The Cancer Journey Podcast

Episode 118: Facing the Chapter That Feels Like an Ending

Facing the Chapter That Feels Like an Ending | The Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 118Life is fragile. We say that a lot in this work. This week, we recorded from inside it.Someone in our community got news that the medical system has done all it can. We felt that with them. This episode came the next day.In this conversation, we talk about what it actually means to face mortality on a cancer journey. Why it's so hard to say the real things when the people around you need you to stay positive. What Shariann found when she went looking for somewhere safe to talk about dying and kept coming up empty. Why lived experience and trained capacity aren't the same thing, and why both matter. How Cancer Journey Coaches walk with clients through every chapter, including the ones that feel like an ending. What it means to be attached to this life and sit with the fear of losing it.This is the kind of conversation that doesn't happen enough. We hope it gives you somewhere to put some of what you've been carrying.New episodes every week. Subscribe so you don't miss one.Learn more about Cancer Journey Coaching at thecancerjourney.com━━━━━━━━━━━━━━TIMESTAMPS━━━━━━━━━━━━━━00:00 Introduction and PESH Check-In03:48 When Someone in Our Community Gets Hard News07:30 Walking With Clients Through Every Chapter10:38 Making Space for Our Own Experience12:17 Why Shariann Started the Cancer Journey Institute16:00 Looking for Somewhere to Talk About Dying20:52 How a Coach Reflects You Back to Yourself22:10 Attachment and What Goodbye Really Means23:33 Choosing How to Spend the Time You Have27:10 Closing PESH Check-In and Final Words━━━━━━━━━━━━━━CONNECT WITH US━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Website: thecancerjourney.comInstagram: @thecancerjourneyFacebook: The Cancer Journey Institute#CancerJourney #CancerJourneyPodcast #FragilityOfLife #CancerSupport #CancerCoach #LivingFullyNow

Episode 117: Confusion Is a Signal, Not a Flaw

Confusion Is a Signal, Not a Flaw | Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 117 Confusion on a cancer journey isn't a sign that something is wrong with you. It's a signal, and learning to read it instead of fighting your way out of it can change the whole experience of being in it. In Episode 117, Shariann and Alicia explore what confusion and lack of clarity actually feel like on a cancer journey, why the instinct to do more doesn't fix what's happening underneath, and what willingness really means when you're trying to find your footing again. This is a candid, unscripted conversation that models exactly what it's talking about: two people processing in real time, finding their way back to themselves through the fog. Topics covered in this episode: * What confusion feels like and why it shows up so often on a cancer journey * The plan on top versus the emotional experience underneath * Why doing more doesn't fix what's going on at a deeper level * The difference between doing and being * Information overload and why chasing optimal health can make things worse * Willingness as the key to getting out of the pit * What it means to let something go when you don't know what that is yet * Coming back to the present: what do I need, what do I want * Why confusion means something still matters to you * The fog lifts on its own when you stop forcing it #CancerJourney #CancerJourneyPodcast #CancerSupport Chapters: 0:00 Welcome and PESH check-in1:30 What confusion feels like: messy, unstable, swirly4:00 The plan on top and the emotional experience underneath8:00 Why doing more doesn't reach what's actually struggling12:00 Information overload and chasing optimal health16:00 Willingness as the real key to getting unstuck20:00 Coming back to the present: what do I need right now23:30 Confusion as a signal that something still matters26:30 Closing takeaways and PESH check-out

