S6-EP10: Patty Ivey on Getting Breast Cancer at Age 70 and How It’s Changing What She Can Give Back to the World

This is Season 6 of my [B]OLD AGE podcast. Thank you for listening! I interview authors, experts, and exceptional individuals to reveal the truths about [b]oldly moving from midlife to old age. You can find over 100 previous episodes on Apple podcasts or on my website. - Debbie

Behind The Scenes with Patty Ivey

Episode Notes

Today I talk to Patty Ivey about life changes and opportunities opening up for her after being diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer last year. Inspiring doesn’t really cover it as a way to describe Patty. Neither does [b]old, as in [B]OLD AGE. Patty and I go back at least 15 years, when I was a regular at Patty's Down Dog Yoga studio in DC. It was always special when Patty, the owner, taught a class. Her classes were different. They offered all the benefits that practicing yoga offers, beyond what happens on the mat. With Patty teaching, the class was mind-expanding. She made yoga open up new possibilities for how to live. 

So when I saw Patty posting beautiful, bald photos of herself on her LinkedIn page, I immediately got in touch to find out how she was doing. As Patty explains it, she is using life principles from yoga, which include leaving room for what we don’t know and focusing on something bigger than ourselves, as she looks ahead.  She acknowledges an identity shift that has come with cancer. Some older version of herself is no longer there, but she's okay with that. Like most women, I am terrified of getting breast cancer, but with Patty as a guide (she’s a mentor and a life coach as well as a serial entrepreneur), it seems there could be an upside. I hope you are as inspired by this conversation as I was. 

Mentioned in this episode or useful:

• Patty’s website

• LinkedIn

• Down Dog Yoga

• Yoga teacher Baron Baptiste

Connect with Debbie:

• debbieweil.com

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• [B]OLD AGE newsletter

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Credits:

• Host: Debbie Weil

• Producer: Far Out Media

• Music: Lakeside Path by Duck Lake