The Burn

By April StearnsSociety & Culture Education Arts Self-Improvement Personal Journals

The Burn episodes

June 24 Hope and Heartache, Hand in Hand with Caitlan Killian
In this episode, today’s storyteller, Caitlan Killian, reflects on friendship formed during treatment, the parallel journeys of two young women with breast cancer, and the paradox of celebrating healing while mourning loss. This conversation explores metastatic survivorship, community, grief, faith, and what it means to hold hope and heartache hand in hand.
Learn more about Caitlan: https://www.instagram.com/caitlanreesekillian/
https://www.caitlanreesekillian.com/
Learn more about Still Good Co.: https://www.instagram.com/still_good_co/
More about iRise Above Foundation: https://www.iriseabovefoundation.org/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPOTM2NjE5NzQzMzkyNDU5AAGnkEObg0wWMKTZ27TRqEOAJfnv_LUMJ6RcPntNoRxRzpzTBfIYJoX7AFhhvH8_aem_YG3pfl1-lKGh0VUZ0vcCJA
https://www.instagram.com/irise_above
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
34 min
June 19 Longing to Belong with Ash Davidson
In celebration of Pride Month, each Friday in June we’re re-sharing our favorite episodes featuring LGBTQ+ voices from the Wildfire community.
Ash Davidson was diagnosed with breast cancer at 42, a diagnosis discovered during gender-affirming surgery. In this episode, Ash reads his essay, “Longing to Belong,” from Wildfire Journal’s 2024 “Queer In Cancerland” issue. His story explores the unique challenges of navigating cancer as a trans man within a medical system that often overlooks the diverse experiences and identities that make up the cancer community.
April and Ash discuss what it has been like to share his story repeatedly, building and finding queer support in cancer spaces, and the desire to advocate for greater inclusion within the cancer community. They also reflect on their relationships with scars, feeling unsafe in one’s body, and navigating intimacy after breast cancer.
More about Ash: https://www.instagram.com/transashtoning/
Continue exploring stories from Wildfire Journal’s “Queer in Cancerland” issue with Slowing Down to Write One Moment, featuring Dawn Amodeo: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/a082c76d-bd6e-4345-adc5-2b3ac29af98f/
Purchase the “Queer In Cancerland” issue of Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/queerincancerland24
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
36 min
June 12 Asymmetry with Julia D. Pereira
In celebration of Pride Month, each Friday in June we’re re-sharing our favorite episodes featuring LGBTQ+ voices from the Wildfire community.
Psychologist and artist, Julia D. Pereira was diagnosed at 32 with Triple Negative breast cancer. In this episode, Julia reads her essay, “Asymmetry,” from Wildfire Journal’s 2024 “Queer in Cancerland” issue. Her writing beautifully explores the theme of uncertainty.
April and Julia discuss the quiet magic found in uncertain moments, finding strength in the unknown, and making empowered decisions in the midst of ambiguity. They also reflect on what it means to find connection and community within breast cancer as a queer person.
More about Julia: https://magicofthewild.substack.com/
More about our episode sponsor Triage Cancer: https://triagecancer.org/
Purchase the “Queer In Cancerland” issue of Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/queerincancerland24
Shop Wildfire for merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/queerincancerland24
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
40 min
June 10 My Chemo Companion with Danielle Connor
Danielle Connor was diagnosed at 48 with Triple Negative breast cancer. She is a wife, mother to a teenage daughter, and a lifelong baker. In this episode, Danielle reads her essay, “My Chemo Companion,” from the 2025 Living Well issue of Wildfire Journal. Her piece invites us into the heart of her kitchen, where grief, survival, and sweetness rise together.
April and Danielle discuss humor and resisting the “Disney Princess mom” narrative, emotional support hobbies, and gratitude. Danielle also talk about her twin sister Nicole’s contrasting cancer experience.
Learn more about Danielle: https://medium.com/@Bingeandbake
Purchase the Living Well issue of Wildfire Journal: `https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/print-body25
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
36 min
June 05 My Life, and Being Wrong with Stephanie Millett
In celebration of Pride Month, each Friday in June we’re re-sharing our favorite episodes featuring LGBTQ+ voices from the Wildfire community.
Stephanie Millett was first diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer at 25, and again at 31 with Stage IV MBC. Stephanie is a retired hairstylist, writer, and advocate for advancedbreastcancer.net. In this episode, Stephanie shares their essay, “My Life, and Being Wrong,” from Wildfire Journal’s 2022 Legacy Stories issue. Stephanie and April discuss the power of sharing your story through advocacy, the reasons some people choose privacy around their cancer experience, and what it means to model resilience and honesty for our children. They also talk about Stephanie’s future plans to write a book offering practical guidance for others who want to begin telling their own stories.
More about Stephanie: https://www.instagram.com/_the_radiatedlizard/
Listen to Stephanie on another episode on The Burn: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/bf5a9ce5-4858-43b1-88ff-d4b00cb8623c/
Shop Wildfire for merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/queerincancerland24
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
33 min
May 27 Sleeping Snakes and the Lake with Katie Murray
Second-time guest Katie Murray joins The Burn to share her story of being diagnosed at 41 with Stage II invasive lobular breast cancer. A writer, teacher, and mother of four, Katie reads her essay “Sleeping Snakes and the Lake” from the 2025 Living Well issue of Wildfire Journal.
