When Sara Marian Lucking was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer in 2022, she was on maternity leave from her career as a dermatologist. She shares that being a healthcare professional going through cancer had its pros and cons. While her background knowledge helped her get to a diagnosis faster, it was scary to know so much about the uphill battle …

In the inaugural Keepin’ It Real episode on the Campfires of Hope podcast, we dig deeper into the mental and emotional side of a cancer diagnosis with Dana Shelton Lee, who is living with stage 4 colon cancer. Dana discusses the impact that multiple recurrences, surgeries, and over 40 rounds of chemotherapy has had on her psyche. She keeps it real by sharing her …

Nils Palsson is a father, author, educator, and testicular cancer survivor. Nils was diagnosed in 2021 and by 2023 was declared to have no evidence of disease. He describes his cancer journey as dance, not a battle. Fittingly, the memoir he is currently writing is titled Cancer Dancer. For Nils, the hardest part about cancer survivorship was thinking about the “what if…” part of his …

Stephanie Luning was just 24 years old when she was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2005. Following surgery and treatment, she was in the clear for six years. Then, in 2011, her doctor noticed a suspicious spot on her regular scan. Stephanie details how she navigated getting several second opinions, all of which provided different options. With so much information to process …

Manny De La Cruz was diagnosed with testicular cancer in January 2022. After several surgeries and four rounds of chemotherapy, he showed no evidence of disease in March 2023.  Manny describes his cancer journey as “riding a wave”: every time something good happened, it was shortly followed by something bad. Through this wave-riding, Manny has gotten better at asking for help …

Gretchen Simpson was shocked when she was diagnosed with stage 2 triple positive breast cancer in early 2021. She ate healthy, exercised regularly, and had no family history of cancer. She was subsequently surprised by how much love and support she received from her friends and community throughout her cancer journey. Friends picked her up at 5 a.m. for the two-hour …

Lena Rutherford was just 24 years old when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, in the prime of her social life. After receiving the news, she left Chicago with a moment’s notice and headed back home to her family in Colorado, leaving behind her apartment and friends. There, she started six months of chemotherapy. During that time, she often felt …

Emma Reese was two weeks from her 28th birthday when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2016. She had just been married the year prior and her daughter was six months old. At first, she was numb to the news, but she pushed through and went into “go mode” because she had treatment to start and a baby to …

Lana Boes, a.k.a Donut, was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2007 and beat it. After six years of being cancer-free, however, she was diagnosed with colon cancer. As chemotherapy treatment eventually stopped being effective, Lana began to lose hope–until she qualified for a clinical trial and miraculously went into complete remission.  Despite having no evidence of disease, Lana didn’t feel …

When Mike Scherer was 26, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. After beating cancer, Mike and his wife, Megan, hoped to start their family. They went through infertility treatments during what became a difficult, isolating, and emotional journey. After two and a half years, they were happy to learn they’d be having a son! The Scherers’ experience led them to found Worth the Wait, a nonprofit that assists cancer survivors facing fertility challenges …