79-SYNCPodcast_JenDelvaux

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[00:00:57] Jenny Swisher: Welcome friends to this episode of the Sync Your Life podcast. Today we’re doing something different, something we haven’t done before on the show. We’re actually going to be doing a series of throwback episodes. We are well over 200 episodes into this podcast and every day I get a message from someone asking a question about progesterone or asking a question about proper testing or asking a question about what it means to embrace a functional wellness journey and I always find myself referring them back to one of the old but good podcast episodes here on the show.

[00:01:25] Jenny Swisher: So we’re going to take some of our favorite for the next few weeks and we’re going to throw them back. We’re going to do an episode replay so that you can hear these amazing interviews with experts in their field. I’m so excited to introduce you to each one of them here in the next three weeks, but without further ado, let’s dive in.

[00:01:40] Jenny Swisher: I am joined by Jen Delvaux. Jen is a health and fitness coach. She’s the founder of team empower nation in February of 2021. She was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had always enjoyed researching new health hacks prior to her diagnosis.

[00:01:52] Jenny Swisher: But now she’s made it her mission to help others take back the power over their diagnosis as well as to thrive during and after treatments. Along with her husband, she hosts the podcast, Not Today Cancer, with Mr. Worldwide and his bride, where they talk openly and honestly about their own struggles.

[00:02:07] Jenny Swisher: Darren himself was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2009, and the podcast takes a deep dive into how they’ve been able to get through it all in a positive way. Writing a book has always been Jen’s dream. This cancer diagnosis gave her the impetus needed to share what she had learned to make an impact on the cancer community.

[00:02:22] Jenny Swisher: Her book is called Not Today Cancer. We will make sure to link it up in the show notes, but without further ado, let me welcome Jen Delveaux to the podcast. Jen, welcome. Please, if you will, just give us a little bit of your backstory. What led you to doing what you do now?

[00:02:35] Jen Delvaux: Yeah, thank you so much for having me here.

[00:02:38] Jen Delvaux: I love sharing my story on other podcast episodes. It’s fun being a guest instead of the podcast interviewer. So yeah, my story really starts way back in 2009 when my husband was diagnosed with brain cancer. And right around that same time that he was diagnosed, I just started getting kind of on a healthier track.

[00:03:00] Jen Delvaux: And so thankfully I had that in my life already because I knew that. exercise was so helpful for our mindset and, you know, feeling good in our own bodies and just living that healthier life. And so when he was diagnosed though, our worlds turned upside down and everything just happened so fast. And then he had, it came back quickly, 18 months later, but during that 18 months, I had a lot of time to really focus in research.

[00:03:30] Jen Delvaux: So we changed a lot of things back then. And my husband is still, he’s had three brain surgeries, chemo, radiation, the works. He’s doing well. He has short term memory issues and You know, they don’t typically radiate the brain twice, so he couldn’t go back to work in 2011 after that because he had a stroke and complications.

[00:03:53] Jen Delvaux: But thankfully, I had been diving into really helping other women with their health and fitness and doing my own coaching business. So 2019, he had his third brain surgery and Ended up being a grade four. We really, truly like he is a walking miracle, like truly. And so he’s taught me so much about attitude and he laughs every day.

[00:04:17] Jen Delvaux: He doesn’t sweat the small stuff. We have fun. We’ve created a ton of memories, but so then all of a sudden in 2021, it was interesting. Let me go back a second. I kept seeing the number 11, 11, and I’m not like this total spiritual person, but I mean, I was like every day, I’m like, what does this mean? I don’t understand why I keep seeing it.

[00:04:40] Jen Delvaux: And then my husband kept seeing it and I would see it on the microwave or some new call me at 11, 11, or they would leave a voice memo that was one minute, 11 seconds, like insane. Like it would not stop. And I dug into it a little bit and it was like, you know, really pay attention to your thoughts. And maybe the angels are trying to.

[00:05:00] Jen Delvaux: Whatever, they’re supporting you. And so I thought to myself, am I. Past my mammogram date and I decided to call and I was just by a couple of weeks, but schedule that mammogram and I got the call back and this happens a lot. So for those that women that have to go in for a mammogram, when they call you back because they might see something, it is so common.

[00:05:28] Jen Delvaux: Like the machines are so good right now that they can detect the smallest thing. So there, it is a lot of fear behind it. So just because you’re called back, doesn’t mean like it’s going to turn into something. So when I was called back, I truly thought it’s going to be fine. Like I didn’t think anything of it.

[00:05:46] Jen Delvaux: And I went in for the repeat mammogram and so it’s 2021. So there’s still really weird about. Having people with you. So I was by myself and I went in for the repeat mammogram. And then if they still see it, then they send you back for the ultrasound, which they did. And then in the ultrasound room, you know, like if they say I’m coming back with the doctor, then you’re in trouble.

[00:06:09] Jen Delvaux: And I was laying there and I just saw a really serious look on her face. And she was in a particular area for a long time. And I just was like, Oh my gosh. This is not going to be good. And she said, I’ll be back with the doctor. And I was like, okay, this really isn’t good. And he walked in a few minutes later and he’s like, um, so you’re not feeling anything.

[00:06:34] Jen Delvaux: And, you know, he had these, like just a sad look on his face. And I’m like, no, I’m like, I haven’t felt anything, but I’m going to be honest. I’m not the monthly, you know, feel it on the first, you see that everywhere. I was not doing my breast self exams. I just wasn’t, but still, even after I knew it was there, I still couldn’t feel it.

[00:06:53] Jen Delvaux: So it was just, it was kind of hidden, but he came in and told me this news. He’s like, we do really think this is cancer. And I was like, okay. He’s like, do you have any questions? And so I’m like, no. And I left and I was like, there’s no way, there’s no way, there’s no freaking way, husband and wife can both have cancer.

[00:07:12] Jen Delvaux: There’s no way. And so he said, they’ll call you later on this week and you’ll have a ultrasound scheduled next week, sometime. And I called my neighbor, weirdly, my neighbor just went through this. And so I phoned her and she’s like, well, the good news is. is that you’re not going straight back for a biopsy because then there would be really be concerned with that.

[00:07:34] Jen Delvaux: So I get home and I’m literally home for 20 minutes and the phone calls. And it’s the doctor and they’re like, we need you back like tomorrow morning ASAP. We really, there’s like 95 percent chance we’re sure this is cancer. And then I just like lost it. Like the tears just rolling. Like I didn’t even know who I was because I’m the strong one in our family.

[00:08:02] Jen Delvaux: I’m the one that takes care of everything. When Darren was diagnosed in 2009, our roles. Completely changed where he took care of the family more so financially and just kind of was like the guy that took care of all the things. All of a sudden I was that person and I had been that person for like 12 years and to all of a sudden me be in his shoes was so shocking.

