for me. Like it just kept coming and hitting me. And I realized, you know, when I started treatment that I needed to heal from that, not just forget about it and stuff it down to deal with it later, but really, truly heal from the things that were happening in my life and move on.
Brandy (08:49.606)
Mm-hmm.
Brandy (09:00.078)
And that's the hard part. How do you heal, right? You obviously went for something similar to what I did, giving back as a way to build your resilience, build your self-worth, build your good healthy mindset, right?
Rachel Meyers (09:22.678)
Yeah, how do you give back? That's a really good question. I think it's different for everybody, but for me it was almost like I had to get all of that toxic emotional energy out and that came through coaching and therapy and deep inner work. And sometimes for me that looked like writing down all of my negative thoughts every single day for almost a whole year just because they...
Brandy (09:28.619)
Mm-hmm.
Brandy (09:36.275)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Rachel Meyers (09:48.414)
I couldn't get them out of my head. They were just swirling and going, and there was so much fear and anxiety that I just had to get it out somewhere, you know, and I couldn't talk to a therapist or a coach every single day, or I'd be totally broke. So I had to learn how to do it for myself. I had to learn, you know, what works for me and how do I carve time out of my schedule to make sure that I do that every day and make it a non-negotiable. And so...
Brandy (09:54.387)
Mm-hmm.
Brandy (10:01.191)
Right? Yeah. Yes.
Rachel Meyers (10:15.218)
I think just getting it out is a big one. And that's what I do with my clients who come to me for coaching is we just get it out. We talk until all of those negative feelings, all of that fear and anxiety is just out and it's not so scary anymore.
Brandy (10:28.873)
Mm-hmm.
It's very helpful. It's probably the most therapeutic thing possible. And I've had quite a few episodes this season actually, where last season as well, where we've discussed the power of journaling or word vomit. And I have a guest who talked about the science behind it and how much just journaling can get rid of the pain in your life.
you know, better, works better than a pill.
Rachel Meyers (11:04.21)
Yeah, you've probably heard of that book, The Body Keeps the Score. Yeah. And it's true, at least in my body. I don't know about everybody else's, but when I try to hide or stuff down, what I'm feeling are my toxic thoughts. Um, they manifest in unhealthy ways in my body.
Brandy (11:07.749)
Yes.
Rachel Meyers (11:27.322)
And it's not just like a one-time thing where it does that, but for years and years, when you keep doing that, those unhealthy behaviors, they do manifest in your body. And the reason it's so hard for doctors, I think, is because it manifests differently in every body. So, you know, it's hard for them to treat us because, you know, my toxic thoughts and patterns and emotions might show up as cancer, but yours might show up as Crohn's disease.
Brandy (11:41.294)
Mm-hmm. Yes.
Rachel Meyers (11:57.463)
It's difficult.
Brandy (11:59.431)
It is, and there's just so much that's still unknown. And then, and I've said it so many times, it's no shock that the stories are the same, no matter who I'm interviewing, somebody in the US, the UK, Germany, wherever, women disproportionately represent the majority of autoimmune disorders, specifically. Of course, breast cancer, it does affect men.
which is important to point out because many people don't know that, but it overwhelmingly affects women. And I think that, you know, while science does show we, you know, don't get the correct diagnosis, we're far more likely to be offered an antidepressant than a real treatment plan. So I'm sure that affects a lot of this as well. So having women out there ready to listen and help is really important because we're not necessarily getting all of the research and attention we need in the medical community.
So trying to understand ourselves and help each other, I think is just as important as the advocacy to do more research focused on women's diseases, if you will, or the diseases that seem to affect us the most.
Rachel Meyers (13:10.922)
Yeah, I agree with that. And in regards to the antidepressants, am I depressed because I have an autoimmune condition or a chronic health problem? Or do I have a chronic health problem because I'm depressed? And I think everybody might be in a different place, but I think I was depressed because I had a chronic health condition. And so I felt like if we can just deal with that, then I won't have the depression, can't we? Let's not put a bandaid on this.
Brandy (13:39.862)
Yeah, and it's very, again, it's very complex. That's the worst answer to everything, but it is, it's not one thing, it's not easy to address. Crohn's patients, this is a different grouping of us. I'm on the board of the Crohn's Colitis Foundations, DC, Virginia, Maryland chapter, and I've learned a lot through them. And...
I think the other thing many people with chronic illness face is the judgment people think, oh, you must have gotten that because you eat bad. Well, food does not affect Crohn's disease whatsoever. And yes, it can kill you. So no, just going organic or eating vegan is not going to do anything for you. And it's very frustrating when people are constantly, oh, well, maybe you should just go gluten-free. No, that's not going to help me. That's not going to help me at all. People die from Crohn's disease every day.
Clutin-free is not the way, but at the same time, we have to understand the nuance to know that it gets worse with stress. It can get worse if you're eating badly. It can get worse if you're holding in trauma and stress. And I think that's always the, you know, we often don't have these conversations because it
it can be infuriating when you're going through something so difficult and you've tried everything and then somebody will ask you something so simple like well didn't you just go gluten-free? No honey that is not what's going to save me here. It's not that it's not just that. So we don't have the conversations because it's difficult you know I got into a really great heated conversation with somebody about how we say how um
Rachel Meyers (15:15.126)
Not that easy, yeah.
Brandy (15:30.414)
that your brain is affecting your pain and your symptoms. Because often we'll hear a man or doctor say to us, it's in your mind and you almost lose your stuff. But the reality is it's not in your mind. The pain is real, the disease is real. The fact that it can kill you is very, very real. The fact is it's your brain controlling how you respond to that or how you feel that.
