Evolving Identity, Our Need For Connection & Living Out Loud After Breast Cancer w/ Dr. Liz O'Riordan

What happens when the doctor becomes the patient, and then the advocate? In this deeply human conversation, we sit down with Dr. Liz O'Riordan, a former consultant breast surgeon whose life changed at 40 with a Grade 3 breast cancer diagnosis. After chemotherapy, a chest wall recurrence that led to going flat, surgical menopause, and a second recurrence in 2023, Liz’s world shifted again, this time from the operating theatre to survivorship, from clinician to narrator of her own story.To close out this amazing month of solidarity, advocacy, and hope Dr. O'Riordan and I explore how illness reshapes identity, career, body image, and intimacy. Liz speaks candidly about grief, fertility loss, and the pressure to “bounce back,”. Through writing and advocacy, she’s forged a path that honors pain and possibility; becoming the woman, wife, and physician she is today.Within this episode we also discuss:• How caring for women with breast cancer informed Liz’s empathy, communication, and clinical lens before her own diagnosis• Moving from physician to patient; going flat; surgical menopause; targeted therapy; and the physical and emotional realities of recurrence• Retiring from the work she loved, navigating grief, and building a new identity and purpose through writing and voice• Sexuality and wellness after cancer and naming libido changes without shame, co-creating intimacy, and aligning care with consent, comfort, and curiosity• Releasing pressure to “return to normal,” setting boundaries, and rebuilding connection on your termsThis episode centers dignity, agency, and the full truth of survivorship. If you’re navigating treatment, recurrence, or life after cancer, you’ll find language, validation, and practical hope here.Learn more about and contact Dr. Liz O'Riordan here: www.liz.oriordan.co.uk