In this deeply personal episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa Stachelski takes listeners behind the scenes of her experience participating in the Dear Body Project through BRCAStrong, a powerful initiative that brings together twelve women impacted by hereditary cancer, BRCA mutations, breast cancer, and life-changing surgeries to celebrate their strength, resilience, and stories.

What began as a boudoir photoshoot became so much more. Through shared conversations, tears, laughter, vulnerability, and connection, twelve women who entered the room as strangers found a community built on understanding, courage, and healing.

Marisa opens up about her lifelong struggle with body image, being teased as a child, years of dieting and trying to make herself smaller, and how those invisible wounds followed her through her colon cancer diagnosis, BRCA2 mutation, preventive surgeries, double mastectomy, reconstruction, and recovery.

She shares the powerful moment of watching each woman walk out of her private photography session transformed—not because anything about her body had changed, but because she had rediscovered confidence, pride, and a connection to herself that may have been buried beneath years of fear, medical appointments, scars, and survival.

Marisa also reads her emotional “Dear Body” letter and reflects on what it means to finally move from criticism to gratitude, recognizing the very body she spent years trying to change was the same body that carried her through motherhood, cancer, surgeries, and healing.

This episode is for every survivor, previvor, and woman who has ever struggled to see herself with kindness.

Topics discussed:

• BRCA & hereditary cancer awareness

• Breast cancer and cancer survivorship

• Colon cancer survivorship

• Preventive mastectomy and breast reconstruction

• Body image after cancer and surgery

• Self-love, confidence, and emotional healing

• The power of community and shared stories

Follow BRCAStrong on Instagram: @BRCAStrong

Learn more about the Dear Body Project and BRCAStrong at BRCAStrong.org.

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What happens after you learn you have a hereditary cancer risk?

For many people, the answer is uncertainty. Genetic testing can provide important information, but it often leaves individuals wondering what to do next, which specialists to see, and how to navigate the emotional weight of the decisions ahead.

In this episode, I sit down with Randi Eichenbaum, founder of MOTA, to talk about her personal journey, the gaps she saw in hereditary cancer support, and how those experiences led her to create a platform designed to help people navigate complex medical decisions with greater clarity and confidence.

We discuss the unique challenges facing BRCA carriers and previvors, where traditional healthcare systems often fall short, and why having a personalized roadmap can make all the difference. Randi also shares how MOTA helps individuals understand their options, connect with trusted specialists, and feel supported throughout every stage of their journey.

Whether you're navigating genetic testing, living with a BRCA mutation, supporting a loved one, or simply interested in improving patient advocacy and healthcare navigation, this conversation offers valuable insight and hope.

MOTA is a navigation and community platform for people with increased hereditary cancer risk, starting with women who carry a BRCA mutation. MOTA offers a personalized, guideline-based roadmap, vetted specialists, and a community that gets it. Built by a BRCA2+ survivor who created what she wished she'd had. Free at MOTA.care.

Learn more: MOTA.care

Follow MOTA on Instagram: @mota.care

• Randi's personal journey and what led her to create MOTA
• The challenges facing individuals with hereditary cancer risk
• The often-overlooked needs of previvors
• What happens after genetic testing
• Navigating BRCA-related decisions with confidence
• Building a personalized healthcare roadmap
• Finding support, resources, and trusted specialists
• Why no one should have to navigate hereditary cancer risk alone
• 
  

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who may benefit from this conversation.

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What happens after genetic testing?

For many people, receiving a positive genetic test result is just the beginning. The real challenge often comes next: navigating uncertainty, making medical decisions, and having difficult conversations with the people you love.

In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, I sit down with Dr. Marleah Dean Kruzel, a BRCA2 previvor, researcher, speaker, and Associate Professor whose work focuses on hereditary cancer, genetic risk communication, patient empowerment, and family communication. As the daughter of a breast cancer survivor and a BRCA2 carrier herself, Dr. Dean Kruzel has dedicated her career to helping patients, families, and healthcare providers navigate the complex realities of hereditary cancer risk.

Together, we discuss:

✨ The emotional side of genetic testing

✨ Why many people delay testing—even when they know they're at risk

✨ How hereditary cancer affects entire families, not just the person who tests positive

✨ Family communication and difficult conversations about inherited cancer risk

✨ What cascade testing is and why it can save lives

✨ How to approach relatives who may be hesitant to test

✨ Managing uncertainty as a BRCA previvor

✨ Practical strategies for talking with children and family members about genetic risk

✨ Why these conversations are not "one and done"

Whether you carry a BRCA mutation, Lynch syndrome, CHEK2, PALB2, ATM, TP53, PTEN, or another hereditary cancer mutation, this episode offers practical guidance, validation, and hope for navigating genetic risk as a family.

