Being told you have cancer changes everything in an instant.

But what happens next?

In this episode of The Survivor’s Edit, I’m sharing the story of how I finally got my cancer diagnosis after years of knowing something wasn’t right, normal blood work, swollen lymph nodes, multiple doctors, and a long road to getting answers.

I also talk about what happens after you hear the words, “You have cancer.”

Because when I was diagnosed, I didn’t know what I was supposed to do next.

Who do I call? What questions should I ask? Should I get a second opinion?

That experience is why I created After the Diagnosis, a free practical guide for people who have recently been diagnosed with cancer and the people supporting them.

Inside, I walk through some of the things I wish someone had helped me understand in those first overwhelming weeks, including:

• Your first priorities after diagnosis• Preparing for appointments• Getting organized• Considering a second opinion• Navigating work, money, and insurance• Accepting help• The emotional reality of cancer• What to focus on during your first 30 days• Resources for patients and their support teams

I also created a collection of printable worksheets to help you keep track of questions for your doctors, medications and supplements, appointments, scans and tests, insurance calls, medical contacts, your support system, and more.

After the Diagnosis is completely free.

I made it because it’s the resource I wish someone had handed me when I was diagnosed.

If you’ve recently been diagnosed, I hope it makes this part of the road a little easier. And if someone you love has just been diagnosed, please share this with them.

Download After the Diagnosis and the free printable worksheets at TheSurvivorsEdit.com.

🎙️ The Survivor’s Edit with Weslea O’Connor

Music licensed through Soundstripe.Codes: 1XIBZRR50APWISR2, KQEPVZCXUIZWLEOM

When life feels especially heavy, what actually helps you get through the day?

For me, it has been everything from journaling, movement, saffron tea, and good friends to the approximately 20 cancer blankets people gave me during treatment. And, of course, Dolly, my very snorty French bulldog and cancer puppy.

None of these things can fix cancer, grief, loss, or whatever difficult season you are trying to survive. But sometimes they can make one moment feel a little lighter.

What gets you through does not need to be impressive, productive, profound, or even understandable to anyone but you.

Whatever it is, if it helps you reach tomorrow, it matters.

My Saffron Earl Grey Tea

Ingredients

* 1½ cups water

* 2 cardamom pods, crushed

* 6–8 saffron threads, crushed

* 1–2 tablespoons loose-leaf Earl Grey tea, depending on your preference

* Milk of choice

* Sweetener of choice (I use honey)

Directions

* Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat.

* Add the crushed cardamom pods.

* Crush the saffron threads between two spoons, stir them into the water, and let steep for 2 minutes.

* Add the loose-leaf Earl Grey tea and let steep for 3–4 minutes.

* Add your milk and sweetener, then let everything steep for another 3 minutes.

* Strain and serve.

Music licensed through Soundstripe.Code: 1XIBZRR50APWISR2, KQEPVZCXUIZWLEOM

Finding the right therapist can feel overwhelming, especially if you’ve never been to therapy before. Where do you start? What should you ask? And how do you know when you’ve found the right person?

In this mini episode of The Survivor’s Edit Podcast, I’m joined by clinical social worker Amy Gottheimer to talk about what to consider when looking for a therapist.

We talk about where to search, why it’s okay to interview potential therapists, finding someone with experience relevant to what you’re going through, and how to recognize whether the relationship is actually working for you.

We also talk about something I had to learn myself: you’re allowed to have preferences and boundaries in therapy. You can say when something doesn’t feel right. And if the fit isn’t there, it’s okay to move on.

Because finding support is important. Finding the right support matters too.

A cancer diagnosis comes with a lot of doctor appointments, scans, tests and eventually a treatment plan. What it doesn’t come with is a guidebook for how to actually navigate this new version of your life.

In this episode, I’m sharing the things I wish I’d known in those first days and weeks after my diagnosis, from the questions I didn’t know to ask and the pressure to figure everything out immediately, to giving yourself permission to feel however you feel.

And this isn’t only for the person who was diagnosed. It’s for the spouses, partners, family members, friends and caregivers trying to figure out how to actually help.

If you’ve recently been diagnosed, or love someone who has, I hope this episode gives you a place to start. 🤍

Learn more about After the Diagnosis:

After the Diagnosis

We talk a lot about surviving “the thing.” There’s far less talk about how to rebuild after.

In this episode, I’m joined by my longtime friend Amy, a clinical social worker who has spent more than 20 years working with people navigating trauma, crisis, transition, and major life change.

We talk about what resilience can actually cost us, why support often disappears before we’re ready for it to, and the pressure to get “back to normal” when normal may not exist anymore.

We also talk about identity, the complicated and sometimes contradictory emotions that come with survival, and finding hope without forcing ourselves to be positive.

Amy said something while we were talking that stayed with me: You can’t cross the same river twice.

The river has changed. And so have you.

The work is less about trying to get back to who you were...

It’s figuring out who you are now.

Connect with Amy:The Intentional WellnessAll the Feels

What happens after you survive the thing that changed your life?

In the first episode of The Survivor’s Edit Podcast, I’m introducing the Survival Gap, an idea I’ve been pondering for a long time. It’s the space between getting through something and figuring out what life looks like in the after.

Cancer made me recognize it, but it also made me realize it wasn’t my first experience with survival. And my guess is, it probably isn’t yours either.

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