October 30, 2025 • 57 mins
Kristin Kurtz interviews Lori Ball, ovarian cancer survivor and founder of Faith & Gratitude. After a CA-125 spike and scans, Lori chose to slow down, seek second opinions, and create a 30-day prehab: immune-supporting nutrition, juicing, movement, PEMF, rebounder, prayer, and journaling. She shares chemo tips—what to wear for ports, what to pack, why to bring your own low-sugar food, and how to read labs to ask better questions. We cover boundaries, forgiveness, stress patterns, and practical faith. Plus: her curated cancer resource binder, integrative oncology speaker series, and the Celebration Circle Zoom support group—evidence-informed hope for the journey.
Lori's contact info:
Website -Â www.faithandgratitude.org
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:16):
Welcome to the Hope Unlock Podcast.
I'm your host, Kristen Kurtz,and I'm also the founder of New
Wings Coaching.
I help and empower wild-heartedand adventurous women of faith
feeling caged and stuck, unlocktheir true purpose and
potential, break free fromlimitations, and thrive with
confidence, courage, and hope.
If you're curious to learn moreabout coaching with me, head to
newwingscoaching.net and be sureto explore the show notes for
(00:38):
ways to connect with me further.
Get ready to dive in as weuncover empowering keys and
insights in this episode.
So tune in and let's unlock hopetogether.
Welcome to the Hope Unlockedpodcast.
I'm Kristen Kurtz, your host.
I pray this episode is like aholy IV of hope for your soul.
Please help me welcome Lori Ballto the show.
I am so excited to have her heretoday.
(01:00):
She is a sweet mutual connectionto our friend Debbie Thomas.
So thank you, Debbie, if youhear this today for the
connection.
I can't wait for her to sharemore about her story.
And I just know that she's goingto bless us today.
So, Lori, would you be open tosharing a little bit about
yourself before we get into yourstory?
SPEAKER_02 (01:19):
Absolutely.
Thanks so much for having metoday, Kristen.
I so appreciate it.
And I do appreciate our mutualfriend connecting us.
Yes.
So I um my name is Lori Baugh.
I'm the founder of the nonprofitFaith and Gratitude.
Nearly 10 years ago, I wasdiagnosed with ovarian cancer.
(01:42):
And as I started that journeythat I never thought I would be
on, I quickly realized that manypeople who I was encountering
and talking to, you know, feltthe same way, that there should
be something more that we couldbe doing for ourselves in
between scheduled treatments andtests, etc.
(02:08):
So I created um something that Ifelt was sorely lacking.
Uh, and um, and that was faithand gratitude.
SPEAKER_00 (02:17):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (02:17):
I love the name.
I mean, tell us more about thename.
SPEAKER_02 (02:22):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (02:22):
How did you come up with the name?
SPEAKER_02 (02:24):
So, faith and gratitude, two words that mean
so much to me, that have meantso much to me um growing up and
then to the point when you'reliterally faced with a cancer
diagnosis.
I felt that faith, um, faith inmyself to get me through 18
consecutive weeks ofchemotherapy, but even more
(02:45):
importantly, faith in God, thatI knew that He was with me, He
would be with me, and theexperience of uh cancer
diagnosis was merely that, andthat I was supposed to do
something with the experience.
And gratitude was, again, forme, um, just finding something
(03:09):
through the chaos every singleday that I was I could find
gratitude in.
I could find that was somethingthat I could say I'm I am
grateful for.
So yeah, faith and gratitude umresonated.
And, you know, we started Faithand Gratitude actually two years
following my diagnosis in Juneof 17.
(03:32):
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01 (03:33):
So I was just kind of curious as you, you know, you
received this diagnosis.
Um, and I I know of severalwho've received a diagnosis.
Like what was your like what wasgoing through your head at that
moment?
SPEAKER_02 (03:46):
Well, I will tell you that in my just a little bit
of a backstory too.
I'm the youngest of fourchildren by a lot of years.
So I'm literally like a uhthere's three older kids in the
family, and then the youngest umof those three is a 11 years
older than I.
SPEAKER_03 (04:05):
Oh wow.
SPEAKER_02 (04:06):
So I was like an only, I mean, it was like a
second set of you know,rearings, really from my
parents.
So my parents, um my mom wasnearly 40 when she had me, my
dad nearly 45.
And as you know, as they gotolder, um, you know, they're
(04:26):
they they were just gettingolder, they were just aging.
So there was a lot of stresssurrounding that as the
youngest, or the only in somecases, youngest, oldest,
whatever.
Um, and you know, in in Augustof 2015, um, we were at a
neighborhood party and one of myneighbors asked if I was ready
to go back to work full time.
(04:48):
So we have one child.
Um, he was starting his senioryear of high school at the time.
And before I could say no, myhusband said, Well, yeah, she
might be.
So, yeah, that was interesting.
So we prayed about it a lot umbecause it was a it was not in
the industry that I was familiarwith.
(05:09):
I spent almost 20, 20 years inhelicopter um rotary craft
marketing.
Okay.
And this was not that industryat all.
It was a, it was a dental laband it was a family-owned dental
lab.
And there were a lot of um a lotof angst within the ranks at
that um facility.
(05:29):
And I really, we thought aboutit and prayed about it, and I
thought, okay, God, is this whatI'm supposed to be doing next?
I kept, I kept feeling like Ishould be, you know, doing
something to help women.
That was my whole thing for manyyears prior to the diagnosis.
I felt like I should be helpingwomen just over and over again.
I'd come home from work and say,I really feel like I need to be
(05:50):
helping people and not in theaviation industry.
And so it just would go on andon and on.
Well, I started, I was offeredthe position, I started the job,
I was there five, literally fiveweeks from start to finish.
About the third week into it, Istarted experiencing lower back
pain, pelvic pressure, and itwas um, you know, something that
(06:14):
I thought, well, maybe, youknow, if I just, you know,
resign, all of these physicalsymptoms will go away.
SPEAKER_01 (06:23):
Like kind of ignore it.
SPEAKER_02 (06:24):
Kind of ignore, yeah, exactly.
So um I actually started goingto the chiropractor, you know,
it my back would feel a littlebit better, but that would come
back again.
And then I I was talking to mysister who's a phlebotomist, and
she said, well, maybe it's a UTIor bladder infection.
You know, you you're you'rereally trying to not Google
(06:48):
things, right?
Right, yeah.
And so all these tests came backnegative.
And um, so I literally was lyingin bed one night and I felt a
lump in my lower pelvic area.
And it looked like if you wereholding an egg lengthwise, that
little bit of a curvature at thetop.
(07:10):
And I said to my husband, feelthis.
And he said, What do you thinkthat is?
And I, of course, I I didn'tknow.
So the very next morning I didstart to Google.
Yeah.
Um, and I got up from my deskand walked into my husband's
office and said, I think I haveovarian cancer.
Oh, wow.
Oh, wow.
So um I had just been to uh mygynecologist, my annual, you
(07:34):
know, my annual visit in Augustof 15.
SPEAKER_03 (07:37):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (07:38):
And these symptoms presented already at the end of
September into October.
SPEAKER_03 (07:43):
Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_02 (07:43):
So yeah, it was it was very strange.
And um, I called and madeanother appointment at my
gynecologist's office.
And that morning I asked myhusband to go with me.
And he was he was questioningthat, you know, you're just
going to the gynecologist.
You never asked me to go withyou.
But I had a feeling thatsomething was really wrong.
(08:10):
So we went and um, you know, shewas doing my gynecologist was
doing her internal exam.
She pushed back from the tableand said that this was a very
different exam than we just hadin August.
So this is like the beginning ofDecember, like December 14th.
SPEAKER_03 (08:26):
Oh my god.
SPEAKER_02 (08:27):
And um, so this was August, is when I had my
appointment.
And so I went out to the waitingroom and my husband said, Are
you ready to go?
And I said, Well, we have to togo to an imaging center.
We have to have, I have to haveblood work, um, ultrasounds, uh,
transvaginal ultrasounds done.
And um, so we went, we did it,we were on our way home.
SPEAKER_01 (08:49):
And then I get it.
SPEAKER_02 (08:51):
The same day you went and did the other same day,
Kristen.
Oh my gosh.
I was on we were on our way homeand I get a call from her from
my gynecologist that fast.
And she said that my mark, myblood marker and for ovarian
cancer, that's the cancerantigen, the CA125, that is the
(09:12):
marker for ovarian cancer.
And my doctor, and I had nevereven heard of that my whole
entire life.
Yeah, and she called it wasquite elevated.
Um, and she said with mytransvaginal ultrasound and the
traditional ultrasound, shecould see something, they could
(09:32):
see something large on imaging,and in her opinion, it was
highly unlikely to be benign.
So that was um December 14th.
And and my son, our our onlychild was turning 18 on December
17th.
SPEAKER_01 (09:50):
Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_02 (09:52):
And we host a family Christmas party every year, and
that was to occur on thatweekend as well.
SPEAKER_03 (09:58):
Oh wow.
SPEAKER_02 (09:59):
So it was just so chaotic.
Like your my mind was trying sohard to land on something that
was immovable, if that makessense.
Like just to try to becauseyou're all of these thoughts are
just speeding by, and and youjust can't land on something
(10:21):
that's not moving, you know,you're just trying so hard.
SPEAKER_01 (10:25):
And um do you recall like some of the the main
thoughts that came up for you?
SPEAKER_02 (10:30):
Oh gosh, I mean, yeah, everything from you know
not being there for our son, um,you know, knowing he was going
to, you know, college thefollowing year, looking at my
Christmas decorations andthinking, I might be boxing
these up for the very last time.
I mean, I was literally, it wasall these things that were just,
(10:56):
I mean, I I can't even describeit other than saying so random
and chaotic and not thinking atthe time that this was a path
I'm supposed to be walking on atall.
Like, not at all.
I mean, that wasn't crossing mymind, yeah, even in the
slightest at that moment.
Um, so the my gynecologist saidbecause of the you know, the
(11:21):
size of it, they she felt it wasall all the words, right?
Like the highly, highly unlikelyto be benign, and you know, it
was quite large.
They couldn't tell if it was inthe uterus, pressing on the
uterus.
We didn't know.
But she had made me anappointment for that Friday with
um a gyneoncologist from thecity of Pittsburgh.
(11:46):
I live close to Pittsburgh, andhe was supposed to be the best
in the country, the best in thecity.
And um my first thought was tocall one of my dearest friends
who worked for another largehospital um in Pittsburgh to
find out if that really was thecase.
Is this is this the Ghanaoncologist that I really should
(12:07):
be seeing?
And um, you know, I said, askyour, ask your doctors, you
know, find out they're anindependent, they're an
independent hospital here, sothey're not affiliated with big
conglomerates.
SPEAKER_03 (12:18):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (12:18):
And um she came back and she said, no, that's you
know, she's checked with all ofthem and they all they all
pointed me to a different umgroup and a different hospital.
SPEAKER_01 (12:29):
Like everybody pointed you to one place, a
different place.
Yes.
Okay.
unknown (12:33):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (12:34):
I want to I want to point out here that like you I
feel like second opinions arealways really a key in anything,
wouldn't you say?
SPEAKER_02 (12:43):
Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
And you always have time.
You know, with when you have a,you know, you know, you know,
you have you have a cancerdiagnosis, and you know, the
first thing the oncologist in mycase and in 99% of the cases of
people I speak with daily, theywant to clear their schedules
(13:05):
and they want to get you rightinto a situation where they can
do surgery.
And I mean, they just want toget you started.
And I feel as though you alwayshave time.
You have to, you know, take astep back.
I remember sitting in thegynecology in the surgic in my
um gyne oncologist's office.
(13:26):
He wanted to clear the schedulethat following Monday for
surgery.
