BRCA & Beyond
Episodes
Will I Ever Feel Normal Again?
12 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Will I Ever Feel Normal Again? Healing and Finding a New NormalAfter a cancer diagnosis, genetic mutation discovery, or life-changing medical news, on...
Colon Cancer at 37: Symptoms I Didn’t Ignore & Why Early Detection Saves Lives
05 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and in this episode I’m sharing the story that started everything.At 37 years old, I was diagnosed with ...
Preparing for a Mastectomy
19 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re preparing for a mastectomy—whether it’s a preventative mastectomy because of a BRCA gene mutation or a mastectomy as part of breast ca...
What Happens After Genetic Testing?
12 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What really happens after you get your genetic test results?In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa sits down with genetic counselor Sharon Polla...
Cancer Prevention Month… For Us, It’s Every Day With a Genetic Mutation
05 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Cancer Prevention Month… For Us, It’s Every Day With a Genetic MutationFebruary is Cancer Prevention Month. But for those of us living with a gene...
From Prehab to Rehab for Previvors & Survivors
29 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa sits down with Rori Zura—breast cancer survivor, certified Cancer Exercise Specialist, and founder of F...
When Survival Eases, and Deeper Healing Begins
22 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of BRCA & Beyond, Marisa talks about what healing can look like after preventative surgery, when survival mode eases, but your ner...
Love, Danielle - A Film About Previvorship
15 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
🎙️ Episode DescriptionMarisa sits down with the two women behind the powerful film Love, Danielle—actor, writer, and producer Devin Sidell and ...
Why I Didn’t Remove Everything
08 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Ovarian cancer risk changes the way you think about your body and your future in ways that reach far beyond a medical chart.In this episode, Marisa sh...
I Was Alive… But I Wasn’t Living Yet
01 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
I’ve never really loved New Year’s Eve. Even as a kid, it always made me feel a little sad, like I could feel time moving before I really understo...
Navigating a Cancer Diagnosis During Christmas
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Three days before Christmas in December 2022, my world shifted.In this episode, I share what it was really like to receive heavy medical news during t...
BRCA, Cancer, and the Mental Load we Carry.
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we’re diving into the often-unspoken emotional and mental health layers of a BRCA or cancer diagnosis, the anxiety, grief, fear, and...
What Started as a Diagnosis Became Her Purpose and Post Swim.
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Lauren Yerkes shares the life-altering moment that reshaped everything: being diagnosed with Stage 2B Triple Negative Breast Cancer i...
Breast Cancer at 32: Tanner Roe’s Story of Strength
24 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I sit down with Tanner Roe, a 32-year-old flight attendant from San Diego whose life changed the moment she heard the words “you ha...
Early Detection Saved Me
17 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this powerful and deeply personal episode, Marisa opens up about the early symptoms; she tried to rationalize the pain, the moments she was doubled...
The Truth After the Expanders: What No One Tells You About Exchange Surgery
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After months of discomfort, expanders, and emotional exhaustion, the day finally came, exchange surgery. In this episode, I share what it was really l...
The Fill That Broke Me (and Healed Me)
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this raw and honest episode, I share what happened after my nipple-sparing double mastectomy, the days of drains, the strange world of tissue expan...
The Day I Let Go of My Breasts
03 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The days leading up to my preventative double mastectomy felt like living in slow motion. Every bedtime routine, every hug with my boys, every glance ...
Clarity in the Crossroad
22 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When you’re BRCA positive, one of the hardest moments comes when you’re standing at the crossroad: Do I keep going with surveillance, or do I choo...
Surveillance or Surgery: The Choice That Haunts Us
12 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When you test positive for a BRCA mutation, one of the hardest questions you’ll ever face is this: Do I live under constant surveillance, or do I un...
So You Tested Positive for BRCA… Now What?
02 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When I got the call telling me I tested positive for BRCA2, my world stopped. I was sitting in my car, expecting to hear “everything’s fine,” an...
The Story Behind BRCA & Beyond
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this first episode of BRCA & Beyond, I open up about the journey that brought me here — from an unexpected colon cancer diagnosis to discover...