The Arc Woman Podcast

🎗️ In this episode lets examine the rising incidence of breast cancer in women under 40, a topic that resonates personally due to my family history, including my mother’s diagnosis and multiple relatives affected.
📊 We cover incidence and mortality trends, then systematically unpack core risk factors including genetics (BRCA1/BRCA2 and other high penetrance genes), family history, reproductive and hormonal influences, oral contraceptive use, and established lifestyle contributors.
🧬 We discuss the benefits, limitations, and considerations of screening modalities, including mammography, ultrasound, and MRI in younger populations, weighing radiation exposure against sensitivity. I also outline recommendations for genetic risk assessment and testing pathways with region-specific resources:
Australia: Breast and Ovarian Cancer Risk Management Initiative (BOCRMI) and clinical genetics through state-based services.
New Zealand: Referrals via Te Whatu Ora clinical genetics services for BRCA testing pathways.
UK/Europe: NHS Genetics Services (UK) and European Reference Networks for hereditary cancer syndromes.
Canada: Genetics/Genomics Ontario or provincial cancer genetics programs.
USA: National Society of Genetic Counselors and clinical testing through accredited labs (e.g., Myriad, Invitae) with referral from genetics professionals.

🌿 The episode outlines modifiable risk reduction strategies backed by the literature, including structured physical activity, reducing alcohol intake, enhancing metabolic and insulin sensitivity, optimising sleep quality, and dietary patterns associated with lower breast cancer risk such as Mediterranean-style diets, high fibre intake, omega-3 fatty acids, phytoestrogens (e.g., soy), and adequate vitamin D status.
Sources
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2023, December 15). National health survey: First results, 2022. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-conditions-and-risks/national-health-survey/latest-release
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (n.d.). Waist circumference and BMI: 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2026, from https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-conditions-and-risks/waist-circumference-and-bmi/latest-release
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2024, June 17). Overweight and obesity: Summary. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/overweight-obesity/overweight-and-obesity/contents/summary
Breast Cancer Network Australia. (n.d.). Breast cancer risk in families. Retrieved February 10, 2026, from https://www.bcna.org.au/resources/screening-and-diagnosis/family-history-and-genetics/breast-cancer-risk-in-families/
Breast Cancer Network Australia. (n.d.). Genetic mutations that increase breast cancer risk. Retrieved February 10, 2026, from https://www.bcna.org.au/resources/screening-and-diagnosis/family-history-and-genetics/genetic-mutations-that-increase-risk/
Breast Cancer Trials. (n.d.). Q&A: Are more young women being diagnosed with breast cancer? Retrieved February 10, 2026, from https://www.breastcancertrials.org.au/qa-events/qa-are-more-young-women-being-diagnosed-with-breast-cancer/
Cancer Australia. (2024, October 3). Reproductive factors. https://www.canceraustralia.gov.au/breast-cancer-risk-factors/risk-factors/reproductive-factors
Cancer Australia. (2024, October 22). Medical history and medications. https://www.canceraustralia.gov.au/breast-cancer-risk-factors/modifiable-factors/medical-history-and-medications
Cancer Australia. (2025, November 3). Breast cancer in young women. https://www.canceraustralia.gov.au/cancer-types/breast-cancer-young-women
Cancer Australia. (2025, December 18). Breast cancer in young women statistics. https://www.canceraustralia.gov.au/cancer-types/breast-cancer-young-women/breast-cancer-young-women-statistics
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2024, September 24). Obesity and severe obesity prevalence in adults (Data Brief No. 508). https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db508.htm
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025, August 15). Breast cancer among women younger than 45. https://www.cdc.gov/united-states-cancer-statistics/publications/breast-cancer-among-young-women.html
Collaborative Group on Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer. (2012). Menarche, menopause, and breast cancer risk: Individual participant meta-analysis, including 118,964 women with breast cancer from 117 epidemiological studies. The Lancet Oncology, 13(11), 1141–1151. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(12)70425-4
Erren, T. C., Morfeld, P., & Foster, R. G. (2019). IARC 2019: “Night shift work” is probably carcinogenic to humans. Chronobiology International, 36(10), 1448–1450. https://doi.org/10.1080/07420528.2019.1657155
International Agency for Research on Cancer. (2020, June 2). IARC monographs volume 124: Night shift work. https://www.iarc.who.int/news-events/iarc-monographs-volume-124-night-shift-work/
Kuchenbaecker, K. B., Hopper, J. L., Barnes, D. R., Phillips, K.-A., Mooij, T. M., Roos-Blom, M.-J., Jervis, S., van Leeuwen, F. E., Milne, R. L., Andrieu, N., Goldgar, D. E., Terry, M. B., Rookus, M. A., Easton, D. F., Antoniou, A. C., & BRCA1 and BRCA2 Cohort Consortium. (2017). Risks of breast, ovarian, and contralateral breast cancer for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. JAMA, 317(23), 2402–2416. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2017.7112
Mørch, L. S., Skovlund, C. W., Hannaford, P. C., Iversen, L., Fielding, S., & Lidegaard, Ø. (2017). Contemporary hormonal contraception and the risk of breast cancer. New England Journal of Medicine, 377(23), 2228–2239. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1700732
National Breast Cancer Foundation. (n.d.). Breast cancer statistics in Australia. Retrieved February 10, 2026, from https://nbcf.org.au/about-breast-cancer/breast-cancer-stats/
National Cancer Institute. (2020, February 10). Physical activity and cancer fact sheet. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/obesity/physical-activity-fact-sheet
National Cancer Institute. (2024, July 19). BRCA gene changes: Cancer risk and genetic testing. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/genetics/brca-fact-sheet
Pijpe, A., Andrieu, N., Easton, D. F., Kesminiene, A., Cardis, E., Noguès, C., Gauthier-Villars, M., Lasset, C., Fricker, J.-P., Peock, S., Frost, D., Evans, D. G., Eeles, R. A., Paterson, J., Manders, P., van Asperen, C. J., Ausems, M. G. E. M., Meijers-Heijboer, H. E. J., Thierry-Chef, I., … van Leeuwen, F. E. (2012). Exposure to diagnostic radiation and risk of breast cancer among carriers of BRCA1/2 mutations: Retrospective cohort study (GENE-RADRISK). BMJ, 345, e5660. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e5660
Susan G. Komen. (n.d.). Breast cancer risk factors: Age. Retrieved February 10, 2026, from https://www.komen.org/breast-cancer/risk-factor/age/
World Cancer Research Fund. (n.d.). Alcoholic drinks and the risk of cancer. Retrieved February 10, 2026, from https://www.wcrf.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Alcoholic-Drinks.pdf
World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe. (2023, January 4). No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health. https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health
World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe. (2025, November 26). Alcohol and cancer (Fact sheet). https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/fact-sheets/item/alcohol-and-cancer