And my and my first thought was,of course, I want to, I mean, I
need to get this removed.
And my husband said, you know,let's just stop.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, it's just this is alljust sort of whizzing by us, all
(13:47):
these terms are being thrownaround, yeah, all of this stuff.
Let's just, let's just take abreath.
And we did.
And um, we well, we asked weasked him if it would make a
difference if we waited untilJanuary to do the surgery.
And he quickly said, of courseit won't matter at all.
(14:08):
Um, so what we did was we asked.
SPEAKER_01 (14:11):
I'm so glad you had the, you know, like that you
have his support in just kind ofgoing, hey, honey, let's stop.
SPEAKER_02 (14:19):
Well, exactly, because you know, the first
inclination is you need to haveit removed since you know nobody
thinks it's not cancer.
They are they're all thinkingthat it's going to be cancer.
Right.
And you know, but after takingthat time, it was 30 days from
the time that we knew all thiswas going on until the surgery
(14:42):
date.
And what we did was we up-endedour whole our whole life.
We started, um, I mean, Istarted juicing like crazy.
I didn't put anything into mybody, whether it be food or
drinks, that wasn'timmune-boosting.
Um, everything that I did, Imean, I hopped on a PEMF mat.
(15:04):
Um, you know, I rebounded, I dideverything.
I mean, I I just went into themode that I was going to put my
immune system into thehealthiest place it could be,
not only to fight the cancer,but to prepare myself for
surgery.
Because, you know, when canceris allowed to take hold in our
(15:28):
bodies, it's because our immunesystem isn't working properly.
So by me going straight from,okay, I can clear my schedule to
a surgery, which is so immune uhbusting, also, yes.
It would have been a terribledecision.
So we I just went out and Ifound um, you know, supplements
(15:50):
that would help to boost myimmune system.
I did everything that I couldpossibly do to get my body ready
for surgery.
SPEAKER_01 (15:58):
Yeah.
So I want to ask you, so it'skind of a two-part question.
So we'll start with prior tothis, like, how were you like,
were you doing a lot ofactivities to help boost your
immune system?
Were you like taking care ofyour body well?
SPEAKER_02 (16:16):
Yeah, it's a good question because I always
thought I I always thought Iwas.
But it goes back to thatconversation starter a little
while ago when I said that I wasthe youngest of four children.
And as my parents started to ageand started to have age-related
situations, my stress level,although I thought I was
(16:38):
handling stress fine, I don'tthink I was because you know,
many times with cancerdiagnoses, there's a huge
component of unresolved, whetherit be stress, emotional, yeah,
something.
And so I really feel that Ithought I was handling stress
(16:59):
fine.
I, you know, you're doing allthe things, you're taking your
vitamins, you're doing all the,you know, the prayer, the
meditation, all the differentthings.
Yeah.
But it's like the saying goes,you know, everything is fine.
You have all these problemsuntil your health is waning, and
now you have one problem.
And that is to get your bodyinto a position where it wants
(17:22):
to heal again.
Yes.
So good.
SPEAKER_01 (17:25):
Yeah.
So then the second part of thatquestion was, how did you know,
you know, like I've I've beenaround the block with like um,
you know, I call it supernaturalhealing.
So, you know, PMF and therebounder and the juicing, like,
how did you learn about thesethings?
Did you have somebody that waskind of that counter to, you
(17:45):
know, we need to cut it out andwe need to do this, that, and
the other thing.
Did you have a voice in yourcorner that was kind of leading
you that way, or do you feellike the Lord is just showing
you these things?
Or maybe it was a blog.
SPEAKER_02 (17:58):
It's such a combination because my dad, my
dad, his nickname was NatureBoy.
Oh, I love it.
And he didn't takeprescriptions.
He felt if you continue to go toWestern doctors that eventually
they will find something becausethere is no money into not
finding and treating something.
(18:19):
And so he was a big vitamintaker.
Um, he had many, many books thatif you said you had something or
you felt as though you did, hewould, you know, right away, you
know, go right down to where hisresources were and he would
highlight things and make notesfor you.
And you know, you need to takevitamin C, you need to take
LIZNE, you need to take zinc,whatever it was.
(18:42):
So I really believe um, youknow, that that was a huge
component.
You know, me remembering that.
And I also um believe that mydad had passed in August of 14.
Oh, okay.
And I really believe that whenthis was really going on, that
(19:07):
it was dad together with God.
And my dad saying, you know, wehave to get her attention.
SPEAKER_03 (19:15):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (19:15):
You know, this is not the path that she's supposed
to be on.
We need to redirect her.
We don't want to kill her, butwe need to redirect her so that
her her path now is to be whereshe's been feeling it should be
going with this, you know,coming home many, many years
before to her husband andsaying, I feel like I should be
helping people, I feel like Ishould be helping women, I feel
(19:38):
like I should be, you know, outthere doing something.
So I really do believe it waskind of two-pronged.
SPEAKER_01 (19:43):
Yes.
So, you know, being part of, youknow, as you're as you're
journeying, like were yousharing this openly with people
at this point?
Like, where did where did thatjourney begin with um, you know,
sharing with other women?
SPEAKER_02 (19:58):
So that's a good question, too.
So I had 18 consecutive weeks ofchemotherapy.
I had two ports placed, a chestport and an interperitoneal
port.
So each week we would go to youknow, the infusion center and
we'd, you know, be in thiscrowded um, you know, room
waiting to be called back.
(20:18):
And, you know, you'd pass by alot of the same people, like
each week, and you start tostrike up a conversation with
some of them, many of whichdidn't want to.
You could just tell they justdidn't want to talk, but you
know, several did.
And so, you know, I realizedquickly that there's a huge gap
(20:39):
between Western medicine andeastern medicine.
And, you know, where we have,you know, all of this stuff that
we can be doing, whether it's,you know, praying, meditation
through prayer, prayer throughmeditation, um, journaling, um,
you know, all things that canreally calm the internal
(21:02):
environment.
So your body has a chance to dowhat it innately wants to do.
And so I started talking topeople and um feeling that wow,
not only did these people whowere sitting there for infusions
were trying to figure out thesame sorts of things I was, but
the nurses in the infusioncenter were as um open and
(21:28):
interested in hearing what I waslearning every week.
SPEAKER_01 (21:32):
Oh my gosh.
Wow.
So, like, were you bringing newknowledge to them in a sense?
SPEAKER_02 (21:39):
Yeah.
So what I would do, Kristen, isevery week I would get my blood
drawn before infusions.
And, you know, chemotherapy iscumulative in our systems and
our bone marrow just works sohard to try to keep up, but it's
just, it's a tough regimen.
So each week I would get myblood work and I would look at
(22:00):
every single entry.
And I wouldn't be like, okay,you know, this, this, and this
is low.
Um, you know, what can I,whether it's an essential oil or
whether it's a food, like whatshould I really be trying to do
to bolster my my counts for thenext time?
Because at that point, all Iwanted to do was get through the
(22:20):
18 treatments.
Um, so the nerd and because Iwas part of a trial, a study, I
had a big, you know, a form thatI had to fill out each week.
And the nurses were always soamazed that I didn't have the
symptoms I should have had withthe protocol that I was going
(22:41):
through.
That's amazing.
So I just would share with them.
And at the end of um, you know,when I rang the bell on July
19th of 2016, um, a couple ofweeks before that, they said,
can you just create somethingthat we can give to patients?
Um, you know, when they're whenthey're coming after you.
And I said, I I absolutely Icould.
(23:03):
So I created just a simple umbrochure for people um that they
give out to cancer patients.
SPEAKER_01 (23:12):
Oh my gosh.
How incredible.
Seriously.
I mean I I what I you know, Ilove I love when I can hear a
story of somebody who's walkingthrough something and goes
around and turns around andhelps the people behind them.
Because it's not just about you,right?
SPEAKER_02 (23:32):
Yeah, because I I really felt that it wasn't.
I I I didn't feel it was aboutme at all.
I never felt that ovarian cancerwas going to kill me.
I never felt that for onesecond.
I really felt that it was Godleading me to where I was
supposed to be all along.
(23:52):
Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_01 (23:54):
And that wouldn't you say, like, you know, this is
hope unlocked, that that gaveyou such an immense like boost
of hope?
SPEAKER_02 (24:02):
Oh my goodness.
Absolutely, definitely.
And and honestly, the way I wasgoing, I was handling the
treatments, it was I was payingit forward right as I was going
through treatment myself.
Yeah, you know, just walkinginto the infusion center, um,
you know, and talking to thesepeople and just realizing that,
you know, me just by being thereand showing them that, you know,
(24:26):
I have two treatments, you know,in in, you know, that these
people are just coming up behindme and yeah, it's gonna be okay.
It was okay for me, and it wasgoing to be okay for them.
SPEAKER_01 (24:36):
Yeah.
And I just want to highlightthat like no matter what you're
walking through, like, we cancome into situations with a
posture like that.
Wouldn't you say?
SPEAKER_02 (24:46):
Yeah.
Absolutely.
I mean, I will tell you therewere a lot of people, men and
women in the infusion center,that didn't feel that way,
though.
You know, just you know, a lotwere angry, a lot were bitter.
Um, many were very angry withGod.
Yeah.
Just wondering, you know, Imean, all the things.
(25:09):
But I not that I didn't hearthem, but I didn't let any of
that resonate with me becausethat is not how I felt at all.
And um, and that's the reasonwhy we call the support group
that I host the CelebrationCircle.
Yeah.
Because when I I was looking fora support group, I was looking
(25:30):
for, you know, that sort of thattribe that would just, you know,
bring concepts and positivity.
Not that I had my head in thesand, I understood the gravity
of a cancer diagnosis.
I understood that, but I didn'twant to be with a bunch of
commiserators.
I just couldn't take that.
SPEAKER_00 (25:49):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (25:50):
So I thought, oh, I'm gonna have to create one
myself.
So we did, and we caught theCelebration Circle.
Wow.
And how long has this beengoing?
Um, well, we used to beforeCOVID, people would come to the
house.
So it was very geographical,geographically limited.
Um, so it was in my home, andpeople who lived nearby would
(26:10):
come.
Okay.
After COVID, so that would havebeen what?
Night um 19, starting 19, Iguess, 20.
Yeah.
Um, but I think the we startedthe support group probably
around shortly after I finishedmy treatments.
So probably 17.
Oh, wow.
But then when COVID hit, um, Ijust thought, wow, we have all
(26:35):
these people who's, you know,they've we've become friends.
Like, what are we supposed todo?
So we flipped it out to theinternet via Zoom, and um, more
people came.
And people who weren't able tojoin us because of you know,
logistics, the logistic reasons,they were just maybe an hour
away.
It started that way.
(26:56):
And um, now they were able tojoin.
SPEAKER_01 (26:58):
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_02 (26:59):
And then as we have people like from all over the
place now, like all over Yeah,yeah.
We've had people join um from asfar away as Portland, and we're
sitting here in Pittsburgh.
So we've had people fromPortland, Oregon.
Um, we've had people, we have awoman who is from Wake Forest,
uh, North Carolina, that's onalmost every single time.
(27:20):
And um, yeah, so it's been thisorganic growth, and it's only
been because, you know, that youknow, we're out there on, you
know, the internet now andpeople can just register and and
um what's beautiful about thewhole thing is that if somebody
is being treated at SloanKettering and they're able to
(27:43):
share with the protocol the withus the protocol, then if we
don't know that protocol here inPittsburgh or in at Duke, well,
we can go and we can talk to ourdoctors about that.
So it's been such a beautifulkind of an awakening of um of
other treatment options orprotocols that maybe different
(28:07):
parts of the country aren'tquite aware of yet, that we're
able to just, you know, bring toothers.
