I Knew I Had Cancer Before The Doctors Told Me - Carly Mahady

She Knew Before the Doctors Did. Carly Mahady on Cancer,
Being Dismissed & Why Pity Never Saved Anyone.


At 16, Carly Mahady found a lump and was told she was fine. At
22, she noticed something else, and this time the doctors
listened. What followed was a diagnosis of secretory carcinoma, a
cancer so rare only 0.02% of people in the world have it, a
mastectomy scheduled for her 25th birthday, chemotherapy during
COVID, and a fight that most people never saw the full picture
of.


In this episode, Ryan sits down with Carly for one of the most
honest, funniest and most unexpectedly deep conversations Made in
Chaos has ever had, about identity, illness, ADHD, avoidance and
what it really means to come back as yourself.


What we get into:


Noticing a lump at 16 and being completely dismissed by her
GP

How she decoded the body language of medical staff before
they said a word

The man in the suit — how she figured out the waiting room
system before anyone told her

Being diagnosed with secretory carcinoma: 0.02% of the world,
no clear playbook

Scheduling her mastectomy on her 25th birthday and why she
insisted

When the cancer spread to her lymph nodes — the second blow

Chemotherapy during COVID and finding genuine joy on the ward

Whether suppressed emotion and carried resentment caused her
cancer — and why she believes it did

Pity vs results: you can have one, but you can't have both

ADHD, object permanence, protective pessimism and being
violently avoidant of herself

Why she stopped talking about her cancer online — and what
people misunderstood about that

Trauma porn, oversharing and finding the right delivery for a
story that's still yours



Ryan Curtis is a former Irish MMA fighter who was paralysed from
the neck down and told he would never walk again. Made in Chaos
exists to platform guests who've turned adversity into wisdom
worth sharing.


Follow: @madeinchaospod | @chaoscurtis


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