Broccoli Sprouts and Breast Cancer: The Science Behind Sulforaphane and Why Every Survivor Should Know About It

Still exhausted months or even years after treatment? You're not lazy, and it's not in your head. In this solo episode, Jen dives into the tiny power plants inside your cells, your mitochondria, and why they matter so much for energy after cancer. Jen breaks down what mitochondria actually do, how chemotherapy and the loss of estrogen (from menopause, ovarian suppression, or aromatase inhibitors) are linked to changes in how they work, and why research shows exercise beat medication for cancer-related fatigue. Then she shares six simple, doable ways to support your mitochondria starting this week, plus what she personally takes every day. In this episode: Why cancer-related fatigue is real and can last for years Mitochondria 101: how your cells make energy How chemo is linked to mitochondrial changes and muscle loss The estrogen and mitochondria connection 6 ways to support your mitochondria: movement, strength, food, sleep, calming your nervous system, and light What Jen personally takes: Perga Core 4 This week's challenge: pick just one

What does it really look like to be the caretaker when cancer comes into your home? In this episode, I sit down with Melissa Coulier, wife of Full House's Dave Coulier, movement specialist, wellness educator, and founder of Recess Club. Over the last two years, Melissa walked alongside Dave through two completely different cancers, starting with a stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis in October 2024. Today Dave is in remission from both. Melissa opens up about the day Dave told her "I have cancer," what it felt like to hold it together for him, and the emotions that come up when you give everything you have to someone you love. We talk about why she'll probably never use the words "cancer-free" again, how movement became her lifeline, and why the smallest moments of self-care matter most when you're in the thick of it. We also dive into the story behind Awear Market, the nontoxic wellness marketplace Dave dreamed up from their couch so people don't have to do all the ingredient research themselves, plus the simple swaps they made at home with water, air, cleaning products, and laundry. And Melissa shares how a 20-minute walk with a friend turned into Recess Club, a community helping women step away from screens, get outside, and move together. If you're a caretaker, or you love someone who is, this one is for you. In this episode: 00:00 Welcome and intro 01:25 The day they heard "lymphoma" 03:00 Early symptoms and listening to your body 05:00 Why Dave chose to share his story publicly 07:19 Being the caretaker and losing pieces of yourself 10:06 The second diagnosis and why "remission" feels different 13:10 Movement as a lifeline 14:35 How Recess Club started 18:32 The story behind Awear Market 24:13 Why community matters in clean living 26:14 Simple home swaps: water, air, cleaning, and laundry 27:37 You don't have to swap everything at once 29:26 Nature as a reset for your nervous system 33:28 Advice for someone who just became a caretaker 35:43 How Recess Club grew organically 37:57 Where to find Melissa Connect with Melissa: Instagram: @melissacoulier Recess Club: recess-club.com Awear Market: awearmarket.com Awear Market on Instagram: @awear.market Connect with Jen: Website: https://jendelvaux.com Instagram & TikTok: @jendelvaux Not Today Cancer Inner Circle: weekly Thursday calls at 1pm ET, recorded, plus a group chat, just $19.99/month: jendelvaux.com/ntc What I use every day: Perga Core 4 supplements (CoreFlow, CoreBlue, CoreGreen, CoreRed) for gut health, cellular energy, and daily support: https://pergainc.com/jendelvaux/pages/select-your-pack

Today you're getting an unfiltered behind the mic with me and my husband Darren (aka Mr. Worldwide). No guest, no script. Just our real life right now. Darren was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2009 and is living with grade 4 astrocytoma after three brain surgeries and two rounds of chemo and radiation. He's basically a walking miracle. Lately he's had some new and strange episodes, including a day where his mind felt like a "blank slate." We talk through what happened, what his care team said, his upcoming MRI, and how he stays so calm through all of it (we need "Be Like Darren" shirts). Then it's my turn, and I'm the polar opposite. A routine checkup led to a conversation about my very high lipoprotein(a), which is linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular events, and a calcium score that showed plaque for the first time. I'm getting really honest about the fear, a recent panic attack that almost sent me to the ER, and why I finally decided to start medication for my anxiety. If you've been avoiding asking for help, this one's for you. You deserve to feel good. In this episode: Darren's recent symptoms, possible breakthrough seizures, and his upcoming brain and liver imaging Why we say "don't look at the stats" What Lp(a) is and what a calcium score shows My panic attack, and why you should never feel embarrassed going to the ER for chest symptoms Choosing anxiety medication after avoiding it for so long Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the frustration with "pink" toxic products Not Today Cancer merch is coming! Join the community: Inner Circle meets every Thursday at 1pm ET, recorded, plus a group chat. Just $19.99/month. JOIN HERE Free community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1272880634809475 Mentioned: Perga: CORE4