[00:08:29] Jen Delvaux: To me, and I couldn’t handle it. And I think like when somebody gets a cancer diagnosis and you hear the word cancer, I hear this from a lot of women that I interview, you will immediately assume your life is over because cancer is the scariest word in the dictionary. And really that’s not the case. I mean, so many women can truly thrive through this and they can live a really long life, but when you’re initially given that diagnosis, fear just totally consumes you.

[00:09:00] Jen Delvaux: So I just kind of like, I am the type of person who’s a researcher and I dive into what I can do. How can I take part in this? And I changed everything. It’s interesting. My husband and I are so different. He changed nothing. I think the, I think the big thing that changed with him is he released all stress and worry.

[00:09:22] Jen Delvaux: And he just enjoyed every minute. I was like, okay, I’m going to listen to what the doctor says. I’m going to do what they say, whatever they tell me to do. But what can I do on my end? And when somebody is newly diagnosed, I don’t recommend Googling your diagnosis. Like I didn’t do that. I just Googled like, how can I help myself?

[00:09:40] Jen Delvaux: And so I dove deeply into different healing modalities that we can dive into, but I basically changed everything. And I used to get the question too, all the time. Like, I don’t understand. You’re already healthy and fit. What’s the point if this could happen to you? That was a great question that I got one time.

[00:09:58] Jen Delvaux: I’m like, oh my gosh, so important to stay healthy because I’ll tell you what me getting through the changes that I made and the diagnosis was super simple and somebody who’s starting at square one and doesn’t Have the understanding of the very basics of health or fitness they’re starting at the beginning.

[00:10:16] Jen Delvaux: And that’s so hard to like, think of all the massive changes that they should be making. And a lot of them don’t because it’s so overwhelming for me. I just tweaked a few things and, you know, really have been able to thrive through this diagnosis.

[00:10:31] Jenny Swisher: That was great. And I took some notes. The first thing I want to say is just, I feel like I’ve said this so many times with different podcasts guests, but it’s definitely pertinent here, which is I love when people take.

[00:10:41] Jenny Swisher: A struggle of, of some kind, and they turn it into their message. And so I love that this, the story of yours, which is not an easy thing to navigate is something that you’re, you’re still saying, you know what? I feel this desire to now share it and to, to share my story with other people so that they can maybe learn about this, this for themselves or realize that they’re not invincible.

[00:11:01] Jenny Swisher: I mean, I know for me, my first mammogram was, was a year ago, which I was 38 years old, which was probably too late for me. I had a history of hormone imbalance. So far, everything has been fine, but I know I even just listening to other women that take my course and women that I work with in the hormone field, it’s so crucial that we take our health into our own hands.

[00:11:22] Jenny Swisher: And I know for me, my personal story, I mean, not to go way far back, but my dad was diagnosed with cancer when I was 12 years old. He was given two weeks to live and it was a form of leukemia. It was myelocytic leukemia and he had a bone marrow transplant. Thankfully his brother was a match. That’s he’s still alive to this day.

[00:11:44] Jenny Swisher: He did have some, some Sarah toxicity from the chemotherapy, which I guess only affects like 1 percent of people. So he has some, some lifestyle issues that he deals with now, but that shaped me as a 12 year old, because I witnessed that journey of him just, of course. But it’s very similar to what you said about Darren releasing the stress and the worry and just saying, this is the card I’ve been dealt and this is what I’m going to do.

[00:12:07] Jenny Swisher: And I’m going to face it with adversity and strength and courage. And there’s something powerful to that, but also just for me, you know, when people ask me like, why are you, how do you stay motivated? Right. How do you exercise every day? And how do you take your nutrition? So like I could never do that.

[00:12:22] Jenny Swisher: And I always think to myself, like, you know, not that that ever could have been prevented in my dad’s case necessarily, but, or in anyone’s case, but I look at health as something that, you know what, I’m going to control all the stuff that I can control, right? Like I’m going to do everything in my power so that if something happens to me, Okay.

[00:12:38] Jenny Swisher: I’m, I’m sort of, I feel like I’m kind of in the driver’s seat. I don’t feel like I’m totally, you know, behind, I guess, you know, and I want to make sure that I’m in charge of my nutrition and I’m, I’m, I’m moving my body and I’m, I’m putting it in a peak state so that if something was to happen to me, I could handle it.

[00:12:53] Jenny Swisher: But I love that you’re, you’re turning this journey into your message and you’re sharing it out with, with social media and the world. The other thing that I want to just say too, is. Maybe just, we could start here with women listening. What would you say to the woman listening who maybe they’re healthy and fit and they, they take their health seriously, but maybe they haven’t gotten that mammogram or maybe it’s not a priority for them or the self checks you discussed.

[00:13:13] Jenny Swisher: You hadn’t been self checking. Like what are some initial things that women need to be making a priority?

[00:13:18] Jen Delvaux: Yeah, definitely a mammogram for sure. I truly wouldn’t have felt mine without it. And I think that, I mean, it truly saved my life because mine is a mammogram. It was early stage, they caught it. So it was small.

[00:13:32] Jen Delvaux: It’s an invasive ductal carcinoma stage one, grade two, ER, PR positive her to negative breast cancer is very complex. And everybody is kind of slightly different and it’s weird, you know, like Darren’s like brain cancer stage four, like it was really easy to understand, but all of a sudden with breast cancer, it’s very, there’s a lot to it, but I was stage one.

[00:13:55] Jen Delvaux: So that means the size staging is always the size. And then the grading is the aggressiveness of the characteristics of the type of cancer you have. And so mine was a little bit more aggressive. So thankfully we caught it with the mammogram. So definitely. Definitely get your mammogram scheduled. It’s so important.

[00:14:13] Jen Delvaux: Self breast exams. In fact, I have a way to do it in the book, but that should be done. It’s a really actually somebody that is having, still having their period. I was not, I was forced into menopause. So when you’re diagnosed with a hormone positive breast cancer, They want all of the estrogen, everything out of your body.

[00:14:32] Jen Delvaux: So you’re blasted into it overnight. So that was tricky for me to get through too, but just making sure that you are doing those. Oh, Oh, what I was gonna say is if you still are having your period, I think you’d do it like three days after, like, you don’t want to do it while you’re having your period because you can feel certain lumps in there, but just getting to know your breasts, even looking at them, you know, like looking in the and noticing that they all look.

[00:14:58] Jen Delvaux: the same. And if you’re feeling anything, I think our intuition is screaming at us when we need something to be checked out, really paying attention. So if you’ve ever thought like I should do this or something is looking different, or even like if your nipple looks different, like lumps or bumps that you’re not sure about, it’s so important to get that checked out.

[00:15:17] Jenny Swisher: I know for me personally, like sometimes you can think in your mind, like, well, I feel fine. Right. Like in your case, you’re like, I feel okay, but yet it’s still important to go have those checks.

[00:15:25] Jen Delvaux: Absolutely.

[00:15:26] Jenny Swisher: So I want to talk about mindset because obviously you mentioned fear sort of hit you first, but then you’ve been able to really thrive like through the diagnosis.

