Light Roast Podcast – Episode 1: Show Notes
- 00:24 – Podcast Makeover: Why the show is rebranding and what’s changed since the last episode.
- 01:12 – The Name “Light Roast”: The story behind the new name and its coffee connection.
- 01:30 – Coffee Enemas: How Ashley discovered coffee enemas and their impact on her health.
- 02:57 – Breast Imaging Roast: Frustrations with mammogram requirements for women with dense breasts.
- 03:50 – Medical Advocacy: Ashley’s approach to personal health decisions and advocating for herself.
- 04:23 – Life Updates: Relationship changes, breakups, and getting back together with Oto.
- 06:00 – Health Scares: Discovering a lump, navigating medical advice, and making tough choices.
- 09:55 – Scorpion Sting Story: A painful wake-up call and its symbolic meaning.
- 11:00 – Follow-Up Ultrasounds: Monitoring health and interpreting concerning results.
- 12:10 – QT Breast Scan: Exploring alternative imaging for dense breasts and positive news.
- 13:00 – Function Health Testing: Using direct-to-consumer labs and new diagnostic tools.
- 13:51 – Healing Practices: Sauna, castor oil packs, coffee enemas, and supplement routines.
- 16:16 – Ditching Botox: Embracing natural beauty and new approaches to skincare.
- 17:00 – Blood Sugar & Metabolic Health: Using CGMs, lab tests, and lifestyle changes.
- 18:21 – Exercise & Lymphatic Health: Pilates, rebounding, and dry brushing.
- 19:17 – Circadian Lifestyle: Lighting choices, blue blockers, and sleep optimization.
- 20:25 – PEMF Mat & IV Ozone: Managing pain and inflammation with advanced therapies.
- 21:41 – The Power of Prayer: Personal growth, faith, and gratitude in healing.
LINKS:
- FULLSCRIPT: Shop high quality supplements & brands (with best savings!)
- FUNCTION HEALTH: Comprehensive Functional Bloodwork testing, Direct-To-Consumer, can add on your own tests, including MRI & scans (use access code AHAUPT11 if it requires one)
- TRUST YOUR GUT: Castor Oil Packs & Coffee Enema Kits (save 10% with code ashleytaylorwellness)
- Coffee Enema Course: Step-by-step video tutorial
- Therasage Portable Infrared Sauna (save 25% for Black Friday w/ code ASHLEYTAYLORWELLNESS25)
Therasage TheraPro PEMF Mat (save 25% Black Friday w/ code ASHLEYTAYLORWELLNESS25) - SEALD Wrinkle Patches for the face/mouth (save 15% w/ code ashleytaylorwellness)
- Ra Optics: High-quality blue blocker glasses, can add Rx or readers to it (code: ashleytaylorwellness)
- SaunaSpace: Glow Infrared Lights (code: ashleytaylorwellness)
- Rebounder
- Top Teas for Breast Health, Detox & Lymph Flow
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to the Light Rose Podcast.
(00:02):
This is our first episode.
I am your host, Ashley Taylor.
Ashley Taylor hopped, but I goby Ashley Taylor on Instagram.
You might know me as AshleyTaylor Wellness.
The podcast started a coupleyears back and it was the High
Maintenance Hippie podcast.
A lot has changed since the lastepisode, which was just over a
year and a half ago, April 2024.
(00:24):
So as I have had a huge internaland external makeover, mostly
internal, so is the podcast.
And it's a new season, a newchapter, and I'm excited to
introduce it and give some lifeupdates.
The new launch of this podcastis to be light, to be fun, to be
even more raw and honest.
(00:45):
And of course, centered aroundfunctional health and wellness
because that's really what thisis all about.
But I do think that we can havefun, ask tough questions, and be
healthy.
Lots of ands there.
Today I'm going to share what'schanged, what I'm focusing on
personally, and the big lessonsthat I've learned, the wellness
practices that are actuallyworking very well for me, the
(01:07):
things that I've had to take astep away from, and why the
podcast needed a makeover.
It needed a new name.
And Light Roast is the perfectname.
So I wanted something coffeethemed.
If you're new here, I startedcoffee enemas back in 2016.
I had a Chinese medicine doctorsuggest them.
I thought he was nuts at thetime.
(01:27):
I probably would have lightlyroasted him.
I actually totally roasted him.
I'm like, you're nuts.
And four months later I workedup the courage, I've never
looked back.
So that is something that hasbeen tremendously valuable for
me, especially at the time as Iwas not knowing that I had MTBE
poisoning, a type of chemicalpoisoning.
So 10 out of 10 don't recommendliving next to an oil refinery
(01:51):
if they have not cleaned up MTBEfrom the soil and the
groundwater.
So that's one fun lesson.
Okay, love coffee enemas, and Iwanted a coffee-themed podcast
because my fiancé, Otto Gomes,and I would go on Instagram and
we would go live doing ourcoffee enemas.
We had a series called CoffeeTalk and it was tons of fun.
(02:12):
So something coffee themed feelsvery relevant.
Roast.
Okay.
I can roast some things,especially in today's world, no
problem.
But I'm from the South.
I'm from the South where we canbe polite, so lightly roasting,
but still, I've got some roastedme.
And just to have fun because wegotta call some things out.
It's a wild time to be alive.
(02:32):
I'm grateful for it.
Just enjoy the ride.
Pretty sure the bookshelf behindme is about to be roasted by AI,
so I might have to change mybackground there.
And one thing that I would liketo roast today would be breast
imaging centers that arerequiring a mammogram for women
with dense breasts to get anultrasound.
They will not let women get theultrasound without the mammogram
(02:53):
first.
I am very fortunate that I wasable to get an ultrasound twice
without a mammogram.
And the reason I opted out ofthe mammogram, if it's right for
you, do what's right for you.
This podcast always is notmedical advice.
I'm just sharing my story and myexperience.
So for the mammogram, I havevery dense breasts and it is
going to miss things, whichrequires follow-up testing
(03:14):
anyway.
And I do have concerns aboutmammograms.
