Ananda Millard: In Every Moment We Have a Choice

Written By Sara Champie
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Episode Summary
At 50, Ananda Millard was diagnosed with early breast cancer and soon learned she carries a BRCA2 mutation. Drawing on the loss of her mother to pancreatic cancer, Ananda reframed her diagnosis as a pathway to action—choosing a bilateral mastectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy, embracing implants as “life-saving boobs,” and adopting a “seatbelt” mindset toward annual pancreatic screening. With disarming candor and dark humor, she shares how stand-up comedy, movement, and clear priorities helped her navigate stigma, surgical recovery, and treatment-induced menopause (without HRT due to ER/PR+ cancer)—all while refusing to let cancer define her identity.

Highlights

  • Why genetic knowledge can increase agency: trade fear for a plan.

  • Choosing surgery to lower recurrence risk and protect mobility first.

  • Comedy as medicine: practicing laughter like training for a marathon.

  • Normalizing mastectomy and menopause; pushing back on stigma and pity.

  • Living with BRCA2 after treatment: scans as “seatbelts,” not life inhibitors.

  • Identity beyond diagnosis: “I’m Ananda, who had cancer—not only a cancer survivor.”

Key Topics
Agency & sovereignty • BRCA2 lineage (pancreas/prostate links) • Surgical decisions & reconstruction trade-offs • Treatment-induced menopause without HRT • Swiss “cancer center” model of coordinated care • Community, language, and the weight of others’ projections

Practice Reflection (for listeners)

  • What matters most to you (function, aesthetics, timing, family planning) if surgery is on the table?

  • What’s your “seatbelt”—the routine that lets you live fully between scans?

  • Which coping practice reliably helps you move emotion through your body (humor, cry, movement, breath)?

Resources Mentioned/Related

  • Support groups (local cancer centers; BRCA/Hereditary Cancer communities)

  • Psycho-oncology and survivorship clinics for integrated mental health care

A gentle note
This conversation reflects Ananda’s personal choices and medical context (including ER/PR+ disease). Nothing here is medical advice. Please discuss your options with your care team.

Stay Connected

  • Instagram/TikTok: @facetherisktogether

  • Free guide: 10 Questions to Ask Yourself After a Genetic Mutation Diagnosis at Sarah’s site

  • Subscribe, share, and review to help others walking this genetic line.

Sara Champie
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Violet Page: The Privilege of Knowing