[00:15:36] Jenny Swisher: And, you know, you talked about how you were sort of the, The family facilitator and the person who kind of kept the level head and the strong one. And then here you were facing the struggle yourself. So I’d love to hear, like, how did you really take control of that mindset and sort of take ownership of, of your diagnosis?

[00:15:53] Jen Delvaux: Yeah, it’s the hardest part. I mean, in, in all the women that I’ve talked to, it’s interesting. People think. You know, when you have that diagnosis, you go through the treatment and you’re going for the surgery or the radiation or the chemo, and you’ve got so much support family cheering you on. You’ve got doctors involved every step of the way you’re going in for weekly appointments.

[00:16:16] Jen Delvaux: And then all of a sudden it’s done. I’m not kidding. You are in a fog. Everything happens so quick. You really don’t even understand what’s happening and you’re just in a fog through it all. And then all of a sudden You’re like done with treatment and you have people like, yeah, you did it. And all of a sudden you’re like, what just happened?

[00:16:38] Jen Delvaux: What did I just go through? And a lot of women, so many women have PTSD and they go into depression at this point and then they feel guilty, like. I don’t understand. Like I just got through it. I’m doing well. Many women, you know, not many women, but some people don’t get through it. Like, why am I upset right now?

[00:16:58] Jen Delvaux: I did this. I’m good right now. I’m cancer free. It’s because it’s, it is PTSD and it is traumatic. The things that doctors are telling you, you know, they have to tell you worst case scenario. They have to tell you all the facts and that goes into our head and we are truly in fight or flight when that happens.

[00:17:19] Jen Delvaux: And so you have to let your body feel these emotions. You can’t stop it. Like, like I remember when Darren was going through it, I was a strong person and I wouldn’t let anything out. I wouldn’t, I like, I didn’t cry. I had to be strong for my family. I was good, but those emotions have to come out somehow.

[00:17:41] Jen Delvaux: So letting yourself cry, letting yourself be angry, letting yourself be pissed that you just went through all this. It’s okay. And feel it, but then you have to have things in ways that are going to help you get through it. Like, I don’t know where I would be. Without meditation. So, being in the health and fitness world, we always know meditation is great.

[00:18:02] Jen Delvaux: I tried to do meditation for years, I’d be like, ugh, go down there for two minutes, I’d be like, I got so many things to do, and I’d be out of there. So, when I was having, I was extreme fear, and it was one of the, it was when I had to go in for the biopsy. And I was literally thinking, I don’t know if mentally I can drive myself to the hospital right now because I’m so consumed with fear.

[00:18:25] Jen Delvaux: Remember Darren could not go with me. I was just like, I might have to have him just drive me and sit in the parking lot because I, I’m emotionally not okay right now. And I grabbed my phone and I searched the app unplug, which is a meditation app, which I swear by it. There is a cost to it. It’s a yearly cost, but I do have a 30 day link free that I’ll give to you to give to your audience.

[00:18:51] Jen Delvaux: I, I get no kickback from it. I just swear by unplug and I’ve had her on my show, the CEO, Susie. She’s amazing. Susie Schwartz. I grabbed it and I went to stress and anxiety. And I found one called Your superpower calm and I put it in, or I played it, put in my headphones and I laid on the ground and it was the first time in like, you know, whatever, 14, 48 hour period that I finally felt like home.

[00:19:23] Jen Delvaux: And I was like, okay, I can do this. I can do this. So that, that healing modality has stuck with me ever since. And I think people think like, Oh, meditation, you have to be sitting cross legged and hands up. And you have to be in this like pot. You, if you just sit there and calm your brain for just a few minutes a day, it’s so powerful.

[00:19:46] Jen Delvaux: So I just do 10, 10 minutes a day. And it’s changed everything. So that’s one of the things that I don’t know where I would be without it. I also think for me, taking control gives me a sense of power over this. You know, you feel so powerless when you are diagnosed with cancer, but taking action on certain things gives you some control back or some power back.

[00:20:10] Jen Delvaux: So by changing my diet, I knew, I knew immediately For me, you know, I, I was a big keto eater before I didn’t eat a lot of fruits or vegetables. So, oh my gosh, fruits have sugar like so weird that I even thought that, but I did. I was focused on more fitting in the skinny jeans and not longevity. So my diet was not great.

[00:20:31] Jen Delvaux: It was just, you know, not, it was fine compared to a lot of people. Like I’m had fast food and I don’t even know how many years, 20 years, probably 15 years, but I still wasn’t for longevity. It was to fit into the skinny jeans. And so I literally was scared to put anything in my food, my body for a little bit, and then I slowly started adding in like some raw vegetables and fruit.

[00:20:55] Jen Delvaux: And I decided to just try out vegan and mostly plant based I eat wild caught fish. I don’t do the fake meats, fake meats are terrible. So people, there’s a lot of unhealthy vegans out there. I would never do. God, what’s that meat? That’s out everywhere. I can’t, I don’t even know the name of it.

[00:21:12] Jenny Swisher: Like the beyond burgers.

[00:21:14] Jenny Swisher: Oh my gosh. You guys

[00:21:16] Jen Delvaux: look at the ingredient level of a beyond burger. There’s so much garbage in it. You’re better off having like grass fed burger. So I’m not against that, but I do think somebody that’s been diagnosed with breast cancer. Actually, I think anybody, if you’re eating meat, it should be more of a garnish and your, your plate is loaded up with more vegetables and.

[00:21:36] Jen Delvaux: You know, so that’s what I think. Um, but everybody has their own opinion on that. So I changed my diet. I changed the way exercise, I started slowing down. I started walking more. I used to think walking was such a waste of time, like so silly. And I just didn’t like calmer in my head space. I don’t let the little things stress me out.

[00:21:57] Jen Delvaux: And you know, I, I, when, when the negative thoughts creep in, cause they will, the fear creeps in, you just have to change what you’re doing. I’ve even heard from somebody, I can’t remember who I heard this from, but she puts a rubber band around her wrist. And if she’s thinking negative thoughts, cause this can go happen in anything.

[00:22:18] Jen Delvaux: This isn’t breast cancer. We can all have fear or negative thinking about ourselves, like snap it. And start telling yourself, you love yourself or something really positive about yourself. Stop. We got to stop the negativity on ourselves. Us as women, my gosh, what we do to ourselves is insane. So I love myself a lot more.

[00:22:38] Jenny Swisher: So I wrote down, you know, meditation, nutrition, walking, slowing down on the exercise, in addition to like the medical treatments that you were, you were being given and being told. And I love that too, because I think, you know, Again, it puts, it gets you your control back. I mean, it gives you your power.

[00:22:54] Jenny Swisher: Like you feel like, like you said, in something where you feel like you’re powerless, it makes you feel like you’re in control of something. Right. And it’s your day to day. You can control that. You go for a walk, you can control the food that you’re putting into your body. Yeah. And I’m curious too, like, I want to pause and kind of go back a little bit to, to this topic of meditation and breath work, my listeners, if they’ve been listening for any amount of time, have heard me talk about this being one of my primary struggles, I would say.

