Episode 128: What If Recovery Isn't Getting Back to Before? Maria Henthorne's Breast Cancer Journey (Featuring The Naughty Tit)

A marathon medal is still glowing in your memories when a routine mammogram turns into a callback, a biopsy, and the words nobody wants to hear: breast cancer. We’re joined by our friend Maria Henthorn, whose diagnosis arrived soon after the Brighton Marathon, and we talk honestly about what it feels like when life splits into “before” and “after” overnight.

Maria shares the practical steps she takes to protect her mental health from day one: stepping back from work, leaning on friends, getting outside, and keeping movement as a steady anchor. We explore how treatment plans can change quickly from a lumpectomy to a mastectomy, how support can feel overwhelming at first, and why humour can be a powerful way to hold on to identity when your body and routine are no longer yours.

We also go deep on what often gets missed in breast cancer conversations: life after active treatment. Maria describes surgical menopause after hormone-positive breast cancer, the insomnia, fatigue and joint pain that can follow, and the frustration of feeling like the system saves your life but leaves you to manage quality of life alone. She talks about advocating for yourself, finding better resources, adjusting training, protecting bone health with strength work, and making lifestyle changes like stopping alcohol to reduce risk factors.

If you care about breast cancer awareness, menopause after cancer, patient advocacy, and realistic wellbeing strategies that fit real life, this conversation will stay with you. Subscribe, share it with someone who might need it, and leave us a review so more women can find the support they deserve.

Got a question or comment? Send us a text message here!

Click HERE to support us.

Thank you for listening.

You can continue the conversation with us in the Far 2 Fabulous Facebook group. Come and connect with other women on a journey to empowered health.

For more information about Julie Clark Nutrition, click HERE
For more information about Catherine Chapman, click HERE

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to support the show, you can buy us a coffee HERE. Your support helps us continue creating episodes and improving our recording setup.

We look forward to you joining us on the next episode.

Episode 127

Sex after 40 can change so fast it feels like someone swapped your body overnight and nobody thought to mention it. We’re talking candidly about libido loss in perimenopause and menopause, sparked by a friend who asked us the question so many women whisper to themselves: “Is something wrong with me?” She loves her husband, she’s happy in her relationship, and yet she doesn’t want sex anymore, plus everything feels dry, sore, and exhausting. That single admission opened the floodgates for what we’ve heard again and again from women in their 40s, 50s and 60s.

We dig into the real-world reasons desire can disappear, from changing hormones (including the often-ignored role of testosterone) to sleep disruption, stress, and the relentless mental load that makes intimacy feel like one more task. We also unpack the emotional fallout on both sides: men reading “no sex” as rejection, women fearing they’re broken, and couples getting stuck in a cycle where even a cuddle feels like it comes with pressure. Along the way we talk about the unglamorous bits that matter: vaginal dryness, discomfort, continence worries, changing confidence, and why “just do it” advice can make things worse.

Most of all, we make space for nuance. Some women want solutions like lubricants, pessaries, HRT, or medical support, and some feel genuinely fine never having sex again. We ask what’s “normal”, what’s “okay”, and how to communicate needs without blame, duty, or shame. If this topic has been sitting between you and your partner, or if you’ve felt alone in it, come and talk with us in the community.

Subscribe, share the podcast with someone who needs it, leave us a review, and join our free Facebook group to keep the conversation going.

Got a question or comment? Send us a text message here!

Click HERE to support us.

Thank you for listening.

You can continue the conversation with us in the Far 2 Fabulous Facebook group. Come and connect with other women on a journey to empowered health.

For more information about Julie Clark Nutrition, click HERE
For more information about Catherine Chapman, click HERE

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to support the show, you can buy us a coffee HERE. Your support helps us continue creating episodes and improving our recording setup.

We look forward to you joining us on the next episode.

Episode 127: "I Could Never Do That"... Or Could You? With Ursula Goode

A poster that says “Adult Gymnastics Classes Starting” sounds harmless until it hits the part of you that whispers, I could never do that. Our guest, Ursula Good, felt that exact jolt at 35, with three small children and a life that was already full. She took the leap anyway and discovered something many of us are really searching for: an hour a week that gives back energy, confidence, and headspace, not another item on the to-do list.

Ursula is a dentist, a sea swimmer, a runner, a competitive adult gymnast, and a mum of four, but what makes this chat land is how human it is. We talk about movement as play, how self-consciousness creeps in after puberty and again after pregnancy and through midlife, and why “wear what feels good” is not a throwaway line but a genuine barrier remover. We dig into the mental side of gymnastics, the bravery of trying new skills, and how sport forces presence in a world wired for constant multitasking.

We also go deeper on setbacks. Ursula shares what it’s like to keep going through shoulder surgery, then face a sudden knee ligament injury and the long rehab that follows. We explore resilience mindset, identity beyond performance, and how hormones, menstrual cycle changes, and menopause can affect energy, balance, coordination, and injury risk. Plus, because she’s a dentist, we connect oral health to whole-body wellness, including gum disease, inflammation, and heart health, with simple habits you can actually stick to.

If you enjoy honest conversations about women’s wellness, midlife fitness, strength training, bone health, community sport, and building confidence one brave rep at a time, hit subscribe, share with a friend, and leave us a review. What’s one thing you’ll try this week that the old you would have avoided?

Got a question or comment? Send us a text message here!

Click HERE to support us.

Thank you for listening.

You can continue the conversation with us in the Far 2 Fabulous Facebook group. Come and connect with other women on a journey to empowered health.

For more information about Julie Clark Nutrition, click HERE
For more information about Catherine Chapman, click HERE

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to support the show, you can buy us a coffee HERE. Your support helps us continue creating episodes and improving our recording setup.

We look forward to you joining us on the next episode.