What to Do When Hope Runs Low | The Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 133

Disappointment on a cancer journey: what to do when hope runs low

Maybe a treatment didn’t work the way you hoped, or someone you counted on didn’t show up. Disappointment is part of a cancer journey, and the usual advice to stay positive or lower your expectations leaves you with nowhere to put what you actually feel.

This healing and emotional wellness conversation from The Cancer Journey Podcast looks at the space between toxic positivity and giving up. You’ll hear why letting yourself be disappointed for a set amount of time helps, how to listen for the message underneath it, and why avoiding the feeling keeps you from the things you want.

If hope has felt hard to hold lately, or you’ve been numbing out and distracting yourself so you don’t have to feel it, this one is for you. You don’t have to pick a side. You can feel the let-down, let it move, and find another way toward what matters to you.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro and weekly check-in

1:10 Why disappointment is part of a cancer journey

3:15 Why lowering your expectations doesn’t protect you

5:00 Toxic positivity and giving up

7:30 Setting a timer to say it all out loud

9:30 Why it’s a spectrum, not two options

11:30 Ways to release it

14:00 What a coach adds when you say it out loud

16:30 Disappointment as a messenger

18:30 Disappointment is proof you wanted something

20:00 Why coaches don’t fix or give advice

22:00 Numbing and distracting yourself

24:00 Letting yourself say the ridiculous things

25:30 How emotions speak

26:30 Takeaway: avoiding disappointment means avoiding what you want

27:30 Closing thoughts

New episodes of The Cancer Journey Podcast drop weekly.

#CancerJourneyPodcast #HealingPodcast #EmotionalWellness

Anger on a cancer journey: what to do with it before you speak up

A cancer experience gives you plenty of reasons to be angry. A doctor who rushes you. A clinic visit that leaves you feeling like the problem. Being emotionally intelligent doesn't make that anger disappear, and it doesn't mean you have to swallow it either.

This healing and emotional wellness conversation from The Cancer Journey Podcast is about the space between feeling furious and knowing what to say. You'll hear why taking time before you respond counts as processing, and how to find the feeling underneath the anger so you can ask for what you need.

If you've ever stayed quiet in an appointment and replayed it for days, or you're working with a doctor you trust medically who doesn't make you feel human, this one is for you. You can be scared for your life and still keep your voice.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro and weekly check-in

1:32 When a routine appointment goes sideways

5:23 Swallowing your voice

10:30 Feeling unseen, unheard, and not gotten

11:32 Emotional intelligence when you're angry

13:12 Letting the heat settle before you act

16:03 Safe places to let it out

16:50 Anger and the medical system

22:20 Being scared and keeping your voice

26:14 Takeaway: permission

27:35 Closing thoughts

New episodes of The Cancer Journey Podcast drop weekly.

#CancerJourneyPodcast #HealingPodcast #EmotionalWellness #CancerPodcast #CancerCoaching

You’re Allowed to Want Something | The Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 131You can't get back to normal after cancer. Here's what to reach for instead.Maybe you've caught yourself thinking it too: I just want things back to how they were. It's a natural thing to want. It's also not available to you anymore. There's no normal left to return to. Only change.That doesn't mean there's nothing to look forward to. This episode is about what happens when you stop reaching backward and let yourself want something ahead of you instead, even without a plan for how to get there. A dream doesn't have to be big or fully formed. It just has to be yours, planted without judgment about the path.If you've been waiting to feel excited about anything until things settle down, this conversation makes the case for doing it now, in the middle of the hard part, not after it.Chapters:0:00 Intro and weekly check-in1:44 Naming the overwhelm honestly3:52 Reflecting on past cancer journeys with gratitude4:42 The Italy expansion: an adventure years in the making8:37 The Italian book launch and ICF conference sponsorship10:24 Supporting the Cancer Journey Foundation13:08 Fifteen years of CJI and the road that led here14:56 "I want normal again. There's only change."17:01 Why growth includes struggle, not just excitement21:31 Values as a compass for what excites you24:39 Planting the seed: holding a dream without a map26:04 Takeaway: setting a dream at the end of the tunnel27:24 The steps to getting there are the qualities of being there28:49 Closing thoughtsNew episodes of The Cancer Journey Podcast drop weekly.#CancerJourneyPodcast #HealingPodcast #SelfDiscoveryPodcast #CancerPodcast #CancerCoaching

Owning Your Cancer Story | The Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 130In this deeply personal episode of The Cancer Journey Podcast, Shariann shares the full arc of her own cancer journey, five separate diagnoses over more than two decades, and what she learned from each one. She and Alicia talk about the exhaustion of running toward an end zone that keeps moving, the emotional toll of a stem cell transplant, and the decision to stop treatment when quality of life mattered more than simply extending it. The conversation moves into the idea that cancer's real "Big C" isn't cancer itself but change, and why embracing that change, rather than resisting it, is what actually carries someone through the hardest parts of a cancer journey. They also talk about needing a bigger reason to keep going than simply finishing treatment, discovering purpose through the experience, and what it means to own your story instead of being owned by it. This is an honest, moving conversation about survivorship, identity, and emotional healing.Chapters:0:00 Intro and weekly check-in2:14 The first diagnosis: Hodgkin's lymphoma and "Cancer Light"6:47 The stem cell transplant and losing a sense of self11:33 Recurrence after recurrence: cancers two through four16:21 A fifth cancer, and the shift to a solid tumor20:35 Reflecting on 25 years and what the body has carried22:29 Needing a bigger want than just finishing treatment24:23 Discovering purpose: fierce love as a driving force27:31 The Big C is change, not cancer28:39 Change is inevitable, and how coaching moves you through it29:32 Owning your story instead of leading with it30:15 Closing thoughtsNew episodes of The Cancer Journey Podcast drop weekly.#CancerJourneyPodcast #HealingPodcast #SelfDiscoveryPodcast #CancerPodcast #Cancer