Rachel Meyers (16:00.542)
Right, and that comment is just not helpful. You know, thank you, but what do I do with that?
Brandy (16:00.71)
And yeah. Yeah. How does that help me today? None.
Rachel Meyers (16:10.962)
It might be true for some of us that it might be in our heads because of the stress and because of the, you know, trapped emotions. And, and I think, you know, part of there might be a little truth in that, but there also is a medical component that we need help with. And that's why we're there. We don't need you to tell us that it's all in our head and then pay you $500. Then see ya.
Brandy (16:27.87)
Exactly. Yeah. And then here's a antidepressant go on your way. So it does make it, you know, makes it so complex because I think we're, especially as women, we're always tiptoeing around it. But what do I say? What do I do? How do I address this? And it's so many things, so many variables, and it's important to listen to each and every variable and try to your best to understand it. We're never going to understand all of it. But to do your best to really understand
Rachel Meyers (16:34.655)
Yeah.
Brandy (16:57.29)
as much as you can and to reach out for the help for the people who are doing something helpful. Coaching you through a difficult time helping you to understand what this treatment plan is going to look like. I text my fellow cronies all the time, my friends, oh my god am I crazy? Why am I still sick three weeks later? My husband got over this cold in 48 hours and then they'll text back still sick too. Okay it's not it's not just me it's all of us.
So it is important to have somebody else there or somebody who's already gone through it. You know, you think you're about to die It's their first time being immunocompromised after going through something. Oh my god I have to go to the ER and then you have somebody say well not you know Here's where we need to go to the ER. Let's talk about what that means So it's important to have a mentor a coach a friend a guide
Rachel Meyers (17:34.091)
Mm-hmm.
Rachel Meyers (17:46.87)
You need some support and I think it's hard for us as women to reach out and say, I'm really struggling. I don't know what to do. I feel like I I'll never get my life back. And I think that's the number one concern and the women I coach is they want to have the life that they had before back after cancer, but and it might be possible, but it's not always possible. Things have changed and you might not want to go back to that stressful
Brandy (17:55.004)
Mm-hmm.
Brandy (18:06.026)
I still do, yeah.
Brandy (18:11.99)
Yep.
Rachel Meyers (18:16.874)
life. You know, you might want to create a new life with the new body that you're in and, and you know, make your mental health a priority and not be a people pleaser and not have all the stress. I mean, they're looking back at their life as being so amazing, but really that's what caused their cancer. And so, you know, let's try to create a new life that's more conducive to your health and your well being.
Brandy (18:29.412)
I'm.
Brandy (18:43.078)
Mm-hmm. And that's really, you know, it's hard to wrap your head around, you know. Look at me, I'm two years out from when I was diagnosed with medical, you know, reaction, and I'm still, I'll have minutes where I think, okay, I'm going forward, rebirth, anew. And then the next day I say, no, I want my old life back, I want it now, I want it now, right now, somebody.
Give me everything back. I want my ability to run back, my triathlons, the old career, the whole shebang. And it's difficult. It's difficult to be reborn.
Rachel Meyers (19:18.326)
Yeah, I get it. And you can probably have some areas of your life back and some you just wanna leave behind because they're not really possible anymore. And how can you find meaning and enjoyment in this new life?
Brandy (19:28.682)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. And that's where the coach comes in. You guys have all been my coaches. I've had so many great guests over the past year that I feel like I have a different perspective. I think a lot of people might think, eh, I don't need a coach. I don't need a mentor. No, you do. You really, really do. Because nobody gets through this easily. And um.
It's hard. It's still hard.
Rachel Meyers (20:00.014)
Yeah, I think everyone deserves someone that knows what they've been through to kind of take their hand and help them.
Brandy (20:04.522)
Yeah, get to the other side. Or maybe there's a better way to think about that. I'm going to have to sit on that for a while. Maybe it's not the other side. Maybe it's just a new journey or a happier part of your journey. Make it through to a happier part of your journey. Who knows? An accepting part. Yeah. So anybody who's looking for a way
Rachel Meyers (20:08.939)
Mm-hmm.
Rachel Meyers (20:26.475)
Yeah, I like that.
Brandy (20:33.062)
coaching new breast cancer patients, worried about breast cancer, we can find you at rachellemeyers.com. I will put this in the episode notes. I will also include it on my website for anybody looking. Tell me a little bit about the website, how they can contact you, what to expect.
Rachel Meyers (21:00.398)
Sure, so like you said, my website is RachelMyers.com and it's spelled R-A- And I do offer a free coaching session to any woman with breast cancer just to see if we're a good fit and if we connect. And that way clients aren't losing any money and they get to see if breast cancer coaching is right for them.
Brandy (21:18.113)
Yeah.
Brandy (21:25.574)
Mm-hmm.
Rachel Meyers (21:25.914)
and they can email me at coach at Rachel Myers dot com and I will give them a free coupon code and you know it's all done online so they can schedule a time based on their schedule and we connect up on Zoom so it's really easy.
Brandy (21:44.57)
That's really great. Thank you for what you do. As we said before, this show started. Something around 40% of all women will experience breast cancer, and you don't necessarily have to have a genetic marker. Maybe you've never had a family history of it at all, but you could still be affected by breast cancer.
Rachel Meyers (22:05.534)
Right, sometimes there's not a reason why we get cancer, and that's really hard.
Brandy (22:11.162)
Yeah. So thank you for what you do. I will put your information in the podcast notes and on my website. Thank you and thank you for coming on Living Chronic.
Rachel Meyers (22:22.466)
Thank you so much.