Living to Thrive with Cancer

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Today we are talking about the financial reality of a cancer diagnosis the costs that show up immediately, the ones that creep in quietly over time, and what you can actually do to protect yourself and your family, whether you are 28 or 68 and navigating life with cancer.
By the end of this episode, you will know the financial pressure points that affect people at every stage of life after a diagnosis, feel less alone in the overwhelm that comes when medical bills meet mortgage payments and career uncertainty, and have a practical starting point for taking financial action even when everything feels out of your control.
A cancer diagnosis doesn't just change your health. It changes your financial life often immediately and without warning.
The real-world truth is this: the cost of cancer is not just the co-pays and the prescriptions. It is the income you lose when you cannot work. It is the career decisions you make under duress. It is the retirement savings you dip into. It is the caregiver who quietly reduces their hours to be present. It is the young adult who has to move home. It is the parent who is terrified about what happens to their family if things don't go the way they hope.
And it looks different depending on where you are in life. A 32-year-old navigating a diagnosis is asking very different financial questions than a 58-year-old. Both are valid. Both deserve answers.
In This Episode You'll Learn:
Why the financial cost of cancer goes far beyond medical bills and what expenses most people don't see coming
The key financial conversations to have immediately after a diagnosis
What young adults specifically need to know about income protection, student loans, and building stability mid-treatment
How older adults can navigate retirement accounts, insurance, and long-term planning during and after cancer
Practical steps you can take right now, even if your finances feel completely upended
The financial weight of cancer is real. You don't have to carry it alone, and you don't have to figure it out without support. 
Ready to build a life that supports your healing including the financial piece?
Connect with Shannon through The New School of Finance
Ready for More Support?
💛 Join the Cancer Thriver Pathway
This is where we take conversations like this and turn them into action with personalized support, holistic strategies, and a compassionate community walking beside you.
https://kathrynwhite.coach/membership
📅 Schedule your free consult call
You don’t have to figure this out alone. Let’s build your strength physically, emotionally, and mentally together.
https://calendly.com/kathrynwhitewellness/coachingcall
Free Resource
🎁 “Mindfulness for Anxiety Workbook” – FREE
Download here: https://kathryn-white-cancer-coach.kit.com/anxietyworkbook
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If this episode encouraged you, please:
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My Book
Living to Thrive with Cancer: A Holistic Guide to Living with Cancer
Available on Amazon, Audible, iTunes, and more:
https://a.co/d/drFeapW
Let’s Connect
Website: https://www.kathrynwhite.coach
Instagram: @kathrynwhitecancercoach
I would lo...

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You can be in a room full of people and still feel completely alone.
Nobody talks about that.
In this episode, Kathryn unpacks one of the most common and least discussed experiences of a cancer diagnosis: loneliness. Not just the social isolation that can come with treatment, but the deeper loneliness of feeling like no one truly understands what you are carrying: not your family, not your friends, and sometimes not even your medical team.
In This Episode You'll Learn
What cancer loneliness is, why it happens, and how to move through it. 
Why cancer loneliness is so common.
How the people who love you can unintentionally deepen your isolation.
The power of peer connection and finding your people
Ready for More Support?
💛 Join the Cancer Thriver Pathway
This is where we take conversations like this and turn them into action with personalized support, holistic strategies, and a compassionate community walking beside you.
https://kathrynwhite.coach/membership
📅 Schedule your free consult call
You don’t have to figure this out alone. Let’s build your strength physically, emotionally, and mentally together.
https://calendly.com/kathrynwhitewellness/coachingcall
Free Resource
🎁 “Mindfulness for Anxiety Workbook” – FREE
Download here: https://kathryn-white-cancer-coach.kit.com/anxietyworkbook
Love the Podcast?
If this episode encouraged you, please:
Subscribe
Share it with someone who needs to hear it
Leave a 5-star review
My Book
Living to Thrive with Cancer: A Holistic Guide to Living with Cancer
Available on Amazon, Audible, iTunes, and more:
https://a.co/d/drFeapW
Let’s Connect
Website: https://www.kathrynwhite.coach
Instagram: @kathrynwhitecancercoach
I would lo...

Let me know what you think!
What if one conversation… one screening… one moment of advocacy… could save a life?
In this powerful and deeply moving episode, Kathryn is joined by Anne Perry, colorectal cancer awareness advocate and one of the voices behind #TestForToby a social media movement dedicated to promoting early screening and saving lives.
Anne shares the story of her late husband, Toby, whose colorectal cancer diagnosis came too late and how that loss became a mission to ensure other families do not experience the same heartbreak.
Through courage, advocacy, and community, Anne and her family are changing the conversation around colorectal cancer especially for those who are younger than the recommended screening age.
This episode is a reminder that awareness is not just information, it is action.
And action can save lives.
In This Episode You’ll Learn
• The story behind #TestForToby and how it began
 • Why colorectal cancer awareness matters more than ever
 • The rising rates of colorectal cancer in younger adults
 • The importance of early screening and knowing your options
 • How to advocate for yourself when something feels off
 • The role of family, community, and storytelling in driving change
 • How one voice can create a ripple effect that saves lives
About Anne Perry
Anne Perry is a colorectal cancer awareness advocate and one of the voices behind #TestForToby, a movement created in honour of her late husband, Toby.
Driven by loss and love, Anne and her family have committed themselves to raising awareness about the importance of early detection, screening, and self-advocacy with the goal of helping other families avoid the same outcome.
Through social media, storytelling, and community engagement, #TestForToby is empowering individuals to listen to their bodies, get screened, and speak up.

