The Burn

Advocate Ricki Fairley was diagnosed at 55 with Stage IIIa, Triple Negative breast cancer.  She is the CEO and co-founder of TOUCH, The Black Breast Cancer Alliance.  She is a marketing veteran, and serves on the board of the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation and the Center for Healthcare Innovation. In this episode Ricki reads her essay “When We Tri(al): A Movement to Advance Breast Cancer Science for Black Women'' from Wildfire Magazine’s 2022 “Body” issue.  April and Ricki will discuss how Ricki focused on black breast cancer to form TOUCH, folding your own story into advocacy, and advice on seeking second opinions. They will also discuss using writing to think through thoughts and form opinions. This episode contains explicit language.

More about TOUCH, The Black Breast Cancer Alliance: https://touchbbca.org/

More about When We Tri(al): https://www.whenwetrial.org/

More on The Wisdom Study: https://www.thewisdomstudy.org/

More on Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation: https://tnbcfoundation.org/

Get the free Wildfire email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org

Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops

Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop

Send your voice recording testimonial to [email protected]

*Free* The Burn Writing Companion: Guided Prompt Journal (Vol. 1): https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/the-burn

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

Western Pennsylvania resident Pye Pajewski is a hesitant writer serving the public as a library staffer. Pye is thriving after two breast cancer diagnoses at ages 37 and 59.  In this episode Pye reads her poem “Ink” from Wildfire Magazine's 2022 “Body” issue.  Her poem shares scenes throughout her life told through ink on skin and paper.  April and Pye will discuss the experience of necessary medical tattoos and voluntary illustrative tattoos, Pye’s perspective of being diagnosed with cancer young and again two decades later in life, and the difference of support received within the breast cancer community versus support from outside the cancer community.  April and Pye will also discuss how it feels to write both anonymously and with your actual name.

More about Pye: https://www.blogforthegirls.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/blog.forthegirls/

Get the free Wildfire email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org

Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops

Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop

Send your voice recording testimonial to [email protected]

*Free* The Burn Writing Companion: Guided Prompt Journal (Vol. 1): https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/the-burn

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

More about the Wildfire Body & Mind Luxurious Healing Arts Retreat Series: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops/next-chapter-writing-retreat

This week we are sharing a favorite episode from the archives as we take a break from our regular podcast schedule to enjoy the winter holidays with our loved ones.  Today April has selected this episode from September 2021 to re-share.  April chose this episode because it was one of her favorites to record because of the story behind the story.  April shares what happened behind the scenes when recording this episode about survivorship and fertility with an amazing multi-tasking mom.  

When Meghan Koziel was diagnosed with breast cancer, she was dating and knew she wanted a family someday. She was diagnosed at 26 with stage II, estrogen and progesterone positive breast cancer. Like many women diagnosed in their childbearing years, Meghan underwent fertility preserving measures. There are few heartaches like the one of holding space in your heart for a child that hasn’t yet, or can’t, come. Fortunately, there are women like Meghan who have been able to go on and welcome children after diagnosis. Ultimately today’s story is about one woman asking if she can trust her body again, and wondering if she can find something joyful in a body that had become the source of so much heartbreak. Today, Meghan is here to read a piece she wrote for Wildfire Magazine’s 2018 “Parenting With Cancer” issue, “She Sparkles On: Pregnancy After Cancer.” 

More about Meghan: https://shesparkleson.com and https://www.instagram.com/meghankoziel/

Get the free Wildfire email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org

Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops

Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop

Send your voice recording testimonial to [email protected]

*Free* The Burn Writing Companion: Guided Prompt Journal (Vol. 1): https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/the-burn

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

This week we are sharing a favorite episode from the archives as we take a break from our regular podcast schedule to enjoy the winter holidays with our loved ones.  Today, Wildfire team member Angela Firman selected this episode from December 2021 to re-share.  Angela just wanted to hear the voice of her dearly missed friend Lisa Laudico who the cancer community lost this year, and what Lisa has to say about cancer’s legacy surrounding ourselves and our loved ones. 

Today we are going to hear a piece about legacy. Breast cancer as legacy, storytelling as legacy. Whether it is a gift received or a gift given, something passed knowingly or subconsciously.  The power of storytelling as legacy is important for the teller and the recipient.  Our guest is Lisa Laudico, reading her piece “Legacy” from the 2020 “Family” issue of Wildfire Magazine.  In the summer of 2017, Lisa became the 4th generation in her family to be diagnosed with breast cancer but the only one to be diagnosed at Stage IV de novo.   Lisa lives with her family in Connecticut.  She is the creator of Our MBC Life Podcast. 

More about Our MBC Life https://www.ourmbclife.org/about.  

More about SHARE Cancer https://www.sharecancersupport.org.

Get the free Wildfire email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org

Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops

Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop

Send your voice recording testimonial to [email protected]

*Free* The Burn Writing Companion: Guided Prompt Journal (Vol. 1): https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/the-burn

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

This week we are sharing a favorite episode from the archives as we take a break from our regular podcast schedule to enjoy the winter holidays with our loved ones.  Today, Wildfire team member Monica Haro selected this episode from November 2021 to re-share.  Monica loves Nikki’s reading voice, what Nikki had to say about holistic well-being, and navigating cancer with her caretaker-husband. 

Today’s guest is Nikki Leigh McKean from Canada. The piece she is reading is titled “I’ll Meet You in the Field'' from Wildfire Magazine’s 2020 issue “Identity & Aftermath.”  Nikki was diagnosed with cervical cancer at 34.  A second cancer diagnosis came two years later - stage II breast cancer. Nikki describes what it means to throw out the “Cancer Binder,'' to become fully the hero of her own story, and to use inspiring words of others to feel whole. She purged her mind and physical space of the things that no longer served her in a post-cancer world. In the wake of this purge, she is now wildly free and living a life where the main experience is love in a world of endless possibility. She’ll also talk about the difficult role of the caregiver to just be present and bear witness while the person they love is going through cancer.  This episode contains explicit language.