SPEAKER_01 (28:14):
Okay.
So this has been almost likewhat you would say about eight
years that you've been runningthis group.
And um, is that about right?
SPEAKER_02 (28:24):
Yeah, because my diet, I finished my um, yeah,
I'm coming up on 10 years of offor my diagnosis in January.
It'll be 10 years.
SPEAKER_01 (28:33):
Okay.
So, you know, within this group,um I know like I can imagine
that there's like a whole gamutof, is it generationally like
20s, like through what ages areare you finding in this group?
SPEAKER_02 (28:46):
Yeah, so what we're finding mostly is that people in
their late 30s, early 40s to 80sactually, um, are part of the
group and all different types ofdiagnosis, everything from blood
cancers, um, breath lots ofbreast, ovarian, um, liver.
(29:08):
So it's all different types ofcancers and all different ages.
Typically, um the younger ones,um if there's a younger person
or a child, it's the parents ora grandparent that participate
in the calls.
It's open to supporters andcaregivers as well.
SPEAKER_01 (29:29):
Oh my gosh.
Well, um I want to just makesure we capture, like if
somebody's listening to thistoday, because you know, we're
reaching all over the world,when like when do you have a set
time of day or um a specific daythat you do these calls?
SPEAKER_02 (29:44):
Yeah, so you can and and people can register to
attend right on our website.
But yeah, we the first and thirdThursdays of the month.
Okay.
And we meet at uh 6 30 via Zoomfor an hour.
SPEAKER_00 (29:59):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (30:00):
And it's Easter Easter standard.
SPEAKER_01 (30:02):
Yes.
Okay.
And then what is the website?
I'll be sure to link it in thecomments as well.
SPEAKER_02 (30:07):
Yeah, it's faithandgratitude.org.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (30:13):
And you can find it there to register.
Absolutely.
Okay.
Amazing.
Like how many, how many havecome into this group and been
like, oh my gosh, this is such ablessing.
I've been looking for somethinglike this and I couldn't find
it.
SPEAKER_02 (30:28):
Oh, Kristen, it's just, it's, I mean, I don't even
know.
I mean, I how many people, it'sjust, it's just amazing,
honestly.
It's just so heartwarming forme, too, that, you know, people
find us, whether they find usorganically in a search or they
find it just because theirtreatment center recommended
(30:48):
them try us.
But they, you know, some of themI call them resistors because
I'll have a conversation withthem and they'll say, I don't
know if I really need a supportgroup.
I don't know if that really issomething I want to do.
So I call them the resistors.
And then as soon as they join acall, they're texting me or
(31:08):
calling and saying, Oh mygoodness, it's such a, it's such
an uplifting group.
And we we always try to have um,you know, oftentimes we'll just
be talking, I'll have a topicthat resonates with me.
I always pray about that before,you know, what should I bring to
the group?
And, you know, sort of the samething as you, you know, you want
to bring things that aremeaningful, that are actionable.
(31:31):
That's one thing that's reallyimportant too, that people can
take action.
So we'll bring topics that wouldjust be me bringing the topic.
We oftentimes will bringspeakers on from across the
country that will talk about aspecific topic.
You know, we had on, you know,how to sprout um broccoli
sprouts a couple of months ago.
So we have all different kindsof things that resonate with a
(31:53):
lot of people.
And I feel that by keeping itfresh and actionable, it just
keeps people, you know, comingback and wanting to learn more.
And because we're not a bunch ofcommiserators and it's
non-clinical, um, I think peoplehave a real sense that, you
(32:13):
know, it is a circle of love andhope and compassion.
And um, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (32:20):
That's so incredible.
I would love for you to share,you know, just an example.
I know you mentioned there'sresistors, but I'm I'm big on
testimonials.
So could you share, like withoutsharing who it is, um, but maybe
somebody who came into yourgroup and um just the experience
that that because it's women,correct?
That you have come into thisgroup as well.
(32:41):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (32:42):
And if if it's uh if it's a spouse or a significant
other that's a male, um, we'venever had a male patient come
on.
It's always been theirsignificant other.
So it's literally all femalethat come on the call.
Okay.
Um, but we had a woman, um,she's since passed, but I met
her at a conference in Orlando,at an integrative cancer
(33:03):
conference um back in 2018, andshe was from Atlanta, and we hit
it off right away.
And she she was someone whowould come on the call and we
would all get on the call to seewhat she was going to say.
And she was a spreader of faithand gratitude, not the
(33:24):
organization so much, but shewas a she just would just be
such a personality talkingabout, you know, faith for her
and you know, gratitude.
So when we met, it was just soapparent that she was going to
be that person for us inGeorgia.
(33:46):
And she was, I mean, she was tothe to the very, very end.
She just um was just the mostbeautiful person and just felt
so connected to a group ofpeople that she would never have
met if it wasn't for a diagnosisof cancer.
SPEAKER_01 (34:02):
Oh my gosh.
You know, and even as you'retalking, and she was from
Georgia.
Yes.
I was like, wow, it's almost I'malmost seeing like these uh
light light posts in differentstates that people would um run
faith and gratitude.
I don't are you is that athought you've ever had before?
SPEAKER_02 (34:22):
Well, you know what?
My husband is the one who alwayssays that you need because we
have there's so many people, andso many people would love to
gather together in person too,right?
And um, yeah, so I have thoughtabout it.
It's been sort of a fleetingthought, and it's only truly
been because of Zoom that we'reable to be together, all of us,
(34:45):
um, because of technology.
Yeah.
But another thing too, oh, goahead.
I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_01 (34:51):
I was just gonna say, people are just so like I'm
I'm recognizing, you know, thatpeople are just so hungry for
in-person connection.
There's something so specialabout it.
Um, yeah, I just had to sharethat with you because I was like
seeing these little light postsaround the states that would
carry this message and bringpeople together.
SPEAKER_02 (35:10):
So well, you never know.
I mean, it could it coulddefinitely be something that we
could work into um ourprogramming.
But right now we have um whatreally started to, I don't think
I mentioned this to you beforewe started recording, but what
started the whole organizationtoo is sharing um with all these
(35:32):
different patients, but alsocreating a cancer resource
guide.
And it's a three-ring binderthat was curated perfectly um
with everything I wish I had hadwhen I was diagnosed.
So we curated it.
It's um about a two-inch thickum binder, and we ship it all
(35:55):
over the country.
And literally, it's everythingto keep patients organized with
a lot of educational tips.
I mean, Kristen, I didn't evenknow what to wear to
chemotherapy treatments.
I mean, I didn't know.
Sure.
And so it's really somethingthat um that's that's really the
cornerstone of the organizationis this cancer resource guide.
(36:20):
Um we also offer a speakerseries, um, and you can find
that out on the website as well,where we interview integrative
cancer specialists, um, peoplewho just are looking at um the
body holistically.
Um, so we we have a wholespeaker series, we do two a
(36:41):
year.
We have wellness events, we dofree wig giveaways.
That is really in like thegeographic footprint of the
Pittsburgh area.
Okay.
But we um, yeah, I mean, it'sjust been such a beautiful
rebirthing, I think, of me.
Um, you know, through, you know,through being led to create
(37:03):
faith and gratitude, honestly.
SPEAKER_01 (37:06):
That's so amazing.
And you have me curious, like,what are you supposed to wear?
I can't recall.
SPEAKER_02 (37:12):
Well, that's the thing.
Okay, so you have to dress, youshould dress in layers, you
should dress, you know, withlike buttons because they're
going to be accessing ports inmany times in many cases.
Um, it's always freezing cold inthe infusion centers.
Um, but I didn't know.
I had no idea what to wear.
(37:32):
And they're always um, you know,if you need to eat at all, which
you know, you don't have toconstantly be eating, um, but
you should take your own healthyfood because 99.9% of the time
the cart will come around and itwill have everything, all the
feel-good foods, right?
All the sugar, right?
(37:53):
Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_01 (37:54):
And um the the counter to what you want to
actually be eating, wouldn't yousay?
SPEAKER_02 (38:00):
It's well, I would absolutely say that with an
exclamation point at the end.
Exactly.
Um, it's it's screaming from therooftops.
Oh my gosh, it's the mostridiculous.
Let's go there.
Let's go there.
Let's go there.
It's awful.
I remember this is the honestygoing to it.
So anyway, I remember rightafter my surgery, um, here comes
(38:21):
the oncology nutritionist.
Her name is Karen.
SPEAKER_03 (38:25):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (38:25):
And she walked in with her little clipboard and
she was going down.
And I said, Karen, I would nevereat what you're recommending I
eat.
And she said, Well, you have tokeep your, you know, you have to
keep your energy up.
It's going to be a really taxingprotocol.
And I said, Don't worry aboutme.
I, I mean, and that is when I'mjuicing all the time.
I'm I am eating so clean.
(38:46):
Yeah.
Okay, so she leaves.
And then once you know, here shecomes again on the first day of
my first infusion.
And I looked at my husband andI'm like, oh, here comes crazy
Karen.
She's going to be talking againabout all this crap.
And as soon as she comes up andshe saw who it was, she's like,
There's that lady again.
Uh she said, I know you're notgonna.
(39:07):
And I said, No, I said, I'm notgonna.
I'm not, I'm not drinking theboost, I'm not drinking the
insurer, I'm not, I'm not doingall the stuff.
Yeah, so terrible.
So terrible, it's so terrible.
And even when you're you'releaving and you're making your
next infusion appointment,there's a big bowl of crap, you
know.
SPEAKER_01 (39:27):
Oh, I I can only imagine.
I can only imagine.
SPEAKER_00 (39:30):
Yeah, yes.
SPEAKER_02 (39:31):
Awful, awful.
SPEAKER_01 (39:33):
Yeah.
It probably the last thing youwant to be eating after you do
that.
SPEAKER_02 (39:38):
Well, you know, there's so much written, you
know, even going out on PubMed,you know, with reference to
sugar and cancer, and um, youknow, even things that break
down into simple sugars likeyour breads and your pastas and
stuff that people don't reallythink about.
But, you know, it's you gottagive yourself, you gotta give
your immune system a chance todo what it is innately able to
(40:00):
do.
And by bombarding it withsugars, um, it's not it's not
the thing that we should bedoing, especially as a cancer
patient.
So um, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (40:10):
Anyways, that's there's there's a lot that's a
huge key.
We have that's a huge key toavoid, right?
What would you say would beanother counter to the
mainstream um key that you couldgive away to somebody who maybe
like they've been newlydiagnosed or they know somebody
(40:31):
who's been newly diagnosed,other than you know, getting
involved in your your group orwhat have you, like what would
be something that you just say,like almost like your husband
did, like, take a moment, likelet's pause here.
I just want to bring, like,literally, I'm like wondering
what your revelation would befor them and wisdom that maybe
(40:51):
they would never know.
SPEAKER_02 (40:53):
Well, because I really feel there's a there's an
emotional um which is like likethe whole stress component um
that that is before diagnosis,years before diagnosis, I
believe that you know, you haveto, I believe people should
really look at relationships,um, family, like familial also
(41:16):
and friends.
And if you feel there are toxicpeople in your life, you've got
to, you've got to be strongenough to, you know, just stand
up and either, you know, letthem go by the wayside because
it's for your health, um, orreally just have a center of
(41:38):
forgiveness for them.
Because I feel that, you know,us carrying around a lot of
stress sometimes is stemmed umfrom a situation that maybe
happened five or 10 or 15 or 20years ago that we're still
carrying around that that personmay have said something or did
something or you interpretedsomething that maybe wasn't
(42:01):
meant to be for you at all, butyou've been thinking about it or
carrying it around for all theseyears.
Well, you know, it's been, Imean, there's been a lot of
research that has shown that ifyou just forgive, yeah, because
they have already forgotten whatthey've said or done or did or
whatever.
