Show Notes
Just hearing the words ‘you need chemotherapy’ can turn your world upside down. I hated telling my patients they needed it, and when I found I out I would have it myself, I felt lost.Would my hair fall out? How bad would it be? Would it work? How would I cope? Add to that the other drugs we give patients - targeted therapies and immunotherapy - it can feel like treatment never ends. That’s when you need someone in your pocket you can call for help, and on this episode we have Rachel Clifton, a Macmillan Breast Oncology Nurse Specialist. I worked with her when I was a consultant at Ipswich and I knew she was the one to answer all your questions. Not only is Rachel an incredible nurse, but she’s passionate about raising the profile of metastatic breast cancer, with the ‘Secondary. Not Second Rate’ campaign. But there’s more - she’s even been a nurse advisor for Holby City.
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Rachel’s go to sources are Breast Cancer Now, which has useful information about chemo here, and Macmillan, whose chemo pages for breast cancer are here
She also mentioned the amazing Cancer Hair Care - who will be on the show next week! But if you can’t wait their website is here.
The Cancer Care Map can also signpost you to support services near you - see their website here My amazing podcast poet is Donna Ashworth and you heard a poem from her new book ‘Wild Hope - available now in all online bookstores. You can find out more about Donna on her website, or follow her on Instagram and Facebook
If you’ve got a question for the show, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note.
You can find me on social media - Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or e-mail me at [email protected] .
If you’ve got a question for season two, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note.
You can find me on social media - Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or e-mail me at [email protected] .
You can also watch this episode! Head to my Youtube channel @DrLizORiordan to see this season’s episodes as they are released and lots of other useful videos full of reliable information.
AND MY BRAND NEW MONTHLY NEWSLETTER IS HERE! Find out what I’ve been up to and get some useful recommendations by subscribing here
Another place to find out more about breast cancer is 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 also available in all good bookshops.
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.