Cancer, Casually: Keep A Breast's Shaney jo Darden

In this week’s episode, we’re out to normalize boobs in the hopes of creating more conversations around breast cancer awareness. But how exactly do you normalize boobs? For Keep A Breast founder, Shaney jo Darden, you simply turn them into art. Over 20 years ago Shaney jo started making plaster castings of breasts to help one of her girlfriends who had been diagnosed with cancer. Today the Keep A Breast Treasured Chest Program gives any woman diagnosed with breast cancer or who tests positive with the BRCA genes an opportunity to document her body and feelings by turning her casted torso into a beautiful work of art. And that’s not all. The Keep A Breast Foundation has a tech element, too. KAB’s Check Yourself app helps women around the globe check for lumps. As many cultures don’t freely talk about breast cancer, the app is helping early prevention and detection. On both fronts, whether it’s art or tech, Keep A Breast is all about removing the stigma. In fact, it’s a topic that comes up a lot in this episode. Lindsay shares that her partner, Manny (who co-hosts the episode), found the lump that led to her own cancer discovery. The crew speaks about the importance of partners being supported in their journey as well as the fighter. KAB aims to equip partners with the language and tools necessary to navigate that conversation. The male perspective is one that’s not often spoke about... but it’s just as important in detection.This episode is a true exercise in busting taboos, cracking open stereotypes, and creating a new container for the breast cancer conversation. Check it here!Listen on iTunes or Spotify.[soundcloud id='618226848' height='false']