So we just have to, you know,just forgive and and let that
(42:24):
go.
And if it really is lettingpeople go, like in the literal
sense, like just letting themgo, you gotta do it because you
know, you can only hold on to somuch before it, you know, it'll
resonate somehow, some way in inyour body.
SPEAKER_01 (42:42):
Yeah, I so agree.
And I would even add justsometimes people need to forgive
themselves.
SPEAKER_02 (42:48):
A hundred percent.
Right.
One hundred percent.
SPEAKER_01 (42:51):
We know that autoimmune can often be stemmed
from trauma, but alsoself-hatred.
You know, there's so manydifferent facets that I mean,
personally, it's not like amainstream doctor would have you
looking into these areas.
Kristen, it is not in the peopleI've talked to in my world.
SPEAKER_00 (43:10):
Well, in your world, did you ever encounter that?
It's so true.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (43:15):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
You know, we talk a lot in thesupport group too, you know,
just about self-love, even, youknow, just being able to look at
yourself and without feelingthat it's you know, something
that's not to be said.
But if if you don't loveyourself, how do we expect
(43:36):
anyone else to be able to loveus?
So you have to have, like, yeah,self-forgiveness, you have to be
able to love yourself, um, youknow, and not feel as though
your body has abandoned, youknow, every rule that it's
supposed to, you know, adhere toto keep you healthy.
(43:56):
Like you just have to, you know,make better choices than we made
yesterday, today.
You know, some people will say,well, what's the diet you
recommend?
Well, you know, don't you wantto use the the word diet because
right?
The first three letters.
I mean, yeah.
No thanks.
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
(44:17):
So you just have to, you know,eat with intention, eat with the
intention to, you know, to helpyour immune system and your body
heal, you know, do all thethings that make you feel good,
not bring you down, and justsurround yourself with people
who love, um, who love to bewith you and you who you love to
(44:40):
be with, and you know, the otherpeople, you just have to not
have time for that anymore andlearn to say no, just to, you
know, when people try to dragyou into something, just no.
We're not doing that.
SPEAKER_01 (44:52):
Huge, huge, huge.
I like to call it no your nobecause no is within K N O W.
That is good.
Yeah, it's really the oldguiding point right there.
SPEAKER_02 (45:06):
It is, it is no you're no.
SPEAKER_01 (45:08):
It's hard, you know, for some who maybe you know
never learned boundaries, andthat's that's a huge, that's a
whole other topic, right?
SPEAKER_02 (45:14):
It's a whole other topic, but we can go on for an
hour with that one because weknow we totally could.
Yeah, and the and the otherthing, just to circle back,
using that same that same ideatoo, people are so afraid to
question their oncologist.
Yes, yeah, they just are soafraid, and you just have to get
(45:35):
to the point where you can't be.
You can't be afraid, and youcan't be worried that they're
going to be offended.
Many of them are, many of thempush back and make patients feel
small, but I always say there'sa million of them.
So if you're not on the samepage as your oncologist and vice
(45:56):
versa, then maybe it's time tointerview some others.
SPEAKER_01 (46:00):
Yeah, that's huge.
I mean, did you I mean, just inany any doctors for just as a
whole, you know,all-encompassing, I would say as
well.
But would you say if somebody isnot open to even having you be
curious and ask questions,really check, kind of check that
uh gauge there and make surethat, you know, what is the
(46:23):
reason that they're not okaywith you asking questions?
SPEAKER_02 (46:26):
I completely agree.
I completely agree, and I haveno problems, you know, firing
doctors and going on a searchfor another.
You have to trust your team.
Yeah, and if you don't have thattrust in your team, then you
have to get a new team.
SPEAKER_01 (46:47):
Yeah, for sure.
Absolutely.
That's you're just set somebodyfree today.
I mean, I I used to be one manyyears ago until I got like
thrown around the medical systemfor different things.
I just I just assumed that theyknew everything because they
went to school and I knewnothing.
SPEAKER_02 (47:04):
Uh well, you know what, Kristen?
But that's how we have been,it's it's really how we have
been trained to think when youthink about it, right?
Mm-hmm.
Totally.
But how I look at them now, andthis sounds so ignorant, but how
I look at them now, they didn'tall graduate, top one percent of
their class.
Some of them narrowly passed theboards.
(47:25):
So I feel like when the ones whomight be pushing a little bit
back when I hand them a PubMedstudy, or you know, when I, you
know, it's one thing that whenyou're talking to the doctor,
but when you bring actualstudies for them, but when
they're not interested, um, Ijust feel like then you're not
(47:46):
interested in me.
If you're not interested in whatI'm giving you, because I've
read it, I understand, andyou're not interested, well then
maybe we need to kind of let go.
Yes, let it, let go.
And then just say a prayer forthem.
That's all we can do.
SPEAKER_01 (48:06):
Well, I mean, aren't you so thankful and grateful and
just all the things that you'vebeen you you you've awakened to
this, and now you can help wakeup other people as well.
Because again, it's not youknow, I think a lot of people
are just honestly doing theirbest.
You don't know what you don'tknow.
And um, I think part of what Iwould imagine a big part of your
(48:27):
your calling is to really helpum lovingly just bring awareness
to other people and help andbring resources and and right.
SPEAKER_02 (48:36):
I told I I believe that.
I really, really do.
Um, because it really doesbecome just such a strong bond
between just not me, but all ofus.
We just, you know, you cometogether and you're sharing, and
you know, we're just a bunch ofshares of information.
(48:56):
And um, yeah, I mean, that isempowering for people.
And I think through education,um, you know, learning different
different things or differenttreatment plans or protocols.
I mean, that just can be thatwhole educational component can
add to such an empoweringposition for the patient and
(49:17):
their families.
SPEAKER_01 (49:19):
So good.
Well, thank you for being atrailblazer.
SPEAKER_02 (49:22):
Oh, thank you for having me today because I can
talk about myself.
SPEAKER_01 (49:26):
It's been amazing.
So I have one more question foryou.
So, what would you say has been,I don't know, maybe your most
favorite um supernatural uhmethodology to help like what
you walked through and maybewhat you share with others.
And then what's your favoriterecipe that's wonderful and
(49:48):
natural?
SPEAKER_02 (49:50):
Let me think.
So that first that first part ofthe question, that's a tough
one.
Let me think.
SPEAKER_01 (49:56):
I like asking tough questions.
SPEAKER_02 (49:58):
I know, I know.
Um let me think here.
Um something.
Well, you know, I'm not sure ifthis is what we're getting at,
but uh for me, I feel thatlistening to that, to your that
inter that inter spirit um thatwe all have within us, right?
(50:23):
That that God voice, um, beingable to quiet yourself enough to
hear, like if you're asking aquestion to quiet yourself
enough to hear.
Um, some people call itintuition.
We're not really trained to honethat, but I really do believe
it's God's voice that's just,you know, kind of prodding us in
(50:45):
different ways, um, you know, todo certain things.
And many of us just kind of putthat to the side.
But I think I don't know if thisanswers the question or not, but
I feel that kind of tuning intothat voice and allowing that to
come through somehow, some wayinto how we're growing um while
(51:07):
we're on this earth.
Yeah, absolutely.
Um, is something that should bevery meaningful to a lot of
people.
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (51:15):
And I would say, yeah, exactly.
Like listening to him first andforemost.
Like, what's my next step, Lord?
What do you want me to knowabout this?
What where do you want me to go?
Who do you want me to connectwith?
It's he's so good to do that.
Um, we just have to slow downenough to listen, right?
Well, we do the world is so umfast-paced, and there's so many
(51:37):
voices and so many opinions, andultimately he's he's number one,
right?
SPEAKER_02 (51:43):
Yeah, exactly.
I mean, exactly.
And the the sad part is thatwe're well, it's sad because a
lot of people don't know.
But the but the good part isthat we're able to kind of be
that voice to those who justmaybe aren't aware, just to kind
(52:05):
of you know give yourself thatquiet time and however that
looks to you, and just to seewhat the next steps are really
supposed to be, and then justfollow them.
SPEAKER_01 (52:18):
Amen.
SPEAKER_02 (52:18):
Yes, I love it.
SPEAKER_01 (52:20):
Well, do you have a recipe that's coming to mind
that maybe while you're goingthrough treatment that you found
to just be so nourishing andhappy, I guess the word happy
with it?
SPEAKER_02 (52:35):
So I will tell you that we have recipes out on the
website too when we're adding,you know, a recipe here and
there all the time.
But one that I loved, I mean,lots and lots of juices I have
on the recipe because I feelthat, you know, an alkaline body
really is a body that's able tojust fight um diseases in such a
beautiful way.
(52:55):
But we have a smoothie recipe.
We have, well, a few smoothierecipes.
And smoothies to me kind of, youknow, conjure up ideas of
milkshakes.
So I always freeze my fruit.
The fruit is always frozen.
So right away we know we'regonna get a consistency of a
milkshake.
I don't add um any milk, anyalmond milks or coconut milks or
anything.
(53:16):
I use just clean water with mysmoothies.
Always adding cinnamon, a touchof turmeric, and a little bit of
black pepper.
And um, and pretty much that'sthat's my my smoothie, and just
put it in the ninja and um andknow you're nourishing your
immune system.
SPEAKER_01 (53:33):
Wow, I've never thought to add like pepper to it
before.
SPEAKER_02 (53:37):
Well, the reason why we add black pepper is because
turmeric, you know, to activatethe turmeric so it's more bio
um, so it's easier digestible,your body takes it in better is
adding the black pepper.
Does it give it a little kick?
SPEAKER_00 (53:56):
No, you can't really even taste it.
Really?
You really can't.
Give that a try.
Thank you.
There you go.
This was for me.
Thank you.
No, you're welcome.
SPEAKER_01 (54:09):
Um, well, thank you so much for for coming on.
Um I'm probably gonna have tohave you on another time.
Maybe we could go into someother subjects because I'm sure
we could talk about many, manythings here.
While we wrap up, I was justcurious if you had um as you
meant as I mentioned before weeven got started, I do this for
the one.
So if you could just think ofsomeone who's listening in
(54:31):
today, is there any other umwords of encouragement or wisdom
that you feel led to share withthem?
And then would you mind prayingus out as we wrap up?
SPEAKER_02 (54:41):
Absolutely.
Um just always know one that youhave time, and there is always
hope.
Yes, and through faith andgratitude, you'll find that
hope.
So good.
(55:01):
I know, right?
So, did you want me to say asmall prayer before we go?
Would you mind?
Oh no, I don't mind at all.
Thank you.
So, Father God, thank you somuch for allowing me this
platform today.
I am honored to be with Kristenand all of those who are
listening.
And I hope that my words wereconcise and that the people who
(55:27):
were listening will find hope,faith, and gratitude each and
every day.
SPEAKER_03 (55:34):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (55:34):
Amen.
SPEAKER_01 (55:35):
Amen.
Thank you so much.
You are amazing, and thank youso much for being a brave voice
who's setting so many free.
I'm going to close with theanchoring verse, which is May
the God of hope fill you withall joy and peace in believing,
so that by the power of the HolySpirit you may abound in hope.
And that's Romans 15, 13.
(55:57):
So I will be sure to link up uhLori's contact information in
the show notes.
Be sure to reach out to her, andI will be back with another
episode next week.
Thanks so much, Lori.
SPEAKER_03 (56:06):
Have a great day.
SPEAKER_01 (56:07):
Thank you, Christy.
Thank you.
Welcome to the Hope Unlock Podcast.
I'm your host, Kristen Kurtz,and I'm also the founder of New
Wings Coaching.