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🤍 In this episode we talk honestly about postpartum intimacy, what happens to your body, your hormones, and your libido after birth, and why so many women feel disconnected from sex but rarely hear that this is completely normal.
🧠 I’m joined by Juliet Allen, a global leading sexologist who works with women and couples to rebuild trust, pleasure, and communication after major life transitions like pregnancy and motherhood.
🌿 Together we explore the physical and emotional shifts that shape intimacy after birth, including healing timelines, body image, identity changes, relationship dynamics, and the nervous system’s role in desire.
💬 You’ll learn how to reduce pressure, reconnect with your body gently, communicate your needs clearly, and approach sex from a place of safety and curiosity rather than expectation.
✨ This conversation is compassionate, practical, and designed to help you feel less alone and more supported as you navigate this new chapter.
juliet-allen.com

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In this episode I share the real story of why I stopped being vegan after years of believing it was the healthiest and most ethical way to eat.

I talk about what shifted when my health started to fall apart, including fatigue, brain fog, low B12, iron deficiency, and cycle changes, even though I was eating well and doing everything “right.” We unpack why some women struggle on long term vegan diets, the limits of supplementation, and why listening to your body sometimes means letting go of an identity.

I also reflect on how working in agriculture and revisiting nutrition science changed my black and white thinking around food, ethics, and health. This isn’t an attack on veganism, just an honest conversation about bio individuality, nuance, and finding what actually works for your body.

Connect with me on Instagram, Youtube and Tiktok

arcwoman.com.au

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🧠 In this episode of the Ackerman Podcast, host Sarah Honey speaks with clinical psychologist Stephanie Georgiou, who works with women navigating eating disorders and disordered eating patterns.

📖 Stephanie shares her own nine year journey with an eating disorder and reflects on the social pressures, body ideals, and personal experiences that shaped her relationship with food and her body.

⚖️ Together, they unpack the difference between disordered eating and clinical eating disorders, the psychological drivers behind binge eating, and why diet culture often intensifies harm, particularly at times like the New Year when body change is heavily promoted.

💬 Stephanie explains how recovery begins by rebuilding trust with hunger and fullness cues, addressing emotional triggers, and receiving compassionate support rather than control or judgment.

Stephanie and Her Work
• Instagram: instagram.com/mindfoodsteph
• TikTok: tiktok.com/@mindfoodsteph
• Website: mindfoodsteph.com
• Book a 1:1 session: stan.store/mindfoodsteph

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🍷 In this episode we explore alcohol through a wide lens, from its deep roots in human history and culture to what it actually is biologically and how it interacts with the body.
🧠 I break down how alcohol is absorbed and metabolised, why the liver treats it as a toxin, and how oxidative stress and inflammation underpin many of its short and long term health effects.
🩸 We unpack alcohol’s impact on the brain, sleep, the heart, and cancer risk, including why alcohol is linked to dementia, atrial fibrillation, and breast cancer in women.
⚖️ I also explain how alcohol interacts with women’s hormones, including suppression of the HPG axis, shifts in estrogen and progesterone, changes in SHBG, and why conditions like PCOS and endometriosis can be affected.
🦠 We look at alcohol’s effects on the gut microbiome, cravings, and the stress system, and why “red wine is healthy” narratives miss the bigger physiological picture.
🌿 Finally, I share what happens when you stop drinking and how to support recovery in a female body, with practical guidance for liver health, gut repair, hormone regulation, and long term resilience.
🛒 For the affordable supplements I recommend in this episode, head over to my iHerb storefront, explore more resources on my website at arcwoman.com.au, or find me on Instagram and TikTok at @arc.woman.

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