The Many Faces of Cancer

What happens when you know something isn't right with your body—even when cancer is the last thing anyone expects?

Amy Kearney was just 29 years old when a procedure she believed would remove part of an ovary because of a cyst turned into a five-hour surgery, a full hysterectomy and a cancer diagnosis she never saw coming.

It would not be her last.

Years later, an observant medical intern noticed something unusual in Amy's neck just before Amy was leaving to get married. Amy insisted on having it checked before she left, eventually leading to a thyroid cancer diagnosis. More recently, a routine skin check uncovered melanoma in a tiny spot on the back of her neck that she couldn't even see herself.

Through three very different cancer experiences, Amy has learned one lesson she wants other women to hear: know your body, listen when something doesn't feel right and don't be afraid to advocate for yourself.

In this episode of The Many Faces of Cancer, Amy shares the emotional toll of losing her thyroid after already undergoing a hysterectomy, the difficult months that followed, and how yoga, medical support and taking care of herself helped her find her way back.

We also talk about something nearly every person affected by cancer encounters—the overwhelming amount of advice, opinions and other people's cancer stories that can surround a diagnosis.

Amy's advice? Stay in your lane.

Your cancer journey belongs to you. Surround yourself with people who fill your cup, quiet the outside noise and give yourself permission to focus on what you need to heal.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Being diagnosed with cancer at just 29 years old
• Waking from surgery to a diagnosis Amy never expected
• Why knowing your body and speaking up matters
• Amy's later thyroid cancer diagnosis
• The emotional and physical struggle that followed thyroid surgery
• Finding support through yoga and learning to prioritize her own well-being
• Why other people's cancer stories aren't necessarily your story
• The support-group experience Amy knew she needed to walk away from
• Her more recent melanoma experience and the importance of regular skin checks
• Surrounding yourself with people who support rather than overwhelm you
• Why taking care of yourself during cancer is not selfish

Amy's story is a reminder that self-advocacy isn't about having all the answers. Sometimes it's simply knowing that something doesn't feel right—and continuing to ask questions until someone listens.

And when cancer brings an avalanche of opinions, advice and frightening stories, remember Amy's message:

Your journey is your journey. Quiet the noise, fill your cup and stay in your lane.

Resources:

Amy's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-kearney-78585018/

Amy's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amy.kearney2

Amy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skinbyamyk/

Follow:

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My website: https://melissagrosboll.com

Email me: [email protected]

At 34, police officer Jason Berger experienced seizures that led to a diagnosis of primary central nervous system lymphoma. More than two decades later, he shares a story of repeated relapses, difficult treatment decisions, and the people who helped him keep looking for options.

Jason reflects on the difference his girlfriend Liz made in his life, the support he found through a patient community, and his experience seeking other opinions before a stem cell transplant. He also speaks candidly about the vision, balance, memory and other challenges that remain long after treatment.

Together, Melissa and Jason explore a side of survivorship that can be easy to overlook: gratitude for being alive can exist alongside grief for what has changed. Jason shares how storytelling and public speaking have offered another way to find purpose.

·       The impact of a life changing diagnosis

·       Support from a partner and others living with the same disease

·       Seeking other opinions and finding resources for care away from home

·       The lasting effects that clear scans do not reveal

·       Making room for both hope and the realities of survivorship

Resources:

Jason's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonberger2004/

Jason's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jason.berger.113057

Jason's Website: https://www.murrayroadstrong.com/

Follow:

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My website: https://melissagrosboll.com

Email me: [email protected]

What carries you forward when life gives you more than you ever imagined you could bear?

For Terri Renella, the answer has been faith.

Terri has faced extraordinary challenges — a rare and aggressive parotid gland cancer that returned multiple times, an ICU stay on a ventilator, difficult decisions about her treatment, the loss of both parents and three brothers, and eventually the unimaginable loss of her beloved son, George.

Today, Terri is celebrating 10 years cancer-free, and through everything she has endured, her faith has become the foundation she continually returns to.

In this deeply personal conversation, Terri takes us back to her cancer diagnosis and the frightening progression that followed. She shares why she sought multiple opinions, researched her options, became her own advocate, and ultimately chose a medical team she felt would work with her rather than simply tell her what to do.

We talk about the importance of viewing your healthcare providers as partners and asking questions when something doesn't feel right — while recognizing that every person's cancer journey and treatment decisions are uniquely their own.

But Terri's story extends far beyond cancer.

After losing her son, George, she made a conscious decision not to bury her grief. Instead, she allowed herself to mourn deeply and leaned more fully into her faith. Through prayer, scripture, surrender and learning to release the things she cannot control, Terri has slowly found her way toward peace and purpose.

