Besties with Breasties Podcast

S6E13: Can You Share Too Much During Breast Cancer?

Hosts Beth Wilmes and Jamie dive into the surprisingly tricky topic of oversharing — both in everyday life and in the middle of a breast cancer journey. Beth (more traditional) and Jamie (a "recovering over-sharer") swap stories about where they each draw the line with their husbands, from farting etiquette to who gets to see medical drains and incisions, and debate whether keeping a little mystery in a marriage makes it stronger or just creates distance. The conversation turns more personal as they unpack a listener's message from a husband who says he misses "the mystery" after years together, and Jamie opens up about the tension between vulnerability and protecting her own privacy after treatment. Beth also shares a moving story about her sister's decade-long struggle with chronic illness dominating her family life, and the hard conversation she had about it. Along the way: practical communication tips for couples navigating medical stress — setting time limits on health talk, using check-in cues, and being honest about each partner's needs. The episode closes on the idea that whether you're an oversharer or a keep-it-close type, good communication is what makes a relationship work. Learn more or support Faith Through Fire at faiththroughfire.org [http://faiththroughfire.org/] Companies mentioned in this episode: * Faith Through Fire * Thrivent Gateway Financial Group

S6E12: "Less Pity, More Power": A Conversation About Real Survivorship

What does it really mean to survive breast cancer? Beth sits down with Amy Brace and Jenna Sartorius — co-founders of the Pink Power Hour podcast — for an honest, unfiltered conversation about life after a diagnosis. Amy is navigating the long-term side effects of treatment, including reconstruction that failed and hormone-induced hair loss. Jenna has been living with stage IV metastatic breast cancer — including a brain tumor she had surgically removed — for over three years, carrying a weight most people around her would never guess. Together, they're proof that survivorship looks nothing like the pink ribbon suggests. In this episode, the group digs into why society softens breast cancer, the "forced vulnerability" of looking visibly ill, and the very real identity crisis that follows treatment. They also share how they found each other through a documentary, built a podcast from scratch, and are now co-authoring a children's book — Love Stays — written from the perspective of their kids about a mom with metastatic breast cancer. Plus: a Boobs in the News segment that goes somewhere none of us expected (trust us), and a conversation about what "less pity, more power" actually looks like in everyday life. Learn more or support Faith Through Fire at faiththroughfire.org [http://faiththroughfire.org/] Companies mentioned in this episode: * Faith Through Fire * Thrivent Gateway Financial Group Find Amy and Jenna: pinkpowerhour.org [http://pinkpowerhour.org/] Book launch: Love Stays — available NOW!

S6E11: You're Not Alone — You May Just Need A Different Kind of Support

Beth and Jamie get real about one of the loneliest feelings during breast cancer treatment — when the people around you just aren't showing up the way you hoped. But instead of writing them off, the duo explores a reframe that changes everything: what if it's not that people don't care, but that you're expecting the wrong kind of support from them? They break down five distinct types of support — social, emotional, informational, esteem, and tangible — and share personal stories about the friends, family members, and unexpected humans who showed up in each of those ways during their own diagnoses and treatment. Jamie recalls getting a spontaneous tattoo with a friend on the very day she was diagnosed. Beth talks about the friend who didn't ask permission — she just told her when to show up at the gym. And they dig into why emotional support is the rarest and hardest kind to give, and why that's actually okay. The episode closes with a powerful shift in perspective: stop measuring people by what they're not giving you, and start recognizing what they are good at — because when you put people in their lane, you stop feeling abandoned and start feeling held. Also: Olympic rowers may be competing in a crocodile-infested river in 2032. Beth and Jamie have thoughts. Learn more or support Faith Through Fire at faiththroughfire.org [http://faiththroughfire.org/] Companies mentioned in this episode: * Faith Through Fire * Thrivent Gateway Financial Group

S6E10: What Happens When the People You Need Most Let You Down

Beth and Jamie tackle one of the most painful and seldom-talked-about sides of a breast cancer diagnosis: when your biggest expected supporter becomes your biggest source of stress. Inspired by a real anonymous scenario shared by a listener, they unpack what's really going on when a loved one's fear shows up as control — from fighting over wigs and GoFundMes to taking over medication routines. In this candid and deeply relatable episode, Beth and Jamie discuss: * Why a cancer diagnosis doesn't create relationship problems — it magnifies the ones already there * How fear disguises itself as control (and why that still isn't okay for the person in treatment) * The hidden burden of managing someone else's emotions while fighting for your own life * Why asking for help feels so shameful — and what happens when you finally let people show up * How to set boundaries without guilt, protect your peace without over-explaining, and separate someone's intentions from their impact Plus, Beth and Jamie share honest personal stories about family dynamics, therapy breakthroughs, and the surprising freedom that comes from simply saying what you need. Whether you're in treatment, supporting someone who is, or just navigating a complicated relationship — this one's for you. Learn more or support Faith Through Fire at faiththroughfire.org [http://faiththroughfire.org/] Companies mentioned in this episode: * Faith Through Fire * Thrivent Gateway Financial Group

S6E9: Breast Cancer PSA: Patients Need Emotional Support

In this episode, Beth and Jamie sit down with Dr. Renata Sledge — who, for the record, thinks her own name sounds like a supervillain — an assistant professor of social work and licensed clinical social worker whose research focuses on the deeply human side of healthcare. Renata spent 15 years watching patients surrounded by doctors, family, and friends who all wanted to help — and yet still feeling profoundly alone. That gap between wanting to be supported and actually feeling it sent her back to school for her PhD, and it's the question at the heart of this conversation. Together, they unpack: * Why "shared decision-making" in medicine is treated as a single moment when it actually unfolds over weeks — and how that misunderstanding leaves patients stranded * How women are socialized to mute their own needs before cancer, and why that doesn't just disappear after a diagnosis * The invisible weight of what patients carry into a diagnosis — rocky marriages, job loss, grief — and how that shapes every treatment decision * Why the healthcare system structurally fails the patients who need it most, and who has to step in to fill that gap * The power and limits of self-advocacy, especially when someone's whole life has taught them that asking for help leads nowhere Jamie gets personal about her experience as a lifelong people-pleaser who had to go back and re-advocate for herself mid-treatment. Beth reflects on the "silent strugglers" — the women who look resilient on the outside while quietly falling apart — and how even her own nurse navigator didn't see it coming. This is a conversation about what it would look like if the system actually treated the whole person, not just the disease. Learn more or support Faith Through Fire at faiththroughfire.org [http://faiththroughfire.org/] Connect with Renata Sledge: https://www.umsl.edu/sswpbs/social-work/directory/sledge-renata.html [https://www.umsl.edu/sswpbs/social-work/directory/sledge-renata.html] Companies mentioned in this episode: * Faith Through Fire * Thrivent Gateway Financial Group