More about Nikki: https://www.nikkimagic.com and https://www.instagram.com/nikkileighmckean/

More about Rethink Breast Cancer: https://rethinkbreastcancer.com

Get the free Wildfire email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org

Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops

Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop

Send your voice recording testimonial to [email protected]

*Free* The Burn Writing Companion: Guided Prompt Journal (Vol. 1): https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/the-burn

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

This is our first episode focused on poetry featuring two poems written by academic librarian Amy Austin of Florida.  Amy was diagnosed with Stage IV de novo breast cancer at 34 after initially being misdiagnosed with a complex benign cyst. She is the third in a direct family line to be diagnosed with breast cancer without a known genetic link. Today Amy reads two poems.  First is “Lost” from Wildfire’s 2022 “Body” issue, and then “Lines” from the 2022 “Legacy Stories” issue.  April and Amy talk about what Amy’s mastectomy scars mean to her, the privilege of aging while living with metastatic breast cancer, and writing poetry to tell a part of your story.  They will also discuss Amy’s writing process, and how making lists can be useful to start writing.  April will also share a writing prompt that will inspire you to create your own poem.

More about Amy: https://www.instagram.com/amy_r_austin/

Get the free Wildfire email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org

Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops

Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop

Send your voice recording testimonial to [email protected]

*Free* The Burn Writing Companion: Guided Prompt Journal (Vol. 1): https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/the-burn

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

Jessica Fox returns to The Burn for another episode. She was diagnosed with breast cancer at 43. Jessica reads her piece “Paying Tolls” from Wildfire Magazine’s 2022 “Cancer Culture” issue.  Jessica shares her story of driving by a terrible breast cancer awareness billboard daily with her young but old enough to read children in the back seat.  April and Jessica will talk about how writing this piece dropped Jessica into advocacy, how tolls paid in breast cancer can result in both good and bad things, and teaching kids honestly about cancer in an age appropriate way. They will also discuss the difficulties of Breast Cancer Awareness month and pinkwashing. 

More about Jessica: https://www.instagram.com/mommajfox/

Get the free Wildfire email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org

Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops

Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop

Send your voice recording testimonial to [email protected]

*Free* The Burn Writing Companion: Guided Prompt Journal (Vol. 1): https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/the-burn

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

Kelley Franks is a school social worker from Ohio.  She was diagnosed at 36 with Stage IIb breast cancer, then again at 41 with Stage IV MBC. Kelley has a deep wanderlust and loves going on adventures.  In this episode Kelley reads her piece “Slideshow” from Wildfire Magazine’s 2022 “Body” issue.  Kelley writes beautifully about snapshots of her cancer experience that flip through her memory like a slideshow.  April and Kelley will talk about how hiking provides mental clarity and perspective, parenting through traumatic lows and lovely highs, and the desire to leave a legacy of parental guidance knowing you have terminal cancer.  They will also discuss the recent journey Kelley had of hiking the Appalachian Trail while living with MBC.

More about Kelley: https://www.instagram.com/kelleyefranks/

Get the free Wildfire email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org

Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops

Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop

Send your voice recording testimonial to [email protected]

*Free* The Burn Writing Companion: Guided Prompt Journal (Vol. 1): https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/the-burn

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

This week as we kick back and enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday vibes here in the US, we are taking a little break from our regular podcast schedule to re-share with you a favorite episode from the archives.  Today, Wildfire team member Emily Piercell shares that she selected this episode about finally learning how to live in the present because it truly resonated with her.

This episode we are going to hear a story about flipping the script with Jen Pogue.  Jen is an actor and producer living in Toronto, Canada. She was diagnosed at 37 with Stage IV Triple Negative metastatic breast cancer.  She reads her piece “My Life is a Movie” from Wildfire Magazine’s 2021 “MBC: Stage IV Survivorship” issue. What happens when cancer comes along and startles you into a starring role in the movie you never wanted to see much less be in? Jen finds what is beautiful in life: being present, letting your heart take the driver’s seat, and realizing what makes you happy.  April and Jen discuss reclaiming some power that is lost with a cancer diagnosis through writing, and how cancer is represented in film.  Jen’s piece is included in Wildfire’s new book “Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor.”  

More about Jen:chttps://www.jpoandco.com, https://www.instagram.com/jpo_in_to/, and 

https://www.facebook.com/poguejen/friends

More about Woman On Screen Out Loud podcast: https://www.womenonscreen.ca/wosoutloud

Get the free Wildfire email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org

Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops

Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop

Send your voice recording testimonial to [email protected]

*Free* The Burn Writing Companion: Guided Prompt Journal (Vol. 1): https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/the-burn

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

Southern California resident Stori Nagel was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer a decade ago at age 38.  She is president and founder of her non-profit, Haus of Volta, which uses classic pin-up photography to promote a healthy body image and self-acceptance.  In this episode, Stori reads her piece “Molting” from Wildfire Magazine’s 2017 “Body” issue.  April and Stori will talk about Stori’s work with Haus of Volta, exploring alter egos as a way to cope, experimenting with clothing and makeup to find happiness, and body dysmorphia. They will also discuss handling loss while working within the cancer community.  This episode contains explicit language.

More about Stori: https://www.instagram.com/hausofvolta/ and https://www.hausofvolta.org/

Get the free Wildfire email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org

Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops

Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop

Send your voice recording testimonial to [email protected]

*Free* The Burn Writing Companion: Guided Prompt Journal (Vol. 1): https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/the-burn

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