One of the most beautiful lessons she shares is that joy can sit beside sorrow. Finding joy again doesn't mean the grief disappears or that we stop loving the people we've lost. It means allowing ourselves to experience both.

Terri also shares why surrender isn't something that happens once. For her, it's a daily — and sometimes moment-by-moment — practice of trusting God, letting go of control and taking the next step even when she can't see where the road is leading.

We also talk about the importance of real human connection, finding community, and Terri's growing desire to use everything she has lived through to help others — particularly parents who have experienced the loss of a child — believe that life can still hold meaning, purpose, peace and even joy.

In this episode, we talk about:
• Terri's rare and aggressive parotid gland cancer diagnosis
• Surviving multiple recurrences and a life-threatening hospitalization
• Becoming your own healthcare advocate
• Finding doctors who feel like partners in your care
• Navigating fear and difficult treatment decisions
• How faith carried Terri through cancer and profound loss
• Losing her son, George, and giving herself permission to truly grieve
• Learning that joy and sorrow can exist together
• What it means to surrender control and trust God
• The importance of prayer, community and genuine human connection
• Finding peace and purpose after unimaginable loss
• Terri's desire to use her story to give hope to others

Ten years cancer-free, Terri's story isn't simply one of survival. It's a story of faith — faith when the future was uncertain, faith in the midst of devastating loss, and faith that even after our darkest seasons, there can still be purpose, connection, peace and joy.

Resources:

Terri's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terriren

Terri's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terrilynn-renella-49ab332/

Follow:

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My website: https://melissagrosboll.com

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In 2001, John Michael “Mike” Swinden was told he had multiple myeloma—an incurable blood cancer—and that even with an experimental clinical trial, the hope was for just three to five more years.

Twenty-five years later, Mike is still here.

In this episode of The Many Faces of Cancer, Mike shares his remarkable story with the humor, stubbornness, faith, and determination that have carried him through an extraordinary life. From a career that included being a police officer, truck driver, soldier, artist—and even a teenage “shark walker”—Mike has never exactly taken the conventional path.

He takes us back to the back pain and anemia that eventually led to his diagnosis, entering a clinical trial when there were few other options, undergoing two autologous stem cell transplants, and enduring treatment that left him profoundly weak.

But this conversation is about much more than treatment.

Mike talks candidly about the darkest moments of cancer, including the times he wondered whether he wanted to keep going, and the family, friends, faith, humor, and sheer stubbornness that helped him through them. He also shares why he believes hope matters, why accepting help is a strength, and what it has meant to become the person who can now offer hope to someone newly diagnosed.

Twenty-five years after being given an expiration date, Mike has had adventures, made friendships, helped other cancer patients—and accumulated enough stories that his guardian angel, he jokes, is probably exhausted.

This is a conversation about surviving the unimaginable, finding strength when you aren't sure you have any left, and refusing to let statistics write the rest of your story.

In this episode:

• The unexpected symptoms that led to Mike’s multiple myeloma diagnosis
• Being offered one chance through a clinical trial
• Two autologous stem cell transplants and the physical toll of treatment
• Why Mike never wanted the odds to determine how long he would live
• The emotional lows that can accompany cancer
• Faith, anger, humor, family, and accepting help
• Becoming a source of hope for others facing cancer
• The surprising adventures that came after cancer
• And why Mike says, “You will not know how strong you are until you’re tested.”

Resources:

Mike's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-swinden-0081b51a/

Follow:

Follow me: https://www.instagram.com/melissagrosboll/

My website: https://melissagrosboll.com

Email me: [email protected]

What happens when cancer forces you to stop carrying everything—and finally start listening to yourself?

In this episode of The Many Faces of Cancer, Melissa talks with breast cancer survivor, mindfulness practitioner, certified yoga teacher, and New Lotus Collective founder Kathryn Pol about a cancer journey that changed far more than her physical health.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019, Kathryn remembers feeling as though she had spent years carrying the weight of everything—career, family, finances, relationships, and the belief that if she didn't hold it all together, everything might fall apart. Cancer became the moment that was finally “big enough to make her move.”

Kathryn shares the fear surrounding her diagnosis, chemotherapy and hair loss, including the touching story of her husband shaving her head during treatment—and eventually learning to cut her hair as it grew back, something he still does seven years later.

But much of this conversation is about what happened on the inside.

Kathryn explains how yoga, mindfulness, breathwork, meditation, affirmations, and learning to quiet the noise around her helped change her relationship with stress, control, and healing. She offers a beautiful reframe for anyone who thinks yoga isn't for them: instead of seeing it as a “workout,” consider it a “work in.”

