My Breast Cancer Story, Part 1: Stage 0 (DCIS), a Double Mastectomy, and Cancer-Free
Dear FoundHer...Real Founder Stories for Women Small Business OwnersShow Notes
You never think it's going to be you until it is. On September 1st, 2026, award-winning entrepreneur Lindsay Pinchuk got the call that started her own stage 0 breast cancer story. The DCIS diagnosis came five days before her daughter's bat mitzvah, and within a day she had a surgery date before she even had a surgery plan.
In this episode of Dear FoundHer, Lindsay opens with the ending. She is cancer-free and needs no further treatment. Then she takes you back through the three options her surgeons put on the table, the decision-making that led her to one surgery over two, and the four words she whispered the moment she woke up. She is clear that her choice was right for her and that it's a decision each woman makes with her own doctors. Her double mastectomy recovery update is honest, and she does not sugarcoat it.
Motherhood and entrepreneurship collided the week of her surgery, when she flew to Philadelphia for a speaking engagement before she told her girls. If you have ever wondered how to tell your kids you have cancer, Lindsay shares exactly what she said, word for word, and how she answered the question every parent dreads. It is the most personal part of her stage 0 breast cancer story.
Women entrepreneurs will also get a simple three-part framework for how to share hard news, whether it's a diagnosis, a client you have to let go, or a change your team needs to hear. Press play, then send this episode to one woman in your life. It might be the nudge she needs to book the appointment she keeps putting off.
Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Lindsay Opens Her Stage 0 Breast Cancer Story 03:50 The Breast MRI and the Phone Call 08:25 A Surgery Date Before a Surgery Plan 10:39 Three Surgical Options and One Silver Lining 12:22 Why She Chose a Double Mastectomy 14:16 How to Tell Your Kids You Have Cancer 18:11 Waking Up to Plan A and Pathology 20:25 An Honest Recovery Update Three Weeks Out 22:41 Fact, Plan, Outcome for Sharing Hard News 24:15 One Ask Before Next Week's Episode
Connect with Lindsay: Follow Lindsay on Instagram Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram
Read more of Lindsay's story on her Substack, The FoundHer Files: http://foundherfiles.substack.com
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Her mammogram ended with “see you in a year.” She felt nothing. Yet a few months later, Lindsay Pinchuk was diagnosed with stage 0 breast cancer. The cancer wasn't detected by a mammogram or an ultrasound. It was a breast MRI, ordered because of her dense breast tissue, that led to the diagnosis. On this solo episode of Dear FoundHer, Lindsay, an award-winning entrepreneur and host of the show, answers the questions she's received since sharing her diagnosis.
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