Dr. Marleah Dean Kruzel is a health communication researcher, speaker, and BRCA2 previvor whose mission is to empower patients to better engage with clinicians, help clinicians communicate more effectively with patients, and translate research into meaningful tools that improve health outcomes. Her work focuses on hereditary cancer, patient engagement, managing uncertainty, health decision-making, and communication among patients, families, and healthcare providers. She has collaborated with organizations including FORCE and has received funding from the National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Cancer Society.

📍 LinkedIn:

Marleah Dean Kruzel on LinkedIn

📍 Website:

marleahdeankruzel.com

📍 YouTube:

Watch Dr. Dean Kruzel's TEDx Talk, How to Make Decisions in the Wake of Uncertainty, and explore Previvor Perspectives, a series she co-hosts with Sara Kavanaugh of The Positive Gene Podcast.

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What if one of the biggest advocacy wins for the hereditary cancer community happened quietly… and most people never even heard about it?

In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa breaks down the groundbreaking ICD-10 recognition recently granted for Lynch syndrome, BRCA1, BRCA2, and Li-Fraumeni syndrome, and why this could become one of the most important systemic changes hereditary cancer patients have seen in years.

This conversation goes far beyond medical coding. It explores how hereditary cancer patients and previvors have spent years navigating healthcare systems that often had no clear category for them, impacting insurance coverage, preventative care, surveillance approvals, physician education, research funding, and long-term patient outcomes.

Marisa explains:

• What ICD-10 codes actually are (in normal language)

• Why hereditary cancer patients have felt medically invisible

• How BRCA, Lynch syndrome, and Li-Fraumeni patients were previously categorized

• Why proper medical recognition changes healthcare infrastructure

• Insurance denials and preventative screening barriers

• The emotional reality of being “high risk but not sick”

• Why advocacy is more than awareness posts

• How this advocacy win could shape the future of hereditary cancer care

If you are navigating BRCA1, BRCA2, Lynch syndrome, hereditary cancer risk, preventative surgeries, cancer survivorship, previvorship, MRIs, colonoscopies, genetic testing, or insurance challenges, this episode is for you.

This is one of the biggest behind-the-scenes hereditary cancer advocacy wins in recent years, and it has the potential to change how hereditary cancer patients are recognized across healthcare systems moving forward.

SHOW NOTES:

The new ICD-10 codes discussed in this episode are expected to take effect in September 2026.

Fight CRC Announcement:

https://fightcolorectalcancer.org/fight-crc-secures-icd-10-code-for-lynch-syndrome-brca-1-brca-2-li-fraumeni/

Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Gastrointestinal Cancer (CGA-IGC):

https://www.cgaigc.com/post/fight-crc-and-cga-igc-members-help-advance-icd-10-recognition-for-lynch-syndrome

Follow BRCA & Beyond for more conversations on hereditary cancer, BRCA mutations, Lynch syndrome, survivorship, previvorship, advocacy, genetic testing, and navigating life after life-changing diagnoses.

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In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa sits down with author and Lynch Syndrome advocate Tiffany Graham Charkosky for an emotional and deeply honest conversation about genetic legacy, motherhood, grief, and learning how to live fully in the face of hereditary cancer risk.

Tiffany shares her journey of losing her mother at just 11 years old before her family ever knew Lynch Syndrome was part of their story. Years later, after the loss of her uncle Jeff and the discovery of Lynch Syndrome within her family, Tiffany would learn she carried the same genetic mutation herself, all while pregnant with her second son.

Together, Marisa and Tiffany discuss the emotional realities of living with Lynch Syndrome, navigating preventative surgeries, the grief and complexity surrounding family planning decisions, motherhood after diagnosis, and Tiffany’s experience participating in an immunotherapy trial aimed at suppressing tumors.

They also dive into Tiffany’s powerful debut memoir, which explores love, loss, resilience, and what it means to move forward despite a difficult genetic legacy.

Tiffany Graham Charkosky writes about motherhood, medicine, and health, with work featured in Oprah Daily, Literary Hub, Electric Literature, MUTHA Magazine, and more. She currently serves as Director of Arts & Culture at Cleveland Public Library and lives in Northeast Ohio with her husband, two sons, and dog.

This episode is for anyone navigating Lynch Syndrome, hereditary cancer risk, genetic testing, preventative surgeries, grief, survivorship, or the emotional realities that come with living in the space between fear and hope.

Connect with Tiffany:

Tiffany Instagram

Tiffany Website

Purchase Living Proof: How Love Defied Genetic Legacy:

Order Here

Topics Discussed:

• Lynch Syndrome

• Genetic testing & hereditary cancer risk

• Losing a parent to cancer

• Preventative hysterectomy

• Pregnancy during diagnosis

• Motherhood after genetic testing

• Immunotherapy trials

• Living with uncertainty

• Memoir writing & advocacy

• Family cancer history

• Emotional impact of hereditary cancer syndromes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens after the diagnosis… when life around you starts moving again, but internally everything feels permanently changed?