Episode 116: Why the End of Treatment Feels So Complicated

Why the End of Treatment Feels So Complicated | The Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 116The end of cancer treatment should feel like everything you've been waiting for. And sometimes it does. But a lot of the time, it feels anticlimactic, disorienting, or even empty , and almost nobody talks about that.In Episode 116, Shariann and Alicia dig into the experience of endings: what the drop after treatment feels like, why the wide open space of "what's next" can be so overwhelming, and how to move through this transition with more gentleness and intention.This conversation draws on the Cancer Journey Roadmap and the real, lived experience of what it means to finish something enormous and not know who you are on the other side.Topics covered in this episode:• Why ringing the bell can feel anticlimactic• The drop after endings and why it happens• Losing the structure, rhythm, and care team all at once• There is no going back to normal, only a new reality• The lull after treatment and what it's asking of you• The retirement analogy: why freedom can feel untethered• What happens to all the emotions suppressed during treatment• Why play and small joys matter especially in this transition• The Cancer Journey Roadmap and the pit after endings• What do you want? The biggest question after treatment ends• How a Cancer Journey coach helps you find yourself again#CancerJourney #CancerJourneyPodcast #CancerSupportChapters: 0:00 Welcome and PESH check-in 1:30 Endings at CJI: certification and fundamentals groups 3:00 The bittersweet feeling of endings on a cancer journey 5:30 Ringing the bell and why it can feel anticlimactic 8:30 Losing the structure and care team after treatment 11:30 There is no normal anymore — only the new reality 14:30 The retirement analogy: freedom that feels untethered 17:30 Play and small joys as anchors in the transition 20:30 The anger and grief that comes out after treatment ends 23:00 What do you want? The excavation that comes next 26:00 How a Cancer Journey coach holds this turning point 28:00 Closing takeaways and PESH check-out

Episode 115: When Forgiveness Feels Like Giving Something Up

When Forgiveness Feels Like Giving Something Up | The Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 115 Forgiveness is one of those words we think we understand until we actually try to practice it. On a cancer journey, it takes on a whole new dimension: forgiving your body, forgiving yourself for how you've responded under enormous pressure, and forgiving others when your capacity to hold anything extra is already gone. In Episode 115, Shariann and Alicia go deep on what forgiveness actually feels like, why self-forgiveness is the hardest kind, and what it looks like to make it a real practice rather than just an intention. This is a thoughtful, honest conversation that moves through the complexity of forgiveness without trying to wrap it up too neatly. Topics covered in this episode: * What forgiveness actually feels like in the body * Why forgiveness can feel like giving up your protection or your power * The difference between forgiving someone and really meaning it * Why self-forgiveness is harder than forgiving others * How cancer can bring up feelings of blame and punishment toward yourself * The responsibility formula and luminous intent * Forgiveness as self-care, not just a spiritual concept * The end-of-day forgiveness practice: what do you need to forgive yourself for today? * What you can give yourself if you hug yourself as warmly as you'd hug someone else * If you don't forgive, you build a wall instead of a bridge * The conversations we want others to have with us that we can have with ourselves #CancerJourney #Forgiveness #CancerJourneyPodcast Chapters: 0:00 Welcome and PESH check-in1:45 What forgiveness actually feels like5:00 Why forgiveness can feel like giving something up8:30 The responsibility formula and forgiving yourself12:00 How cancer brings up self-blame and punishment16:00 Why self-forgiveness is the hardest kind20:00 The conversations we want others to have with us23:30 Forgiveness as self-care: the end-of-day practice27:00 Building a bridge instead of a wall30:00 Closing takeaways and PESH check-out

Episode 114: The Someday Trap

Play feels like the last thing on the list when you're on a cancer journey. But what if waiting until everything is handled before you let yourself feel good is the very thing making the journey harder? In Episode 114, Shariann and Alicia have a deeply honest conversation about what gets in the way of play, joy, and lightness on a cancer journey, and what it actually looks like to start making space for those things now rather than later. This episode starts in a real, unfiltered place and moves somewhere genuinely tender. It's one of those conversations that models exactly what it's talking about. Topics covered in this episode: * Why play feels inaccessible when you're deep in a cancer journey * The have-tos versus the get-tos: how a cancer journey can feel like pure obligation * Freedom as the thing underneath the craving for play * The someday trap and why deferring joy doesn't work * Should versus want: the difference in how they feel in your body * The steps to getting there are the qualities of being there * How negative ego gets loudest when you most need lightness * Small, concrete ways to infuse play into everyday moments * Why you need someone to say your hard things to without it affecting your relationships * Cancer sucks: giving yourself full permission to say so #CancerJourney #CancerJourneyPodcast #CancerSupport Chapters: 0:00 Welcome and PESH check-in 1:30 Play on a cancer journey: why it feels so out of reach 4:30 Freedom as the real craving underneath it all 8:00 The someday trap: deferring joy until everything is handled 11:30 Letting someone else do your laundry: vulnerability and receiving help 14:30 Getting familiar with what frustration feels like in your body 18:00 Should versus want: a really important distinction 22:00 The steps to getting there are the qualities of being there 25:30 Small ways to infuse play into the hard moments 28:30 Closing takeaway and PESH check-out