Facing Inward: The Podcast

What happens when your greatest struggle becomes your greatest purpose?

Melissa Carter talks with Dr. Candace Holmes of BrainCore of Duluth about overcoming trauma, building resilience, and how neurofeedback can help retrain the brain. Together they explore healing, purpose, and the hope that recovery is possible—even after life's most difficult experiences.

🧠 BrainCore of Duluth (www.braincoreofduluth.com)

📖 - FREE First Chapter of Dr. Holmes' book, Transform Your Brain with Neurofeedback. (https://bit.ly/3R37Axx)

🎧 Subscribe to hear real patient stories and healthcare conversations that matter.

📘 Want to go deeper? Melissa's memoir Facing Inward is available wherever books are sold.

📝 Transcripts available at themelissacarter.com

When Venus Gines was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, she was stunned. The women she saw in breast cancer awareness campaigns were white, and she had never imagined that someone like her could face the same diagnosis.

More than three decades later, Venus has transformed her personal experience into a lifelong mission to improve healthcare access, education, and advocacy for Latina women.

In this episode of Facing Inward, host Melissa Carter reunites with her former Georgia State University classmate to discuss the barriers facing underserved communities, the historical roots of medical mistrust, and the importance of treating patients as whole people rather than diagnoses.

Now navigating her third experience with breast cancer, Venus continues to champion culturally responsive healthcare, even as funding challenges threaten the programs her community depends upon.

Learn more about Venus's work: www.interculturalhealth.org

🎧 Subscribe to hear real patient stories and healthcare conversations that matter.

📘 Want to go deeper? Melissa's memoir Facing Inward is available wherever books are sold.

📝 Transcripts available at themelissacarter.com

What happens when your body knows something is wrong—but no one believes you?

Breast cancer survivor and advocate Megan-Claire Chase shares her extraordinary journey from years of unexplained symptoms to becoming a voice for patients navigating healthcare, bias, and self-advocacy.

🌐 https://warriormegsie.com

🗣️ See Megan-Claire's Speech at the 2026 ASCO Voices (https://bit.ly/4fdY1Uu)

🎧 Subscribe to hear real patient stories and healthcare conversations that matter.

📘 Want to go deeper? Melissa's memoir Facing Inward is available wherever books are sold.

📝 Transcripts available at themelissacarter.com.

In this episode of Facing Inward, Melissa sits down with Dr. John Lipman, a pioneer in uterine fibroid embolization (UFE), to discuss one of the most common—and misunderstood—conditions affecting women.

They explore the many ways fibroids can impact the body beyond heavy menstrual bleeding, why symptoms are so often dismissed or misdiagnosed, and how millions of women may be living with unnecessary pain simply because they haven't been told all of their treatment options.

🩺 Atlanta Fibriod Center (https://atlii.com)

🎧 Subscribe to hear real patient stories and healthcare conversations that matter.

📘 Want to go deeper? Melissa's memoir Facing Inward is available wherever books are sold.

📝 Transcripts available at themelissacarter.com.

Author and Patient Advocate Ilana Jacqueline joins Facing Inward to break down medical gaslighting—why it happens and how patients can advocate for themselves. A must-listen for anyone who's ever felt dismissed in the exam room.

🎧 Subscribe to hear real patient stories and healthcare conversations that matter.

📘 Want to go deeper? Ilana's Book Medical Gaslighting and Melissa's memoir Facing Inward are available wherever books are sold.

📝 Transcripts available at themelissacarter.com.

In this episode of Facing Inward, host Melissa Carter speaks with Bryon Daily, National Community Outreach Manager at Blood Cancer United and a multiple myeloma survivor, about what it means to face a life-altering diagnosis with courage, curiosity, and community. Bryon shares how subtle changes in his lab work—and an attentive primary care physician—led to an early diagnosis, and walks listeners through his treatment journey, including chemotherapy and an autologous bone marrow transplant.

🎧 Subscribe to hear real patient stories and healthcare conversations that matter.

📘 Want to go deeper? Melissa's memoir Facing Inward is available wherever books are sold.

📝 Transcripts available at themelissacarter.com.

Aurea McGarry was told she'd never speak again. In this candid episode, she shares her incredible journey through cancer, chemo, and recovery with host Melissa Carter. Together they explore what happens when patients are ignored, how to rebuild after devastation, and the strength we don't know we have—until we need it.

🩺 Lifeline Screening – Click 👉 Here for affordable preventive Health Screenings. (http://llsa.go2cloud.org/aff_c?offer_id=387&aff_id=1257)

🎧 Subscribe to hear real patient stories and healthcare conversations that matter.

📘 Want to go deeper? Melissa's memoir Facing Inward is available wherever books are sold.

📝 Transcripts available at themelissacarter.com.

Radio icon Kaedy Kiely has spent decades connecting with Atlanta listeners — but nothing prepared her for the moment she found a lump in the shower and heard the words, "It's cancer." In this candid conversation, Katie shares her unexpected breast cancer diagnosis, the shock and humor that carried her through treatment, and the strength she found in faith, community, and even a wig she lovingly named "Bridget." From vulnerability on-air to resilience in the chemo chair, Katie's story is both deeply personal and universally inspiring — a reminder that survival is not just possible, but transformative.

🩺 Lifeline Screening – Click 👉 Here for affordable preventive Health Screenings. (http://llsa.go2cloud.org/aff_c?offer_id=387&aff_id=1257)

🎧 Subscribe to hear real patient stories and healthcare conversations that matter.

📘 Want to go deeper? Melissa's memoir Facing Inward is available wherever books are sold.

📝 Transcripts available at themelissacarter.com.

Parenting comes with countless unknowns — but for Patrick Powell, father of two medically fragile daughters, those unknowns are magnified by the absence of a clear diagnosis. In this candid conversation, Patrick shares the joys and challenges of raising children with special needs, the strain and resilience it brings to family life, and how moments of compassion — from Disney's Make-A-Wish trip to everyday acts of kindness — reshape what it means to belong. As a Senior Development Officer at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation, Patrick also brings perspective on the support networks families need and deserve.

💡Learn more about Make-A-Wish. (https://wish.org)

💡Learn more about Bert's Big Adventure. (https://bertsbigadventure.org)

🍊Learn more about the Melissa's Leadership Fund at the University of Tennessee. (https://give.utk.edu/campaigns/42950/donations/new)

🎧 Subscribe to hear real patient stories and healthcare conversations that matter.

📘 Want to go deeper? Melissa's memoir Facing Inward is available wherever books are sold.

📝 Transcripts available at themelissacarter.com.

In this powerful episode of Facing Inward, Melissa Carter speaks with Dr. John A. King—author, poet, TEDx speaker, and trauma recovery advocate—about his journey from childhood abuse to becoming a leader in resilience and identity restoration. Together, they discuss the high-profile cases of Jeffrey Epstein, Peter Nygard, and Sean "Diddy" Combs—not to sensationalize them, but to spotlight the often-overlooked voices of survivors. Dr. King explains why healing requires redefining identity, building tools to face inevitable triggers, and empowering both children and adults to protect themselves. He also introduces the Phoenix Collective, his initiative providing long-term, structured support for trauma recovery.

👉 Dr. King's FREE Download – Keeping Kids Safer Online Without Losing Your Mind (https://drjohnaking.com/kids/)

🎧 Subscribe to hear real patient stories and healthcare conversations that matter.

📘 Want to go deeper? Melissa's memoir Facing Inward is available wherever books are sold.

📝 Transcripts available at themelissacarter.com.