[00:23:18] Jenny Swisher: Really? Exercise and nutrition are to me now. I mean, of course it’s been a journey over the course of the last dozen years, but they feel easy to me. They feel simple. Whereas the, the being still and the slowing down tends to be a struggle for me. And I see this with a lot of other women too. And I remember, of course, I always say my yoga instructor, who’s my good friend, will probably listen to this and laugh because I’m the girl who, Used to just count my way out of Shavasana.

[00:23:45] Jenny Swisher: Like I would be looking at the clock in yoga class. Like how much longer is this going to be, you know, and how still do I really have to be, but someone recommended to me, and I’m saying this in case there’s someone listening, who’s like that. Someone said to me, you know, it doesn’t have to be, like you said, legs crossed and thumb, you know, your, your fingers up, like you’re, you’re doing some sort of arms or something.

[00:24:03] Jenny Swisher: It doesn’t have to be anything like that. It can actually start as a moving meditation. And that’s, that’s actually how I got started was combining. A walk with meditation, like going for just a 10 minute walk. Just get out of my house. Listen to something like unplug. Right. Listen to something like a meditation app and just follow along.

[00:24:21] Jenny Swisher: Like just, you know, unplug. Just say

[00:24:23] Jen Delvaux: unplug actually has walking meditations too.

[00:24:25] Jenny Swisher: Yeah. It’s perfect. And it’s, that’s how I got, that’s how I got started. And then when I finally felt comfortable, it was almost like I couldn’t let go. Mm-Hmm. know. I mean, it’s essentially like that is what it is. I mean, I couldn’t, I, I couldn’t let go.

[00:24:36] Jenny Swisher: I actually had a trauma informed therapist on the podcast who, when I told her that, she said, what trauma is holding you back from letting go? And it was just like, that was probably my biggest for this year, biggest epiphany and growth moment was hearing her ask that question. Like what’s keeping me from, from letting that go.

[00:24:53] Jenny Swisher: But moving with a meditation was how I started. And then slowly getting into just even just five minutes in the morning. Setting my mind, right? I have a six year old and a two year old. So sometimes I just, that’s my moment. Like I need that moment before I enter the room with them. And it is so huge. And it’s, I think it’s such a powerful thing because as you’re saying, you know, you’re, you’re entering this fear, right?

[00:25:15] Jenny Swisher: You, you even said like, I didn’t know if I could even drive myself to, to the treatment, you’re living in a state of fight or flight, like your cortisol is not working with you in a cancer diagnosis. Right. I mean, it’s, it’s, it’s. All flags are up. It’s like, you got to survive, not thrive. Right. And how do you thrive by taking control of that mindset and by slowing yourself down and getting yourself back

[00:25:35] Jen Delvaux: into that parasympathetic state is key.

[00:25:38] Jen Delvaux: Even, even I’ll catch myself now because I’m so similar to you. I must be, I’m like, go, go, go. And I sometimes will react even like. Darren might ask me, I love him to death, but he forgets short term memory. And sometimes I react and I’ll be like, Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to react that way. And just catching yourself.

[00:25:57] Jen Delvaux: It’s okay. We’re all human. We’re going to make mistakes. We’re going to react, you know, in ways that we don’t want to, but it’s just catching yourself and changing it right away is super helpful. The other things I did do too, that also helped me. And I really did never did this prior to my diagnosis was acupuncture.

[00:26:15] Jen Delvaux: And I, and I think you have with listeners that also are in perimenopause or going through menopause, this is hugely helpful for menopause. And he is an herbalist as well. So he’s into Chinese herbs. So he’s helped me a lot with that. Another part that gave me control and then energy healing. And again, that was just like, like kind of Reiki type stuff, just where she would Bring me back to, like you said, the trauma.

[00:26:40] Jen Delvaux: We’ve all had trauma in our lives and it gets stuck. And that stuck energy comes out as dis ease, which is dis ease within the body. So it’s really important to work through that trauma that you’ve had and not shut it down. I had things shut down for years. So I was like willing to try anything I’m like you tell me about it and I will try it and I share all that in my book because I kind of wanted to share it for other people and be able to share my experience with it.

[00:27:06] Jenny Swisher: Yeah, so I mean acupuncture is one thing that I’ve not tried, I have a history of chronic migraine but that’s something that I’d love to. to dig more into so I’d love for you to share more about what does it look like to go to oh my god I’ve got like the pictures in my mind of what happens but yes what’s the experience like

[00:27:25] Jen Delvaux: you definitely need to go like anybody that has any sort of chronic pain You are going to be shocked.

[00:27:31] Jen Delvaux: Even my son does this. Like, so I’m so mad. I didn’t know about it earlier. He has Ashton slaughters, which is, I think I’m saying that, right. But that’s the knee where as he’s growing, his knees hurt so bad. Like he couldn’t play some sports because of it. And he, after four sessions, totally fine. It’s the weirdest thing.

[00:27:50] Jen Delvaux: So basically I was scared too. And I didn’t know what was going to happen. And I thought it was going to hurt. And it doesn’t, I, he, you know, he, he asks you questions. Well, my, I bet everybody’s different. My acupuncturist, he’ll like, look at your eyes. You have to meet with them first and they kind of get to know, you get to know what’s happening.

[00:28:09] Jen Delvaux: They look at your tongue, they feel your pulse and it’s, uh, and they put needles. Like if you have pain, like if you have. Pain in a shoulder. They put these needle in a special place and he starts working it right then and there. Like you can feel relief immediately. Sometimes it takes a couple of sessions going to, but for me, he just helped me get into that calmer state, but he’s also helped me throughout this whole journey.

[00:28:35] Jen Delvaux: So I’m on hormone blocking meds, which have so many lovely side effects. And a lot of women it’s crazy. 40 percent of women don’t even go on the hormone blocking meds or quit because of. the side effects, but I don’t have them because I believe it’s because of acupuncture. If I have, if I start to have any joint pain or anything, I go in, I was going weekly when I was first diagnosed.

[00:29:00] Jen Delvaux: And now I go about every three weeks, but they basically, he sticks needles in you wherever you think you need it. And you just lay there for like 40 minutes and I go into this crazy Zen. I’m like, wait, 45 minutes is up. Like, I don’t even know what happened. And, and I’m like you, where I was at first like, wait, but can I have my phone?

[00:29:23] Jen Delvaux: You can’t cause you have needles all over you. So you can’t like do anything for 45 minutes. And it is like the most Zen I get. Like I, I’m like, can we just do this every day?

[00:29:34] Jenny Swisher: Yeah.

[00:29:34] Jen Delvaux: It’s incredible.

[00:29:35] Jenny Swisher: That’s probably the only form of like, you know, holistic treatment that I’ve not tried for, for migraine. But.

