"You might not have been born for this, but you almost died for it."

When Gina Jacobson's husband spoke those words, he captured the profound transformation that turned a stage 4 colon cancer diagnosis into a mission. Given just one to two years to live, Gina didn't just survive—she discovered why work matters so deeply when everything else falls apart.

Now, as Program Director for Working with Cancer, she's tackling an uncomfortable truth: there's a massive gap between what well-meaning colleagues want to do and what actually helps. When people don't copy you on emails to "spare" you, when they assume you can't handle meetings, when they reduce you to your diagnosis—the isolation can be as devastating as the disease itself.

In this episode of Inspiring Women with Laurie McGraw, Gina also speaks about:

Chapters

02:14 - From Potato Cravings to Stage 4 Diagnosis 

03:43 - The Gap Between Intentions and Impact 

05:20 - What Organizations Really Need to Do 

07:39 - The Workforce Cancer Crisis 

08:59 - "You Almost Died for This" 

10:37 - Creating Confidence Before Crisis

Guest & Host Links

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