What happens when breast cancer changes not only your body, but the way you see your relationships, your future, and what matters most? Katherine is joined by librarian, empowerment coach, and breast cancer survivor Kate Houston for an open conversation about sisterhood, receiving support, writing through experience, and making space for a life that feels true after diagnosis.

Together, they speak about Cancer: The Gift, a collaborative memoir created by women with breast cancer, and the healing that can come from sharing the parts of the story that are often held quietly.

Key takeaways:

• Why connection with other women who understand breast cancer can ease isolation and help you feel seen
• How learning to receive support can be one of the most vulnerable parts of a breast cancer diagnosis
• Why writing your story can create space for reflection, release, and a different perspective on what you have lived through
• How breast cancer can change relationships, priorities, boundaries, and the way you choose to live after treatment
• Why you do not have to have every answer straight away, and how to make room for your own sense of knowing when decisions arise

About Kate Houston:
Kate Houston has spent her life in a deep relationship with story. She is a lifelong librarian, a past Library Journal Mover and Shaker, and a former Newbery Award Committee member. She is also an Empowerment and Relationship Coach for women over 40, supporting high-achieving women to reconnect with themselves and create the love and life they truly want.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2025, Kate brings a lived understanding of the uncertainty, grief, change, and possibility that can follow diagnosis. Her experience deepened her commitment to connection, self-worth, and the belief that love and meaningful life remain possible after cancer.

Kate lives in the Pacific Northwest with her partner, Matt, and her dog, Bowie. Alongside her coaching work and continuing library career, she writes, dances, bikes, and helps lead writing spaces for women who want to tell their stories.

Links:
Free Resilient Remission Assessment: breastwise.co.nz/resilient-remission-assessment
Free 30-minute Clarity Call: breastwise.co.nz/clarity-call
Breast Wise Website: breastwise.co.nz
Breast Wise Instagram: @breastwisenz

Learn more about Cancer: The Gift, order the book, and join the writing-circle waitlist: cancerthegift.com

Disclaimer:
This podcast is for general educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult your healthcare team before making decisions about your care.

After breast cancer treatment ends, the body can still feel on high alert. Katherine is joined by kinesiologist and wellbeing coach Alex Bowles for a gentle conversation about nervous system regulation, scan anxiety, emotional stress, and learning to reconnect with your body in breast cancer recovery.

Together, they explore what kinesiology can look like in practice, why it can be hard to slow down after treatment, and the value of feeling safe, supported, and understood in the survivorship gap.

Key takeaways:

• Why fear, anxiety, and physical tension can continue after breast cancer treatment has finished
• A plain-language explanation of kinesiology and how Alex uses gentle muscle testing in her sessions
• Why nervous system regulation can be an important part of life after breast cancer
• A simple emotional stress-release practice Alex shares for meeting difficult feelings with awareness
• Why having one safe person or supportive community can make a difference during breast cancer recovery

About Alex Bowles:
Alex Bowles is a wellbeing coach, kinesiologist, and public speaker who supports women through every season of life. She is the founder of Shine Naturally and Director of the Academy of Healing Arts, where she is helping bring kinesiology to New Zealand.

Having presented at kinesiology conferences, Alex brings both depth of knowledge and a warm, heart-centred approach to her work. Drawing on a range of kinesiology modalities, somatic work, quantum medicine, and vibrational remedies, she supports women to move beyond overwhelm, reconnect with themselves, and remember who they are. Alex offers both in-person and online sessions, as well as kinesiology masterclasses covering techniques for pain relief, energy, grounding, and connection.

Links:
Free Resilient Remission Assessment: breastwise.co.nz/resilient-remission-assessment
Free 30-minute Clarity Call: breastwise.co.nz/clarity-call
Breast Wise Website: breastwise.co.nz
Breast Wise Instagram: @breastwisenz

Alex Bowles / Shine Naturally Website: shinenaturally.co.nz
Alex Bowles / Shine Naturally Instagram: @shinenaturally
Alex’s Kinesiology Masterclass and Newsletter: Visit shinenaturally.co.nz to learn more and sign up

Disclaimer:
This podcast is for general educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult your healthcare team before making decisions about your care.

Katherine shares why traditional meditation never worked for her and how she stumbled into an unexpected form of nervous system regulation during chemotherapy: knitting. It's an honest conversation about active relaxation as an alternative to stillness, especially for high achievers and recovering perfectionists who struggle to switch off.