As Kathryn puts it, when she began turning down the volume of life, the volume of herself got turned up.

Melissa and Kathryn also talk about the unique connection within the cancer community, the often-overlooked experience of caregivers, and Kathryn's work with Susan G. Komen Colorado and New Lotus Collective.

And when Melissa asks what she would tell the woman who heard “you have cancer” seven years ago, Kathryn's answer brings the entire conversation full circle:

You don't have to figure everything out. You don't have to know the ending. You don't have to carry the ending.

You just have to take the next step.

In this episode:

• Kathryn's 2019 breast cancer diagnosis and treatment
• The fear and identity surrounding hair loss
• The often-unseen emotional burden carried by caregivers
• Why Kathryn once felt responsible for carrying everything
• How yoga became part of her cancer recovery
• Why yoga can be a “work in” instead of a workout
• Meditation without trying to “clear your mind”
• Learning to distinguish thoughts from truth
• Letting go of control—and why it's a lifelong practice
• The healing power of sharing your story
• Finding belonging within the cancer community
• Kathryn's involvement with Susan G. Komen Colorado
• Why healing is “simple, not easy”
• Taking the next step without needing to know the ending

Resources:

Kathryn's Website: www.newlotuscollective.com

Kathryn's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575620872850

Kathryn's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newlotuscollective/#

Kathryn's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kathryn-pol-03836611

Follow:

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My website: https://melissagrosboll.com

Email me: [email protected]

What does it mean to truly live when you know cancer may always be part of your life?

Vic Ortiz was diagnosed in 2017 with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. His initial reaction was one familiar to so many people after hearing the words “you have cancer”: I'm going to die.

But Vic's story quickly became about something else—learning, asking questions, finding the right medical team and, perhaps most importantly, discovering the extraordinary power of community.

After an initial experience with a doctor who offered him one recommended path with little discussion, Vic followed a friend's advice and attended a prostate cancer support group. That first meeting changed everything.

Suddenly he was surrounded by men who understood the language, the fear, the treatment decisions and the emotional weight of a prostate cancer diagnosis. Through their knowledge and experience, Vic began to understand his own disease and regain something cancer had taken from him: a sense of agency.

In this episode of The Many Faces of Cancer, Vic and Melissa talk about the importance of being an informed participant in your own care, seeking second opinions and finding people who understand what you're experiencing.

But their conversation goes much deeper than treatment.

Now approaching nine years since his diagnosis and living with metastatic prostate cancer, Vic shares how cancer has changed his understanding of what it means to truly live. He talks about anticipatory grief, vulnerability, anger, connection and the unexpected gifts that can come when we're forced to confront our own mortality.

As a therapeutic facilitator of cancer support groups, Vic has also witnessed what happens when people are given a safe place to say the things they may not be able to say anywhere else—and have someone respond, “I understand.”

In this conversation:

• Vic's path to an aggressive prostate cancer diagnosis
• Why prostate cancer is not the same disease for every man
• The importance of understanding your individual diagnosis
• Second opinions and becoming an informed participant in treatment decisions
• How a support group helped Vic regain a sense of control
• The “reluctant brotherhood” of prostate cancer
• Living with metastatic cancer and uncertainty
• Anticipatory grief and grieving the future you thought you had
• Why anger can sometimes mask fear, sadness and vulnerability
• The particular challenge—and opportunity—of vulnerability for men
• Moving from living primarily “in your head” to living more from the heart
• How cancer can change relationships, priorities and our understanding of what matters
• Why no one should have to face cancer alone

As a teenager, Vic once asked his psychiatrist uncle one of life's biggest questions:

“What's the meaning of life?”

His uncle answered simply:

“The meaning of life is to live.”

Vic didn't appreciate the answer much at the time. Decades later, living with cancer has given those words an entirely different meaning.

Because none of us knows exactly how much time we have.

The question is: What are we going to do with the life we have now?

Resources:

Vic's Website: https://cancersupport.net/

Vic's Email: [email protected]

Follow:

Follow me: https://www.instagram.com/melissagrosboll/

My website: https://melissagrosboll.com

Email me: [email protected]

What happens when life changes so dramatically that “getting back to normal” is no longer the goal?

In this episode of The Many Faces of Cancer, Melissa sits down with healthcare professional, entrepreneur, advocate, speaker and cancer survivor Sarita Parikh, whose life changed dramatically after a devastating accident left her with a traumatic brain injury—only to be followed months later by a breast cancer diagnosis.