[00:29:41] Jenny Swisher: It’s funny. Cause I recently, my, my functional medicine doctor mentioned hyperbaric oxygen chambers. And so I was like looking into it and I thought, no way. Like if I can’t handle Shavasana, I am not going in that too. Like you’re going to have to go in there, but regardless, I guess, you know, you do what you need to do.

[00:29:57] Jenny Swisher: Try

[00:29:57] Jen Delvaux: acupuncture. I’m really curious if it works for you. I hear in the beautiful thing, we were just talking about this. I was with him like last and he said that it’s finally coming out. For doctors, like pain doctors to start recommending this before they actually get them addicted to like some sort of drug, you know, like, cause it really

[00:30:19] Jenny Swisher: helps that much.

[00:30:21] Jenny Swisher: One thing that I love about this conversation is. I always, it seems like I meet a lot of people who are very similar to me as far as Meeting both the medical world and the, and the sort of holistic healing world somewhere in the middle, right? Like saying, okay, I understand and appreciate when I need modern medicine, but I also know and appreciate how I can take control of my lifestyle and my nutrition.

[00:30:44] Jenny Swisher: I want to come back a little bit to nutrition. You mentioned being mostly plant based. I’d love to know, you know, I don’t know if you said this or not, but like, was that a switch that you made? Like, were you consuming meat before the diagnosis? Not red meat.

[00:30:57] Jen Delvaux: I’ve never been big red meat eater. I don’t know why I just never have, but I was like chicken, turkey eggs, dairy, like everything, you know, like pretty much for every meal.

[00:31:08] Jen Delvaux: Like it was focused on meat, you know, like turkey and like all that stuff. Fish. Like I ate a lot of meat, not a lot of vegetables. I mean, just basic ones that I’d eat the same things every week. I really focus more on fruits. Like I have like a lot of fiber, like I focus more on a fiber diet. Adding more fiber because fiber really helps our bodies to like rid our body of extra estrogen.

[00:31:39] Jen Delvaux: Like there’s so many benefits to fiber. It’s crazy. So I have a lot of fruit. I have oatmeal, like steel cut oats. I’m always, I’m really careful now with what I look out for is the oils that I’m using. I only use extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, and I don’t use coconut oil that much, but cause it’s, I just don’t for me with breast cancer.

[00:32:01] Jen Delvaux: I don’t know. It’s just because a lot of fat in it. And I don’t think that’s a bad fat. I’m not saying that coconut oil is great. I just minimize it only due to my breast cancer. But so I, I really look at my oils. I look at the ingredients. I really try to get, if I’m going to eat something packaged, like as far as bars go, let’s just say a bar.

[00:32:20] Jen Delvaux: I would never, the protein bars out there are loaded. So the only bar that I’ll eat if I’m like in a rush is the Lara bar, because you can see it’s literally like two or three ingredients. Doesn’t have any added sugar. That’s the other thing is I really try to stay away from added sugar. Not only for my diagnosis, but for somebody listening that’s struggling with their hormones, like added sugar is not the thing we want.

[00:32:44] Jen Delvaux: And I stay away from processed foods. I really make a big salad every day and I just load a bunch of different vegetables into it. I try to eat a diversity of vegetables and fruits. And, you know, when I have pasta, it’s a chickpea pasta. I don’t do that very often. I stay away from like just white bread and pastries and I don’t do any of that.

[00:33:06] Jen Delvaux: I mean, I don’t even care. I don’t miss it. Like, I don’t like, like, Oh, there’s like a, a cake and some, I don’t care to have that. I would love a piece of dark chocolate all about that. But I don’t care about like the sweet bakery stuff. Like I used to. It’s crazy how once you change, and I understand it’s difficult to change because I am one that literally used to be addicted to hot tamales and red vine licorice.

[00:33:34] Jen Delvaux: I kid you not. Like I, it was insane. But once I took it out of my body, this was like 11 years ago. I took candy out of my body. I have not turned back since up candy. I’ve not had a piece of candy in like 11 years. But then the, all the hidden sugars. So now you have to look at like all the, your dressings and all the stuff.

[00:33:56] Jen Delvaux: There’s so many hidden sugars in everything. Your pasta sauce, like so many things.

[00:34:01] Jenny Swisher: Yeah. My, my six year old, um, started kindergarten just a few weeks ago. And so this summer she has, she has a few food sensitivities and I always, I don’t want to digress too far, but I always think to myself, I have a feeling a lot of kids do, but somehow, somehow only like two in her class of 16 are aware of them.

[00:34:18] Jenny Swisher: So regardless, dairy and gluten are high sensitivities and those are foods we avoid as a family. Yeah. I don’t do dairy

[00:34:25] Jen Delvaux: either. Immediately gave up dairy.

[00:34:27] Jenny Swisher: And it makes me just cringe sometimes because people, you know, when I really, I really vocalize, you know, go dairy free go gluten free, like get rid of it.

[00:34:34] Jenny Swisher: You don’t need it. And the women that take my course, the first question is always, well, what are some good dairy alternatives? And my, my answer is just, just go without it. Like, yeah, trust me, trust me. You’re not going to find a dairy free cheese. Like just don’t even waste your money. Like it’s not worth it.

[00:34:47] Jenny Swisher: It’s not worth the health. Like, and the other thing is like, you’re talking about ingredient labels and that’s what I was mentioning with my six year old. This summer, she went to a summer camp and we had told the summer camp counselors, you know, we don’t do dairy, we don’t do gluten. She came home that day.

[00:35:00] Jenny Swisher: And for some reason she was like, Oh, they gave us gummy worms. And she’s telling us all these different things that they had given her at camp. A couple of them had dairy in them. And so I just decided, you know what? Like I can’t count on like anyone else. Like I’ve got to educate the child. So I told her, you know, she’s just now doing word recognition.

[00:35:16] Jenny Swisher: Like she’s just now noticing the word the right. So this, but this summer I was like, I started pulling things out and I started showing her the ingredient labels. And I was like, this is what you’re looking for. So the few things that she looks for are like oils, what kinds of oils are in your food? And there are things like grapeseed oil and safflower oil, all these things that are not healthy for you whatsoever that are being linked to chronic disease

[00:35:39] are in

[00:35:39] Jenny Swisher: everything, whether it’s a protein bar or whatever.

[00:35:43] Jenny Swisher: Like I promise you, it’s probably in there. Like, look at you think you

[00:35:45] Jen Delvaux: think you grab a, you think you’re at the health food store. And you’re going down what you think is a healthy snack, like the plant based snack, like you just want something to snack on, look at the oils. There’s literally the only thing that I’ve found unless, I mean, is the Siete chips.

[00:36:04] Jenny Swisher: Yeah,

[00:36:04] Jen Delvaux: that has fine oil. And then there’s one popcorn. Oh gosh. It’s the one with the Buddha on the front, the lesser evil. Is that lesser evil? Yeah.

