Vanessa Cuccurullo is a two-time cancer survivor who was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma at 20 and breast cancer at 48. She is the founder of Mrs. C Botanicals, a clean cannabis brand, and lives between New York City and Shelter Island with her family.

In this episode, Vanessa shares her essay, “The Life I Choose, Every Day,” from the 2025 Living Well issue of Wildfire Journal. The piece reflects on a deeply personal moment one year after treatment during a wellness retreat in Portugal, where she experiences a ritual of reclamation after cancer. Instead of returning to who she was before cancer, Vanessa steps fully into who she is now.

April and Vanessa talk about losing yourself in who you become to other people before and after cancer, embracing joy, and choosing when and where to share your cancer story. Vanessa also shares how founding Mrs. C Botanicals and incorporating cannabis into her life has supported her well-being in survivorship.

More about episode sponsor Young Survival Coalition: https://youngsurvival.org/

Learn more about Vanessa: https://vanessacuccurullo.substack.com/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGn6sg__rox_qayzZ76vh7bQHWSrFbPD3hoZbY6-XMQcWMdCwq4VUbJR5ej8ms_aem_K1f_UqPWLKMWUcUiZlbzRQ

https://www.instagram.com/nescucc/

Purchase the Living Well issue of Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/secondtime

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

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Listen to more episodes of The Burn from The Second Time Around issue of Wildfire Journal:

Fishkeeping with Liz Grissom: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/6df4e954-7188-4f13-b72f-0a86cc3c2dd3/

Reclaiming Myself the Second Time Around with Shayna Welsh: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/63fb5a68-0e43-4805-9746-8c094dd01266/