Sarita shares the extraordinary story of navigating brain injury rehabilitation and cancer at the same time, including the cognitive and physical challenges that made even routine appointments difficult. She also talks about the unexpected way cancer forced her to confront something she hadn't yet had the capacity to process: just how much her life had changed.

Their conversation moves beyond diagnosis and treatment into the much bigger question of what recovery is actually for.

Sarita shares the philosophy behind her evolving work with Mind, Body, and Play Therapies and her concept of “life-first care”—an approach that asks not simply how we help someone recover, but how we help them build the capacity to participate in a meaningful life.

Melissa and Sarita also explore the importance of play, joy, awe, rest and connection—and why making room for those things doesn't mean ignoring the grief, anger and loss that can accompany cancer and trauma.

Sarita also shares how attending Epic Experience camp finally allowed her to recognize that she wasn't an “imposter” in the cancer community and begin processing her diagnosis. Even more unexpectedly, the experience of play, nature and connection seemed to help her rediscover something she had struggled to do since her brain injury: simply take a deep breath.

This is a conversation about accepting that life may never look exactly as it once did—and discovering that a different life can still be meaningful, joyful and very much worth living.

In this episode:

• Surviving a traumatic brain injury and cancer in the same year
• Navigating cancer treatment with significant cognitive limitations
• The grief of losing the life you expected
• Why recovery shouldn't only be about “getting better”
• Sarita's concept of life-first care
• Building capacity while also honoring the need for rest
• Why adults need play just as much as children do
• Making room for grief, rage, joy and awe at the same time
• Feeling like an imposter in the cancer community
• The unexpected impact of Epic Experience
• Finding your people—and allowing others to help carry the load

Sarita's message: Feel it all. Feel the fear, rage and grief—but don't try to carry it all alone. Find the people who can walk alongside you.

Resources:

Sarita's website: www.mbptherapies.com

Sarita's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glowandgather/, https://www.instagram.com/mindbodyplaytherapies/

Sarita's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glowandgather, https://www.facebook.com/mindbodyplaytherapies

Sarita's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarita-parikh-glowandgather/, https://www.linkedin.com/company/mind-body-play-therapies/ 

Follow:

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My website: https://melissagrosboll.com

Email me: [email protected]

What happens when cancer enters your life at a time when you're supposed to be focused on growing your family and raising your children?

Nerissa Balland was 38 years old, five months pregnant and already raising a toddler when she was diagnosed with melanoma. Suddenly, an ordinary workday became the beginning of a cancer journey that would challenge not only her health, but her beliefs about cancer, motherhood, identity and what her future might hold.

In this episode of The Many Faces of Cancer, Nerissa shares the experience of being diagnosed while pregnant, why a devastating first oncology appointment led her to seek a second opinion, and how she navigated treatment while caring for two very young children.

When her cancer later returned, Nerissa found herself confronting two deeply held beliefs: that cancer was a death sentence—and that cancer was simply “bad.” A pivotal conversation helped her begin questioning those beliefs and recognizing that while cancer had brought tremendous difficulty and loss, it had also changed the way she approached her marriage, motherhood and life.

That shift eventually led Nerissa to connect with and interview more than 100 young mothers affected by cancer. What surprised her most wasn't how different their stories were, but how much they had in common.

Those conversations became the foundation for her book, Canvas of Courage: The Art of Healing, Hope, and Gratitude for Young Mothers Facing Cancer.

Melissa and Nerissa talk about the emotional themes she discovered again and again—identity, fear, connection, courage, gratitude and the struggle to understand who you are after cancer changes your life. They also explore one particularly powerful shift: moving away from the often-unanswerable question “Why me?” and instead asking “What now?”

Nerissa also shares how creativity has become part of her work helping others process difficult experiences—not because everyone needs to be an artist, but because, as she beautifully puts it, “creativity is a human capacity. It’s not an artistic credential.”

In this conversation:

• Being diagnosed with melanoma while five months pregnant
• Why Nerissa sought a second oncology opinion
• Navigating treatment while raising a toddler and newborn
• The limiting beliefs that shaped her early cancer experience
• The unexpected conversation that became a turning point
• Why “What now?” can be more powerful than “Why me?”
• What Nerissa learned from interviewing more than 100 young mothers with cancer
• The importance of connection and asking for help
• How creativity can help us slow down, process and reconnect with ourselves
• Canvas of Courage and her new companion book, The Curious Curator

Today, Nerissa is approaching nine years with no evidence of disease and uses her experiences as an author, artist, speaker and therapeutic arts practitioner to help others find resilience, curiosity and meaning through life's challenges.