I help and empower wild-heartedand adventurous women of faith
feeling caged and stuck, unlocktheir true purpose and
potential, break free fromlimitations, and thrive with
confidence, courage, and hope.
If you're curious to learn moreabout coaching with me, head to
newwingscoaching.net and be sureto explore the show notes for
(00:38):
ways to connect with me further.
Get ready to dive in as weuncover empowering keys and
insights in this episode.
So tune in and let's unlock hopetogether.
Welcome to the Hope Unlockedpodcast.
I'm Kristen Kurtz, your host.
I pray this episode is like aholy IV of hope for your soul.
Please help me welcome Lori Ballto the show.
I am so excited to have her heretoday.
(01:00):
She is a sweet mutual connectionto our friend Debbie Thomas.
So thank you, Debbie, if youhear this today for the
connection.
I can't wait for her to sharemore about her story.
And I just know that she's goingto bless us today.
So, Lori, would you be open tosharing a little bit about
yourself before we get into yourstory?
SPEAKER_02 (01:19):
Absolutely.
Thanks so much for having metoday, Kristen.
I so appreciate it.
And I do appreciate our mutualfriend connecting us.
Yes.
So I um my name is Lori Baugh.
I'm the founder of the nonprofitFaith and Gratitude.
Nearly 10 years ago, I wasdiagnosed with ovarian cancer.
(01:42):
And as I started that journeythat I never thought I would be
on, I quickly realized that manypeople who I was encountering
and talking to, you know, feltthe same way, that there should
be something more that we couldbe doing for ourselves in
between scheduled treatments andtests, etc.
(02:08):
So I created um something that Ifelt was sorely lacking.
Uh, and um, and that was faithand gratitude.
SPEAKER_00 (02:17):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (02:17):
I love the name.
I mean, tell us more about thename.
SPEAKER_02 (02:22):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (02:22):
How did you come up with the name?
SPEAKER_02 (02:24):
So, faith and gratitude, two words that mean
so much to me, that have meantso much to me um growing up and
then to the point when you'reliterally faced with a cancer
diagnosis.
I felt that faith, um, faith inmyself to get me through 18
consecutive weeks ofchemotherapy, but even more
(02:45):
importantly, faith in God, thatI knew that He was with me, He
would be with me, and theexperience of uh cancer
diagnosis was merely that, andthat I was supposed to do
something with the experience.
And gratitude was, again, forme, um, just finding something
(03:09):
through the chaos every singleday that I was I could find
gratitude in.
I could find that was somethingthat I could say I'm I am
grateful for.
So yeah, faith and gratitude umresonated.
And, you know, we started Faithand Gratitude actually two years
following my diagnosis in Juneof 17.
(03:32):
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01 (03:33):
So I was just kind of curious as you, you know, you
received this diagnosis.
Um, and I I know of severalwho've received a diagnosis.
Like what was your like what wasgoing through your head at that
moment?
SPEAKER_02 (03:46):
Well, I will tell you that in my just a little bit
of a backstory too.
I'm the youngest of fourchildren by a lot of years.
So I'm literally like a uhthere's three older kids in the
family, and then the youngest umof those three is a 11 years
older than I.
SPEAKER_03 (04:05):
Oh wow.
SPEAKER_02 (04:06):
So I was like an only, I mean, it was like a
second set of you know,rearings, really from my
parents.
So my parents, um my mom wasnearly 40 when she had me, my
dad nearly 45.
And as you know, as they gotolder, um, you know, they're
(04:26):
they they were just gettingolder, they were just aging.
So there was a lot of stresssurrounding that as the
youngest, or the only in somecases, youngest, oldest,
whatever.
Um, and you know, in in Augustof 2015, um, we were at a
neighborhood party and one of myneighbors asked if I was ready
to go back to work full time.
(04:48):
So we have one child.
Um, he was starting his senioryear of high school at the time.
And before I could say no, myhusband said, Well, yeah, she
might be.
So, yeah, that was interesting.
So we prayed about it a lot umbecause it was a it was not in
the industry that I was familiarwith.
(05:09):
I spent almost 20, 20 years inhelicopter um rotary craft
marketing.
Okay.
And this was not that industryat all.
It was a, it was a dental laband it was a family-owned dental
lab.
And there were a lot of um a lotof angst within the ranks at
that um facility.
(05:29):
And I really, we thought aboutit and prayed about it, and I
thought, okay, God, is this whatI'm supposed to be doing next?
I kept, I kept feeling like Ishould be, you know, doing
something to help women.
That was my whole thing for manyyears prior to the diagnosis.
I felt like I should be helpingwomen just over and over again.
I'd come home from work and say,I really feel like I need to be
(05:50):
helping people and not in theaviation industry.
And so it just would go on andon and on.
Well, I started, I was offeredthe position, I started the job,
I was there five, literally fiveweeks from start to finish.
About the third week into it, Istarted experiencing lower back
pain, pelvic pressure, and itwas um, you know, something that
(06:14):
I thought, well, maybe, youknow, if I just, you know,
resign, all of these physicalsymptoms will go away.
SPEAKER_01 (06:23):
Like kind of ignore it.
SPEAKER_02 (06:24):
Kind of ignore, yeah, exactly.
So um I actually started goingto the chiropractor, you know,
it my back would feel a littlebit better, but that would come
back again.
And then I I was talking to mysister who's a phlebotomist, and
she said, well, maybe it's a UTIor bladder infection.
You know, you you're you'rereally trying to not Google
(06:48):
things, right?
Right, yeah.
And so all these tests came backnegative.
And um, so I literally was lyingin bed one night and I felt a
lump in my lower pelvic area.
And it looked like if you wereholding an egg lengthwise, that
little bit of a curvature at thetop.
(07:10):
And I said to my husband, feelthis.
And he said, What do you thinkthat is?
And I, of course, I I didn'tknow.
So the very next morning I didstart to Google.
Yeah.
Um, and I got up from my deskand walked into my husband's
office and said, I think I haveovarian cancer.
Oh, wow.
Oh, wow.
So um I had just been to uh mygynecologist, my annual, you
(07:34):
know, my annual visit in Augustof 15.
SPEAKER_03 (07:37):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (07:38):
And these symptoms presented already at the end of
September into October.
SPEAKER_03 (07:43):
Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_02 (07:43):
So yeah, it was it was very strange.
And um, I called and madeanother appointment at my
gynecologist's office.
And that morning I asked myhusband to go with me.
And he was he was questioningthat, you know, you're just
going to the gynecologist.
You never asked me to go withyou.
But I had a feeling thatsomething was really wrong.
(08:10):
So we went and um, you know, shewas doing my gynecologist was
doing her internal exam.
She pushed back from the tableand said that this was a very
different exam than we just hadin August.
So this is like the beginning ofDecember, like December 14th.
SPEAKER_03 (08:26):
Oh my god.
SPEAKER_02 (08:27):
And um, so this was August, is when I had my
appointment.
And so I went out to the waitingroom and my husband said, Are
you ready to go?
And I said, Well, we have to togo to an imaging center.
We have to have, I have to haveblood work, um, ultrasounds, uh,
transvaginal ultrasounds done.
And um, so we went, we did it,we were on our way home.
SPEAKER_01 (08:49):
And then I get it.
SPEAKER_02 (08:51):
The same day you went and did the other same day,
Kristen.
Oh my gosh.
I was on we were on our way homeand I get a call from her from
my gynecologist that fast.
And she said that my mark, myblood marker and for ovarian
cancer, that's the cancerantigen, the CA125, that is the
(09:12):
marker for ovarian cancer.
And my doctor, and I had nevereven heard of that my whole
entire life.
Yeah, and she called it wasquite elevated.
Um, and she said with mytransvaginal ultrasound and the
traditional ultrasound, shecould see something, they could
(09:32):
see something large on imaging,and in her opinion, it was
highly unlikely to be benign.
So that was um December 14th.
And and my son, our our onlychild was turning 18 on December
17th.
SPEAKER_01 (09:50):
Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_02 (09:52):
And we host a family Christmas party every year, and
that was to occur on thatweekend as well.
SPEAKER_03 (09:58):
Oh wow.
SPEAKER_02 (09:59):
So it was just so chaotic.
Like your my mind was trying sohard to land on something that
was immovable, if that makessense.
Like just to try to becauseyou're all of these thoughts are
just speeding by, and and youjust can't land on something
(10:21):
that's not moving, you know,you're just trying so hard.
SPEAKER_01 (10:25):
And um do you recall like some of the the main
thoughts that came up for you?
SPEAKER_02 (10:30):
Oh gosh, I mean, yeah, everything from you know
not being there for our son, um,you know, knowing he was going
to, you know, college thefollowing year, looking at my
Christmas decorations andthinking, I might be boxing
these up for the very last time.
I mean, I was literally, it wasall these things that were just,
(10:56):
I mean, I I can't even describeit other than saying so random
and chaotic and not thinking atthe time that this was a path
I'm supposed to be walking on atall.
Like, not at all.
I mean, that wasn't crossing mymind, yeah, even in the
slightest at that moment.
Um, so the my gynecologist saidbecause of the you know, the
(11:21):
size of it, they she felt it wasall all the words, right?
Like the highly, highly unlikelyto be benign, and you know, it
was quite large.
They couldn't tell if it was inthe uterus, pressing on the
uterus.
We didn't know.
But she had made me anappointment for that Friday with
um a gyneoncologist from thecity of Pittsburgh.
(11:46):
I live close to Pittsburgh, andhe was supposed to be the best
in the country, the best in thecity.
And um my first thought was tocall one of my dearest friends
who worked for another largehospital um in Pittsburgh to
find out if that really was thecase.
Is this is this the Ghanaoncologist that I really should
(12:07):
be seeing?
And um, you know, I said, askyour, ask your doctors, you
know, find out they're anindependent, they're an
independent hospital here, sothey're not affiliated with big
conglomerates.
SPEAKER_03 (12:18):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (12:18):
And um she came back and she said, no, that's you
know, she's checked with all ofthem and they all they all
pointed me to a different umgroup and a different hospital.
SPEAKER_01 (12:29):
Like everybody pointed you to one place, a
different place.
Yes.
Okay.
unknown (12:33):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (12:34):
I want to I want to point out here that like you I
feel like second opinions arealways really a key in anything,
wouldn't you say?
SPEAKER_02 (12:43):
Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
And you always have time.
You know, with when you have a,you know, you know, you know,
you have you have a cancerdiagnosis, and you know, the
first thing the oncologist in mycase and in 99% of the cases of
people I speak with daily, theywant to clear their schedules
(13:05):
and they want to get you rightinto a situation where they can
do surgery.
And I mean, they just want toget you started.
And I feel as though you alwayshave time.
You have to, you know, take astep back.
I remember sitting in thegynecology in the surgic in my
um gyne oncologist's office.
(13:26):
He wanted to clear the schedulethat following Monday for
surgery.
And my and my first thought was,of course, I want to, I mean, I
need to get this removed.
And my husband said, you know,let's just stop.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, it's just this is alljust sort of whizzing by us, all
(13:47):
these terms are being thrownaround, yeah, all of this stuff.
Let's just, let's just take abreath.
And we did.
And um, we well, we asked weasked him if it would make a
difference if we waited untilJanuary to do the surgery.
And he quickly said, of courseit won't matter at all.
(14:08):
Um, so what we did was we asked.
SPEAKER_01 (14:11):
I'm so glad you had the, you know, like that you
have his support in just kind ofgoing, hey, honey, let's stop.
SPEAKER_02 (14:19):
Well, exactly, because you know, the first
inclination is you need to haveit removed since you know nobody
thinks it's not cancer.
They are they're all thinkingthat it's going to be cancer.
Right.
And you know, but after takingthat time, it was 30 days from
the time that we knew all thiswas going on until the surgery
(14:42):
date.
