Show Notes
I’ve got a very special announcement for you… the podcast is changing! It’s time to say goodbye to Don’t Ignore the Elephant, and hello to my new podcast - So Now I’ve Got Breast Cancer. I’m going to be focusing on all the issues that people you like face, when you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer. You could say I’m an expert in breast cancer. After all, I was a consultant breast surgeon before I had breast cancer three times...
Now it’s time to put all my knowledge to good use in this safe space, where I’ll answer all your questions with some wonderful guests. We’ll put your mind at ease and guide you through the following months and years. And don’t worry - you can still listen to all the old episodes talking about sex, death and body image right here.
******
So Now I’ve Got Breast Cancer is podcast for anyone who’s been diagnosed with breast cancer. I’m Dr Liz O’Riordan. I’m a breast surgeon who’s had breast cancer three times - in 2015 when I as 40, and then two local recurrences in 2018 and 2023. You could say I’m an expert and it’s time to put all my knowledge to good use. Every show, I’ll be answering your questions, with the help of some special guests. No topic is off limits. If you’ve got a question for me, then please get in touch online or send a voice note. You can find me on social media (see below), or e-mail me at [email protected] . If you want to find out more about breast cancer whilst you’re waiting for the next episode to drop, you can watch the videos on my YouTube Channel @DrLizORiordan or read my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’ And if you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir ‘Under The Knife’ - is available in all good bookshops. You can follow me on social media for regular updates - Instagram, Twitter and Facebook Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, you can leave a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts, or you can show your support to help keep the show going and buy me a coffee here.
More from So Now I’ve Got Breast Cancer
Rebecca Charlton is the voice of cycling on Channel 5, as well as a cycling journalist and author, and in the summer of 2025, she was diagnosed with breast cancer while she was breast-feeding her second child. She’s had to navigate presenting on TV whilst dealing with the aftermath of treatment and coming to terms with her delayed diagnosis, and I can’t wait for you to hear her story.
Did you know that after breast surgery your scars can become stuck and painful? This is where a good scar therapist can come in, and I wish I’d known this sooner after my mastectomy. Joana Pedroso is a trained cancer scar therapist who wants everyone to be able to move freely again and she explained why scars get stuck and what we can do about it.
It’s the elephant in the room that no-one talks about when you have cancer - the fact that your sex life can also take a nose dive. But there is support out there, and this episode I’m speaking to Instagram’s @cancersextherapist - aka Zoe Yessian - a registered Mental Health nurse and psychosexual and relationship therapist, who was diagnosed with breast cancer herself two years ago aged just 35. We discuss how cancer can affect our libido and desire and what we can do about it.
I hope this episode bring you as much joy as it did to me to record it - self-proclaimed cancer kicker, poetry prattler, sales director, photo-grapher, animal lover and nature bather (and possibly the world’s wonkiest qualified personal trainer) Dearbhaile O’Hale aka Derv turned to writing when she was diagnosed with breast cancer to help her process the experience. She was generous enough to share some of her poems with us in this special episode, and talk about her own story from diagnosis to now. I hope her words give you some comfort, or perhaps she will inspire you to write yourself.
How do you know what to trust online and even - dare I say it - in podcasts, when it comes to breast cancer? There is so much information out there nowadays including people claiming to have “cures” and alternatives to traditional treatments. That’s why I needed to get Consultant Oncologist and Chief Medical Officer for Macmillan, Richard Simcock, onto this episode to help us sift through fact and fiction.