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What would you do if doctors told you that you had terminal cancer with just weeks to live? It's a question no one wants to face, but one that Marcos Jarvis confronted head-on in October 2019.

The diagnosis was devastating: stage four advanced, incurable pancreatic cancer with secondary growth in his liver. Doctors offered palliative chemotherapy and hospice care—essentially preparing Marcos for the end. But looking at his four-year-old son running across the playground after receiving the news, Marcus and his wife made a powerful decision that would change everything: "We can't let him down."

What followed was nothing short of extraordinary. While undergoing 35 rounds of chemotherapy, Marcos completely transformed his approach to health and life. He overhauled his diet, eliminating all sugars, alcohol, and processed foods. He began exercising—not gentle movement, but running to and from chemotherapy sessions with his pump still attached. He embraced cold water therapy and specialised breathwork through the Wim Hof Method, discovering that these practices helped him manage treatment side effects while building remarkable resilience.

Against all medical expectations, Marcos's tumours began to shrink dramatically. What was meant to be a journey toward acceptance of death became a pathway to healing and transformation. Today, Marcos is cancer-free and thriving as an ultra-endurance athlete, certified Wim Hof instructor, and founder of Warrior's Breath. He wakes at 5 a.m. daily for Tai Chi, breathwork, and a six-mile run, practices intermittent fasting, and continues his cold water immersion practice—now teaching others these powerful techniques.

Through his organisation and his work with the WOLO (We Only Live Once) charity, Marcos supports cancer patients and their families, recognising that a cancer diagnosis affects the entire family unit. His message is powerful yet simple: whatever mountain stands before you, you can move it. Every person has a warrior inside—it's about finding the trigger to awaken them.

Ready to explore how breathwork, cold exposure therapy, or mindset shifts could transform your healing journey? Connect with Marcos through Warriors Breath and discover what's possible when you refuse to accept limits.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Connect with Marcos on Instagram or Facebook
• Warrior's Breath
• Wim Hof Method
• WOLO Foundation

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What happens when a 19-year-old Olympic-level athlete suddenly faces a rare cancer with just a 15% survival rate? For Michael Reid Cramer, this devastating reality struck during the height of the COVID pandemic, transforming him from a competitive windsurfer at peak fitness to someone fighting for his life.

Yet this conversation with Michael and his mother, Ashlee, reveals something extraordinary – not just a story of survival, but a masterclass in finding meaning, purpose, and even beauty through life's most harrowing challenges. Their approach to cancer treatment was revolutionary in its simplicity: they brought LEGO sets to chemotherapy sessions, held lightweight workouts in hospital rooms, and even visited the beach between treatments. Shower in your pain," Ashlee wisely shares, "but don't bathe in it.

The journey took them through aggressive chemotherapy, total body radiation, a bone marrow transplant, and ongoing complications from graft versus host disease that Michael still manages today. But alongside these medical realities emerged profound wisdom about what truly matters. Michael's perspective shifted dramatically – from career ambitions to helping others navigate similar paths. Together, they launched the podcast "Michael and Mom Talk Cancer," creating a connection for others feeling isolated in their health struggles.

Perhaps most moving is their return to joy – Michael back on his surfboard despite avascular necrosis in his knees, finding that his relationship with surfing has deepened through absence. "I feel like I'm surfing better than I've ever surfed before," he shares, not because his body performs better, but because his approach has been transformed.

Their message resonates far beyond cancer – it's about living intentionally in the present, expressing love without hesitation, and finding purpose in helping others. As Michael puts it, "Don't wait until you're diagnosed with cancer to do that thing." Listen to their extraordinary story and discover how love, acceptance, and connection can transform even our darkest moments into pathways for growth.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Connect with Michael & Ashlee on Instagram
• Michael & Mom Talk Cancer Podcast Website
• Beyond The Blood (Michael's Book on Amazon)
• Cancer Support Group for Carers on Discord
• Cancer Survivor Group on Discord

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• Follow Carsten on Instagram

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Laura Middleton-Lewis's remarkable journey from a shocking breast cancer diagnosis at age 25 to becoming a beacon of hope for the secondary breast cancer community reminds us of the extraordinary resilience of the human spirit.

Diagnosed with aggressive stage III breast cancer in 2014 after discovering a small lump by chance in the shower, Laura's world transformed overnight. From running her own business and planning a future with her partner Brad to navigating a maze of hospital appointments, treatments, and uncertainty, the transition was jarring. Two years later, when the cancer metastasized to her bones, Laura faced the devastating reality of stage IV cancer.