In this deeply honest episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa Stachelski opens up about the emotional loneliness that can follow a BRCA diagnosis, hereditary cancer risk, genetic mutations, cancer, preventative surgeries, and medical trauma. This conversation goes beyond the physical recovery and into the emotional reality so many people quietly carry after diagnosis.

Marisa shares personal experiences navigating changing relationships, emotional isolation, tissue expander recovery, motherhood after surgery, survivorship, and the pressure to appear “strong” while mentally struggling underneath it all. From friendships becoming distant to feeling disconnected in everyday life, this episode explores how hereditary cancer and life-altering diagnoses can impact identity, relationships, mental health, and the way you experience the world around you.

This episode is for anyone navigating:

• BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations
• Lynch syndrome
• hereditary cancer syndromes
• preventative mastectomy or reconstruction
• survivorship or previvorship
• life after cancer diagnosis
• emotional recovery after surgery
• relationship changes after trauma or illness
• medical anxiety and isolation
• 
  

If you’ve ever felt lonely after diagnosis, struggled with feeling misunderstood, or wondered why relationships can feel different after cancer or genetic testing, this episode will likely resonate deeply.

🎙️ BRCA & Beyond is a podcast about hereditary cancer, survivorship, previvorship, emotional healing, advocacy, and navigating life after diagnosis with honesty, vulnerability, and real conversation.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this powerful episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa sits down with Elana Silber, CEO of Sharsheret, to discuss how the organization is transforming support for individuals and families navigating BRCA mutations, hereditary cancer risk, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, preventative surgeries, IVF with PGT-M, and survivorship.

Elana Silber has spent more than two decades leading Sharsheret’s life-saving support and education programs for women, men, and families facing cancer. Under her leadership, Sharsheret has grown from a small grassroots initiative into an internationally respected organization serving thousands each year across the United States, Israel, and beyond.

Together, Marisa and Elana explore the emotional realities that often go unspoken after a BRCA diagnosis — including fear, family planning, difficult medical decisions, motherhood, mental health, and the gap between clinical care and real-life support.

In this episode, they discuss:

• BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations

• Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer

• Genetic testing and understanding family history

• Preventative mastectomy and prophylactic surgery

• IVF with PGT-M and family planning options

• Peer support, grief, and mental health resources

• Mastectomy recovery kits and Sharsheret’s Busy Boxes for children

• How hereditary cancer impacts the entire family

• Why emotional support matters just as much as medical care

Elana also shares how Sharsheret provides free and confidential culturally relevant support, financial assistance, educational resources, genetic counseling, social work services, peer mentorship, survivorship support, and customized care kits for individuals and families navigating hereditary cancer and cancer treatment.

This conversation is filled with honesty, education, compassion, and hope for anyone navigating hereditary cancer risk, considering genetic testing, supporting a loved one, or searching for trusted resources after a BRCA diagnosis.

Learn more about Sharsheret at Sharsheret.org

Or follow on Instagram @SharsheretOfficial

🎙️ BRCA & Beyond is a podcast dedicated to hereditary cancer awareness, genetic mutations, previvorship, survivorship, advocacy, and the emotional realities of life before, during, and beyond genetic risk.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when you move over 1,000 miles away… and suddenly realize rebuilding your medical team means more than finding new doctors—it means confronting the reality that many parts of the healthcare system still lack basic education around what it means to care for a previvor.

In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa shares the emotional and practical realities of starting over medically after relocating—leaving behind trusted specialists, navigating new insurance, rebuilding care from scratch, and coming face-to-face with a difficult truth: many primary care providers are not adequately equipped with even foundational knowledge about hereditary cancer syndromes, BRCA, or the long-term needs of previvors.

This conversation dives into the grief of losing a carefully built medical team, the exhaustion of retelling your story, and the larger systemic gaps that often leave patients with genetic mutations doing far too much of the educating themselves.

Inside this episode:

• The emotional toll of leaving behind specialists who knew your history

• Why moving with BRCA or hereditary cancer risk can feel medically overwhelming

• The healthcare system gaps previvors often face

• Why many primary care doctors lack basic education on hereditary cancer syndromes

• The burden of self-advocacy when providers don’t fully understand your risk

• How genetic counselors can help bridge critical gaps in care

• Building a strategic medical roadmap after relocation

This episode is not about blaming individual doctors—it’s about exposing a bigger issue: patients with BRCA, hereditary cancer syndromes, and complex medical histories deserve broader awareness, better physician education, and more informed care pathways.

Because previvors should not have to be the ones teaching the healthcare system how to protect them.

If you’ve ever felt like your medical complexity was bigger than the system designed to support it… this conversation is for you.

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