Hereditary Cancer Testing: Grief, Identity, and Self-Connection with Sarah Champie, LCSW

About this episode

Sarah Champie discusses the complexities of hereditary cancer testing and the emotional challenges it presents.

"I'm so concerned about that being a fracturing of our psyche, in which we only allow empowerment... Can we just have someone to stand with us in that space? So that the process, no matter what we choose, is a process of self connection." - Sarah Champie On this episode of Transforming Trauma, host Emily Ruth welcomes Sarah Champie (LCSW), a licensed trauma therapist and NeuroAffective Relational Model® (NARM®) practitioner who specializes in supporting individuals and families navigating hereditary cancer, genetic testing, and preventative surgery decisions. Sarah is also the creator and host of the podcast Walking the Genetic Line. Sarah draws on her own experience as a BRCA1 carrier and the childhood loss of her mother to ovarian cancer to illuminate what she calls the "portal moment" of receiving genetic testing results. Together, Emily Ruth and Sarah explore why empowerment-only narratives fall short, how NARM® survival styles shape our responses to medical urgency, and the critical gap in emotional care for those facing life-altering body decisions. Sarah makes a compelling case that healing in this space means holding agency and grief at the same time, honoring the…

People in this episode

Host: Emily Ruth

Guest: Sarah Champie

Topics covered

• hereditary cancer
• genetic testing
• emotional care
• identity shifts
• grief
• self-connection

Keywords

• BRCA1
• trauma therapy
• preventative surgery
• medical urgency
• empowerment narratives
• identity
• connection
• grief

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Transforming Trauma, NeuroAffective Relational Model® (NARM®), Walking the Genetic Line

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