I'm not saying there isn't atime and a place, but they're
not the right tool for me,especially because of how dense
my breasts are.
And I learned that fromsomething called a QT breast
scan.
My breasts are 51% dense, and soI'll share more about that.
No family history of breastcancer.
That's something that thisbreast imaging center is very
(03:36):
concerned about, and I'll sharethe story.
But no family history of breastcancer.
My mom or grandmother, theyasked about that.
No Bronchogenes.
I did not take the you know whatin 2020.
No judgment if you did, and Iwill say that I am a fierce
medical advocate.
I said back then it is not mychoice to make.
I will never tell you what'sright for you because I am not
(03:58):
you.
But you have to make your ownhealth decisions.
Your health, your choice, yourresponsibility.
And while I love doctors, theyare not there with you in your
everyday life making yourdecisions.
You are.
So it does require personalresponsibility.
And because I care deeply aboutmy health, I want to do it in
ways that feel right for me.
And if not, then I'll pivot.
(04:19):
So I have full faith and it hasbeen quite a wild ride.
So some updates since the lastpodcast release in April 2024.
In January 2024, Otto and Ibroke up.
We were just treading water, inmy opinion, for a couple years.
Really not on the same page witha few issues, and it just seemed
(04:39):
like deal breakers.
And if you love someone and youknow you want different things,
perhaps it's better to let theperson go.
Love is not control.
Otto and I believe that deeply.
So that was a really tough time.
And at that point, I was like, Ineed to get off all
mind-altering substances, reallyreevaluate my life, and I did.
And at the time, I was usingsomething called feel-free.
(05:02):
My personal experience is thatit's the devil in a bottle.
It started great.
I did feel free.
I felt amazing actually, until Ididn't.
And it was chasing that samefeeling, a very expensive habit
and a very difficult withdrawal.
Very difficult withdrawal.
I don't even care for opioids.
I've had surgery before.
And Kratom is similar in manyways to opioids.
(05:26):
Very different feeling for me.
And absolutely feel like I needto let people know to be
cautious.
As always, weigh your pros andcons, make the right choice for
you.
But it is not the right choicefor me.
And I found it at a wellnessplace, not at a gas station
where it's sold now.
Back then it was not labeledlike it is now.
You didn't know how much Kratomwas in it.
And they really made it soundlike a kava product.
(05:48):
That is something that I havehad to really recover from.
I lost a lot of hair, I lost mylife force.
I feel like I lost my soul,truly.
So that was really brutal.
And then just seeing thingsthrough a lens of clarity and
saying, what do I really want?
I wanted love, I wantedconnection, and I wanted a
healthy relationship with Otto.
(06:09):
So you got back together inAugust of 2024.
In August of 2024, I also took atravel nurse contract down in
Tucson, about two hours away.
So I'm back and forth.
I had a place down there.
And it was a very interestingtime to be together, but living
apart most of the time.
(06:30):
I came back in March of 2025full time.
And then a few weeks later, wewent to St.
John for just a celebratory tripfor being done with the hospital
and then autoproposed.
It was so sweet.
And I did know that it wascoming.
It wasn't really a secret.
I mean, we'd been together fornow eight years, over eight
(06:51):
years.
So that was one of the things.
If we're going to get backtogether, how are we going to
create a path together thatworks for both of us?
So we are working on that, butwe had a little bit of
curveballs.
We were going to start thepodcast then.
And at that point, went to govisit some family.
Otto's dad was not doing well.
I went to go see my family backhome.
(07:12):
And shortly after getting homefrom visiting my family on the
East Coast, I noticed a lump inmy armpit.
It felt like the size of a largegrape.
Wasn't too concerned about it,but after about five weeks, I'm
like, I should just get anultrasound done just to see what
it is.
I suspected a lymph node, but Ididn't know.
Sure enough, it was a lymphnode.
And at that point, I was toldfrom the breast imaging center
(07:38):
that they were very concernedfor malignancy.
And the reason was because itshowed complete cortical
effacement in one of theabnormal lymph nodes, which is
very concerning for malignancy.
So it's described to me like anegg yolk, and think about the
egg yolk splitting.
So this structure had changed,not great.
And at that point, I said, Well,whatever it is, we're gonna
(07:58):
figure it out.
No, thank you to the mammogram,but they really wanted it.
They even held me after, calledmy doctor, and my doctor said,
I'm pretty sure Ashley doesn'twant one.
Let me talk to her first.
And sure enough, I said, I don'tcare for one, I'd like to talk
to my doctor.
So we were on the same pagethere.
And I just want to make groundeddecisions, not from a reactive
or fearful or emotional place.
(08:20):
So I wanted to sit with that fora few days and see what felt
best.
So I made a plan with my doctor,started some things, and options
were biopsy, MRI with contrast,and those can get you a tumor
diagnosis.
But I decided to hold off onthose and once again just see
what my body could do.
In July, after the ultrasound, Iwas sleeping in my bed.
I live in Arizona, and I wasstung twice at four in the
(08:44):
morning by a bark scorpion.
It got my left hand, and I waslike, ah, I didn't know what it
was.
I wasn't even thinking scorpion.
And I said to Otto, I'm like,something got me.
There's something in this bed.
He's like, maybe it's a dream.
I'm like, no, it is not a dream.
I got up and it stung me againon my right forearm.
(09:06):
So painful, so painful.
I walk in the bathroom and thelights on, it's climbing at my
back.
And to me, that felt like a hugespiritual awakening.
Like, watch your back.
Because there were things in mylife that I was not being as
discerning as I could.
And I will take full ownershipof that.
So some people might think, oryou just live in Arizona and
(09:28):
it's scorpion season.
So that's true.
But it also felt like a wake-upcall in many ways.
And it was extremely painful.
It feels like I was beingskinned and branded at the same
time.
Electric shocks, like absolutehell for four hours.
Took me about 28 hours to getfull sensation back.
So I don't think that the lymphnode was because of the scorpion
(09:50):
sting, because that happenedfive weeks after this start and
after the ultrasound.