[00:36:13] Jenny Swisher: My kids eat the lesser evil snacks because they usually are coconut oil or avocado oil in there. And I’m like, why isn’t everything like this? Like, it doesn’t make any sense.

[00:36:20] Jenny Swisher: Like if one company can do it, I assure you that there are more out there that could,

[00:36:24] Jen Delvaux: well, they are going to, I guarantee you they’re going to be switching because now this is a new thing. They’re realizing that all these oils are causing such a state of inflammation within our body. The only other thing that I really changed and, and, and I say this, the oils and the sugar, because I also interviewed a doctor scientist recently on my podcast.

[00:36:44] Jen Delvaux: And I said, what are the top three things that somebody should look at, you know, whether you’re going through a cancer diagnosis or not, but you just don’t ever want a cancer diagnosis is the oils, the sugar added. And the last thing is your water. And, you know, so many people are getting plastic water bottles.

[00:37:03] Jen Delvaux: And, you know, I understand there’s situations where you just have to have a plastic water bottle when you’re traveling. I get it. But like your, your, the quality of your water is really important. And even like people think, well, I have a fridge with a, um, what’s it called? Like a filtration system. That’s not the same, not good enough.

[00:37:23] Jen Delvaux: And I use Berkey filter. It’s, oh, you do. Okay. Yeah. So do I, so that I know that that is the other main thing that I changed was my water source.

[00:37:36] Jenny Swisher: Yes. So good. I mean, and I actually, that’s where I was going to take the conversation was I wanted to touch on environmental estrogens. I just did a solo round on this a couple of weeks ago, but it’s becoming something.

[00:37:46] Jenny Swisher: My personal story is, you know, with chronic migraine and in my early twenties, I discovered that my trigger after doing everything possible, maybe besides acupuncture, I had done, I mean, I was a diamond clinic Mayo clinic case of migraine. Nobody could figure out why my migraines were happening. And when I finally saw the right functional medicine doctor and had the right testing, she looked at me and said, you have no progesterone, like your, your estrogen is just through the roof and you, you’re not, your progesterone is not coming up enough.

[00:38:14] Jenny Swisher: Right. You have too wide of a ratio and it’s, it’s causing you to be extremely estrogen dominant, which is why they, she believed I was in a constant state of migraine. It was just like what was happening in my body. And so of course I thought she was crazy and she took me off of all modern pharmaceuticals that I had been guinea pigged on for several years and said, Nope, we’re going to go cold turkey off of all of that.

[00:38:33] Jenny Swisher: We’re going to start you on bioidentical progesterone cream. We’re going to get you changing, you know, eliminating certain foods from your diet and starting these different estrogen eliminators, like these different supplements that I started taking for like liver methylation. And I take CDG, ester factors, dim, and then I still take the bio, bioidentical progesterone cream.

[00:38:53] Jenny Swisher: I take, you know, probiotics and things digested enzymes to get the mixture I’m eliminating. But the purpose of sharing this is because literally for the last close to 15 years, I’ve been going on and off with progesterone cream. It’s been something that’s kind of had to play a role for me. It’s just, I don’t know what causes my body to not want to produce enough progesterone.

[00:39:12] Jenny Swisher: But regardless, it’s interesting because. Here I was having tried a million pharmaceuticals, right. And nothing working. And you feel like I actually developed kidney stones as a result of the medication, but regardless, I started to see like, okay, I started to use this progesterone cream and within three months of using it.

[00:39:30] Jenny Swisher: My headaches were gone. My cycles became more regular. I didn’t have the PMS and the menstrual cramping that I had before, like so many things changed. And it was from this dime size amount of cream from a yam root that was going onto my wrist. And so that triggered this light bulb for me that was like, if this little drop of cream that’s going on, my wrist is transforming my life.

[00:39:53] Jenny Swisher: And literally giving me life, then what’s happening with like the lotions that I’m putting on my skin and the shampoos and the makeup and all the different things that are going onto my body and things like air fresheners that are in my house that I’m consuming and breathing in. So I want to talk about environmental estrogens.

[00:40:12] Jenny Swisher: What do you teach and what are your findings?

[00:40:15] Jen Delvaux: So here’s what I have to say about it is baby steps. Don’t overwhelm yourself with it. Take one thing at a time and start replacing it as some, I mean, you can do it all at once if you want. But for me, I was like, okay, let me focus on skincare because skincare is super important for me.

[00:40:33] Jen Delvaux: And I, and you know, that’s something we put on her body and I use KPS products, KPS essential luxury skincare. And it’s complete, not only clean, it’s literally like a super food. So I do have a link of like a 10 percent off. It is a little bit pricey, but it’s your skin and it doesn’t have anything in it other than super foods that can help in other things.

[00:40:56] Jen Delvaux: So I slowly changed that out. I changed my makeup to, um, cleaner products like beauty counter. I’m not an affiliate for that, but beauty counter has some great products. Changing out a really important thing for women is our deodorant. And beauty counter does have one. Um, there’s even a KPS, the KPS perfume you can use as a deodorant, you know, all of our products are in the home are clean.

[00:41:22] Jen Delvaux: They’re all like, I mean, sometimes my cleaning lady will just use like apple cider or the cider or vinegar and water, like just clean products. Trying to think of what else.

[00:41:32] Jenny Swisher: Yeah. And I just, I think that women out there don’t realize that like, you know, it’s not like you’re consciously really making these choices.

[00:41:38] Jenny Swisher: Like you just, like for my, for me, right. Like I grew up in a house that used bleach. I grew up in a house that used like traditional cleaning products. And when I first started wearing

[00:41:46] Jen Delvaux: sheets, I mean like, like there’s no air freshener, nothing like that going on in the house. Every product that is cleaning this house is a clean product.

[00:41:57] Jen Delvaux: I think that, so I’m just in the middle, I’m almost finished with this integrative health practitioner. Yeah. And I think it’s, there’s 300 different toxins that are on a woman, woman’s body. By the time they exit the house for work that day between our hair products. I really don’t use any like hairspray or anything like that unless like once in a while I’m going to something.

[00:42:20] Jen Delvaux: I don’t use perfume. Like I am just super conscious about what I’m putting into my body because it really does matter. There’s so, Oh, you know what else has the worst estrogen ever? And those that have small kids don’t let your kids play with this, our receipts. Really has the most estrogen is on receipts.

[00:42:41] Jen Delvaux: So when somebody goes to hand me a receipt, I’m like, I’m good. Thank you. I D I never take the receipt. Interesting. And I think about the poor women who are touching a receipt all the day, working at the register. Yes. Wow. Wow. Estrogen is, you just have to think it’s in everything,

[00:42:57] so you

[00:42:57] Jen Delvaux: can’t avoid it completely.

[00:42:58] Jen Delvaux: You can’t like go crazy and live in this bubble. I mean, we all have to live, right? Yeah. But cause I, cause listen, I like to get my nails done and like to wear lashes. Those are not totally clean, but I balance it out with other things. So I’m not perfect. I’m not here to say I’m perfect. But I try to do the best that I can.

