Breast Cancer Stories Podcast Launches 2nd Season to Help Newly Diagnosed Women


Told in real time, Breast Cancer Stories is “a treasure trove of thoughtful and insightful information, for those of us going through this, partners, caregivers, friends…blended with stories from two delightful women who feel like friends within just a few episodes.”

Two friends from Austin are helping thousands of women with a podcast about the raw, unfiltered realities of breast cancer.

To recover from a career-ending workplace trauma, 56-year-old Kristen Vengler left her home of 26 years in Austin hoping for a fresh start in San Diego. Just a few months later in the shower, she discovered her own tumor and suddenly she was facing a Stage 3b breast cancer diagnosis.

“The only way I could get through this was to focus on helping others,” said Vengler, who has been cancer free since June of 2021.

Around the same time, longtime healthcare marketer and friend Eva Sheie started The Axis, a healthcare podcast production company. Sheie suggested that Vengler share her story on a podcast to help inform her friends and family throughout the stages of breast cancer treatment. They began recording her story on the first day of chemotherapy and continued through her double mastectomy, radiation, and breast reconstruction.

Told in real time, the Breast Cancer Stories podcast launched in September of 2021. Thank you messages poured in as others in the same situation began responding to the podcast, saying things like ”the best out there… a treasure trove of thoughtful and insightful information, for those of us going through this, partners, caregivers, friends…blended with stories from two delightful women who feel like friends within just a few episodes.” This inspired Vengler and Sheie to expand their mission and help others through the shock of diagnosis and treatment.

The second season launches August 25, 2022 featuring Natasha Curry, a palliative care nurse practitioner at San Francisco General Hospital.

While in Malawi on a Doctors Without Borders mission in 2021, Natasha’s husband of 25 years announced in a text message that he was leaving. She returned home, fell into bed for a few weeks, and eventually with the help of her friends she pulled herself together and went back to work.

A few months later when she discovered an almond-sized lump in her armpit, she did everything she tells her patients not to do and dismissed it, or wrote it off as a “fat lump.”

Months went by before Natasha finally got a mammogram, but radiology saw nothing in either breast. It was the armpit lump that caught their attention. One painful biopsy later, Natasha found out she had cancer; in one life-changing moment, the nurse became the patient.

The Breast Cancer Stories podcast is a shocking, sad, and often hilarious glimpse into the world of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. In season 2, Vengler becomes the host of the podcast as Natasha’s story unfolds. It is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

About The Axis

Breast Cancer Stories is a production of The Axis, a creative agency specializing in storytelling through unique, high quality podcasts to build and grow highly engaged audiences for doctors, thought leaders, and healthcare industry professionals.

Contacts:


  • For sponsorship opportunities, guest appearances or media inquiries, contact The Axis at bcs@theaxis.io
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