And then on September 18th, Iwent in for a follow-up
ultrasound.
So this is two months later fromthe initial one, and we did not
only the left armpit, but alsothe breast.
And there were some suspiciousfindings in the breast.
Okay, great.
We're going to take that as anew baseline.
But what we did find is that thearmpit nodes, the axillary
(10:14):
nodes, all three, so there weretwo they were concerned about,
but there were three that wereabnormal.
All three decreased in size inall three dimensions.
And the one that had completecortical effacement was no
longer effaced, it had the fattyhelium return.
And now we want to see thatstructure get thinner until it's
back to where we want to be.
So that's why I'm doing serialultrasounds every two months.
(10:36):
That was a very reassuring sign,but I'm not out of the clear
yet.
And on September 18th, when Idid do that ultrasound, the
breast imaging center, Simon Medsaid, Birads 5 on the bottom of
the report.
And when you look that up,BIRADS 5 means that 19 out of 20
people will have cancer.
So that's a 95% chance.
(10:58):
I like to think of myself asbeing an outlier in life.
So hopefully that is the case.
And I know that I am takingrisks from many people's lenses,
but for me, I feel like I amdoing what is right for my
health.
And once again, we will see whathappens.
On October 8th, I did a QTbreast scan.
This is an FDA-approved type ofimaging.
Many people don't know about it.
(11:19):
There are a limited amount ofcenters in the country that
offer this.
Fortunately, there's one inScottsdale where I live, so that
was awesome.
I did that.
And the reason why I wanted todo the QT breast scan is because
it's ideal for dense breasts.
It is no pain, no compression,no radiation, and the images are
very detailed.
(11:39):
So I was very pleased after Igot my results back.
And on 1111, November 11th, Igot a call from the oncologist
that it did not appear to becancer from the QT scan.
I'm not out of the woods yet,but that is still a great sign.
When I was at the breast imagingcenter getting my ultrasound on
September 18th, I said, Hey,have you heard of the QT breast
(12:03):
scan?
And this woman saidthermography.
And I said, no, it's notthermography.
I understand that that can beunreliable depending on who's
doing it.
I'm not saying not to do it, butfor me, I don't want to rely on
that solely.
I wouldn't rely on any type ofone thing solely.
It's a variety of different waysto assess what's going on.
But I said, no, it's actually anFDA-approved imaging modality.
(12:25):
I'm so surprised you wouldn'tknow about that at a top breast
imaging center.
She didn't have much to sayafter that.
And it is FDA approved, not as astandalone treatment, but as
follow-up imaging.
So this is something that I'mvery grateful that I did.
I also have some blood work.
We tested some cancer tumormarkers, and one that is
(12:46):
relevant for breast cancer wouldbe CA15-3.
CA stands for cancer antigen,and that came back where we
would want it.
So that's great.
Now I have a baseline and we cantrend those tumor markers.
We can trend the ultrasoundreport.
We can also do another QT scan,the oncologist said 12 months.
Some other things that I will bedoing are the Galari Cancer
(13:07):
Test.
I have that set up.
There is a service calledFunction Health, and I'll put
the link in the show notes.
I was actually able to orderthat test for myself today
through that service.
So it is awesome.
Direct-to-consumer functionalblood testing, lab testing.
You can do MRIs, they just keepadding more.
It's awesome.
So I'm going to do that as abaseline as well as the Ourea
(13:31):
tear test.
It is something that detects twoproteins in the tears that can
detect breast cancer.
So I'm just trying all of thesedifferent tools and options,
sharing my thoughts on them, butI'm not relying on one single
thing alone.
I want to do the ultrasoundsuntil it is fully resolved.
So some things that have helpedme along the way.
(13:53):
Sauna is something that I havebeen doing for years, diehard.
However, when I started certainmedications from my doctor,
which were ivermectin,albenzidol, and itrochondazol.
So ivermectin is anantiparasitic, the other two are
antifungals.
I noticed that I started to havedrainage from that axillary,
(14:14):
that armpit node.
And one time it was brown.
It would cycle about every twoweeks.
It would start to swell.
And while I was on thesemedications, it would weep the
fluid and the node would getsmaller, or so it seemed,
confirmed with ultrasound, andit would just repeat this cycle.
So that was very interesting.
The other thing that causedarmpit weeping was SCFT.
(14:38):
Only in that spot, nowhere elseon my body.
And I learned about SCT at thetruth about cancer conferences
many years ago, back in like2017, I started to go blew my
little conventionally trainednurse mind.
Wait, people can heal in waysthat we haven't been told.
Like, I don't know if I believethat.
I'm so grateful for all that Ilearned and to see many of these
(15:01):
people and to see what it lookslike in the conventional world
versus in the alternative world,if we even want to call it that.
So sauna was a huge part of myself-care, but not when this was
weeping.
Same with castor oil packs.
Huge fan.
I would use the ones from TrustYour Gut over the breast.
Love them.
(15:21):
High quality.
And if you get a kit, it comeswith the full set for the body.
I used to use a differentcompany's castor oil packs, but
they have straps that dig in,not these ones from Trust Your
Gut.
So definitely recommend those.
And I used frankincense with thecastor oil.
So a few drops of frankincense,but no castor oil packs whenever
it was weeping.
Coffee Edemas, as I mentioned,those are something I'm very,
(15:45):
very passionate about.
And I love the kits from TrustYour Gut.
Awesome quality, reasonablypriced, and they do make the
silicone bags, which are alittle bit easier to use for
people who are newer to them.
But the bucket is also great.
Stainless steel bucket.
You do have to tilt it a littlebit.
But either way, great options.
And the coffee I use is LightRoast from Keon.
(16:07):
As far as supplements, I'll getmore into it on future episodes,
but dim is something that I tookbecause of the sulforophanes,
calcium glucurate, a lot ofdifferent things for
inflammation and supporting mylymphatic system and liver,
especially while on thesemedications.
I ditched Botox.
So the podcast started as highmaintenance hippie podcast.
(16:29):
I've grown.
