Being told to advocate for yourself sounds empowering—until you realize no one ever taught you how.
Women’s health advocate, certified health coach, breast health educator, and The Hairy Chin podcast host Spencer Moore joins Giving Pain Purpose to talk about what it really takes to navigate a complicated health journey and learn to become an advocate for your own body. After more than 30 years of overlapping physical and mental health challenges, Spencer was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer at 40, caught on her first mammogram, adding another chapter to a lifetime spent inside the healthcare system.
Together, Spencer and Lyndsay get into the exhaustion of managing chronic illness, bouncing between specialists, repeating your medical history, grieving the body and life you thought you’d have, and questioning yourself when symptoms don’t fit neatly into one diagnosis. They also talk about the strain illness can place on relationships and caregivers, and the importance of finding people who allow you to be honest about what life actually looks like.
Most importantly, they unpack what health advocacy actually looks like: tracking your history, asking better questions, researching your providers, knowing when a doctor isn’t the right fit, seeking another opinion, and building the confidence to participate in your own care.
Because knowing your body is one thing. Learning how to make yourself heard when something isn’t right is another. And that’s a muscle worth learning to flex.
Episode Highlights: (00:00) Introduction to the episode and guest Spencer Moore (04:14) The challenge of advocating for health from a young age (08:09) The importance of organized health records and advocacy skills (14:04) The emotional toll and grief of chronic illness (16:07) The impact of trauma and stress on health (18:00) The mental health aspects of living with chronic pain (20:01) The widening gap in women's health issues and advocacy (21:47) The role of environment and autoimmune diseases (23:59) Building relationships with healthcare providers and choosing the right doctors (26:03) The importance of boundaries and support systems (28:02) Travelling and living with chronic illness (30:06) Advocacy work, podcasting, and community engagement (33:59) The need for clarity and self-education in healthcare (37:50) The importance of self-connection and recognizing changes in the body (43:55) Closing thoughts and upcoming projects
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