Key Takeaways:

• Meditation isn't the only path to nervous system regulation, active, tactile practices can settle a busy mind just as well.
• If stillness and sitting-still meditation have never worked for you, that's not a personal failing.
• Repetitive, rhythmic activities like knitting, gardening, or cooking can help regulate the nervous system during high-stress periods, including cancer treatment.
• Revisiting an old hobby you've dismissed could be your own starting point for active relaxation.
• Small, joyful, tactile moments can bring a sense of stability and control during active treatment.

Links:
Free Resilient Remission Assessment: breastwise.co.nz/resilient-remission-assessment
Free 30-minute Clarity Call: breastwise.co.nz/clarity-call
Website: breastwise.co.nz
Instagram: @breastwisenz

Disclaimer:
This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your healthcare team.

What does metabolic health have to do with breast cancer recovery? Katherine is joined by GP and metabolic-health clinician Dr. Glen Davies for a grounded conversation about nutrition after breast cancer, reducing refined sugar and ultra-processed foods, healthy fats, protein, fasting, and finding an approach that fits your stage of recovery.

They also discuss the importance of maintaining muscle, working with your healthcare team, and how knowledge, support and small choices can help restore a sense of agency after diagnosis.

Key takeaways

• Metabolic health is a broader conversation than diet alone, including nutrition, fasting, muscle maintenance, emotional support and individual care.
• Reducing refined sugar and ultra-processed foods may be a practical place to begin when considering breast cancer recovery nutrition.
• A lower-carbohydrate approach is not one-size-fits-all; the level of restriction should be discussed in the context of treatment, recovery stage, weight and nutritional needs.
• Protein, healthy fats and resistance training are important considerations when protecting muscle mass during treatment or recovery.
• Fasting during chemotherapy is discussed as an individual decision that requires careful support from a qualified healthcare professional and cancer team.
• Understanding your body and asking informed questions can help reduce fear and build a greater sense of agency.

Links
Work with Dr Glen Davies / Reversal NZ
Website:
reversalnz.co.nz

Book a consultation with Dr Glen Davies:
reversalnz.co.nz/bookings

Dr Glen Davies’ profile:
reversalnz.co.nz/team/dr-glen-davies

Breast Wise
Free Resilient Remission Assessment: breastwise.co.nz/resilient-remission-assessment
Free 30-minute Clarity Call: breastwise.co.nz/clarity-call
Website: breastwise.co.nz
Instagram: @breastwisenz

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your healthcare team.

When you have spent a lifetime holding everything together, rest can feel like the hardest thing to allow.

After breast cancer, slowing down can bring guilt, discomfort, and the feeling that you should already be back to who you were before.

In this episode, Katherine shares a more compassionate way to meet recovery, one that honours your need for support, spaciousness, and time.

Key takeaways:

• Why rest can feel like failure when your identity has been built around doing and achieving
• How guilt around rest can be a conditioned response rather than a personal flaw
• Why accepting help can be an important part of breast cancer recovery
• How to question the belief that your worth depends on how much you get done
• Why “enough” may look different from day to day during treatment and survivorship

Links:
Free Resilient Remission Assessment: breastwise.co.nz/resilient-remission-assessment
Free 30-minute Clarity Call: breastwise.co.nz/clarity-call
Website: breastwise.co.nz
Instagram: @breastwisenz

Disclaimer:
This podcast is for general educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult your healthcare team before making decisions about your care.

After a breast cancer diagnosis, it can feel like your body no longer trusts you. You reach for comfort, then feel guilty, then tell yourself you’ve failed again but this episode gently explains why that spiral happens and what your body may actually be asking for. Katherine shares the three shifts that helped her move toward steadier recovery without adding more rules or pressure.

Main topics:

- The impact of fear, trauma, and nervous system dysregulation post-diagnosis

- How fight, flight, or freeze responses influence cravings and emotional health

- Practical strategies to calm the nervous system for better recovery and wellbeing

- The role of self-compassion, relaxation, and gentle movement in healing

In this episode:

- Why cravings intensify after a cancer diagnosis and why fighting them back can worsen how you feel

- The physiological effects of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline on your body and mind

- How the body's threat response deprioritizes digestion, sleep, and decision-making

- The importance of nervous system regulation through breathwork, movement, and relaxation

- Three actionable steps to support nervous system healing: prioritize relaxation, moderate exercise, and nourishing foods

- The impact of sugar and alcohol on inflammation and treatment outcomes, explained in accessible language

- The significance of self-compassion and understanding that food cravings are signals from your nervous system, not failure

Links:

Free Resilient Remission Assessment: breastwise.co.nz/resilient-remission-assessment

Free 30-minute Clarity Call: breastwise.co.nz/clarity-call

Website: breastwise.co.nz

Instagram: @breastwisenz

Disclaimer:

This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your healthcare team.