And I don't think you have to be100% healthy, but in a situation
like this, my body is clearlysaying I am overwhelmed.
Let's not add more to it.
And I actually feel morebeautiful than I've ever felt
being off of Botox.
I can't, I literally cannotbelieve these words are coming
out of my mouth, especially ifyou go listen to episodes years
back.
(16:49):
I started when I was 18.
I am now 38.
I just turned 38.
And that's 20 years of Botox.
So I have wrinkles and I'mgrateful for them.
But what I have been using aresealed wrinkle patches.
The ones from sealed are moreflexible and they go over your
skincare and don't fall off.
I love them.
I feel like every morning I wakeup with a smooth forehead and it
(17:11):
helps with wrinkles, but it'snot freezing the muscles.
It just relaxes things while wesleep.
I gave up alcohol, which was notdifficult at all.
Balance my blood sugars.
So I've used a CGM for years tolearn how to optimize my blood
sugar.
And I'm definitely there, but Iwanted to spot check it.
So that looks great.
And my labs look great as well.
(17:32):
Fasting insulin, not just myfasting glucose and A1C, but
fasting insulin, leptin.
I mean, leaving no stoneunturned, looking at all the
metabolic factors that could beplaying a role.
And I did hyperbaric oxygentherapy as well.
So I had to take the CGM off forthat because it's medical grade.
And so they wouldn't even let mewear my aura ring in there.
(17:52):
No metal, nothing, becausethey're concerned about it being
flammable.
And for soft chambers, it's lessof a concern.
So safety first, but obviouslydie hard for hyperbaric oxygen
therapy, especially after aconcussion.
But many, many amazing uses.
Wound healing.
I mean, I wish hospitals hadhyperbaric oxygen therapy in
(18:15):
them, but there are many thingsthat I would change about
hospitals if I were hospitalCEO.
That could be a fun episode.
If I were in the hospital, howwould it look?
No processed sugar.
I mean, very strict on this.
Whether it's fungal, parasitic,cancer, something else, I don't
feel like feeding processedsugar to my body would be
(18:35):
helpful.
Exercise was important.
I wish that I had done morestrength training, but Pilates
is what felt really good andwhat I enjoyed, so I chose to do
a lot of that.
I maintained my muscle massthroughout this whole period as
well.
I did a lot of rebounding.
I would do one song a day.
It's fun.
And I will say dry brushing isgreat.
It's easy for the arms.
Okay, straight, short strokes upto the heart.
(18:58):
Okay, got that.
But the belly, I get a littleconfused, the back, rebounder,
you are moving your lymph in alldirections in that up-down
movement.
It's a great heart rateaccelerator.
Often I can get my heart rate upto zones three to five, and it's
great for the lymphatic system,and it's fun.
Also, a circadian lifestyle,something very passionate about.
In our house, sun goes down, alloverhead lights go off, and we
(19:20):
turn on the glow infrared lightsfrom sauna space.
That's six of those.
Or you can use lamps withincandescent bulbs, but overhead
lights can confuse the bodybecause we're not experiencing
overhead light at midnight innature.
So it can make us think, oh, isit daytime?
And when I was back visitingHilton Head, which is where I'm
(19:41):
from, on the beach, it even saysno bright lights at night
because of the turtles.
It will confuse them for theirpath.
Red light is what you'resupposed to use.
So if red light is good enoughfor the turtles, it's good
enough for us.
It's actually a much betteroption, in my opinion, than the
LEDs, the artificial bulbs,smart bulbs, your healthier
(20:05):
choice.
But I strongly recommendincandescence.
I also use raw optics blueblockers religiously after dark
if I'm using screens.
So they have two (20:13):
the yellow, which are the daytime lenses,
and those you can wear day ornight.
So if you're gonna get one pair,I think those are the best.
But if you struggle with sleep,the amber ones, they're the
reddish-orange color.
They're called the sunsetlenses.
They are sedating.
It literally is like black andwhite vision, except it's red
and black, and it cuts out allthe blue light.
(20:34):
If you put them in front of amicrowave or a clock that's
blue, it will look like it'soff.
So they are awesome.
Sauna Space and Raw Optics arejust amazing companies.
The PEMF mat is something that Iuse from Therasage.
I've had it for years.
I didn't use it too much untilthis happened.
Well, one with the Scorpionafter that, it was so helpful
(20:55):
for my pain.
And then also I would have pain,it almost felt like nerve pain,
as I would have drainage andjust weird, almost like shock
sensations.
The PEMF mat helped within 30seconds of getting on it.
At my doctor's office, I havebeen doing IV ozone and vitamin
C infusions.
It's not just vitamin C, butthose two work together
(21:17):
synergistically, allegedly.
And many people in thealternative world will use that
as a treatment.
I've been doing IV ozone since2018 anyway, and I love it.
Also, continued that.
IV ozone allegedly can behelpful for inflammation or
infection, but we want to makesure that it is safe and
appropriate.
And a doctor has to okay that.
(21:38):
It's not something you can goget at an IV place.
So your doctor should ask theappropriate questions and make
sure that it is safe for you,but I am so grateful for IV
ozone.
And last but not least at all,prayer.
I did not think I would say thatwhen I recorded my last episode
or even a year ago, in the waythat that is a part of my life
(22:00):
today.
I am never here to force mybeliefs, my practices, anything
on you.
I'm just telling you, it hasbrought me so much peace.
And I prayed and I said, God,please use me for good.
Please use me as an example toshow women that we can heal, we
can listen to our bodies, we canpivot.
And I am just so grateful forthis opportunity.
(22:20):
2018, when I had the chemicalpoisoning, at the time I was not
so grateful, but I didn't knowmy options for healing.
And so my world has expanded.
And that's why I have full faiththat whatever we find will pivot
and adjust the plan accordingly.
So I did an ultrasound yesterdayactually on 1125 with her scan.
(22:41):
That is a screening ultrasound.
It's not diagnostic.
So it's not going to be asdetailed as the ones that I
would get from a breast imagingcenter, but don't worry, I'll be
back there.
