"When you're going through something really hard, it's so easy to feel like that is just going to be the way it is for the rest of your life, forever and ever. Being on the other side of that — just knowing that I can get out of bed — is a gift." - Laura Behnke
Laura Behnke is an advocate, speaker, journalist, and the creator of Life Actually — a community built around the life you actually have, not the one you planned. After 16 years in TV as a sports reporter, Laura left the industry carrying a secret: she had never been in a relationship. At 35, she met her now-husband, and assumed the hard part was finally over…
Amid the pandemic and at 40 years old, Laura and her husband began IVF — navigating three failed rounds before their one embryo became their daughter. Seven months into motherhood, Laura went to a surgeon's office expecting to remove a hemorrhoid. Instead, she was diagnosed with Stage 3B rectal cancer.
In this deeply honest conversation, Laura shares what it means to survive layered loss, how she ignored rectal bleeding for over a year while pregnant and postpartum, and why she is now one of the most important voices in colorectal cancer awareness for young women.
What we explore in this episode:
(01:02) Why a "boring" day is now Laura's greatest gift
(06:58) Her first relationship at 35 and the shame she carried for years
(15:52) Layered grief: losing both fathers within months of each other
(20:34) The one and only embryo that became their daughter
(24:53) The rectal bleeding she ignored — and what it turned out to be
(31:03) The colonoscopy that changed everything
(37:41) Stage 3B rectal cancer with a seven-month-old at home
(41:44) Radiation, chemo, surgery, and her husband's unforgettable words
(49:50) What every woman needs to know about colorectal cancer right now
(54:39) Why colonoscopies are life-saving and what to do before your next bathroom visit
(58:11) How a cancer diagnosis redefined success, work, and being present
The Life Actually podcast