[00:43:20] Jenny Swisher: I was just thinking about that the other day when I was having my hair touched up and I was like, you know what, there, there are some things that I’m not willing to change, but you have to decide, right. You got to decide like, what’s, what do I want to keep and what’s easy to eliminate or change. Exactly.

[00:43:34] Jenny Swisher: When it comes to, you know, herbals and supplementation, I’d love for you to tell us like what you found or what you’re using or, or things like that, whether it’s related to detoxifying estrogen or otherwise.

[00:43:45] Jen Delvaux: Yeah. So, oh gosh. Well, it changes. So I’m not going to tell you exactly what I’m on for the herbals because it, it really depends on what you’re going through.

[00:43:55] Jen Delvaux: I think the best thing that women can start doing is drinking green tea. There’s nothing better than green tea. Especially somebody who’s been diagnosed with breast cancer or cancer at all. Cancer, uh, cancer hates tea. And also you have to look at where your tea is sourced. So somebody just getting tea, just like a generic tea with tea bags.

[00:44:17] Jen Delvaux: A lot of tea bags are toxic. So I use peak tea, which has peak tea crystals, or if you get loose leaf tea, that’s better for you. Like organic. T is great, but like I’ve been on like so many different herbal medicines. I will tell you he has me. Cause I am about to go through an explant surgery right now. So he really wants to work on my liver going into where I’m going to have be put under general anesthesia.

[00:44:42] Jen Delvaux: Tumeric is a great one. Vitamin D is another really important. I think everybody in the world, we should be taking vitamin D. Um, but get your levels checked. I really think it’s important to get your levels checked and know your own levels. Most people are deficient in magnesium. I take melatonin at night.

[00:44:58] Jen Delvaux: There’s a lot of studies, research with melatonin and cancer and helping to eliminate. Cancer recurrence. So I take a high amount of melatonin at night and plus they sleep so much better. Sleep is important too. Like getting your sleep on track, whether you’re dealing, you’re having hormone issues, cancer, whatever sleep is so important.

[00:45:19] Jen Delvaux: It is. You know, getting your room set up right to sleep. So we had somebody come in. It was so we had this, like, why, why they did this? I have no idea, but it’s a window right above the bed. And it’s just a skinnier one. So not one that can like, so we had them come in and like make blinds for it, like blackout blinds and, and having it really cold at night.

[00:45:40] Jen Delvaux: Like my boys are like freezing up all the time. And I’m like, it’s okay. Cause mama’s hot and mama needs to be happy. So I’m like, go put on a sweatshirt. But yeah, just having it like 68 degrees or sometimes even 67 and a fan, just whatever can bring you into that calming state.

[00:46:00] Jenny Swisher: Yeah. I’m so, I’m so glad you mentioned that.

[00:46:02] Jenny Swisher: Cause that was actually a question I was going to ask was if you were on melatonin, I know that’s usually like a first line of attack for a lot of doctors is to put breast cancer women on, on melatonin. Yeah. And it’s, I mean, I know for me personally, I’m very sensitive to things like melatonin. So I have to be really careful about, I just don’t need as much as, as other people do.

[00:46:21] Jenny Swisher: Right. And so I think a lot of people get deterred. I had a client just recently who tried a new supplement that contained melatonin and she’s like, Oh my gosh, I couldn’t wake up the next day. Like it was terrible. And she just tossed it. And I said, no, no, no. Like let’s not toss it out the window. Like let’s, or let’s look at L theanine and some other things that we can do to really help deepen, deepen your sleep and get that restorative sleep.

[00:46:40] Jen Delvaux: L theanine is great too. Yep.

[00:46:42] Jenny Swisher: Yeah, for mood as well. Yeah, so I

[00:46:44] Jen Delvaux: do drink a lot of tea. I’m trying to think if I missed anything else. I do, you know, soy is a big controversy amongst women and saying that it can cause breast cancer. That’s not the truth. You can Google it and see both sides to it, but if you look at the current research, soy products As long as it’s organic, non GMO.

[00:47:05] Jen Delvaux: Yeah.

[00:47:05] Jenny Swisher: Yeah.

[00:47:06] Jen Delvaux: So you got to make sure again, Oh, anything that I’m talking about, you need to make sure it’s organic, non GMO sourced properly. Like I wouldn’t get tofu at a restaurant that I don’t know where they got their tofu from. If I’m making it home, A few times a week. I’m fine with it because it has a phyto estrogen, which actually helps get rid of the bad estrogen in our bodies.

[00:47:29] Jen Delvaux: So if you, there’s studies that show women in Asia, they never dealt with breast cancer. Or, or it was really low breast cancer or had hormone issues from menopause or like hot flashes and stuff because that phyto estrogen that’s in tofu helps eliminate that. So and now, but unfortunately now that it’s raising because they’re bringing in the American diet.

[00:47:54] Jen Delvaux: So.

[00:47:54] Jenny Swisher: Yeah. I get that question a lot of, you know, what about things like sweet potatoes and soy and all these things? And I’m like, well, you’re consuming phytoestrogens. So you have to think about them from a perspective of, no, they’re actually helping you fight that excess estrogen. Yeah. I love sweet potatoes.

[00:48:07] Jenny Swisher: I live by them. Me too. Me too. I could eat them at every meal. So I want to be mindful of your time, but as, as we sort of close things up, I do want to kind of come back to this, you know, this idea of how you really embraced a positive mindset through your journey. We’ve talked a lot about things that people can take away into their life.

[00:48:25] Jenny Swisher: As far as supplementation, nutrition, we talked about meditation, all these things are awesome. And these are things that I preach on the podcast, but I also know that you have a unique story and the fact that Darren has sort of been navigating his own cancer journey, or should I call him Mr. Worldwide?

[00:48:39] Jenny Swisher: I’m not sure. Yeah, Mr. Worldwide, Mr. Worldwide. And then you, you know, you mentioned yourself too. So I’m wondering through all of this for yourself, especially, I’m assuming that, you know, you had a support system that you had. Friends or other family that was really there for you and you sort of navigated it with that.

[00:48:55] Jenny Swisher: So I’d love for you to sort of share from like an emotional perspective, you know, obviously you kind of took control of your health and then you have the medical team on your side and whatnot, but what else was important for you? I have to imagine relationships were important too.

[00:49:08] Jen Delvaux: Yeah, definitely. I’m so blessed to have Darren, like he has taught me so much.

[00:49:13] Jen Delvaux: So much about attitude and he helps me so much. And he’s, he’s been my rock through this for sure. Interestingly enough, I think because. I am like the strong person and what I put out into social media is always helping other women to thrive through it is. So, so I think the perception of my family and friends around me just assume I’m always good and they don’t know that even though what I put out there in the world doesn’t mean that I’m always good.