I'm sure they'll be so gratefulto see me.
At the end of the day, if I'mgoing to be lightly roasting
anything, it is the fact thatinsurance is dictating care, the
order in which certain thingsare done.
(23:01):
And I don't want a middleman.
I want it between my doctor andmyself.
And I'm so grateful that that isthe case because I am a cash pay
patient.
I don't use insurance.
I pay my doctor directly.
So as a cash pay patient, I doget lower prices.
But if something catastrophichappens, then I understand that
I would be dealing with a majorbill, but there are health share
(23:22):
programs, and we'll get moreinto that.
And we just want to lightlyroast things in the world.
I mean, how can you not?
How can you not?
It's just such a wild time.
I want to add value, humor, andlearn.
And I may or may not have aspecial co-host who will be
joining me from time to time,Otto, my fiance.
And once again, this podcast iscoffee themed.
(23:45):
We did coffee enemas live onInstagram.
It was a hoot, and we just wantto have fun and add value to
your life.
So I hope you enjoyed thisepisode.
We'll have more to come.
And you can lightly roast us onthe Light Roast podcast on
Instagram or email me at Ashleyat Ashley Taylor Wellness.com if
you have any ideas orsuggestions or things that you
(24:07):
want us to lightly roast.
If you enjoyed this episode, itwould mean the world to me if
you left a rating andor a reviewon Spotify or iTunes wherever
you listen to this.
Thank you, and I'll see yousoon.
Hello and welcome to the Light Rose Podcast.
(00:02):
This is our first episode.
I am your host, Ashley Taylor.
Ashley Taylor hopped, but I goby Ashley Taylor on Instagram.
You might know me as AshleyTaylor Wellness.
The podcast started a coupleyears back and it was the High
Maintenance Hippie podcast.
A lot has changed since the lastepisode, which was just over a
year and a half ago, April 2024.
(00:24):
So as I have had a huge internaland external makeover, mostly
internal, so is the podcast.
And it's a new season, a newchapter, and I'm excited to
introduce it and give some lifeupdates.
The new launch of this podcastis to be light, to be fun, to be
even more raw and honest.
(00:45):
And of course, centered aroundfunctional health and wellness
because that's really what thisis all about.
But I do think that we can havefun, ask tough questions, and be
healthy.
Lots of ands there.
Today I'm going to share what'schanged, what I'm focusing on
personally, and the big lessonsthat I've learned, the wellness
practices that are actuallyworking very well for me, the
(01:07):
things that I've had to take astep away from, and why the
podcast needed a makeover.
It needed a new name.
And Light Roast is the perfectname.
So I wanted something coffeethemed.
If you're new here, I startedcoffee enemas back in 2016.
I had a Chinese medicine doctorsuggest them.
I thought he was nuts at thetime.
(01:27):
I probably would have lightlyroasted him.
I actually totally roasted him.
I'm like, you're nuts.
And four months later I workedup the courage, I've never
looked back.
So that is something that hasbeen tremendously valuable for
me, especially at the time as Iwas not knowing that I had MTBE
poisoning, a type of chemicalpoisoning.
So 10 out of 10 don't recommendliving next to an oil refinery
(01:51):
if they have not cleaned up MTBEfrom the soil and the
groundwater.
So that's one fun lesson.
Okay, love coffee enemas, and Iwanted a coffee-themed podcast
because my fiancé, Otto Gomes,and I would go on Instagram and
we would go live doing ourcoffee enemas.
We had a series called CoffeeTalk and it was tons of fun.
(02:12):
So something coffee themed feelsvery relevant.
Roast.
Okay.
I can roast some things,especially in today's world, no
problem.
But I'm from the South.
I'm from the South where we canbe polite, so lightly roasting,
but still, I've got some roastedme.
And just to have fun because wegotta call some things out.
It's a wild time to be alive.
(02:32):
I'm grateful for it.
Just enjoy the ride.
Pretty sure the bookshelf behindme is about to be roasted by AI,
so I might have to change mybackground there.
And one thing that I would liketo roast today would be breast
imaging centers that arerequiring a mammogram for women
with dense breasts to get anultrasound.
They will not let women get theultrasound without the mammogram
(02:53):
first.
I am very fortunate that I wasable to get an ultrasound twice
without a mammogram.
And the reason I opted out ofthe mammogram, if it's right for
you, do what's right for you.
This podcast always is notmedical advice.
I'm just sharing my story and myexperience.
So for the mammogram, I havevery dense breasts and it is
going to miss things, whichrequires follow-up testing
(03:14):
anyway.
And I do have concerns aboutmammograms.
I'm not saying there isn't atime and a place, but they're
not the right tool for me,especially because of how dense
my breasts are.
And I learned that fromsomething called a QT breast
scan.
My breasts are 51% dense, and soI'll share more about that.
No family history of breastcancer.
That's something that thisbreast imaging center is very
(03:36):
concerned about, and I'll sharethe story.
But no family history of breastcancer.
My mom or grandmother, theyasked about that.
No Bronchogenes.
I did not take the you know whatin 2020.
No judgment if you did, and Iwill say that I am a fierce
medical advocate.
I said back then it is not mychoice to make.
I will never tell you what'sright for you because I am not
(03:58):
you.
But you have to make your ownhealth decisions.
Your health, your choice, yourresponsibility.
And while I love doctors, theyare not there with you in your
everyday life making yourdecisions.
You are.
So it does require personalresponsibility.
And because I care deeply aboutmy health, I want to do it in
ways that feel right for me.
And if not, then I'll pivot.
(04:19):
So I have full faith and it hasbeen quite a wild ride.
So some updates since the lastpodcast release in April 2024.
In January 2024, Otto and Ibroke up.
We were just treading water, inmy opinion, for a couple years.
Really not on the same page witha few issues, and it just seemed
(04:39):
like deal breakers.
And if you love someone and youknow you want different things,
perhaps it's better to let theperson go.
Love is not control.
Otto and I believe that deeply.
So that was a really tough time.