And perhaps her simplest advice for someone facing a new diagnosis is also one of the most important:

Be gentle with yourself. Ask for help. And don't try to go through it alone.

Resources:

Nerissa's Website: https://www.nerissaballand.com

Free Creative Guide: https://www.nerissaballand.com/creative-reset-guide

Nerissa's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nerissaballandart/

Nerissa's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nerissaballand

Nerissa's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nerissaballand

Follow:

Follow me: https://www.instagram.com/melissagrosboll/

My website: https://melissagrosboll.com

Email me: [email protected]

When Julie Daubenmire's 10-year-old daughter Hannah began complaining of knee pain during cross-country practice, her family assumed it was a routine sports injury. Instead, it became the beginning of a life-changing journey through osteosarcoma, a rare pediatric bone cancer.

Today, Hannah is thriving, and Julie has transformed her family's experience into a mission. As Director of Marketing and Family Engagement for Cancer Free Kids, she's helping fund the groundbreaking research that could change how childhood cancers are treated for generations to come.

In this inspiring conversation, Julie shares the emotional reality of parenting a child through cancer, the often-overlooked impact on siblings, why pediatric cancer research remains dramatically underfunded, and why she's optimistic that the next decade could revolutionize treatment for children.

In this episode, we discuss:

•  Hannah's unexpected osteosarcoma diagnosis after what seemed like a simple running injury 
•  Why early detection made such a difference 
•  The realities of pediatric chemotherapy and limb-salvage surgery 
•  Living with a growing titanium knee implant 
•  The emotional impact cancer has on siblings and the entire family 
•  The importance of mental health and wraparound support during treatment 
•  Why pediatric cancers receive only a small fraction of overall cancer research funding 
•  How Cancer Free Kids funds innovative early-stage research 
•  The promise of targeted therapies, immunotherapy, and personalized medicine 
•  Why today's research could dramatically improve treatment for tomorrow's children 
•  Finding purpose after cancer

This episode is a powerful reminder that every breakthrough begins with someone willing to invest in hope.

Resources:

Julie's website: https://www.cancerfreekids.org/

Julie's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cancerfreekids/

Julie's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cancerfreekids/

Julie's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cancerfreekids

Follow:

Follow me: https://www.instagram.com/melissagrosboll/

My website: https://melissagrosboll.com

Email me: [email protected]

A cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming—but what happens when the next words aren't “Here's what we're going to do,” but instead, “Here are your options. You decide”?

In this episode of The Many Faces of Cancer, Melissa talks with Paul Davies, a prostate cancer survivor, television producer, lifelong educator and Chair of Trustees for Tackle Prostate Cancer in the UK.

Because Paul's father died from prostate cancer, Paul began regular PSA testing in his 40s. Years later, despite feeling healthy enough to run the London Marathon, a change in his PSA began a months-long journey through testing, uncertainty and eventually a prostate cancer diagnosis.

But receiving the diagnosis wasn't the end of Paul's uncertainty—it created an entirely new kind.

Faced with several possible treatment options, Paul found himself overwhelmed by research, potential side effects and the enormous responsibility of choosing the treatment that was right for him. Then, during an interfaith meeting, a rabbi friend offered a sentence that changed everything: prostate cancer might not kill him, but indecision might.

Paul shares how he finally made peace with his treatment decision, why avoiding “treatment regret” matters, and the remarkable full-circle moment when that same rabbi later called Paul after receiving his own prostate cancer diagnosis.

Today, Paul uses his experience to help others through Tackle Prostate Cancer, an organization supporting thousands of people through more than 160 support groups across the UK. He also discusses Make Sense of It, an initiative designed to help people navigate the difficult period between diagnosis and treatment.

In this conversation, Melissa and Paul discuss:

• The importance of knowing your PSA history and recognizing changes over time
• The emotional toll of waiting for a cancer diagnosis
• Why having multiple treatment options can sometimes increase anxiety
• How personal circumstances influence cancer treatment decisions
• Making a decision you can live with without future treatment regret
• The unique emotional challenge of active surveillance
• The power of cancer support groups and peer connection
• Turning your own cancer experience into support for someone else
• Paul's simple strategy for managing worry during cancer treatment

Paul's story is an important reminder that there may not always be one “right” cancer treatment decision. Sometimes the goal is to gather the information, understand what matters most to you, make the best decision you can—and allow yourself to move forward with it.

Resources:

Tackle Prostate Cancer Website: https://tackleprostate.org/

Paul's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pauldavs/

Follow:

Follow me: https://www.instagram.com/melissagrosboll/

My website: https://melissagrosboll.com

Email me: [email protected]