ABOUT THIS EPISODE
What happens when the person whose job is educating the world about breast cancer suddenly becomes a patient herself?
This week, Allyn sits down with Sadia Zapp, Managing Director of Communications at the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, to discuss the surreal experience of going from talking about breast cancer every day to living it.
At 36, despite knowing the warning signs and having a family history of breast cancer, Sadia was repeatedly classified as "average risk." Then she found a lump.
In this deeply personal conversation, Sadia shares what it was like to receive a cancer diagnosis while working in breast cancer advocacy, how treatment changed her marriage, the unexpected ways cancer affected her young son, and why she believes so many women are dismissed when they raise concerns about their health.
But this episode isn't just about cancer. It's about learning to live in the "before times" instead of worrying about what might happen next. It's about motherhood, resilience, grief, and finding your way back to yourself after life changes you forever.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Finding a breast lump at age 36 despite being considered "average risk"
- Why family history isn't always evaluated the way patients expect
- The difference between first-degree and second-degree relatives in breast cancer risk assessment
- Why younger women are often dismissed when they raise concerns about breast cancer
- What it's like to work in breast cancer communications while undergoing treatment
- How cancer changes marriages and long-term relationships
- Parenting through chemotherapy, surgery, and recovery
- The emotional impact cancer has on children—and why they're often more resilient than we think
- Living with scan anxiety and fear of recurrence
- The hidden aftermath of cancer that few people talk about
- Learning to stop worrying about outcomes you can't control
- The importance of advocating for yourself in healthcare
A quote you'll remember:
"There's plenty of time to worry in the after. Don't ruin the before."
What Sadia Learned Too Late:
That people living with chronic illness carry burdens we often don't fully understand—and that showing up for the people we love matters more than we realize while we still have the chance.
Connect with BCRF:
Learn more about the life-saving research being funded through the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Listen & Subscribe:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/learned-too-late/id1875911925
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1dIgxNhjj9VVSExRifSU6p
New episodes every week.
