The Chapter I Didn’t Plan For — A Personal Catch-Up

It’s been a little while since we’ve had a new episode — and today, I’m sharing exactly why.

Back on March 28th, my life flipped unexpectedly with a breast cancer diagnosis. What followed was a blur of appointments, second opinions, doctors, and decisions I never thought I’d have to make. On May 27th, I underwent a double mastectomy — and while the physical healing is underway, the emotional healing is still very much in process.

In this episode, I’m catching you up on what’s been happening behind the scenes — the messy middle, the mental gymnastics, and what happens when life hands you a new chapter you didn’t choose.

This is real life. This is where I am. And this is exactly what The Next ChaptHER was always meant to be — conversations from inside the middle, not just once we’ve landed on the other side.

✨ If you want to follow more of my journey in real time, you can head over to my Substack where I’ve been writing and sharing the behind-the-scenes of this season:

👉 The Next ChaptHER on Substack: https://thenextchapther.substack.com/

Ways to stay connected:

• Follow me on Instagram: @fullyinformedlifecoaching & @thenextchapther
• Learn more about my coaching and resources: https://www.fullyinformedlife.com

🎧 New guest episodes and deeper conversations are coming soon — stay tuned!

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to the next chapter podcast.
No shortcuts, no cheat sheets, no abridged versions, just the real deal, honest conversations, expert insights, and practical strategies to help you take the lead in your next chapter.
I'm Andrea Hecht, certified life coach, mom and midlife navigator.

(00:21):
Here to help you find your roadmap back to Joy, the journey of you so you can stop waiting for some day and start living now.
Because midlife isn't the end of your story.
It's your time to take center stage.
Let's go.
Your next chapter starts now.
Welcome to another episode of the Next Chapter podcast.

(00:44):
I know it's been a while, like a really long time The last episode you heard from me dropped back on May 8th.
Since then, well life has really taken me on a very different kind of chapter.
Today I really want to catch you up.
I want to let you in on where I've been, what's been happening in my life, and why this podcast needed to pause for a bit.

(01:12):
If you've been around here, you know that the name of the podcast is called The Next Chapter.
We talk all about transitions.
We talk about pivot points, we talk about messy middles.
We also talk about the parts of life that don't always follow the script.
And for me, this was one of those chapters I absolutely didn't plan for, I don't think anyone ever does, because on March 28th, just a few days before my 48th birthday, everything had changed.

(01:42):
A lump was found on my right breast, I had a biopsy, and then eventually on March 28th, like I said, a breast cancer diagnosis.
In matters of days, everything had shifted.
My calendar shifted.
I put everything on pause.
My business shifted, my plans shifted.

(02:07):
The roadmap that I thought I was following completely had to be rerouted What was supposed to be a season of building and creating and launching a new next chapter circle a.
Event series called the Next Chapter, connect some in-person events, some virtual summits.

(02:29):
All had to be put on hold.
This chapter, these past few months, have turned into a season of appointments, different doctors seeking out a second opinion and decisions that I never imagined I'd have to ever be making.
Suddenly my version of my CEO mindset wasn't about launching or planning content.

(02:53):
It was really about my health and about survival.
From March 28th, really forward.
It's been a complete blur.
It's been focused on tests and meeting with different surgeons and an oncologist and multiple scans and biopsies and endless conversations.
On May 27th, I had a double mastectomy in Memorial Sloan Kettering.

(03:18):
I am forever grateful to.
My gynecologist then initially felt the lump that led me down this path.
Thankful for Dr.
Pletus and Dr.
Desa and now Dr.,
GA Ra, who is now part of my oncology team.
But even now, saying the words that I had, a double mastectomy that I have, breast cancer really feels so surreal.

(03:45):
So physically the surgery went well.
The pathology ended up coming back clear that the cancer was contained, that I did not need chemo, that I don't need radiation.
For that, I am forever grateful.
Let me be clear that the healing.
This part is still very much happening.
It's not just about the physical recovery, that's just one part of healing from a breast cancer diagnosis and surgery.

(04:13):
But the emotional part, that's where I've been living these past few weeks from post-surgery.
I'm trying to see my body again, even standing in front of the mirror.
It is scary and not always recognizing what's looking back.
Taking a shower is scary because I am looking at a body that looks foreign to me.