And at that point, I was like, Ineed to get off all
mind-altering substances, reallyreevaluate my life, and I did.
And at the time, I was usingsomething called feel-free.
(05:02):
My personal experience is thatit's the devil in a bottle.
It started great.
I did feel free.
I felt amazing actually, until Ididn't.
And it was chasing that samefeeling, a very expensive habit
and a very difficult withdrawal.
Very difficult withdrawal.
I don't even care for opioids.
I've had surgery before.
And Kratom is similar in manyways to opioids.
(05:26):
Very different feeling for me.
And absolutely feel like I needto let people know to be
cautious.
As always, weigh your pros andcons, make the right choice for
you.
But it is not the right choicefor me.
And I found it at a wellnessplace, not at a gas station
where it's sold now.
Back then it was not labeledlike it is now.
You didn't know how much Kratomwas in it.
And they really made it soundlike a kava product.
(05:48):
That is something that I havehad to really recover from.
I lost a lot of hair, I lost mylife force.
I feel like I lost my soul,truly.
So that was really brutal.
And then just seeing thingsthrough a lens of clarity and
saying, what do I really want?
I wanted love, I wantedconnection, and I wanted a
healthy relationship with Otto.
(06:09):
So you got back together inAugust of 2024.
In August of 2024, I also took atravel nurse contract down in
Tucson, about two hours away.
So I'm back and forth.
I had a place down there.
And it was a very interestingtime to be together, but living
apart most of the time.
(06:30):
I came back in March of 2025full time.
And then a few weeks later, wewent to St.
John for just a celebratory tripfor being done with the hospital
and then autoproposed.
It was so sweet.
And I did know that it wascoming.
It wasn't really a secret.
I mean, we'd been together fornow eight years, over eight
(06:51):
years.
So that was one of the things.
If we're going to get backtogether, how are we going to
create a path together thatworks for both of us?
So we are working on that, butwe had a little bit of
curveballs.
We were going to start thepodcast then.
And at that point, went to govisit some family.
Otto's dad was not doing well.
I went to go see my family backhome.
(07:12):
And shortly after getting homefrom visiting my family on the
East Coast, I noticed a lump inmy armpit.
It felt like the size of a largegrape.
Wasn't too concerned about it,but after about five weeks, I'm
like, I should just get anultrasound done just to see what
it is.
I suspected a lymph node, but Ididn't know.
Sure enough, it was a lymphnode.
And at that point, I was toldfrom the breast imaging center
(07:38):
that they were very concernedfor malignancy.
And the reason was because itshowed complete cortical
effacement in one of theabnormal lymph nodes, which is
very concerning for malignancy.
So it's described to me like anegg yolk, and think about the
egg yolk splitting.
So this structure had changed,not great.
And at that point, I said, Well,whatever it is, we're gonna
(07:58):
figure it out.
No, thank you to the mammogram,but they really wanted it.
They even held me after, calledmy doctor, and my doctor said,
I'm pretty sure Ashley doesn'twant one.
Let me talk to her first.
And sure enough, I said, I don'tcare for one, I'd like to talk
to my doctor.
So we were on the same pagethere.
And I just want to make groundeddecisions, not from a reactive
or fearful or emotional place.
(08:20):
So I wanted to sit with that fora few days and see what felt
best.
So I made a plan with my doctor,started some things, and options
were biopsy, MRI with contrast,and those can get you a tumor
diagnosis.
But I decided to hold off onthose and once again just see
what my body could do.
In July, after the ultrasound, Iwas sleeping in my bed.
I live in Arizona, and I wasstung twice at four in the
(08:44):
morning by a bark scorpion.
It got my left hand, and I waslike, ah, I didn't know what it
was.
I wasn't even thinking scorpion.
And I said to Otto, I'm like,something got me.
There's something in this bed.
He's like, maybe it's a dream.
I'm like, no, it is not a dream.
I got up and it stung me againon my right forearm.
(09:06):
So painful, so painful.
I walk in the bathroom and thelights on, it's climbing at my
back.
And to me, that felt like a hugespiritual awakening.
Like, watch your back.
Because there were things in mylife that I was not being as
discerning as I could.
And I will take full ownershipof that.
So some people might think, oryou just live in Arizona and
(09:28):
it's scorpion season.
So that's true.
But it also felt like a wake-upcall in many ways.
And it was extremely painful.
It feels like I was beingskinned and branded at the same
time.
Electric shocks, like absolutehell for four hours.
Took me about 28 hours to getfull sensation back.
So I don't think that the lymphnode was because of the scorpion
(09:50):
sting, because that happenedfive weeks after this start and
after the ultrasound.
And then on September 18th, Iwent in for a follow-up
ultrasound.
So this is two months later fromthe initial one, and we did not
only the left armpit, but alsothe breast.
And there were some suspiciousfindings in the breast.
Okay, great.
We're going to take that as anew baseline.
But what we did find is that thearmpit nodes, the axillary
(10:14):
nodes, all three, so there weretwo they were concerned about,
but there were three that wereabnormal.
All three decreased in size inall three dimensions.
And the one that had completecortical effacement was no
longer effaced, it had the fattyhelium return.
And now we want to see thatstructure get thinner until it's
back to where we want to be.
So that's why I'm doing serialultrasounds every two months.
(10:36):
That was a very reassuring sign,but I'm not out of the clear
yet.
And on September 18th, when Idid do that ultrasound, the
breast imaging center, Simon Medsaid, Birads 5 on the bottom of
the report.
And when you look that up,BIRADS 5 means that 19 out of 20
people will have cancer.
So that's a 95% chance.
(10:58):
I like to think of myself asbeing an outlier in life.
So hopefully that is the case.
And I know that I am takingrisks from many people's lenses,
but for me, I feel like I amdoing what is right for my
health.
And once again, we will see whathappens.
On October 8th, I did a QTbreast scan.
This is an FDA-approved type ofimaging.
Many people don't know about it.
(11:19):
There are a limited amount ofcenters in the country that
offer this.
Fortunately, there's one inScottsdale where I live, so that
was awesome.
