May 19, 2022

Slay One Dragon at a Time

1 hour 29 minutes

“We want all the answers, but that’s why we’re raising awareness: in hopes that we do get to that point where we get these answers for all of us that have questions.” This is a common sentiment among patients with Glioblastoma and their families, especially for Laura Dill, CEO of Slay Society. She is the daughter of parents who were diagnosed with Glioblastoma within 14 days of each other. She is joining Amber Barbach on Glioblastoma aka GBM to talk about her experience as their caregiver, how she coped during their treatment and after their deaths, and how her father’s advice for handling problems became the name of her nonprofit.

Hear us talk about:

New discoveries about Glioblastoma. As far as experts know, it’s not genetic, but there are genetic components to it - which is why they were shocked at Laura’s parents' identical diagnosis.

Taking on the role of caregiver for both of Laura’s parents, and the stress of having five dependents, including her three children. “About those concepts about using your grief as fuel and spirituality - nobody is in a place to think about spirituality when they first get that diagnosis.” Instead, she focused on one small thing she could control every day: having a glass of water.

Circles of support. A patient is at the nucleus of their condition, and their caregiver is there to support them, but when the caregiver needs a caregiver, who’s there for them? There have to be concentric circles of support stemming out from the patient, Laura says, to keep everyone as healthy as they can be.

Important advice Laura applied throughout the GBM experience: do what comes naturally and ignore the rest. As a caregiver, you get a lot of well-intended but unsolicited advice on how to do your job, but Laura kept this advice in mind and acted with intention.

Using her grief as a motivator to live her best life. “You almost feel obligated to do something good with the grief you had to experience.”

What’s Next?

Laura’s nonprofit, Slay Society, has finally been approved as a charity. Their mission is to raise money to support caregivers of patients with Glioblastoma, because caregivers are just as important as their patients - it’s a team effort that helps everyone weather the storm. She encourages listeners to learn to accept help from whoever they can.

Resources

Slay Society

Laura Dill on Instagram

As always, the information that is discussed in Glioblastoma AKA GBM is not meant to treat or diagnose any disease. What we and our guests share are personal stories of what has worked for the individuals in question, and should not be taken as medical advice or opinion, and is not a substitute for medical advice. If you have any questions about your own situation, always consult with your medical provider and healthcare team.

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By Amber Barbach

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