Her piece offers a meditation on healing — not the kind defined by treatment end dates or clean scans, but the slow, quiet kind that arrives unexpectedly years later, in moments as small and tender as noticing baby eyelashes. April and Katie discuss healing versus recovery, the pressure of timelines, hope, and the shame Katie carried about her cancer diagnosis.
Learn more about Katie: https://www.instagram.com/1day_2019/
Listen to Katie’s previous episode on The Burn: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/e220fb14-d5bb-47d4-acb6-4c488df7d62f/
Purchase the Living Well issue of Wildfire Journal: `https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/print-body25
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
32 min
May 13 Ready for Battle with Liz McFarland
Liz McFarland was diagnosed with HER2+ breast cancer at 39. A realtor and proud choice mom to two young adults, Liz joins this episode to read her essay “Ready for Battle” from the 2025 Body issue of Wildfire Journal.
Her piece explores beauty and body image, the lasting impact of middle school shame, and the complicated realities of silicone, surgery, sensation, and sagging. At its heart, it’s about vulnerability — about what happens when we stop pretending to be warriors and simply tell the truth.
Liz and April discuss the need to control the small things during cancer, how adolescent experiences shape our emotional terrain, the persistence of body shame, and what survivorship looks like for Liz now, thirteen years after diagnosis.
More about episode sponsor Resensation: https://www.resensation.com/
Learn more about Liz:https://www.instagram.com/lizzymcfarland/
Purchase the Body issue of Wildfire Journal: `https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/print-body25
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
31 min
May 01 Still Here: On 15 Years in Cancerland with Dana Donofree
Dana Donofree was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010 at age 27. She is a survivor, advocate, and the founder of AnaOno, an intimate apparel brand designed to support those affected by breast surgery and reconstruction. Dana is also the longtime guest editor of Wildfire Journal’s annual Body issue.
In this episode, April welcomes Dana back for her third appearance on The Burn. Together, they reflect on a Cancerland retrospective, exploring topics such as unpopular opinions in breast cancer, the role of AnaOno, and what it means to feel sexy at any age.
They also discuss Dana’s continued commitment to guest editing the Body issue of Wildfire Journal, her insights on working and advocating within the cancer space, and the ongoing challenges of survivorship.
Learn more about Dana:
https://www.anaono.com/
https://www.instagram.com/anaonointimates/
https://www.instagram.com/dana_donofree/
Listen to Dana’s previous appearances on The Burn:
https://player.captivate.fm/episode/8fd6bcec-e7a4-4137-b280-ff60c02cde5e/
https://player.captivate.fm/episode/03ba8e52-d604-4937-91e4-689238b12bfe/
Shop the Wildfire Journal store to explore all of the Body issues published over the years: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
43 min
April 22 Swimming, and Changing Direction with Shalini Krishnan
Shalini “Shal” Krishnan was diagnosed at age 31 with Stage II breast cancer. She works as a project manager in the international sports sector and currently lives in Lausanne, Switzerland with her partner. In this episode, Shalini reads her essay, “Swimming, and Changing Direction,” from the 2024 Body issue of Wildfire Journal. The piece transports us to a memory of being caught in the waves at a beach in Brazil, tossed, breathless, and disoriented. A moment of fear that lodged in her body and paralleled the experience of cancer.
April and Shalini discuss using metaphor to make sense of illness and how April’s Sparks writing workshop helped Shalini shape and write this story. They explore fear, how Shalini once took her body for granted, and what it has meant to rebuild her relationship with it as an athlete after cancer.
They also talk about Shalini’s experience of attending 10 weddings across 7 countries while undergoing treatment.
More about episode sponsor Young Survival Coalition: https://youngsurvival.org/
Learn more about Shalini:
https://www.instagram.com/shal_k/
https://shalsworld.com/
Purchase the Body issue of Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/digital-body24
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
33 min
April 08 Rosé-Colored Glasses with Susan Danenberger
Susan Danenberger was diagnosed with Stage I breast cancer at 48, and again at 50 with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer (MBC). A fifth-generation farmer and winemaker, she owns Danenberger Family Vineyards in Central Illinois. In this episode, Susan reads her essay, “Rosé-Colored Glasses,” from the 2025 Body issue of Wildfire Journal. Her piece draws us into a deeply personal story of body image, beauty, and transformation after breast cancer—one that begins with stilettos and selfies, and unfolds into a powerful journey of reckoning and rebuilding. April and Susan will talk about autonomy in the context of cancer, trusting (and questioning) medical providers, seeing yourself through the eyes of others, and financial toxicity. They also discuss how connecting with other survivors at New York Fashion Week changed Susan’s life.
More about episode sponsor Young Survival Coalition: https://youngsurvival.org/
Learn more about Susan:
https://www.instagram.com/stilettosinthevineyard/
https://danenbergerfamilyvineyards.com/
Purchase the Body issue of Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/print-body25
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions

36 min

About The Burn

From the publisher's feed

Listen every other Wednesday when April Stearns and the writers of Wildfire Journal & Writing Community share their experiences of being diagnosed with breast cancer under 50. The Burn is about…