280. Breast Cancer Recurrence After Mastectomy with Teresa Baglietto

Love the podcast? Send us a text! What happens when breast cancer comes back — even after doing “everything right”? In this deeply honest conversation, Laura Carfang sits down with Teresa Baglietto, a four-time cancer survivor, author, and podcast host, to talk about what it really means to live with cancer recurrence, fear, and long-term survivorship. Teresa shares what it felt like to discover her first breast cancer lump (“it was like a block of cement”), how she navigated a recurrence after bilateral mastectomy, and the treatment decisions that ultimately saved her life — including why she chose not to take chemotherapy or tamoxifen. Together, Laura and Teresa explore the emotional and practical realities of survivorship: fear of recurrence, making medical decisions without complete information, balancing career and health, and finding purpose after cancer. This episode is for anyone newly diagnosed, living with metastatic or recurrent disease, or learning how to live after cancer — when the world expects you to “move on,” but your body and mind remember everything. In This Episode, We Talk About: What a breast cancer lump can actually feel like Being diagnosed after delaying a mammogram Breast cancer recurrence after mastectomy Radiation vs chemotherapy and treatment decision-making Oncotype DX testing and personalized care Saying no to tamoxifen after severe side effects Fear of recurrence and how it shows up years later How cancer reshapes career, identity, and purpose Why having a plan can help you survive the unknown Finding meaning and community after diagnosis About Our Guest Teresa Baglietto is a four-time cancer survivor, author of The Ripple Effect, and host of the podcast InShok. Her work focuses on resilience, leadership, and navigating life’s hardest moments with intention and courage. Support the show Listener Feedback If this episode resonated with you, we invite you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. You can also click the link in the show notes that says "Love this episode? Send us a text" to share feedback. Messages are completely anonymous. If you would like us to follow up directly, please include your email address in your message so we can respond. Latest News: Join our Mailing List - New content drops every Monday! Discover FREE programs, support groups, and resources from SurvivingBReastCancer.org! Become a Breast Cancer Conversations+ Member! Sign Up Now. Enjoying our content? Please consider supporting our work.