That exhaustion that lingers months — even years — after treatment ends has a name: cancer-related fatigue. And for too long, survivors were simply told to live with it. This week, Jen sits down with Dr. Jessa Landmann, a naturopathic doctor and integrative oncology specialist in Calgary who works right alongside oncology teams to support the whole person. Her brand-new book, Beyond Cancer Fatigue: A Path to Reclaiming Energy, is the first resource devoted entirely to this overlooked struggle — and it's packed with evidence-based, do-it-today tools.

Jen and Dr. Jessa get into why fatigue lingers long after the bell is rung, the surprising link between estrogen loss and brain fog in breast cancer survivors, and why healing is an active process, not a waiting game.

In this episode:

• What a naturopathic doctor actually does — and how integrative care fills the gap conventional oncology doesn't have time for
• Why acupuncture is one of the most researched complementary therapies for pain
• The one supplement endorsed by ASCO for fatigue (hint: it's an adaptogen)
• The shocking stat on muscle loss after chemo — and why creatine, HMB, and resistance training matter
• Cutting through nutrition confusion: why carbs aren't the enemy and under-eating backfires
• The truth about motivation: action comes first, motivation follows
• Dr. Jessa's "movement menu," starting with the Barely There list for your lowest-energy days
• How estrogen loss drives brain fog, weight changes, and disrupted sleep
• What caregivers need to understand about invisible fatigue
• Healing the physical, emotional, and spiritual — and giving yourself grace along the way

About the guest: Dr. Jessa Landmann is a naturopathic doctor and integrative oncology specialist based in Calgary, with nearly 15 years supporting people through cancer. She offers virtual appointments to patients worldwide.

Get the book: Beyond Cancer Fatigue: A Path to Reclaiming Energy is available on Amazon and through Wiley Publishing. Use code BCF at checkout on the Wiley site for 20% off.

Links:

• 📖 Book (Wiley + code BCF): https://www.wiley.com/en-ca/shop/general-introductory-medical-science/beyond-cancer-fatigue-a-path-to-reclaiming-energy-p-9781394381388 - The discount code to be used at checkout for 20% off is BCF20.
• 💻 Work with Dr. Jessa: www.drjessalandmann.com

Be gentle with yourself. Take the next small step. Not today, cancer.

Note: This episode is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for medical advice. Always consult your oncology team before making changes to your care.

What do you do when you're 31, just bought your first house, and hear the words "you have breast cancer"?

In this powerful episode, Jen sits down with Jessica Slocumb — a nearly nine-year breast cancer survivor, prevention advocate, and the heart behind the Instagram community @breast.friends_united. Jessica shares the moment everything changed, from feeling a lump while getting ready for work to the radiating pain she believes was God telling her to get checked.

We talk about her stage 2, estrogen- and HER2-positive diagnosis, five rounds of chemo, a double mastectomy, and the year of HER2 infusions that followed — plus the honest, messy, in-between parts no one prepares you for. Jessica opens up about the testimony she received on her front stoop, the question her oncologist couldn't answer ("what caused this?"), and how that one unanswered question sent her on a journey to research the lifestyle, environmental, and wellness factors so often left out of the conversation.

This conversation is for any woman who's newly diagnosed, in the thick of treatment, or trying to reduce her risk — and for anyone who loves someone walking this road.

In this episode we cover:

• Finding a lump at 31 and why she almost skipped the mammogram
• Her full treatment path: chemo, double mastectomy, tissue expanders, and recalled implants
• The "we don't know what causes cancer" answer that changed everything
• Small, doable swaps to reduce everyday toxic burden — laundry detergent, skincare, food, candles, and water
• Why diet and going organic were her first changes (glyphosate, grass-fed, pasture-raised)
• The 28-day study on switching to non-toxic products and breast cancer gene expression
• Childhood trauma, nervous system regulation, and why stress is part of healing
• How cancer reshaped her relationships — and the wisdom her husband gave her
• Releasing the fear of recurrence and living fully anyway
• Her message for the woman hearing "you have breast cancer" tonight

"God takes our ashes and turns them to beauty. This is only a season — your world is not over."

Connect with Jessica:
Instagram: @breast.friends_united

A note: This episode is for education and encouragement, not medical advice. Always work with your own care team on decisions about screening, treatment, and prevention.

If this episode moved you, share it with a woman who needs it today — someone is sitting alone in her diagnosis right now, and your share might be the thing that reaches her. And as always… Not Today Cancer. 💗

This week is personal. We unplugged completely — and there's a reason. When you've heard the word cancer, your life flashes in front of you, and you start asking the question no parent wants to ask: Will I be here to see it?

This time, "it" was our daughter Maddie's wedding. In this episode, Jen and Darren pull back the curtain on the entire week in Folly Beach / Charleston, SC — the vision Maddie had, the flower panic, Darren's day-drinking detour, the rehearsal poem, and a wedding day that started picture-perfect and turned into a 10-minutes-to-go downpour with the umbrellas 45 minutes away. There were tears, rings under a chair, three shoe changes, and a whole lot of joy between two people in love.

It's a reminder of what actually matters: put the phone down, be all the way present, and take in the moments you once wondered if you'd get to see.

A quick note: Jen is not a doctor — she's a Certified Integrative Health Practitioner sharing her own lived experience. Not Today Cancer is for anyone navigating a cancer diagnosis, not breast cancer alone.