(04:38):
I'm really trying to learn how to reconnect with my brain and my body because right now, they're not.
In sync at all.
And that's part of what people don't always talk about in the healing process.
When someone's in that messy middle, the mental gymnastics that's going on in my brain, or the waves of grief that come out of nowhere, or the quiet moments that feel heavier than I ever expected, and the ongoing conversations that I'm having with my kids or the way to figuring out, survivorship while you're still in the middle of it.

(05:14):
While I haven't really been dropping new podcast episodes these past few months I had to take a pause.
I have been processing, I have been writing, I have been writing a lot.
If you followed along over on my substack, the next chapter, you've seen or read some of it.

(05:34):
Writing has honestly been my.
Therapy or one form of therapy.
I speak to a therapist through Memorial Sloan Kettering also to help me process, but the writing has helped me as well.
It's where I process what I can't always say out loud.
It's where I've shared the behind the scenes of this chapter while I'm still in the middle of it, giving people a glimpse of what happens if someone is in the midst of writing a chapter that they didn't.

(06:06):
Choose to ever have to write.
I wanna make sure that people understand this is what the messy middle looks like.
I say to my clients all the time, the messy middle is where the real work happens.
I'm living that in real time.
The place where you're not who you were, but not quite sure where you're going either.

(06:27):
It's really, you know, disorienting.
It's really uncomfortable and quite frankly it's very vulnerable.
This is exactly why I started the next chapter.
Whether it's a diagnosis like breast cancer career.
Changes, motherhood, marriage or something.
We all have our internal battles.

(06:49):
Many of us find ourselves in the middle of a chapter that we didn't ultimately plan for.
This podcast has always been about real conversations and this season of my life, um, again, it doesn't get any more real than this.
I'm.
Still coaching I will be taking on new clients very soon.

(07:12):
I am still writing.
I am still very much healing both physically and mentally.
I will be having another reconstructive surgery at some point in the future, I'm really still trying to figure it out I debated when to bring the podcast back.
When I would really feel ready, but I don't know if there's a true answer of when you're ready.

(07:38):
The doctor's appointments have slowed down a little bit.
I have another one at the end of the week with the plastic surgeon and another one the following week.
But my drains are removed, so I feel a little bit more comfortable and being able to sit in my so-called podcast recording studio.
I figured, you know what? There really was no perfect time.

(08:02):
And so there's just now, and I wanna make sure that I continue to do the things that I love that energize me, and that even in the midst of healing, both physically and mentally, we can still try to.
Do things that, make us feel more like us.
This is where I am.

(08:23):
I wanted to bring you along for this part too.
Once I hit stop on this record episode, in full transparency, I will probably be taking a nap because, you know, I still have to honor the physical rest that I need.
Consider this the official reentry of the next chapter podcast.

(08:48):
We are back.
There will be more conversations coming.
I had some guest episodes that were already lined up that I had to put on pause.
I will be reconnecting with them shortly and getting back in front of the camera with my guests.
I'll be sharing more of my own messy middle as it continues to unfold.
If you want to be caught up, you can certainly follow the next chapter, Substack.

(09:15):
I will link it in the show notes if you want to see.
You know, kind of what unfolded the past few months for me and how I shared that.
Life doesn't wait until we have it all figured out and neither will this podcast.
So I want to thank you so much for being with me, for sticking around.
Thank you for walking with me, in all the different chapters that I've shared so far on the podcast.

(09:39):
And thank you for your support.
Stay tuned because there is so much more to come. 105 00:09:47,296.667 --> 00:09:48,256.667 Love this episode. 106 00:09:48,406.667 --> 00:09:51,286.667 Make sure to subscribe so you never miss what's next. 107 00:09:51,796.667 --> 00:09:56,236.667 If today's conversation resonated, please leave a [e-mail] 108 00:09:56,506.667 --> 00:09:57,586.667 slash the next chapter. 109 00:09:57,586.667 --> 00:10:00,436.667 Her It helps more women find their roadmap back to Joy. 110 00:10:00,796.667 --> 00:10:03,826.667 Ready for more support, visit fully informed life.com 111 00:10:03,826.667 --> 00:10:05,326.667 to learn how we can work together. 112 00:10:05,536.667 --> 00:10:07,846.667 Until next time, keep writing your next chapter.