And what we did was we up-endedour whole our whole life.
We started, um, I mean, Istarted juicing like crazy.
I didn't put anything into mybody, whether it be food or
drinks, that wasn'timmune-boosting.
Um, everything that I did, Imean, I hopped on a PEMF mat.
(15:04):
Um, you know, I rebounded, I dideverything.
I mean, I I just went into themode that I was going to put my
immune system into thehealthiest place it could be,
not only to fight the cancer,but to prepare myself for
surgery.
Because, you know, when canceris allowed to take hold in our
(15:28):
bodies, it's because our immunesystem isn't working properly.
So by me going straight from,okay, I can clear my schedule to
a surgery, which is so immune uhbusting, also, yes.
It would have been a terribledecision.
So we I just went out and Ifound um, you know, supplements
(15:50):
that would help to boost myimmune system.
I did everything that I couldpossibly do to get my body ready
for surgery.
SPEAKER_01 (15:58):
Yeah.
So I want to ask you, so it'skind of a two-part question.
So we'll start with prior tothis, like, how were you like,
were you doing a lot ofactivities to help boost your
immune system?
Were you like taking care ofyour body well?
SPEAKER_02 (16:16):
Yeah, it's a good question because I always
thought I I always thought Iwas.
But it goes back to thatconversation starter a little
while ago when I said that I wasthe youngest of four children.
And as my parents started to ageand started to have age-related
situations, my stress level,although I thought I was
(16:38):
handling stress fine, I don'tthink I was because you know,
many times with cancerdiagnoses, there's a huge
component of unresolved, whetherit be stress, emotional, yeah,
something.
And so I really feel that Ithought I was handling stress
(16:59):
fine.
I, you know, you're doing allthe things, you're taking your
vitamins, you're doing all the,you know, the prayer, the
meditation, all the differentthings.
Yeah.
But it's like the saying goes,you know, everything is fine.
You have all these problemsuntil your health is waning, and
now you have one problem.
And that is to get your bodyinto a position where it wants
(17:22):
to heal again.
Yes.
So good.
SPEAKER_01 (17:25):
Yeah.
So then the second part of thatquestion was, how did you know,
you know, like I've I've beenaround the block with like um,
you know, I call it supernaturalhealing.
So, you know, PMF and therebounder and the juicing, like,
how did you learn about thesethings?
Did you have somebody that waskind of that counter to, you
(17:45):
know, we need to cut it out andwe need to do this, that, and
the other thing.
Did you have a voice in yourcorner that was kind of leading
you that way, or do you feellike the Lord is just showing
you these things?
Or maybe it was a blog.
SPEAKER_02 (17:58):
It's such a combination because my dad, my
dad, his nickname was NatureBoy.
Oh, I love it.
And he didn't takeprescriptions.
He felt if you continue to go toWestern doctors that eventually
they will find something becausethere is no money into not
finding and treating something.
(18:19):
And so he was a big vitamintaker.
Um, he had many, many books thatif you said you had something or
you felt as though you did, hewould, you know, right away, you
know, go right down to where hisresources were and he would
highlight things and make notesfor you.
And you know, you need to takevitamin C, you need to take
LIZNE, you need to take zinc,whatever it was.
(18:42):
So I really believe um, youknow, that that was a huge
component.
You know, me remembering that.
And I also um believe that mydad had passed in August of 14.
Oh, okay.
And I really believe that whenthis was really going on, that
(19:07):
it was dad together with God.
And my dad saying, you know, wehave to get her attention.
SPEAKER_03 (19:15):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (19:15):
You know, this is not the path that she's supposed
to be on.
We need to redirect her.
We don't want to kill her, butwe need to redirect her so that
her her path now is to be whereshe's been feeling it should be
going with this, you know,coming home many, many years
before to her husband andsaying, I feel like I should be
helping people, I feel like Ishould be helping women, I feel
(19:38):
like I should be, you know, outthere doing something.
So I really do believe it waskind of two-pronged.
SPEAKER_01 (19:43):
Yes.
So, you know, being part of, youknow, as you're as you're
journeying, like were yousharing this openly with people
at this point?
Like, where did where did thatjourney begin with um, you know,
sharing with other women?
SPEAKER_02 (19:58):
So that's a good question, too.
So I had 18 consecutive weeks ofchemotherapy.
I had two ports placed, a chestport and an interperitoneal
port.
So each week we would go to youknow, the infusion center and
we'd, you know, be in thiscrowded um, you know, room
waiting to be called back.
(20:18):
And, you know, you'd pass by alot of the same people, like
each week, and you start tostrike up a conversation with
some of them, many of whichdidn't want to.
You could just tell they justdidn't want to talk, but you
know, several did.
And so, you know, I realizedquickly that there's a huge gap
(20:39):
between Western medicine andeastern medicine.
And, you know, where we have,you know, all of this stuff that
we can be doing, whether it's,you know, praying, meditation
through prayer, prayer throughmeditation, um, journaling, um,
you know, all things that canreally calm the internal
(21:02):
environment.
So your body has a chance to dowhat it innately wants to do.
And so I started talking topeople and um feeling that wow,
not only did these people whowere sitting there for infusions
were trying to figure out thesame sorts of things I was, but
the nurses in the infusioncenter were as um open and
(21:28):
interested in hearing what I waslearning every week.
SPEAKER_01 (21:32):
Oh my gosh.
Wow.
So, like, were you bringing newknowledge to them in a sense?
SPEAKER_02 (21:39):
Yeah.
So what I would do, Kristen, isevery week I would get my blood
drawn before infusions.
And, you know, chemotherapy iscumulative in our systems and
our bone marrow just works sohard to try to keep up, but it's
just, it's a tough regimen.
So each week I would get myblood work and I would look at
(22:00):
every single entry.
And I wouldn't be like, okay,you know, this, this, and this
is low.
Um, you know, what can I,whether it's an essential oil or
whether it's a food, like whatshould I really be trying to do
to bolster my my counts for thenext time?
Because at that point, all Iwanted to do was get through the
(22:20):
18 treatments.
Um, so the nerd and because Iwas part of a trial, a study, I
had a big, you know, a form thatI had to fill out each week.
And the nurses were always soamazed that I didn't have the
symptoms I should have had withthe protocol that I was going
(22:41):
through.
That's amazing.
So I just would share with them.
And at the end of um, you know,when I rang the bell on July
19th of 2016, um, a couple ofweeks before that, they said,
can you just create somethingthat we can give to patients?
Um, you know, when they're whenthey're coming after you.
And I said, I I absolutely Icould.
(23:03):
So I created just a simple umbrochure for people um that they
give out to cancer patients.
SPEAKER_01 (23:12):
Oh my gosh.
How incredible.
Seriously.
I mean I I what I you know, Ilove I love when I can hear a
story of somebody who's walkingthrough something and goes
around and turns around andhelps the people behind them.
Because it's not just about you,right?
SPEAKER_02 (23:32):
Yeah, because I I really felt that it wasn't.
I I I didn't feel it was aboutme at all.
I never felt that ovarian cancerwas going to kill me.
I never felt that for onesecond.
I really felt that it was Godleading me to where I was
supposed to be all along.
(23:52):
Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_01 (23:54):
And that wouldn't you say, like, you know, this is
hope unlocked, that that gaveyou such an immense like boost
of hope?
SPEAKER_02 (24:02):
Oh my goodness.
Absolutely, definitely.
And and honestly, the way I wasgoing, I was handling the
treatments, it was I was payingit forward right as I was going
through treatment myself.
Yeah, you know, just walkinginto the infusion center, um,
you know, and talking to thesepeople and just realizing that,
you know, me just by being thereand showing them that, you know,
(24:26):
I have two treatments, you know,in in, you know, that these
people are just coming up behindme and yeah, it's gonna be okay.
It was okay for me, and it wasgoing to be okay for them.
SPEAKER_01 (24:36):
Yeah.
And I just want to highlightthat like no matter what you're
walking through, like, we cancome into situations with a
posture like that.
Wouldn't you say?
SPEAKER_02 (24:46):
Yeah.
Absolutely.
I mean, I will tell you therewere a lot of people, men and
women in the infusion center,that didn't feel that way,
though.
You know, just you know, a lotwere angry, a lot were bitter.
Um, many were very angry withGod.
Yeah.
Just wondering, you know, Imean, all the things.
(25:09):
But I not that I didn't hearthem, but I didn't let any of
that resonate with me becausethat is not how I felt at all.
And um, and that's the reasonwhy we call the support group
that I host the CelebrationCircle.
Yeah.
Because when I I was looking fora support group, I was looking
(25:30):
for, you know, that sort of thattribe that would just, you know,
bring concepts and positivity.
Not that I had my head in thesand, I understood the gravity
of a cancer diagnosis.
I understood that, but I didn'twant to be with a bunch of
commiserators.
I just couldn't take that.
SPEAKER_00 (25:49):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (25:50):
So I thought, oh, I'm gonna have to create one
myself.
So we did, and we caught theCelebration Circle.
Wow.
And how long has this beengoing?
Um, well, we used to beforeCOVID, people would come to the
house.
So it was very geographical,geographically limited.
Um, so it was in my home, andpeople who lived nearby would
(26:10):
come.
Okay.
After COVID, so that would havebeen what?
Night um 19, starting 19, Iguess, 20.
Yeah.
Um, but I think the we startedthe support group probably
around shortly after I finishedmy treatments.
So probably 17.
Oh, wow.
But then when COVID hit, um, Ijust thought, wow, we have all
(26:35):
these people who's, you know,they've we've become friends.
Like, what are we supposed todo?
So we flipped it out to theinternet via Zoom, and um, more
people came.
And people who weren't able tojoin us because of you know,
logistics, the logistic reasons,they were just maybe an hour
away.
It started that way.
(26:56):
And um, now they were able tojoin.
SPEAKER_01 (26:58):
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_02 (26:59):
And then as we have people like from all over the
place now, like all over Yeah,yeah.
We've had people join um from asfar away as Portland, and we're
sitting here in Pittsburgh.
So we've had people fromPortland, Oregon.
Um, we've had people, we have awoman who is from Wake Forest,
uh, North Carolina, that's onalmost every single time.
(27:20):
And um, yeah, so it's been thisorganic growth, and it's only
been because, you know, that youknow, we're out there on, you
know, the internet now andpeople can just register and and
um what's beautiful about thewhole thing is that if somebody
is being treated at SloanKettering and they're able to
(27:43):
share with the protocol the withus the protocol, then if we
don't know that protocol here inPittsburgh or in at Duke, well,
we can go and we can talk to ourdoctors about that.
So it's been such a beautifulkind of an awakening of um of
other treatment options orprotocols that maybe different
(28:07):
parts of the country aren'tquite aware of yet, that we're
able to just, you know, bring toothers.
SPEAKER_01 (28:14):
Okay.
So this has been almost likewhat you would say about eight
years that you've been runningthis group.
And um, is that about right?
SPEAKER_02 (28:24):
Yeah, because my diet, I finished my um, yeah,
I'm coming up on 10 years of offor my diagnosis in January.
It'll be 10 years.
SPEAKER_01 (28:33):
Okay.
So, you know, within this group,um I know like I can imagine
that there's like a whole gamutof, is it generationally like
20s, like through what ages areare you finding in this group?
SPEAKER_02 (28:46):
Yeah, so what we're finding mostly is that people in
their late 30s, early 40s to 80sactually, um, are part of the
group and all different types ofdiagnosis, everything from blood
cancers, um, breath lots ofbreast, ovarian, um, liver.
(29:08):
So it's all different types ofcancers and all different ages.
Typically, um the younger ones,um if there's a younger person
or a child, it's the parents ora grandparent that participate
in the calls.