• Join Not Today Cancer the Community, the Community

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• Email Me – coachjennyd@gmail.com
  
  
  If this episode reminded you to hold your people a little closer, share it with someone who needs the nudge to unplug. Subscribe to Not Today Cancer, leave a review, and come find me on Instagram @jendelvaux.

If you've ever laid awake at 2 or 3 in the morning wondering, "What if it comes back?"...this episode is for you. You are not alone, and you are not weak. In fact, nearly 6 in 10 cancer survivors report a fear of recurrence, and among young survivors that number jumps to 88%. It's the most common unmet need in survivorship...and almost no one talks about it openly.

In this episode, Jen shares honestly where she is five years after her breast cancer diagnosis, what the fear of recurrence used to look like, and what's changed. Spoiler: the fear didn't disappear, but it's no longer running the show.

• Why fear of recurrence is the most common (and most under-discussed) part of survivorship

• The research and statistics behind fear of recurrence in cancer survivors

• How to build your own trigger inventory so you stop getting ambushed

• The lifestyle, environmental, and spiritual shifts that helped Jen take her power back

• The one mindset shift that changes everything: from "What if it comes back?" to "If it comes back, here's what I do"

• Small, doable practices for when the fear shows up at 2 AM

• Why naming the fear out loud takes its power away

• How to choose the one person you can be totally honest with

• (00:03) Why this thought is the most normal thing in the world

• (01:00) The research: 6 in 10 survivors carry this — and women carry it more

• (02:00) Building your trigger inventory: scans, anniversaries, Facebook memories, headlines

• (04:00) The work that changed everything — diet, environment, toxins, lifestyle

• (07:00) Becoming more spiritual and making peace with the unknown

• (09:30) Why breast cancer treatment in 2026 is night-and-day from 5–10 years ago

• (10:30) The shift: from "What if?" to "If it does, here's what I'll do"

• (11:30) Three small things to try when the fear shows up

• (14:00) The truth: the fear doesn't leave, but it stops being the loudest voice

Connect with Jen:

Community: Not Today Cancer — The Inner Circle

GET BrocElite: Mara Labs supplements - Use code NotTodayCancer for 20% off

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jendelvaux/

Email me: coachjennyd@gmail.com

This episode is not medical advice and not a prescription. It's one survivor's story and the tools that have helped her. Always work with your own care team on what's right for you.

Cortisol after cancer is the conversation nobody on my care team had with me. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 — invasive ductal carcinoma, stage one, grade two. I went through lumpectomy, radiation, ovarian suppression, and two years on an aromatase inhibitor before I had to come off because my bones were already in osteoporosis. Throughout all of it, my nervous system was screaming. My cortisol was running hot all day long, confirmed by a Dutch test. And not one doctor told me what stress was doing to my body or how to mitigate it.

In this solo episode of Not Today Cancer, I'm walking you through the seven activities that lowered my cortisol...broken into the things that don't cost a dime (meditation, breathwork, walking outside, unplugging) and the things that do (acupuncture, energy healing, therapy). I'm also sharing the actual research behind each one, so you know this isn't woo...it's documented science.

What you'll learn:

• Why cortisol is wrecked after a cancer diagnosis (and why mine was high long before)

• The symptoms of high cortisol most breast cancer survivors miss

• How mindfulness meditation protected the cortisol rhythm of breast cancer survivors in a randomized controlled trial

• Why a single session of slow breathing drops cortisol immediately

• The "nature pill" research showing 20–30 minutes outside lowers cortisol 21% per hour

• Why the NCCN officially recommends acupuncture for cancer survivors

If you're a breast cancer survivor, caregiver, or anyone whose body has been running on fumes...this episode is for you. We don't get the option of not mitigating stress. Pick one thing on this list and start tomorrow.

Disclaimer: This episode reflects my personal experience and a summary of public research. It is not medical advice. Always consult your care team.

📋 RESOURCES + LINKS

📿 Free 10-minute meditation for survivors: CALM

💚 Free Facebook community: JOIN HERE

🌟 Paid Community ($19.99/mo): INFO HERE

📖 Nontoxic Home Guide: SWAPS

💪 DNA Test: INFO HERE

🎙️ Not Today Cancer Podcast — new episodes every Tuesday + Friday

🌐 Website: jendelvaux.com

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jendelvaux/

If this episode helped you, please leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Reviews are how more women in this situation find the show...and they take less than 60 seconds.

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📋 RESEARCH CITATIONS

MEDITATION + CORTISOL:

• Carlson et al. — Mindfulness-based stress reduction maintains healthy diurnal cortisol rhythm in distressed breast cancer survivors. Published in PMC. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5430085/

• MBSR reduces salivary cortisol immediately following class — PMC

BREATHWORK + CORTISOL:

• "The Effect of Breathing Exercise on Stress Hormones" — Cyprus Journal of Medical Sciences

• Slow breathing at ~6 bpm boosts heart rate variability up to 40% — International Journal of Psychophysiology

WALKING + NATURE:

• Olafsdottir et al. — Walking in nature vs treadmill: cortisol comparison. Sage Publications

• Hunter et al. — "Nature pill" research: 20-30 minutes outdoors drops salivary cortisol 21% per hour. Frontiers in Psychology

• Repeated forest walking reduces hair cortisol (chronic stress marker) — Scientific Reports, 2025

ACUPUNCTURE:

• NCCN (National Comprehensive Cancer Network) guidelines recommend acupuncture for cancer survivors

• Acupuncture modulates HPA axis, serotonin, GABA, melatonin — Frontiers in Endocrinology, 2022

• Bayesian network meta-analysis — Frontiers in Oncology, 2023