"I'm Afraid to Die" — And Why You Deserve Somewhere to Say That | The Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 129In this episode of The Cancer Journey Podcast, Shariann and Alicia step back to talk about why this work exists in the first place. They explore the quiet stigma that still surrounds a cancer diagnosis, why people whisper it instead of saying it plainly, and what that silence costs the millions of people navigating a diagnosis every year. The conversation covers the difference between community support, like support groups, and the individual healing that requires its own dedicated space, why the instinct to "fix" someone's sadness usually backfires, and what it actually looks like to sit with someone in a hard emotion instead of rushing them out of it. They also talk honestly about walking on eggshells around loved ones with cancer, why real conversation is more welcome than careful silence, and why this work matters enough that they're inviting others with their own cancer experience to consider coaching as a path. This is a heartfelt, mission-driven conversation about healing, connection, and why the conversation itself is part of the medicine.Chapters:0:00 Intro and weekly check-in1:11 What's being noticed about cancer in the world right now2:37 The stigma of saying "I have cancer" out loud5:33 Why people keep their cancer journey private8:41 The doctor's office isn't built for this conversation11:04 Ten million new diagnoses this year13:41 Fear of recurrence, even after ringing the bell16:21 Support groups vs. individual healing19:03 The Thanksgiving dinner example: walking on eggshells21:04 "Let's be sad together" instead of trying to fix it24:09 Why coaches, not friends or family, hold this space26:56 An invitation to consider coaching as a path28:39 Closing thoughts and the starfish storyNew episodes of The Cancer Journey Podcast drop weekly.#CancerJourneyPodcast #HealingPodcast #SelfDiscoveryPodcast #CancerPodcast #CancerJourney

Surviving Survivorship | The Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 128In this episode of The Cancer Journey Podcast, Shariann and Alicia dig into survivorship, the phase that gets celebrated as a finish line but often marks the start of the hardest emotional work. They talk honestly about the disorientation of reentry, why "bouncing back" is the wrong goal and "finding your way forward" is a better one, and why the body, mind, and spirit all need real recovery time after treatment ends, not just a bell and a round of applause. The conversation covers the loneliness that can follow once outside support quietly fades, the fear of recurrence and hypervigilance that shows up the moment you try to relax, survivor's guilt, and why grief for who you were before treatment is completely valid even while you're also discovering who you are now. Shariann shares candidly from her own experience surviving five cancers, and both hosts talk about why a coach's support during this specific phase can make an enormous difference. This is a deeply honest conversation about healing, self-discovery, and emotional processing.Chapters:0:00 Intro and weekly check-in1:36 Redefining what "survivor" actually means2:49 The illusion of going back to normal3:55 Loneliness after the support fades6:12 The reentry question: who am I now8:11 Why the body doesn't just bounce back9:45 Fear of recurrence and hypervigilance11:11 Survivor's guilt and the swirl of unanswered questions13:53 Grief for who you were, alongside discovering who you are now16:21 Why unprocessed trauma elongates healing19:03 Surviving five cancers: a personal account22:29 Breaking up with drama and learning self-compassion24:23 Bouncing forward instead of bouncing back26:49 Honoring the wisdom that comes with the experience28:39 Closing thoughts on survivorshipNew episodes of The Cancer Journey Podcast drop weekly.#CancerJourneyPodcast #HealingPodcast #SelfDiscoveryPodcast #Survivorship #CancerSurvivor

The Quiet Recoveries with the Biggest Impact | The Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 126In this episode of The Cancer Journey Podcast, Shariann and Alicia dig into recovery, not as a single milestone but as something that happens over and over, in ways big and small, all along the Cancer Journey Roadmap.They talk about why the shape of healing is a rise and dip that repeats rather than a straight climb back to who you were, and why skipping the small moments of recovery is often exactly where burnout comes from.The conversation moves into a surprising example: the ease of saying hello to a dog on the sidewalk, and what that small, low-stakes joy can teach you about the concept of form and function, naming what you actually need instead of just chasing the thing that seems to deliver it. They also talk about why physical healing often follows emotional and mental healing rather than the other way around, why "armoring up" to get through a hard season is a valid choice, and the single question that can redirect an entire recovery: what matters most to me right now. This episode blends practical coaching insight with real self-discovery and emotional processing themes.Chapters:0:00 Intro and weekly check-in1:31 What recovery means in a "catch-up state"3:14 The cancer journey roadmap and its repeating shape5:18 Healing, learning, and discovery along the way7:20 The question worth asking: what matters most to you now8:55 Healing isn't linear, and why that's actually good news10:44 The dog on the sidewalk: form vs. function16:30 Recognizing small joys as clues to what you need20:00 Physical healing as a side effect of emotional healing21:30 Armoring up: a valid way to get through24:00 Takeaway: willingness to recognize what you're experiencing26:40 Closing thoughtsNew episodes of The Cancer Journey Podcast drop weekly.#CancerJourneyPodcast #HealingPodcast #SelfDiscoveryPodcast