What is chemo really like? Registered nurse Mary Ghosh spent her career caring for patients. Then, at 41, her second mammogram found a 1.6 cm mass, and she became the patient herself. She was diagnosed with stage 1 triple negative breast cancer and spent six months in the chemo chair. Mary didn't pretend it was fine. She told the truth: the fear, the fatigue, the hair loss, the steroid mood swings, the nerve pain, and all the strange little things nobody warns you about. She told it with humor, and she told it with a playlist. That became her book, Chemo Boogers: A Music-Fueled Memoir of Humor and Hope in the Chaos of Cancer. If you're about to start chemo, you love someone who's in it right now, or you just need proof that laughter still belongs in hard places, this one's for you. In this episode, we talk about: Getting a triple negative breast cancer diagnosis at 41 from just her second mammogram Why Mary is so passionate about mammograms and early detection Going from nurse to patient, and why she wanted to hear from people who had actually been through it Neoadjuvant chemo (chemo before surgery), the Red Devil, Taxol, and steroid side effects Why "day three" was always the hardest, and how she tracked her good and bad days How music became therapy, from Johnny Cash on the hard days to Flight of the Bumblebee on Taxol days How every chapter of her book pairs with a song, plus journal prompts to build your own chemo playlist The story behind the title Chemo Boogers Using humor to get through the hardest seasons of life and marriage The confusing "after," and how writing a book gave her purpose after treatment The best gift to give someone who's about to start chemo Mary's advice for anyone newly diagnosed: take a breath, you have a little time, and don't be afraid to reach out Get Mary's book, Chemo Boogers: Amazon: https://a.co/d/0giNPJYf Also available at Barnes & Noble and wherever books are sold. Mary's chemo playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Pio6P00VwHmCD6VgWRCwq?si=zOT4L1sDQxCMImfRKe_nwg&utm_source=smsπ=iXgwbhe8S76mV

If you've ever walked out of your last treatment appointment and thought "okay, now what," this one is for you. Dr. Lucas Tims is a naturopathic doctor board certified in naturopathic oncology, a credential very few people in this country hold. He trained in microbiology, did a cancer-focused residency at City of Hope, and served as medical director at City of Hope Phoenix and the Riordan Clinic in Kansas. He now runs Root Causes in San Antonio. But here's why I wanted him on. He didn't come to this from a textbook. His wife was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer while they were still dating and he was still in medical school. He has been the doctor and he has been the person in the waiting room. We got into the question that almost nobody asks after a diagnosis: why. Not to assign blame, and I want to be really clear about that, because I think a lot of us hear "why" and immediately hear "what did I do wrong." That's not what this is. For me, asking why was the thing that gave me back a sense of control. We also talked about what "terrain" actually means inside your body, why he says treating cancer without addressing the terrain is like clearing out the burnt furniture and leaving the house, and what he'd tell you to start with if you're overwhelmed and don't know where to begin. Plus, he taught me a ten second test for your nervous system that I tried the second we got off the call. What we get into: Why he thinks the victimhood mindset is the most dangerous thing you can carry What conventional cancer care does extraordinarily well, and where the blind spot is What "terrain" actually means, and the soil analogy that finally made it click for me Restoring immune function after chemo or radiation When to bring in integrative care (his answer surprised me) The six core therapies and what each one is for My own IV vitamin C experience that scared me off, and what went wrong Cortisol, the sympathetic nervous system, and why stress isn't a soft topic The humming test The three toxic exposures he'd clean up first, and why your laundry room might be the dirtiest room in your house Endocrine disruptors versus your own hormones, and why he says those are not the same conversation Hormone positive breast cancer, the Dutch test, and where he lands on HRT Why prevention is so hard, even when you have the information in front of you His book, coming in 2027 Resources Start here: the page Dr. Tims built just for Not Today Cancer listeners, with the six core therapy white papers and the first chapter of his book. rootcausesoncology.com/ntc His Substack, where he writes about terrain and root cause work: rootcauses.substack.com Root Causes on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctorlucas/ Those white papers are worth grabbing even if you never become a patient. They're a few pages each and they're specifically designed so you can hand them to your own oncologist.