[00:49:44] Jen Delvaux: So I didn’t have that. To be honest, you do at, like I said, most people going through it, you have it as you’re going through the treatment, but when it ends, that kind of stops. So that’s why I think it’s so important. Or you, you can’t, they don’t know. You know what I mean? Like they don’t understand. I don’t think people understand unless they’ve truly been through a diagnosis.

[00:50:06] Jen Delvaux: You really don’t understand. Like I friend did actually say to me, Oh, wait, you’re struggling with this. And I was like, she’s like, I didn’t know what affected you like that. I’m like, it’s a cancer diagnosis. How could it not have, but I think people just don’t understand that. I think you having a support team is really important, you know, because your doctor’s appointments are going to end.

[00:50:30] Jen Delvaux: So if that’s a therapist, like you need to have a therapist where you can talk through things, you need to have something else that you can like, talk about it. Like, I think our podcast show. For Darren and I is so therapeutic. I’m sure it is for you too. Like, so I feel like it’s therapeutic when I get on here.

[00:50:47] Jen Delvaux: And even today, like just talking through this again is so helpful for me. So just hopefully you have a friend that’s there, but if you don’t seeking somebody outside, whether it be an energy healer or acupuncturist, or. All the other different healing modalities that I talk about. And thankfully I have Darren who’s been there with me dealt with my crazy days and, um, and my really good days too.

[00:51:09] Jen Delvaux: You know, I have the majority of good days, but listen, we’re not all perfect. The fear creeps in every once in a while.

[00:51:18] Jenny Swisher: Yeah. I, again, I love following you guys on social media because you always have a sense of humor and a sense of sort of, I don’t know, like sarcasm. And there’s just something about you guys that you can, you can see how you get through hard things because you know, you’re, we do.

[00:51:30] Jenny Swisher: Yeah. You’re so, you’re so good together. And, um, and, and I think

[00:51:34] Jen Delvaux: like, I think I, I, I feel like getting more spirituals really helps me too with meditation and prayer and all that is so helpful. Like every day when I wake up. I’m like, I opened up my eyes and I’m like, yes, that’s a new day today is a gift because not everybody has that.

[00:51:52] Jen Delvaux: Not everybody gets to wake up. So we have to like, think about the first thing, like, like what I do in the morning sets my whole day up for success. I wake up before the rest of the world, I mean my household, I make coffee, I have downtime for myself. I listen to something that inspires me. I write down affirmations about my healing and how I’m feeling, and I plan out my day.

[00:52:16] Jen Delvaux: And that brings me peace and calm. So it’s really like making those plans, you know, to have to set your day up for success to help you get through it as well.

[00:52:25] Jenny Swisher: So when it comes to your, your diagnosis and where you are now, can you give us an update on like, are you through the treatments or where are you on the journey now?

[00:52:33] Jen Delvaux: So I am, you know, I had a lumpectomy. I went through radiation. I came so close to doing chemo. In fact, I almost bought a wig, but my oncologist and I, oncologist and I decided if I had my ovaries removed. So they put me into menopause and put me on this aromatase inhibitor, which is a hormone blocking med.

[00:52:53] Jen Delvaux: She felt comfortable with that. So I avoided chemo, thank God. And then I am right now having explant surgery. And just a couple of weeks here, I had breast implants prior to my diagnosis, just. Small ones only because I was really into strength training and I literally looked like a boy. I couldn’t, I didn’t have any clothes that fit me and I was like, I just want to feel like a girl.

[00:53:18] Jen Delvaux: And so once you have, I had a lumpectomy, once you have that breast radiated, there’s a really high chance that that, that I’m, implant can rupture, which it did. And so they said, they called me and said, uh, you can just exchange that implant. And I knew immediately, I did not want the implants anymore. I want to just really, you know, it’s okay.

[00:53:40] Jen Delvaux: And those that do. Have a double mastectomy and they get implants. I’m what you need to do. It makes you happy. I’m happy to be getting these out.

[00:53:49] Jenny Swisher: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:53:50] Jen Delvaux: So that’s where I’m at. And I feel really good. I’ve had a, you know, so far so good. Everything’s good. And I hopefully will continue on this journey of feeling good.

[00:53:59] Jenny Swisher: Awesome. Do they do, I’m just curious, do they do like you do routine, like hormone testing? So even, you know, obviously sort of post menopause, they haven’t.

[00:54:09] Jen Delvaux: And I will though with a functional doctor, but my doctor has, and they, they, they stick with you in the beginning checking hormones. They want to make sure you’re going into menopause before you take this aromatase inhibitor.

[00:54:20] Jen Delvaux: Right. Right. It was kind of more for that. And then that ends, but definitely I think it’s important to get your levels checked for sure. I’m sure you preach that all the time with a functional doctor because it is important to know your body.

[00:54:32] Jenny Swisher: Yeah. Again, I love that you’re incorporating like the functional approach with, with everything else.

[00:54:35] Jenny Swisher: So, all right, Jen, I want to be mindful of your time, but I’m so grateful. I took so many notes just for myself too. I love your mindset and I love your approach to, to just sharing your story. I’d love for you to tell people where can they find you? Where can they find your podcast, your book? Tell us all, tell us all the things.

[00:54:50] Jen Delvaux: Awesome. Okay. Yeah. So my book is, uh, not today. Cancer, a non typical survival guide that wants to thrive, not just survive. I’ve never called myself a survivor. I know some people do. I like to be a thriver. I mean, I want to survive, but I feel like thriving makes it even better. Um, my podcast is not today cancer and I interview other women who’ve gone through it or I’m interviewing experts on, you know, estrogen hormone health.

[00:55:16] Jen Delvaux: Other all the things. And then my husband, Mr. Worldwide, we call him. He looks just like Pitbull is with me on Fridays and it’s usually more of a lighthearted show. And yeah, I’ll, I’ll, I have a website, Jen Delvaux. com, but I, in my Instagram is Jen Delvaux, that’s where I am most of the times.

[00:55:33] Jenny Swisher: Thank you so much, Jen, for doing this and taking, taking time out of your day and sharing your story.

[00:55:37] Jenny Swisher: I know women listening. Well, it’s, it’s a, it’s a story that they, they need to hear. And there’s probably women listening to this who they’ll feel like they’ve got a sort of a partner in the journey that they’re in. So again, thank you for being here and you guys, I’ll link up everything in the show notes as usual, but thank you guys for listening today and we’ll talk

[00:55:54] Jen Delvaux: soon.

[00:55:54] Jen Delvaux: Thank you.

[00:56:04] Jenny Swisher: Thanks for listening to this episode of the Sync Your Life podcast. I hope you found value from today’s episode. If you did, please share it out to your friends or leave a review. Remember your cycles are your superpower and by aligning with them, you can live your life with all the energy you need to be a mom, wife, daughter, and friend to those you love.

[00:56:22] Jenny Swisher: Until next https: otter.

[00:56:23] ai