Ready for More Support?
💛 Join the Cancer Thriver Pathway
This is where we take conversations like this and turn them into action with personalized support, holistic strategies, and a compassionate community walking beside you.
https://kathrynwhite.coach/membership
📅 Schedule your free consult call
You don’t have to figure this out alone. Let’s build your strength physically, emotionally, and mentally together.
https://calendly.com/kathrynwhitewellness/coachingcall
Free Resource
🎁 “Mindfulness for Anxiety Workbook” – FREE
Download here: https://kathryn-white-cancer-coach.kit.com/anxietyworkbook
Love the Podcast?
If this episode encouraged you, please:
Subscribe
Share it with someone who needs to hear it
Leave a 5-star review
My Book
Living to Thrive with Cancer: A Holistic Guide to Living with Cancer
Available on Amazon, Audible, iTunes, and more:
https://a.co/d/drFeapW
Let’s Connect
Website: https://www.kathrynwhite.coach
Instagram: @kathrynwhitecancercoach
I would lo...

Let me know what you think!
Colorectal cancer is rising in younger adults and screening guidelines are based on population averages, not individual experiences.
In this episode, Kathryn shares her personal experience with stage 4 colon cancer and why awareness, early detection, and self-advocacy matter more than ever.
Kathryn speaks openly about the symptoms she experienced, the importance of trusting your body, and how to advocate for further testing if you’re younger than the recommended screening age.
Whether you are living with cancer, supporting someone who is, or simply want to understand the signs and risk factors, this episode will empower you to listen to your body and take action when something doesn’t feel right.
Awareness can save lives.
In This Episode You’ll Learn
• Why colorectal cancer diagnoses are increasing in younger adults
 • The symptoms that should never be ignored
 • What “persistent symptoms” really means
 • Why screening guidelines don’t apply equally to everyone
 • How to advocate for yourself when doctors suggest “wait and see”
 • What caregivers should watch for in loved ones
 • How early detection can change outcomes
Ready for More Support?
💛 Join the Cancer Thriver Pathway
This is where we take conversations like this and turn them into action with personalized support, holistic strategies, and a compassionate community walking beside you.
https://kathrynwhite.coach/membership
📅 Schedule your free consult call
You don’t have to figure this out alone. Let’s build your strength physically, emotionally, and mentally together.
https://calendly.com/kathrynwhitewellness/coachingcall
Free Resource
🎁 “Mindfulness for Anxiety Workbook” – FREE
Download here: https://kathryn-white-cancer-coach.kit.com/anxietyworkbook
Love the Podcast?
If this episode encouraged you, please:
Subscribe
Share it with someone who needs to hear it
Leave a 5-star review
My Book
Living to Thrive with Cancer: A Holistic Guide to Living with Cancer
Available on Amazon, Audible, iTunes, and more:
https://a.co/d/drFeapW
Let’s Connect
Website: https://www.kathrynwhite.coach
Instagram: @kathrynwhitecancercoach
I would lo...

Let me know what you think!
Exercise and cancer used to feel like opposites.
For years, the common advice for someone going through treatment was simple: rest. And while rest is absolutely essential, we now know that appropriate, intentional movement can be one of the most powerful tools available to people living with cancer.
In this empowering episode of Living to Thrive with Cancer, I sit down with internationally recognized oncology exercise researcher Dr. Anna Schwartz to talk about what the science really says about cancer and exercise and why movement is not just safe, but transformative.
This conversation is for you if you are:
Newly diagnosed and unsure what’s safe
In active treatment and struggling with fatigue
Post-treatment and wondering how to rebuild strength
A caregiver supporting someone through recovery
Dr. Schwartz shares decades of research and clinical experience to help us understand how exercise supports healing physically, emotionally, and even biologically.
In This Episode We Discuss:
✨ Why exercise during cancer treatment is not only safe for most people but beneficial
 ✨ The truth about cancer-related fatigue (and why rest alone isn’t the solution)
 ✨ How movement supports immune function and recovery
 ✨ The role of strength training in rebuilding confidence and resilience
 ✨ What kind of exercise is most effective and how to start small
 ✨ How to shift from fear of movement to trust in your body again
Dr. Schwartz reminds us that exercise is not about pushing harder or “bouncing back.” It’s about reclaiming agency. It’s about reminding your body that it is capable. It’s about participation in your own healing.
And that mindset shift? That’s where thriving begins.
Learn more about Dr Anna Schwartz
Cancer Exercise app: www.cancerexercise.com
Dr Schwartz's practice: DrAnnaLSchwartz.com
Books (Cancer Fitness, Essentials or Exercise Oncology and others) : annaschwartzphd.com
American College of Medicine Moving Through Cancer resources: https://www.exerciseismedicine.org/eim-in-action/moving-through-cancer-2/
Ready for More Support?
💛 Join the Cancer Thriver Pathway
This is where we take conversations like this and turn them into action with personalized support, holistic strategies, and a compassionate community walking beside you.
https://kathrynwhite.coach/membership
📅 Schedule your free consult call
You don’t have to figure this out alone. Let’s build your strength physically, emotionally, and mentally together.
https://calendly.com/kathrynwhitewellness/coachingcall
Free Resource
🎁 “Mindfulness for Anxiety Workbook” – FREE
Download here: https://kathryn-white-cancer-coach.kit.com/anxietyworkbook
Love the Podcast?
If this episode encouraged you, please:
Subscribe
Share it with someone who needs to hear it
Leave a 5-star review
My Book
Living to Thrive with Cancer: A Holistic Guide to Living with Cancer
Available on Amazon, Audible, iTunes, and more:
https://a.co/d/drFeapW
Let’s Connect
Website: https://www.kathrynwhite.coach
Instagram: @kathrynwhitecancercoach
I would lo...