Most women leave treatment with a pamphlet and a checkout smile. What nobody explains is why fatigue can last for months, what cancer therapies strip from your cells, or which practical steps actually restore energy and reduce inflammation.

Katherine interviews Lee Tan, a pharmacist with 30+ years’ clinical experience, a PreKure Master Health Coach in Lifestyle Medicine, Mental Fitness and Metabolic Health, and founder of Well + Being, an award-winning urban wellness centre in Dunedin. After witnessing the health system strain during the pandemic, Lee moved from conventional pharmacy to evidence-based wellbeing coaching. She brings clinical rigour and compassionate curiosity to the conversations that rarely happen in oncology clinics.

Key takeaways:

• Three commonly depleted nutrients after cancer treatment: magnesium glycinate, vitamin D, and high-quality omega‑3, and why each matters for inflammation, immune health, and energy.
• Why supplement quality makes a difference: many low-cost fish oils and magnesium oxide have poor absorption or purity. Practitioner-grade brands often test for contaminants and use more absorbable forms.
• How chronic stress accelerates magnesium loss and why food alone may not meet needs during and after treatment.
• Why reducing inflammation requires a whole-person approach: emotions and stress have measurable effects at the cellular level.
• The starting point: self-awareness. Learning how your body responds physically, mentally, and emotionally lets you change that response and reclaim energy.

Resources mentioned

• Fish Oil Products & Testing Standards (search for tested, practitioner-grade brands)
• Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) Explained
• Magnesium Glycinate
• Vitamin D Supplements
• Omega-3 Fish Oil
• Traditional Herbs & Modern Usage (e.g., Ashwagandha & Rhodiola)

Connect with Lee Tan

• LinkedIn
• Well and Being Dunedin

More from BreastWise:

Free Resilient Remission Assessment: breastwise.co.nz/resilient-remission-assessment

Free 30-minute Clarity Call: breastwise.co.nz/clarity-call

Website: breastwise.co.nz

Instagram: @breastwisenz

Note: This episode is educational only and not medical advice. Always check supplements and care plans with your healthcare team.

Nobody hands you a guide for the emotional tidal wave that comes with a breast cancer diagnosis. Your surgeon explains surgery. Your oncologist walks you through chemotherapy. Your nurses hand you brochures. But no one sits down with you and says: here is what is about to happen inside your inner world.

The grief that arrives without a name. The guilt that keeps you up at 3am, replaying every appointment you delayed and every symptom you dismissed. The fear that settles somewhere deep in your chest, long after the medical team has left the room. The anxiety of not knowing what the future holds when the future you imagined has suddenly been erased.

And then, when all of that hits, the thought that something must be wrong with you for feeling it this way.

Nothing is wrong with you. This is what Katherine experienced too. In this episode, she opens up about her own emotional journey through a breast cancer diagnosis, from the visceral fear and the quiet crushing guilt, to the moments of unexpected laughter and the nights when all she had were tears. She also breaks down what the neuroscience and research actually say about why feeling these emotions matters and why suppressing them has real, measurable consequences for your immune system and your recovery.

This episode is not about having it all together. It is about understanding what is actually happening inside your body, and finding a place to start, however small that looks today.

What you'll take away

• The emotions after a breast cancer diagnosis are not separate from your physical recovery. They are a physiological response to a genuine threat, not a personal failing or a sign of weakness.
• Suppressing emotions creates a measurable burden on your immune system, which is especially significant when your body is already navigating the demands of cancer treatment.
• Naming what you feel, out loud or on paper, actually reduces activity in the brain's threat centre (the amygdala) and supports your nervous system in moving out of fight, flight, or freeze.
• You do not need to manage, fix, or perform any of this. You just need to start letting it move through you rather than holding it all down
• Simple, accessible tools like box breathing (4 counts in, hold 4, out 6, hold 6) and one trusted person to be truly honest with can shift far more than you might expect.
• Emotional work is not a luxury for when you have extra time or energy. It is an essential, non-negotiable part of breast cancer recovery and it is never too late to begin.

Links and resources

Free Resilient Remission Assessment — breastwise.co.nz/resilient-remission-assessment

Free 30-minute Clarity Call — breastwise.co.nz/clarity-call

Website — breastwise.co.nz

Instagram — @breastwisenz

This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The experiences shared are personal and not a substitute for professional medical guidance. Always consult your healthcare team before making any changes to your treatment or care plan.