Rather than succumbing to despair, Laura chose a path of purpose and connection. She launched her Instagram account "Bald Boobless and Beautiful" to document her journey authentically – sharing both the struggles and the joys of living with metastatic cancer. This evolved into co-founding Secondary Sisters with Nikki Newman in 2019, creating a vital community for those navigating secondary breast cancer.

Laura's powerful "roller coaster" analogy perfectly captures the metastatic cancer experience – a continuous ride with dark tunnels, unexpected highs, sudden drops, and uncertain track endings. Yet even within this uncertainty, she focuses on finding joy each day through her "living list" (her alternative to a bucket list) and believes that while there may be bad moments or hours, entire days can always be turned around with the right mindset.

Now approaching her 37th birthday and remarkably stable on the same targeted therapy for nearly nine years, Laura emphasizes the importance of "finding your tribe" – people who truly understand your experience when friends and family, however well-meaning, cannot fully comprehend the journey. Her advice to those newly diagnosed resonates with hard-earned wisdom: allow yourself time to process, don't rush healing, and eventually, you'll find joy again.

Join us for this profound conversation about living fully in the face of uncertainty and how community connection can transform even our darkest challenges into sources of meaning, purpose, and unexpected beauty.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Connect with Laura on Instagram
• Join Secondary Sisters
• Breast Cancer Now
• Follow Dr. Liz O'Riordan on Instagram or visit her website

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• Follow Carsten on Instagram

If you want to be a guest on the show, email Carsten directly at [email protected]

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When Chris Joseph received a stage III pancreatic cancer diagnosis in 2016, doctors gave him what they offer most pancreatic cancer patients – limited time and limited options. In the face of a disease with a 70% first-year mortality rate, he initially followed the conventional path of aggressive chemotherapy. But when the tumor continued growing despite treatment, something within him shifted.

Taking his health into his own hands, Chris embarked on a journey that combined the best of traditional medicine with alternative approaches. From a specialised clinic in Germany offering vitamin infusions and stem cell therapies to immunotherapy treatments that became unexpectedly available, he crafted a personalised healing approach that defied his initial prognosis.

What makes this conversation truly special isn't just Chris's survival story – though thriving with pancreatic cancer for over eight years is remarkable. It's his profound perspective shift around illness itself. Rather than viewing cancer as something to battle or fight, he came to see it as communication from his body – an opportunity to transform his life at every level. This reframing allowed him to move beyond fear and into a place of empowered action.

Today, Chris maintains his health daily, including infrared sauna sessions, yoga, extensive walking, and mindful nutrition choices. Through his coaching practice, he helps others navigate their own healing paths.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Chris Coaching via Terrain Navigators
• Connect with Chris on Instagram
• Book: Chris Joseph - Life is a Ride
• Book: Brad Willis - Warrior Pose
• Book: Richard Bach - The Bridge Across Forever

Connect with Chris via email at [email protected] or [email protected]

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What happens when conventional cancer treatment fails you twice? For Phil, the answer wasn't more medicine—it was running shoes. After being diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2015, undergoing surgery and chemotherapy, Phil faced a devastating recurrence when the cancer metastasized to his lungs a year later. Standing at a crossroads many of us fear, he made a choice that defied conventional wisdom: he declined further medical treatment.

The decision came with a bold commitment—Phil would transform his entire lifestyle, focusing on endurance training after reading research suggesting it could strengthen the immune system against terminal diseases. With half his left lung removed and doctors offering little hope, he promised himself he'd go "from stage 4 to 140.6"—the distance of a full Ironman triathlon. What followed was nothing short of remarkable. Phil completely reimagined his life, embracing a Mediterranean-style diet rich in vegetables, eliminating processed foods, and pushing his body through increasingly challenging endurance events.

Eight years later, Phil stands cancer-free, having completed two 50-mile ultramarathons, a 50K, a marathon, four half marathons, and four sprint triathlons. His journey through the darkness of cancer diagnosis led to the creation of the Running for Dreams Foundation, which supports children who have lost parents to cancer. Phil's story challenges our understanding of healing and reminds us that sometimes the most powerful medicine comes not from a prescription pad but from within—from our willingness to completely transform how we live. Whether you're facing your own health battle or supporting someone through theirs, this conversation offers a powerful reminder that even in our darkest moments, there's always a path forward if we're brave enough to forge it.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Phil's foundation Running For Dreams
• Phil Phest 5k 
• Connect with Phil on Instagram or via email at [email protected]
• David Goggins - Can't Hurt Me
• James Clear - Atomic Habits

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When faced with a stage 3 pancreatic cancer diagnosis at age 53, Martin Timmermans refused to accept the grim statistics often associated with this disease. His powerful conversation reveals how seemingly minor chest discomfort led to a life-altering diagnosis that forced him to reconsider everything about his existence as a father of three.

