Diagnosis: breast cancer. There they are, the words no woman wants to hear in her life. Once they have been pronounced, the wheel turns faster and faster: a blood test here, a biopsy there, then chemotherapy. To help women not to lose themselves, Stephanie Neumann developed the “Happie Haus” app.
Stephanie Neumann is the joy of life in person, she beams into the camera and speaks openly about her own story. But this radiance wasn’t always there. At 43 she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The “Happie Haus” app is intended to accompany breast cancer patients during their therapy
Stephanie bravely went through difficult times, shaved off her hair, endured all examinations and therapies, only to have to say goodbye to her breast in the end. She lay crying on the ground and led the way with a fighting spirit. A ride up and down.
With their “Happie House” app she would like to help affected women to find clarity and stability, and is there as a loyal friend with advice and action accompanying therapy.
Brigitte: When did your story begin?
Stephanie Neumann: My story begins at the end of 2017. I never felt myself before and, like probably many, just went to preventive care once a year – after all, I felt healthy. Then at some point while showering or applying lotion I felt something that didn’t belong there.
Did you have that examined right away?
I rather put it off in front of me. And then at the end of the year, actually on the Friday before New Year’s Eve, I had a preventive appointment at the last minute. My doctor said to me: There really is something, please go to this oncology practice right now.
Are you going to the oncologist shortly before New Year’s Eve?
Yes, in fact, I was hit directly. After another scan and an ultrasound, the doctor told me that everything was okay, that I should come back if something changed and definitely make another appointment in three months’ time. Then I went home in a good mood and celebrated New Year’s Eve.
But it didn’t end there.
No, at some point I had a strange feeling because I could now feel the knot through a thick sweater even while standing. I then called the doctor on a Monday, had the biopsy appointment on Thursday, and was diagnosed with breast cancer on Friday with a big apology. My oncologist said he was totally sorry, the lump was so deep that he hadn’t seen it. There was almost a month between the first appointment and the diagnosis.
What happened then after the diagnosis?
I had an hour-long talk with my oncologist. I was in a strange bubble. On the one hand, I was totally clear, but on the other hand, not at all. I cannot remember much of what he explained to me at the time. There are only scraps left. And then there was one important question.
Which was that?
The child question. I was 43 years old at the time, had no children, but would have loved to have had some more. The question now was: freeze eggs or not?
What was the decision like?
That was really difficult. I was 43, had cancer, and now I want to start hormone therapy for the extraction, in order to possibly have another child, when I’m already on the last minute anyway. It was a tough decision, but I decided against it. I wanted to get well.
With the therapies, the body begins to change. How was that for you?
At 46, I’m pretty much through with menopause. The chemotherapy and the current anti-hormone therapy have already sent my body into menopause. The anti-hormone therapy also brings some side effects such as hot flashes, sleep disorders and also depressive phases. Many drop out of therapy. I was close to it too, until I saw how high the relapse rate is.
Were there any other therapies besides chemo and hormone inhibitors?
I also got antibodies for a year and a half in total. And I had a mastectomy. For me personally, the latter was hell. I was always happy with my body, but in the end I decided to have the breast removed. My breast was then immediately rebuilt with an implant. And now the new breast is firm, plump and proper, and the other one is just like the tissue at 46. The doctor then wanted to lift the other side as well. For me that was absolutely out of the question.
Did you know from the start that your breasts would be removed?
No, that only came out after another biopsy, after three months of chemotherapy. We then also tried a stronger chemo. I had lost a lot of weight, was very weak and mentally on the floor. We then stopped the chemo and the operation was imminent. I cried for a long time. You also have to be aware that it is not a cosmetic surgery.
What do you mean by that?
The cut is not hidden under the chest. My nipple was removed, then an incision left and right to remove all of the tissue. Put the implant in and sew everything up again. My nipple is supplied with blood again, but it is completely numb.
Have you adopted your new breast now?
I’m at peace with her now. But it is a foreign body. Even now it still feels different when someone nudges me. You just feel this object that is inside you. At first I winced when my beloved niece jumped around my neck because the implant felt weird. That has subsided a bit in the meantime. I try to have a friendly relationship with my implant, put my hands on it and imagine that everything is growing well.
You went this way and said at the beginning that everything went so quickly after the diagnosis. You have now developed an app that women can get through this time in addition to their medical therapy. Where did this idea come from?
During that time I had a great psycho-oncologist who also offered yoga classes with those affected. At this point I was already an enthusiastic yogini myself. After my recovery, I completed a yoga teacher training course, and during Corona I did additional training in yoga for cancer. My actual idea was to hold retreats for cancer patients in beautiful places, which unfortunately wasn’t possible due to Corona. During this time I thought a lot and started my charity organization “Yoga for Cancer”, with which we collect donations for cancer organizations. At the same time, I started giving my own online yoga classes and was already involved in this whole digital topic. I just noticed how nice it is to be able to reach so many people all over the world.
And how did the app come about?
I wanted to do something holistic, something meaningful. I then met a friend who had just founded a Founders Hub together with others and said to me: If you have an idea for a digital product, come and see me. And then the thought of an app came into my head for the first time. The journey started in the hospital bed, and then more and more small parts were added until the “Happie Haus” app idea developed out of it. There were two years between the first idea and the current product.
What does the app do now?
We want to create a wellbeing offer, and that is pieced together from everything that we have worked out to be useful and helpful in consultation with our experts. But one thing should be considered: This time is not to be glossed over, it is a serious illness, and you sometimes lie crying on the floor and think you can not get up. But you can still make this time more worth living. We want women to feel better overall. However, it is very important that those who use our app receive an additional offer to feel better about themselves. We are not concerned with medical advice or even the replacement of therapies, but with support that accompanies therapy.
What can women take away from the app?
We have different areas, one is with short short videos showing lifehacks like: This massage helps with hot flashes or: How do I wrap a turban? Then we have tips, these are info slides in which we do educational work, so: What is chemotherapy? Or: What types of operations are there actually? But also: What is a good lunch box for the chemo day? We do that together with our experts. And the big specialty are our live sessions. These can be booked in addition to the basic offer. For example cooking courses, make-up courses, yoga or meditations.
What is special about “Happie Haus” for you that was missing during that time?
If you get the diagnosis, then you are in a hamster wheel and will be sent from A to B – there blood tests, there CT, here the chemo. You basically lose control of your own life and fall into a passive role. And what we offer is that you get out of this passive role and actively do something. I don’t just sit there and leave it to the doctors and medication, but I can go out and do something good for myself, for example with healthy food. And then a switch flips, out of the victim stance. No matter what you do, you just feel better.
Source used: Interview with Stephanie Neumann