It's open to supporters andcaregivers as well.
SPEAKER_01 (29:29):
Oh my gosh.
Well, um I want to just makesure we capture, like if
somebody's listening to thistoday, because you know, we're
reaching all over the world,when like when do you have a set
time of day or um a specific daythat you do these calls?
SPEAKER_02 (29:44):
Yeah, so you can and and people can register to
attend right on our website.
But yeah, we the first and thirdThursdays of the month.
Okay.
And we meet at uh 6 30 via Zoomfor an hour.
SPEAKER_00 (29:59):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (30:00):
And it's Easter Easter standard.
SPEAKER_01 (30:02):
Yes.
Okay.
And then what is the website?
I'll be sure to link it in thecomments as well.
SPEAKER_02 (30:07):
Yeah, it's faithandgratitude.org.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (30:13):
And you can find it there to register.
Absolutely.
Okay.
Amazing.
Like how many, how many havecome into this group and been
like, oh my gosh, this is such ablessing.
I've been looking for somethinglike this and I couldn't find
it.
SPEAKER_02 (30:28):
Oh, Kristen, it's just, it's, I mean, I don't even
know.
I mean, I how many people, it'sjust, it's just amazing,
honestly.
It's just so heartwarming forme, too, that, you know, people
find us, whether they find usorganically in a search or they
find it just because theirtreatment center recommended
(30:48):
them try us.
But they, you know, some of themI call them resistors because
I'll have a conversation withthem and they'll say, I don't
know if I really need a supportgroup.
I don't know if that really issomething I want to do.
So I call them the resistors.
And then as soon as they join acall, they're texting me or
(31:08):
calling and saying, Oh mygoodness, it's such a, it's such
an uplifting group.
And we we always try to have um,you know, oftentimes we'll just
be talking, I'll have a topicthat resonates with me.
I always pray about that before,you know, what should I bring to
the group?
And, you know, sort of the samething as you, you know, you want
to bring things that aremeaningful, that are actionable.
(31:31):
That's one thing that's reallyimportant too, that people can
take action.
So we'll bring topics that wouldjust be me bringing the topic.
We oftentimes will bringspeakers on from across the
country that will talk about aspecific topic.
You know, we had on, you know,how to sprout um broccoli
sprouts a couple of months ago.
So we have all different kindsof things that resonate with a
(31:53):
lot of people.
And I feel that by keeping itfresh and actionable, it just
keeps people, you know, comingback and wanting to learn more.
And because we're not a bunch ofcommiserators and it's
non-clinical, um, I think peoplehave a real sense that, you
(32:13):
know, it is a circle of love andhope and compassion.
And um, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (32:20):
That's so incredible.
I would love for you to share,you know, just an example.
I know you mentioned there'sresistors, but I'm I'm big on
testimonials.
So could you share, like withoutsharing who it is, um, but maybe
somebody who came into yourgroup and um just the experience
that that because it's women,correct?
That you have come into thisgroup as well.
(32:41):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (32:42):
And if if it's uh if it's a spouse or a significant
other that's a male, um, we'venever had a male patient come
on.
It's always been theirsignificant other.
So it's literally all femalethat come on the call.
Okay.
Um, but we had a woman, um,she's since passed, but I met
her at a conference in Orlando,at an integrative cancer
(33:03):
conference um back in 2018, andshe was from Atlanta, and we hit
it off right away.
And she she was someone whowould come on the call and we
would all get on the call to seewhat she was going to say.
And she was a spreader of faithand gratitude, not the
(33:24):
organization so much, but shewas a she just would just be
such a personality talkingabout, you know, faith for her
and you know, gratitude.
So when we met, it was just soapparent that she was going to
be that person for us inGeorgia.
(33:46):
And she was, I mean, she was tothe to the very, very end.
She just um was just the mostbeautiful person and just felt
so connected to a group ofpeople that she would never have
met if it wasn't for a diagnosisof cancer.
SPEAKER_01 (34:02):
Oh my gosh.
You know, and even as you'retalking, and she was from
Georgia.
Yes.
I was like, wow, it's almost I'malmost seeing like these uh
light light posts in differentstates that people would um run
faith and gratitude.
I don't are you is that athought you've ever had before?
SPEAKER_02 (34:22):
Well, you know what?
My husband is the one who alwayssays that you need because we
have there's so many people, andso many people would love to
gather together in person too,right?
And um, yeah, so I have thoughtabout it.
It's been sort of a fleetingthought, and it's only truly
been because of Zoom that we'reable to be together, all of us,
(34:45):
um, because of technology.
Yeah.
But another thing too, oh, goahead.
I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_01 (34:51):
I was just gonna say, people are just so like I'm
I'm recognizing, you know, thatpeople are just so hungry for
in-person connection.
There's something so specialabout it.
Um, yeah, I just had to sharethat with you because I was like
seeing these little light postsaround the states that would
carry this message and bringpeople together.
SPEAKER_02 (35:10):
So well, you never know.
I mean, it could it coulddefinitely be something that we
could work into um ourprogramming.
But right now we have um whatreally started to, I don't think
I mentioned this to you beforewe started recording, but what
started the whole organizationtoo is sharing um with all these
(35:32):
different patients, but alsocreating a cancer resource
guide.
And it's a three-ring binderthat was curated perfectly um
with everything I wish I had hadwhen I was diagnosed.
So we curated it.
It's um about a two-inch thickum binder, and we ship it all
(35:55):
over the country.
And literally, it's everythingto keep patients organized with
a lot of educational tips.
I mean, Kristen, I didn't evenknow what to wear to
chemotherapy treatments.
I mean, I didn't know.
Sure.
And so it's really somethingthat um that's that's really the
cornerstone of the organizationis this cancer resource guide.
(36:20):
Um we also offer a speakerseries, um, and you can find
that out on the website as well,where we interview integrative
cancer specialists, um, peoplewho just are looking at um the
body holistically.
Um, so we we have a wholespeaker series, we do two a
(36:41):
year.
We have wellness events, we dofree wig giveaways.
That is really in like thegeographic footprint of the
Pittsburgh area.
Okay.
But we um, yeah, I mean, it'sjust been such a beautiful
rebirthing, I think, of me.
Um, you know, through, you know,through being led to create
(37:03):
faith and gratitude, honestly.
SPEAKER_01 (37:06):
That's so amazing.
And you have me curious, like,what are you supposed to wear?
I can't recall.
SPEAKER_02 (37:12):
Well, that's the thing.
Okay, so you have to dress, youshould dress in layers, you
should dress, you know, withlike buttons because they're
going to be accessing ports inmany times in many cases.
Um, it's always freezing cold inthe infusion centers.
Um, but I didn't know.
I had no idea what to wear.
(37:32):
And they're always um, you know,if you need to eat at all, which
you know, you don't have toconstantly be eating, um, but
you should take your own healthyfood because 99.9% of the time
the cart will come around and itwill have everything, all the
feel-good foods, right?
All the sugar, right?
(37:53):
Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_01 (37:54):
And um the the counter to what you want to
actually be eating, wouldn't yousay?
SPEAKER_02 (38:00):
It's well, I would absolutely say that with an
exclamation point at the end.
Exactly.
Um, it's it's screaming from therooftops.
Oh my gosh, it's the mostridiculous.
Let's go there.
Let's go there.
Let's go there.
It's awful.
I remember this is the honestygoing to it.
So anyway, I remember rightafter my surgery, um, here comes
(38:21):
the oncology nutritionist.
Her name is Karen.
SPEAKER_03 (38:25):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (38:25):
And she walked in with her little clipboard and
she was going down.
And I said, Karen, I would nevereat what you're recommending I
eat.
And she said, Well, you have tokeep your, you know, you have to
keep your energy up.
It's going to be a really taxingprotocol.
And I said, Don't worry aboutme.
I, I mean, and that is when I'mjuicing all the time.
I'm I am eating so clean.
(38:46):
Yeah.
Okay, so she leaves.
And then once you know, here shecomes again on the first day of
my first infusion.
And I looked at my husband andI'm like, oh, here comes crazy
Karen.
She's going to be talking againabout all this crap.
And as soon as she comes up andshe saw who it was, she's like,
There's that lady again.
Uh she said, I know you're notgonna.
(39:07):
And I said, No, I said, I'm notgonna.
I'm not, I'm not drinking theboost, I'm not drinking the
insurer, I'm not, I'm not doingall the stuff.
Yeah, so terrible.
So terrible, it's so terrible.
And even when you're you'releaving and you're making your
next infusion appointment,there's a big bowl of crap, you
know.
SPEAKER_01 (39:27):
Oh, I I can only imagine.
I can only imagine.
SPEAKER_00 (39:30):
Yeah, yes.
SPEAKER_02 (39:31):
Awful, awful.
SPEAKER_01 (39:33):
Yeah.
It probably the last thing youwant to be eating after you do
that.
SPEAKER_02 (39:38):
Well, you know, there's so much written, you
know, even going out on PubMed,you know, with reference to
sugar and cancer, and um, youknow, even things that break
down into simple sugars likeyour breads and your pastas and
stuff that people don't reallythink about.
But, you know, it's you gottagive yourself, you gotta give
your immune system a chance todo what it is innately able to
(40:00):
do.
And by bombarding it withsugars, um, it's not it's not
the thing that we should bedoing, especially as a cancer
patient.
So um, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (40:10):
Anyways, that's there's there's a lot that's a
huge key.
We have that's a huge key toavoid, right?
What would you say would beanother counter to the
mainstream um key that you couldgive away to somebody who maybe
like they've been newlydiagnosed or they know somebody
(40:31):
who's been newly diagnosed,other than you know, getting
involved in your your group orwhat have you, like what would
be something that you just say,like almost like your husband
did, like, take a moment, likelet's pause here.
I just want to bring, like,literally, I'm like wondering
what your revelation would befor them and wisdom that maybe
(40:51):
they would never know.
SPEAKER_02 (40:53):
Well, because I really feel there's a there's an
emotional um which is like likethe whole stress component um
that that is before diagnosis,years before diagnosis, I
believe that you know, you haveto, I believe people should
really look at relationships,um, family, like familial also
(41:16):
and friends.
And if you feel there are toxicpeople in your life, you've got
to, you've got to be strongenough to, you know, just stand
up and either, you know, letthem go by the wayside because
it's for your health, um, orreally just have a center of
(41:38):
forgiveness for them.
Because I feel that, you know,us carrying around a lot of
stress sometimes is stemmed umfrom a situation that maybe
happened five or 10 or 15 or 20years ago that we're still
carrying around that that personmay have said something or did
something or you interpretedsomething that maybe wasn't
(42:01):
meant to be for you at all, butyou've been thinking about it or
carrying it around for all theseyears.
Well, you know, it's been, Imean, there's been a lot of
research that has shown that ifyou just forgive, yeah, because
they have already forgotten whatthey've said or done or did or
whatever.
So we just have to, you know,just forgive and and let that
(42:24):
go.
And if it really is lettingpeople go, like in the literal
sense, like just letting themgo, you gotta do it because you
know, you can only hold on to somuch before it, you know, it'll
resonate somehow, some way in inyour body.
SPEAKER_01 (42:42):
Yeah, I so agree.
And I would even add justsometimes people need to forgive
themselves.
SPEAKER_02 (42:48):
A hundred percent.
Right.
One hundred percent.
SPEAKER_01 (42:51):
We know that autoimmune can often be stemmed
from trauma, but alsoself-hatred.
You know, there's so manydifferent facets that I mean,
personally, it's not like amainstream doctor would have you
looking into these areas.
Kristen, it is not in the peopleI've talked to in my world.
SPEAKER_00 (43:10):
Well, in your world, did you ever encounter that?