I did that.
And the reason why I wanted todo the QT breast scan is because
it's ideal for dense breasts.
It is no pain, no compression,no radiation, and the images are
very detailed.
(11:39):
So I was very pleased after Igot my results back.
And on 1111, November 11th, Igot a call from the oncologist
that it did not appear to becancer from the QT scan.
I'm not out of the woods yet,but that is still a great sign.
When I was at the breast imagingcenter getting my ultrasound on
September 18th, I said, Hey,have you heard of the QT breast
(12:03):
scan?
And this woman saidthermography.
And I said, no, it's notthermography.
I understand that that can beunreliable depending on who's
doing it.
I'm not saying not to do it, butfor me, I don't want to rely on
that solely.
I wouldn't rely on any type ofone thing solely.
It's a variety of different waysto assess what's going on.
But I said, no, it's actually anFDA-approved imaging modality.
(12:25):
I'm so surprised you wouldn'tknow about that at a top breast
imaging center.
She didn't have much to sayafter that.
And it is FDA approved, not as astandalone treatment, but as
follow-up imaging.
So this is something that I'mvery grateful that I did.
I also have some blood work.
We tested some cancer tumormarkers, and one that is
(12:46):
relevant for breast cancer wouldbe CA15-3.
CA stands for cancer antigen,and that came back where we
would want it.
So that's great.
Now I have a baseline and we cantrend those tumor markers.
We can trend the ultrasoundreport.
We can also do another QT scan,the oncologist said 12 months.
Some other things that I will bedoing are the Galari Cancer
(13:07):
Test.
I have that set up.
There is a service calledFunction Health, and I'll put
the link in the show notes.
I was actually able to orderthat test for myself today
through that service.
So it is awesome.
Direct-to-consumer functionalblood testing, lab testing.
You can do MRIs, they just keepadding more.
It's awesome.
So I'm going to do that as abaseline as well as the Ourea
(13:31):
tear test.
It is something that detects twoproteins in the tears that can
detect breast cancer.
So I'm just trying all of thesedifferent tools and options,
sharing my thoughts on them, butI'm not relying on one single
thing alone.
I want to do the ultrasoundsuntil it is fully resolved.
So some things that have helpedme along the way.
(13:53):
Sauna is something that I havebeen doing for years, diehard.
However, when I started certainmedications from my doctor,
which were ivermectin,albenzidol, and itrochondazol.
So ivermectin is anantiparasitic, the other two are
antifungals.
I noticed that I started to havedrainage from that axillary,
(14:14):
that armpit node.
And one time it was brown.
It would cycle about every twoweeks.
It would start to swell.
And while I was on thesemedications, it would weep the
fluid and the node would getsmaller, or so it seemed,
confirmed with ultrasound, andit would just repeat this cycle.
So that was very interesting.
The other thing that causedarmpit weeping was SCFT.
(14:38):
Only in that spot, nowhere elseon my body.
And I learned about SCT at thetruth about cancer conferences
many years ago, back in like2017, I started to go blew my
little conventionally trainednurse mind.
Wait, people can heal in waysthat we haven't been told.
Like, I don't know if I believethat.
I'm so grateful for all that Ilearned and to see many of these
(15:01):
people and to see what it lookslike in the conventional world
versus in the alternative world,if we even want to call it that.
So sauna was a huge part of myself-care, but not when this was
weeping.
Same with castor oil packs.
Huge fan.
I would use the ones from TrustYour Gut over the breast.
Love them.
(15:21):
High quality.
And if you get a kit, it comeswith the full set for the body.
I used to use a differentcompany's castor oil packs, but
they have straps that dig in,not these ones from Trust Your
Gut.
So definitely recommend those.
And I used frankincense with thecastor oil.
So a few drops of frankincense,but no castor oil packs whenever
it was weeping.
Coffee Edemas, as I mentioned,those are something I'm very,
(15:45):
very passionate about.
And I love the kits from TrustYour Gut.
Awesome quality, reasonablypriced, and they do make the
silicone bags, which are alittle bit easier to use for
people who are newer to them.
But the bucket is also great.
Stainless steel bucket.
You do have to tilt it a littlebit.
But either way, great options.
And the coffee I use is LightRoast from Keon.
(16:07):
As far as supplements, I'll getmore into it on future episodes,
but dim is something that I tookbecause of the sulforophanes,
calcium glucurate, a lot ofdifferent things for
inflammation and supporting mylymphatic system and liver,
especially while on thesemedications.
I ditched Botox.
So the podcast started as highmaintenance hippie podcast.
(16:29):
I've grown.
And I don't think you have to be100% healthy, but in a situation
like this, my body is clearlysaying I am overwhelmed.
Let's not add more to it.
And I actually feel morebeautiful than I've ever felt
being off of Botox.
I can't, I literally cannotbelieve these words are coming
out of my mouth, especially ifyou go listen to episodes years
back.
(16:49):
I started when I was 18.
I am now 38.
I just turned 38.
And that's 20 years of Botox.
So I have wrinkles and I'mgrateful for them.
But what I have been using aresealed wrinkle patches.
The ones from sealed are moreflexible and they go over your
skincare and don't fall off.
I love them.
I feel like every morning I wakeup with a smooth forehead and it
(17:11):
helps with wrinkles, but it'snot freezing the muscles.
It just relaxes things while wesleep.
I gave up alcohol, which was notdifficult at all.
Balance my blood sugars.
So I've used a CGM for years tolearn how to optimize my blood
sugar.
And I'm definitely there, but Iwanted to spot check it.
So that looks great.
And my labs look great as well.
(17:32):
Fasting insulin, not just myfasting glucose and A1C, but
fasting insulin, leptin.
I mean, leaving no stoneunturned, looking at all the
metabolic factors that could beplaying a role.
And I did hyperbaric oxygentherapy as well.
So I had to take the CGM off forthat because it's medical grade.
And so they wouldn't even let mewear my aura ring in there.
(17:52):
No metal, nothing, becausethey're concerned about it being
flammable.