Martin takes us through his eleven rounds of chemotherapy—a process he likens to preparing for repeated "boxing matches" with diminishing strength each time. When conventional medicine reached its limits and surgery was deemed too risky due to the tumour's proximity to critical blood vessels, Martin channelled his energy into researching alternatives rather than surrendering to despair.

His journey led to discovering an innovative ultrasound therapy called histotripsy being trialed in Barcelona—a noninvasive approach offering new hope when standard treatments couldn't. The €62,000 financial hurdle for this experimental treatment revealed the extraordinary power of community support, with friends, colleagues in the events industry, and even children donating their savings through a crowdfunding campaign.

What truly distinguishes Martin's story is his philosophical approach to cancer. Rather than viewing his condition as something to "fight against," he adopted a perspective of acceptance without resignation. Drawing wisdom from Buddhist principles of impermanence and dedicated meditation practice, Martin found that facing mortality clarified his priorities unexpectedly: "I'd rather have half a year of super intense time with family than 10 years going on as before."

This episode offers crucial wisdom for anyone facing serious illness: question medical orthodoxy when appropriate, research diligently using modern tools like AI, listen to your body, and find a balance between head and heart when making decisions. Above all, Martin demonstrates that human connection and mindful presence can transform the journey from mere survival to profound living, even in life's darkest moments.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Histotripsy by HistoSonics
• NotebookLM
• Vipassana Insight Meditation

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What would you do if doctors told you that you had just 12 months to live? For Jennifer Dickinson, this devastating prognosis became the catalyst for a profound transformation that defied all medical expectations.

In this deeply moving conversation, Jennifer shares how her 2011 diagnosis of grade 4 glioblastoma brain cancer set her on an unexpected healing journey. At 44 years old, with young daughters in first and third grade, she refused to accept that her story was already written. "They gave me 12 months, but I was like, 'Yeah, you don't know me,'" Jennifer recalls with quiet confidence.

Her path to survival wasn't paved with experimental treatments or medical miracles but with accessible, holistic approaches that anyone can implement. From the powerful practice of Qigong that brought her to tears of joy even while cancer grew in her brain, to the fundamental shifts in nutrition, sleep, and mindfulness that revitalized her immune system, Jennifer's approach was both simple and revolutionary.

What sets Jennifer's story apart is her recognition that healing requires more than just targeting the disease. "The medical doctor is a piece of the pie," she explains, "The other pieces are your mind, your physical body, and your spiritual side." This comprehensive approach placed her in the less than 2% of patients who survive glioblastoma long-term.

Perhaps most striking is Jennifer's gratitude for her cancer experience. As a former high-powered attorney managing a firm with 100 lawyers and staff, she now values the wake-up call that forced her to reassess what truly matters. "The blessings I have learned from the hardest, devastating news is unimaginable," she reflects.

Whether you're facing your health challenge or simply seeking to live more consciously, Jennifer's journey reminds us that we are not merely statistics. By making fundamental changes to how we live, eat, think, and connect with something greater than ourselves, we can write new endings to stories that seem predetermined.

Ready to explore your own healing potential? Subscribe to the Survivorship Project for more inspiring conversations that prove hope is not just a feeling—it's a starting point for transformation.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Jennifer's website
• Jennifer on Instagram, Facebook & LinkedIn
• Get Jennifer's Book "The Case for Hope" on Amazon
• Sound frequency app "Evolutioner"
• Yonanas Dessert Maker
• Qigong

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• Follow Carsten on Instagram

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When life falls apart, how do you rebuild?

Welcome to The Survivorship Project, a podcast about resilience, healing, and thriving beyond a cancer diagnosis. Hosted by Carsten Pleiser, a husband, father, and survivor who was given a dire prognosis but is still here, this show brings you inspiring stories of those who have defied the odds, expert insights from leading health professionals and holistic healers, and practical tools for reclaiming your health, mindset, and life.

This isn’t just about survival—it’s about truly living.

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If you want to be a guest on the show, email Carsten directly at [email protected]

Please remember to leave a review for the show and hit the Follow button to stay updated about new episodes.