Are you worried about getting breast cancer? If you are looking for more information about breast cancer prevention and support during recovery, then you’ve come to the right podcast. I interview Carol Lourie who talks not only about breast cancer prevention and recovery but also about all things PCOS, blood sugar balancing, and emotional wellbeing. Visit https://holisticwellness.ca/podcast for the complete show notes of every podcast episode. Topics Discussed in this Episode: The link between hormonal conditions or imbalances Why PCOS often goes undiagnosed The top-down vs the bottom-up approach to PCOS How to get a Hashimoto’s diagnosis if you have it Some of the important testings involved in PCOS Why blood sugar management is important for our overall hormonal health What are some indications of having blood sugar problems Why you need to detoxify your body and your home How acupuncture can support hormonal health The Eclectic Triphasic Medical System (ETMS) What are the essential things to eat and things to avoid for breast cancer prevention and/or recovery The steps to take to dive deeper into our emotional wellbeing Key Takeaways: If you don’t handle the emotions that come with chronic disease, you don’t quite recover your health. PCOS is a syndrome, which means there are multiple different contributing factors to its symptoms. Having PCOS doesn’t necessarily mean that you are going to have fertility problems or failed multiple miscarriages, but it can often lead to that if the underlying metabolic dysregulation is not properly dealt with. And you don’t have to have cysts to have PCOS. Your hormonal health is part of your overall health and it’s a reflection of how well you take care of yourself on a daily basis. Diabetes has been known to be called the ‘silent killer’. That is because severe symptoms of blood sugar are often ‘asymptomatic’. The healthier your body is when you go into IVF, the better the results will be. In Chinese medicine, if your organs and your chi or the freeways of your energy are imbalanced, then your hormones will be imbalanced. If you have very large, dense breasts, even if you are doing regular self-breast exams, it can be very difficult to pick up tumors. Action Steps: If you have thyroid issues, switch to a gluten-free low inflammatory diet to help recover your thyroid health. Make sure that you have certain nutrients in your diet or take supplements to really support thyroid health. If you’re looking to get an IVF, work with someone for three months prior to get your body in better shape and have a more positive response to IVF. If you’re going to do chemo and radiation, make sure that it’s the right chemo for you, that your healthy cells are being protected, and that the side effects are lessened. If you have a family history of breast cancer, find an oncologist or a breast specialist who really understands that and who can put you into a diagnostic mammogram category with maybe a breast MRI every eight months or once a year. Once you get a diagnosis, it’s always best to go and get a second opinion. Don’t just take the first thing that is said to you but do a little bit of research. For breast cancer care/prevention/recovery, avoid saturated fats, fried food, fast food, sugary drinks, standard meat, sugary over-the-counter boxed cereals, and alcohol. Carol said: “Unfortunately, in our society, we’re not taught about how to stay balanced as we’re little… This should be something that’s part of standard education -- how to have a balanced life and how to stay in touch with our inner being and how to take care of ourselves.” “It takes a lot of support to get through a health crisis, whether it’s PCOS, infertility, failed IVFs, multiple IVFs or breast cancer... Find a woman or a doctor who really will support your highest self and not diminish or dismiss your concerns. And don’t give up."   Thanks for listening! If you have any questions, you can always reach me over at Instagram, @holi