And for soft chambers, it's lessof a concern.
So safety first, but obviouslydie hard for hyperbaric oxygen
therapy, especially after aconcussion.
But many, many amazing uses.
Wound healing.
I mean, I wish hospitals hadhyperbaric oxygen therapy in
(18:15):
them, but there are many thingsthat I would change about
hospitals if I were hospitalCEO.
That could be a fun episode.
If I were in the hospital, howwould it look?
No processed sugar.
I mean, very strict on this.
Whether it's fungal, parasitic,cancer, something else, I don't
feel like feeding processedsugar to my body would be
(18:35):
helpful.
Exercise was important.
I wish that I had done morestrength training, but Pilates
is what felt really good andwhat I enjoyed, so I chose to do
a lot of that.
I maintained my muscle massthroughout this whole period as
well.
I did a lot of rebounding.
I would do one song a day.
It's fun.
And I will say dry brushing isgreat.
It's easy for the arms.
Okay, straight, short strokes upto the heart.
(18:58):
Okay, got that.
But the belly, I get a littleconfused, the back, rebounder,
you are moving your lymph in alldirections in that up-down
movement.
It's a great heart rateaccelerator.
Often I can get my heart rate upto zones three to five, and it's
great for the lymphatic system,and it's fun.
Also, a circadian lifestyle,something very passionate about.
In our house, sun goes down, alloverhead lights go off, and we
(19:20):
turn on the glow infrared lightsfrom sauna space.
That's six of those.
Or you can use lamps withincandescent bulbs, but overhead
lights can confuse the bodybecause we're not experiencing
overhead light at midnight innature.
So it can make us think, oh, isit daytime?
And when I was back visitingHilton Head, which is where I'm
(19:41):
from, on the beach, it even saysno bright lights at night
because of the turtles.
It will confuse them for theirpath.
Red light is what you'resupposed to use.
So if red light is good enoughfor the turtles, it's good
enough for us.
It's actually a much betteroption, in my opinion, than the
LEDs, the artificial bulbs,smart bulbs, your healthier
(20:05):
choice.
But I strongly recommendincandescence.
I also use raw optics blueblockers religiously after dark
if I'm using screens.
So they have two (20:13):
the yellow, which are the daytime lenses,
and those you can wear day ornight.
So if you're gonna get one pair,I think those are the best.
But if you struggle with sleep,the amber ones, they're the
reddish-orange color.
They're called the sunsetlenses.
They are sedating.
It literally is like black andwhite vision, except it's red
and black, and it cuts out allthe blue light.
(20:34):
If you put them in front of amicrowave or a clock that's
blue, it will look like it'soff.
So they are awesome.
Sauna Space and Raw Optics arejust amazing companies.
The PEMF mat is something that Iuse from Therasage.
I've had it for years.
I didn't use it too much untilthis happened.
Well, one with the Scorpionafter that, it was so helpful
(20:55):
for my pain.
And then also I would have pain,it almost felt like nerve pain,
as I would have drainage andjust weird, almost like shock
sensations.
The PEMF mat helped within 30seconds of getting on it.
At my doctor's office, I havebeen doing IV ozone and vitamin
C infusions.
It's not just vitamin C, butthose two work together
(21:17):
synergistically, allegedly.
And many people in thealternative world will use that
as a treatment.
I've been doing IV ozone since2018 anyway, and I love it.
Also, continued that.
IV ozone allegedly can behelpful for inflammation or
infection, but we want to makesure that it is safe and
appropriate.
And a doctor has to okay that.
(21:38):
It's not something you can goget at an IV place.
So your doctor should ask theappropriate questions and make
sure that it is safe for you,but I am so grateful for IV
ozone.
And last but not least at all,prayer.
I did not think I would say thatwhen I recorded my last episode
or even a year ago, in the waythat that is a part of my life
(22:00):
today.
I am never here to force mybeliefs, my practices, anything
on you.
I'm just telling you, it hasbrought me so much peace.
And I prayed and I said, God,please use me for good.
Please use me as an example toshow women that we can heal, we
can listen to our bodies, we canpivot.
And I am just so grateful forthis opportunity.
(22:20):
2018, when I had the chemicalpoisoning, at the time I was not
so grateful, but I didn't knowmy options for healing.
And so my world has expanded.
And that's why I have full faiththat whatever we find will pivot
and adjust the plan accordingly.
So I did an ultrasound yesterdayactually on 1125 with her scan.
(22:41):
That is a screening ultrasound.
It's not diagnostic.
So it's not going to be asdetailed as the ones that I
would get from a breast imagingcenter, but don't worry, I'll be
back there.
I'm sure they'll be so gratefulto see me.
At the end of the day, if I'mgoing to be lightly roasting
anything, it is the fact thatinsurance is dictating care, the
order in which certain thingsare done.
(23:01):
And I don't want a middleman.
I want it between my doctor andmyself.
And I'm so grateful that that isthe case because I am a cash pay
patient.
I don't use insurance.
I pay my doctor directly.
So as a cash pay patient, I doget lower prices.
But if something catastrophichappens, then I understand that
I would be dealing with a majorbill, but there are health share
(23:22):
programs, and we'll get moreinto that.
And we just want to lightlyroast things in the world.
I mean, how can you not?
How can you not?
It's just such a wild time.
I want to add value, humor, andlearn.
And I may or may not have aspecial co-host who will be
joining me from time to time,Otto, my fiance.
And once again, this podcast iscoffee themed.
(23:45):
We did coffee enemas live onInstagram.
It was a hoot, and we just wantto have fun and add value to
your life.
So I hope you enjoyed thisepisode.
We'll have more to come.
And you can lightly roast us onthe Light Roast podcast on
Instagram or email me at Ashleyat Ashley Taylor Wellness.com if
you have any ideas orsuggestions or things that you
(24:07):
want us to lightly roast.
If you enjoyed this episode, itwould mean the world to me if
you left a rating andor a reviewon Spotify or iTunes wherever
you listen to this.
Thank you, and I'll see yousoon.
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