Breast cancer treatment ends. The shoulder problems often don’t.

Most breast cancer survivors go from weekly check-ins to almost no monitoring overnight. Dr. Renata Braudy thinks their bodies keep sending signals anyway. Get Dr. Koenig’s latest research breakdowns → https://thednaofthings.com/ Dr. Jeremy Koenig sits down with Dr. Renata Braudy, a physical therapist and researcher who leads oncology at Life Cycle Health, to talk about the gap between finishing cancer treatment and returning to life. Braudy explains how radiation can tighten the chest muscles and pull the shoulder forward. She cites figures showing that up to 50% of survivors still have shoulder problems 10 or more years later. She also points to data that the most active survivors have a 42% lower breast cancer mortality risk than the least active. She argues that wearables tracking heart rate, step count, gait and body composition could flag problems in the months between clinic visits. The open question is which of those signals actually matter, and whether the right people will be looking. 👇 SUBSCRIBE for more science-backed health conversations    / @drjeremykoenig   ► Dr. Koenig’s website: https://thednaofthings.com/ ► Follow Dr. Koenig on Instagram:   / drjeremykoenig   ► Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all platforms TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 – When Your Body Knows Before Your Labs Do 3:29 – A D1 Athlete Told Her Lyme Was All in Her Head 10:37 – Building a Breast Cancer Rehab Program From Scratch 14:07 – Scar Tissue, Fascia, and Emotional Trauma 18:13 – Lymphedema and Shoulder Problems That Linger 22:03 – The Invisible Months After Cancer Treatment 23:56 – What Step Count and Gait Reveal After Chemo 25:44 – BRCA, Polygenic Risk, and Where Genetics Fits 28:10 – Why Activity Tracking Matters for Survivors 31:22 – Is Scientific Wellness Out of Reach for Patients? 34:37 – Only 8 to 10% of Breast Cancer Is Genetic 36:56 – The Radiation Question a Physicist Never Asked 42:58 – Why Data Means Nothing Without the Right Questions 47:21 – Four Takeaways for Clinicians Connect with Dr. Renata Braudy: ► Website: https://www.thisisempowered.com/ ► Instagram:   / breastcancer.empowered   ► LinkedIn:   / renatabraudy   Dr. Jeremy Koenig, host of The DNA of Things, talks with Dr. Renata Braudy, PT, PhD, a physical therapist, researcher and oncology lead at Life Cycle Health, about breast cancer survivorship, cancer rehabilitation and wearable health monitoring. Braudy describes her path from Cornell University Division 1 triple jumper to physical therapist. Her career was shaped by Lyme disease that went undertreated in high school, followed by work on the Heritage Study and at Washington University in St. Louis. In 2006 she started a dedicated breast cancer rehab program at Spooner Physical Therapy in Arizona, which she says now runs at 10 clinics, and later built another at Twin Cities Orthopedics in Minnesota. Braudy explains lymphedema after sentinel lymph node removal and how radiation therapy affects the pectoral and serratus muscles and shoulder function. She also covers chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) linked to taxanes. She cites figures that one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and up to 76% will have upper extremity problems within three years. She also says the most active survivors have a 42% lower breast cancer mortality risk than the least active. The conversation covers resting heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), step count, gait asymmetry, sarcopenia, body composition, BRCA genes, polygenic risk scores, scientific wellness and myofascial release. It also touches on the Altis performance therapy model under coach Dan Pfaff, Life Cycle Health founder Mark Talbot, and genetic counselor Alana Levinson. #TheDNAofThings #BreastCancer #Wearables #CancerSurvivorship #PhysicalTherapy