Pausing Life-Saving Treatment to Regain Femininity—How Do You Decide?
Kate:
Diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer while pregnant, Kate Hardman faced unimaginable challenges, complex decisions, and a treatment path filled with uncertainty.
Now, she’s facing another major decision: Should she have DIEP flap breast reconstruction, even though it means pausing life-saving medication?
Self-advocacy isn’t necessarily about standing up to your medical team—it’s about speaking up so they understand what matters to you and working with them to make informed, shared decisions about your care.
That’s exactly what Kate did.
Self-advocacy isn’t about going it alone—it’s about having the right support behind you.
even in the face of a metastatic diagnosis, your choices still matter.
In this episode, Kate shares:
How she worked with her team to explore her options, not against them
Why self-advocacy isn’t about fighting—it’s about finding the right people who listen
The emotional and physical factors she considered when choosing reconstruction
The role of trust, communication, and collaboration in making complex health decisions
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Listen to Katy’s story of self-advocating for reconstruction after her metastatic breast cancer diagnosis on Rewritten Me