It's so true.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (43:15):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
You know, we talk a lot in thesupport group too, you know,
just about self-love, even, youknow, just being able to look at
yourself and without feelingthat it's you know, something
that's not to be said.
But if if you don't loveyourself, how do we expect
(43:36):
anyone else to be able to loveus?
So you have to have, like, yeah,self-forgiveness, you have to be
able to love yourself, um, youknow, and not feel as though
your body has abandoned, youknow, every rule that it's
supposed to, you know, adhere toto keep you healthy.
(43:56):
Like you just have to, you know,make better choices than we made
yesterday, today.
You know, some people will say,well, what's the diet you
recommend?
Well, you know, don't you wantto use the the word diet because
right?
The first three letters.
I mean, yeah.
No thanks.
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
(44:17):
So you just have to, you know,eat with intention, eat with the
intention to, you know, to helpyour immune system and your body
heal, you know, do all thethings that make you feel good,
not bring you down, and justsurround yourself with people
who love, um, who love to bewith you and you who you love to
(44:40):
be with, and you know, the otherpeople, you just have to not
have time for that anymore andlearn to say no, just to, you
know, when people try to dragyou into something, just no.
We're not doing that.
SPEAKER_01 (44:52):
Huge, huge, huge.
I like to call it no your nobecause no is within K N O W.
That is good.
Yeah, it's really the oldguiding point right there.
SPEAKER_02 (45:06):
It is, it is no you're no.
SPEAKER_01 (45:08):
It's hard, you know, for some who maybe you know
never learned boundaries, andthat's that's a huge, that's a
whole other topic, right?
SPEAKER_02 (45:14):
It's a whole other topic, but we can go on for an
hour with that one because weknow we totally could.
Yeah, and the and the otherthing, just to circle back,
using that same that same ideatoo, people are so afraid to
question their oncologist.
Yes, yeah, they just are soafraid, and you just have to get
(45:35):
to the point where you can't be.
You can't be afraid, and youcan't be worried that they're
going to be offended.
Many of them are, many of thempush back and make patients feel
small, but I always say there'sa million of them.
So if you're not on the samepage as your oncologist and vice
(45:56):
versa, then maybe it's time tointerview some others.
SPEAKER_01 (46:00):
Yeah, that's huge.
I mean, did you I mean, just inany any doctors for just as a
whole, you know,all-encompassing, I would say as
well.
But would you say if somebody isnot open to even having you be
curious and ask questions,really check, kind of check that
uh gauge there and make surethat, you know, what is the
(46:23):
reason that they're not okaywith you asking questions?
SPEAKER_02 (46:26):
I completely agree.
I completely agree, and I haveno problems, you know, firing
doctors and going on a searchfor another.
You have to trust your team.
Yeah, and if you don't have thattrust in your team, then you
have to get a new team.
SPEAKER_01 (46:47):
Yeah, for sure.
Absolutely.
That's you're just set somebodyfree today.
I mean, I I used to be one manyyears ago until I got like
thrown around the medical systemfor different things.
I just I just assumed that theyknew everything because they
went to school and I knewnothing.
SPEAKER_02 (47:04):
Uh well, you know what, Kristen?
But that's how we have been,it's it's really how we have
been trained to think when youthink about it, right?
Mm-hmm.
Totally.
But how I look at them now, andthis sounds so ignorant, but how
I look at them now, they didn'tall graduate, top one percent of
their class.
Some of them narrowly passed theboards.
(47:25):
So I feel like when the ones whomight be pushing a little bit
back when I hand them a PubMedstudy, or you know, when I, you
know, it's one thing that whenyou're talking to the doctor,
but when you bring actualstudies for them, but when
they're not interested, um, Ijust feel like then you're not
(47:46):
interested in me.
If you're not interested in whatI'm giving you, because I've
read it, I understand, andyou're not interested, well then
maybe we need to kind of let go.
Yes, let it, let go.
And then just say a prayer forthem.
That's all we can do.
SPEAKER_01 (48:06):
Well, I mean, aren't you so thankful and grateful and
just all the things that you'vebeen you you you've awakened to
this, and now you can help wakeup other people as well.
Because again, it's not youknow, I think a lot of people
are just honestly doing theirbest.
You don't know what you don'tknow.
And um, I think part of what Iwould imagine a big part of your
(48:27):
your calling is to really helpum lovingly just bring awareness
to other people and help andbring resources and and right.
SPEAKER_02 (48:36):
I told I I believe that.
I really, really do.
Um, because it really doesbecome just such a strong bond
between just not me, but all ofus.
We just, you know, you cometogether and you're sharing, and
you know, we're just a bunch ofshares of information.
(48:56):
And um, yeah, I mean, that isempowering for people.
And I think through education,um, you know, learning different
different things or differenttreatment plans or protocols.
I mean, that just can be thatwhole educational component can
add to such an empoweringposition for the patient and
(49:17):
their families.
SPEAKER_01 (49:19):
So good.
Well, thank you for being atrailblazer.
SPEAKER_02 (49:22):
Oh, thank you for having me today because I can
talk about myself.
SPEAKER_01 (49:26):
It's been amazing.
So I have one more question foryou.
So, what would you say has been,I don't know, maybe your most
favorite um supernatural uhmethodology to help like what
you walked through and maybewhat you share with others.
And then what's your favoriterecipe that's wonderful and
(49:48):
natural?
SPEAKER_02 (49:50):
Let me think.
So that first that first part ofthe question, that's a tough
one.
Let me think.
SPEAKER_01 (49:56):
I like asking tough questions.
SPEAKER_02 (49:58):
I know, I know.
Um let me think here.
Um something.
Well, you know, I'm not sure ifthis is what we're getting at,
but uh for me, I feel thatlistening to that, to your that
inter that inter spirit um thatwe all have within us, right?
(50:23):
That that God voice, um, beingable to quiet yourself enough to
hear, like if you're asking aquestion to quiet yourself
enough to hear.
Um, some people call itintuition.
We're not really trained to honethat, but I really do believe
it's God's voice that's just,you know, kind of prodding us in
(50:45):
different ways, um, you know, todo certain things.
And many of us just kind of putthat to the side.
But I think I don't know if thisanswers the question or not, but
I feel that kind of tuning intothat voice and allowing that to
come through somehow, some wayinto how we're growing um while
(51:07):
we're on this earth.
Yeah, absolutely.
Um, is something that should bevery meaningful to a lot of
people.
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (51:15):
And I would say, yeah, exactly.
Like listening to him first andforemost.
Like, what's my next step, Lord?
What do you want me to knowabout this?
What where do you want me to go?
Who do you want me to connectwith?
It's he's so good to do that.
Um, we just have to slow downenough to listen, right?
Well, we do the world is so umfast-paced, and there's so many
(51:37):
voices and so many opinions, andultimately he's he's number one,
right?
SPEAKER_02 (51:43):
Yeah, exactly.
I mean, exactly.
And the the sad part is thatwe're well, it's sad because a
lot of people don't know.
But the but the good part isthat we're able to kind of be
that voice to those who justmaybe aren't aware, just to kind
(52:05):
of you know give yourself thatquiet time and however that
looks to you, and just to seewhat the next steps are really
supposed to be, and then justfollow them.
SPEAKER_01 (52:18):
Amen.
SPEAKER_02 (52:18):
Yes, I love it.
SPEAKER_01 (52:20):
Well, do you have a recipe that's coming to mind
that maybe while you're goingthrough treatment that you found
to just be so nourishing andhappy, I guess the word happy
with it?
SPEAKER_02 (52:35):
So I will tell you that we have recipes out on the
website too when we're adding,you know, a recipe here and
there all the time.
But one that I loved, I mean,lots and lots of juices I have
on the recipe because I feelthat, you know, an alkaline body
really is a body that's able tojust fight um diseases in such a
beautiful way.
(52:55):
But we have a smoothie recipe.
We have, well, a few smoothierecipes.
And smoothies to me kind of, youknow, conjure up ideas of
milkshakes.
So I always freeze my fruit.
The fruit is always frozen.
So right away we know we'regonna get a consistency of a
milkshake.
I don't add um any milk, anyalmond milks or coconut milks or
anything.
(53:16):
I use just clean water with mysmoothies.
Always adding cinnamon, a touchof turmeric, and a little bit of
black pepper.
And um, and pretty much that'sthat's my my smoothie, and just
put it in the ninja and um andknow you're nourishing your
immune system.
SPEAKER_01 (53:33):
Wow, I've never thought to add like pepper to it
before.
SPEAKER_02 (53:37):
Well, the reason why we add black pepper is because
turmeric, you know, to activatethe turmeric so it's more bio
um, so it's easier digestible,your body takes it in better is
adding the black pepper.
Does it give it a little kick?
SPEAKER_00 (53:56):
No, you can't really even taste it.
Really?
You really can't.
Give that a try.
Thank you.
There you go.
This was for me.
Thank you.
No, you're welcome.
SPEAKER_01 (54:09):
Um, well, thank you so much for for coming on.
Um I'm probably gonna have tohave you on another time.
Maybe we could go into someother subjects because I'm sure
we could talk about many, manythings here.
While we wrap up, I was justcurious if you had um as you
meant as I mentioned before weeven got started, I do this for
the one.
So if you could just think ofsomeone who's listening in
(54:31):
today, is there any other umwords of encouragement or wisdom
that you feel led to share withthem?
And then would you mind prayingus out as we wrap up?
SPEAKER_02 (54:41):
Absolutely.
Um just always know one that youhave time, and there is always
hope.
Yes, and through faith andgratitude, you'll find that
hope.
So good.
(55:01):
I know, right?
So, did you want me to say asmall prayer before we go?
Would you mind?
Oh no, I don't mind at all.
Thank you.
So, Father God, thank you somuch for allowing me this
platform today.
I am honored to be with Kristenand all of those who are
listening.
And I hope that my words wereconcise and that the people who
(55:27):
were listening will find hope,faith, and gratitude each and
every day.
SPEAKER_03 (55:34):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (55:34):
Amen.
SPEAKER_01 (55:35):
Amen.
Thank you so much.
You are amazing, and thank youso much for being a brave voice
who's setting so many free.
I'm going to close with theanchoring verse, which is May
the God of hope fill you withall joy and peace in believing,
so that by the power of the HolySpirit you may abound in hope.
And that's Romans 15, 13.
(55:57):
So I will be sure to link up uhLori's contact information in
the show notes.
Be sure to reach out to her, andI will be back with another
episode next week.
Thanks so much, Lori.
SPEAKER_03 (56:06):
Have a great day.
SPEAKER_01 (56:07):
Thank you, Christy.
Thank you.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Ruthie's Table 4
For more than 30 years The River Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen, are just some of the people who love to call The River Cafe home. On River Cafe Table 4, Rogers sits down with her customers—who have become friends—to talk about food memories. Table 4 explores how food impacts every aspect of our lives. “Foods is politics, food is cultural, food is how you express love, food is about your heritage, it defines who you and who you want to be,” says Rogers. Each week, Rogers invites her guest to reminisce about family suppers and first dates, what they cook, how they eat when performing, the restaurants they choose, and what food they seek when they need comfort. And to punctuate each episode of Table 4, guests such as Ralph Fiennes, Emily Blunt, and Alfonso Cuarón, read their favourite recipe from one of the best-selling River Cafe cookbooks. Table 4 itself, is situated near The River Cafe’s open kitchen, close to the bright pink wood-fired oven and next to the glossy yellow pass, where Ruthie oversees the restaurant. You are invited to take a seat at this intimate table and join the conversation. For more information, recipes, and ingredients, go to https://shoptherivercafe.co.uk/ Web: https://rivercafe.co.uk/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/therivercafelondon/ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/therivercafelondon/ For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iheartradio app, apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com