Cancer, Casually The Fullest

In this ep, Lindsay is visited by the fullest’s Editor-in-Chief, Nikki Bostwick (AKA: her boss-lady), and together they break down the moment Lindsay found out she had cancer three years ago. Lindsay shares how she was initially nervous to tell Nikki about her diagnosis, and, in turn, Nikki describes how she felt unsure about the best way to be there for her friend and employee. Turns out, they navigated the journey through a lot of conversations, empathy, and in the end... this very podcast.

Thank you, Lindsay, for sharing your ups and downs, tears and laughter, love life and work life, as you’ve bravely navigated the journey that is cancer. We love you so much. That’s all.

A special thank you to our sponsors for this episode. Foria (foriawellness.com) has offered Cancer, Casually listeners 20% off products with code Fullest20, and Patchology (patchology.com) has offered 15% with code Pink and is donating $1 from every sale to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

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This week Matt Coulter joins the show to discuss the healing power of giving. Along with Riawna Capri and Nikki Lee, the amazing lady bosses at LA’s Nine Zero One Salon, Matt heads up the BeYOUtiful Foundation. Together they’ve created a community for people of all ages that have defied the odds against cancer. BeYOUtiful’s mission is to make everyone feel beautiful throughout their experience -- and because hair is such a major part of the cancer journey, they’ve connected with top salons and stylists throughout the country to create BeYOUtiful Days -- offering local cancer survivors help with styling, cutting, and wig education -- from diagnosis to remission. Feeling as inspired as we are by this positive tornado of support? If this episode taught us anything, it’s that to make a difference, sometimes you just need to start... and the rest will follow.

This episode is one of our most moving to date. (Full warning: it doesn’t have a happy ending. But it does have a mother that exemplifies resilience, compassion, and the true definition of unconditional love.) Mary Carrillo gave birth to her first child, a son named Calvin in 2006. Just six years later, however, she stood by him as he was diagnosed with Leukemia, passing a year later. But that wasn’t the end for Calvin. His mother went on to turn his namesake into the Calvin Preston Foundation aimed at helping other kids who are fighting cancer. Tune in this week to listen to one mother’s story of turning the unthinkable into hopeful as she shares her love and loss... and then love again.

Donna McNutt is Instagram's Cancer Fashionista and we are thrilled to have her unique brand of relentless authenticity and diehard optimism on the show. Happily married and a mother to three grown children, Donna was first diagnosed with a rare type of blood cancer called Multiple Myeloma in 2015. With no known cure, she bravely underwent chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, going into remission for a few years until it just recently recurred. However, as you may have guessed from her Insta handle, Donna is the kind of lady who makes the best of any situation she’s given. A true woman of style, this episode is guaranteed to open your heart wide open and relish in that which makes you feel complete.

Most parents reading this can only imagine the devastating anguish that comes with discovering your child has cancer. This week’s guest, Audra DiPadova Wilford, is the powerful mom of Max, a powerful boy who at just 8-years-old was diagnosed with brain cancer. Inspired to make a difference, together the two created MaxLove Project — a testament of maximum love, endurance, and survivorship. Learn how they are bringing whole organic produce into cancer ward kitchens and turning hospital food into healing food.

Cancer. Twice. Two different types. And still not through the woods. It’s a reality most of our brains can’t quite compute. But one this week’s guest, artist Megan Krzmarzick, is currently living and breathing. Megan is an abstract artist, writer, wanderer, and 2x cancer fighter. She is a living reminder of the power of owning your struggles, of transmuting dark into creativity... and then getting back up. She’s been a major inspiration to Cancer, Casually host Lindsay on her own cancer journey and a complete illuminator to all of us here at Team fullest. Take a walk through her colorful garden this week as she shares her mind-blowing, incredibly inspiring journey with breast cancer, leukemia, and yes, even a bone marrow transplant. This woman is a warrior in every sense of the word.