Still I Rise Podcast

Lisa McKenzie, Founder of You Night Events
  • 5.0 (8)
  • Mental Health
  • Weekly

Real stories. Raw truth. Unshakable hope. Hosted by Lisa McKenzie, founder of You Night Empowering Events, The Still I Rise Podcast is a powerful, heartfelt series that shares the voices of women who have fought — or are still fighting — cancer, and the transformative journeys they’ve taken to reclaim joy, identity, and purpose. Each episode highlights inspiring survivor stories, candid conversations with mental health experts, and uplifting insights for anyone facing life after diagnosis. We dive deep into the emotional, spiritual, and psychological layers of healing — reminding every woman that she’s not alone, and that her story matters. Whether you're navigating cancer, supporting a loved one, or simply seeking inspiration and sisterhood, this podcast is for you. Want to share your story, connect with our community, or support our mission? Visit YouNightEmpoweringEvents.com to learn more about our cancer survivor empowerment programs and how you can get involved. #StillIRisePodcast | #CancerSurvivorStories | #WomenWhoFightCancer | #YouNightSisterhood Support women rising. Align your brand with a mission of hope, courage, and transformation. Let’s talk about creating a sponsorship package that meets your goals. Call us at 877-591-5936 x1 or email lisa@younightevents.com  

  1. 2d ago

    Betty Milazzo: Through the Storm — Surviving Breast Cancer at 70 with Faith, Hope & Courage

    Send us Fan Mail There's an old saying that we can't always control the storms that come into our lives, but we can choose how we navigate through them. And sometimes, those storms teach us things about ourselves that we might never have discovered otherwise. When Betty Milazzo was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023, she was 70 years old. Now, by the time you've lived seven decades, you've probably weathered your share of life's challenges. You've experienced heartache, celebrated victories, learned some hard lessons, and hopefully discovered a thing or two about what really matters. But nothing quite prepares you for hearing the words, "You have cancer." For Betty, those words brought fear, uncertainty, and a whole new set of challenges. But they also brought a decision. She wasn't going to let cancer define her. As treatment progressed, Betty experienced something that so many women struggle with—the loss of her hair, her eyebrows, and her eyelashes. Looking in the mirror became a reminder of everything cancer was changing. But it also led her to ask a deeper question: Who am I when the things I've always associated with my appearance are suddenly gone? And what Betty discovered was that her strength, her faith, her identity, and her worth had never depended on what she saw in the mirror. Today, Betty is cancer-free, and she shares some beautiful insights about gratitude, the power of human connection, and the importance of choosing hope even when life feels overwhelming. One of my favorite messages from her story is this: We may not get to choose the path we walk, but we can choose the way we walk it. Her story, Through the Storm, reminds us that healing isn't just about surviving a diagnosis. Sometimes it's about emerging on the other side with a completely different appreciation for the life we've been given. And perhaps the greatest gift isn't that we avoided the storm. It's discovering who we became while walking through it. This is Betty Milazzo. Support the show Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY.  To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories.  Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story?  Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com

    Betty Milazzo: Through the Storm — Surviving Breast Cancer at 70 with Faith, Hope & Courage

  2. Oct 28

    The Hidden Influences on Our Health: What Are We Exposed To Every Day? - featuring Courtney Carmadelle with Wholistic Fix

    Send us Fan Mail Welcome to another episode of Still I Rise, where we explore the many ways we can take charge of our health, our healing, and our lives. Through my work with You Night, I've met so many women who, after receiving a cancer diagnosis, have said the same thing: "I did everything right. I ate healthy, I exercised, I took care of myself. How did this happen?" And it raises an important question: What about the things we're exposed to every day that we may not even be thinking about? Today, I'm joined by Courtney Carmadelle of Wholistic Fix in Mandeville, Louisiana, for a fascinating conversation about our environment and the many factors that may influence our overall health. We're exploring everything from creating healthier homes and questions surrounding 4G and 5G cell towers to microwaves, nutrition, supplements, and how our bodies respond to the foods we eat. Some of these topics are backed by established science, while others are still being studied or debated. But that's exactly why I think it's important to ask questions, stay curious, and make informed decisions about our health. So join us as we explore the world around us, the choices we make every day, and what it really means to take a more holistic approach to wellness. Courtney, welcome to Still I Rise! Support the show Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY.  To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories.  Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story?  Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com

    The Hidden Influences on Our Health: What Are We Exposed To Every Day? - featuring Courtney Carmadelle with Wholistic Fix

  3. Oct 25

    Finding My Way Back to Me: Reclaiming the Heart Cancer Couldn't Take - by Susan Bedard

    Send us Fan Mail What happens when life takes so much from you that you barely recognize the person you've become? For Susan Bedard, a diagnosis of invasive ductal carcinoma in 2024, followed by metastatic carcinoma, changed far more than her physical health. It changed the way she viewed her relationships, her priorities, and ultimately, herself. For years, Susan was the woman who showed up for everyone else. The peacemaker. The people-pleaser. The one who put everyone else's needs before her own. But cancer has a way of revealing things we may have spent a lifetime trying not to see. Through some incredibly painful experiences, Susan began to realize that somewhere along the way, she had lost pieces of herself trying to keep everyone else happy. Inspired by the characters Te Fiti and Te Kā from Disney's Moana, Susan discovered a beautiful truth: Sometimes the person we become through pain isn't who we really are. And healing means finding our way back to ourselves. With the unwavering love of her husband, Tim, and their two sons, LT and Luke, Susan is learning that setting boundaries isn't selfish, that her worth isn't measured by sacrifice, and that she doesn't have to lose herself to be loved. Her story is a reminder that you can be changed by what you've been through without losing the heart of who you are. Please welcome Susan Bedard, sharing her story, "Not Who I Was, Still Who I Am." Support the show Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY.  To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories.  Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story?  Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com

    Finding My Way Back to Me: Reclaiming the Heart Cancer Couldn't Take - by Susan Bedard

  4. Oct 11

    Kimberly Foley: Surviving Breast Cancer, Finding Healing & Becoming the Shore

    Send us Fan Mail Have you ever been so busy surviving life that you never stopped to heal from it? You know what I mean. Life throws something devastating your way, and somehow you find the strength to get through it. You pick yourself up, put one foot in front of the other, and keep going. And before you know it, another storm comes along. For Kimberly Foley, life has been a series of storms. She endured years of infertility and five rounds of IVF before finally becoming the mother of two beautiful boys. Then came open-heart surgery while her children were still very young, followed by a devastating divorce that left her raising those boys on her own. And through it all, Kimberly did what she had always done. She kept swimming. She became the protector, the provider, the one who held everything together. There wasn't time to fall apart. There wasn't time to process the pain. Her children needed her, and that was enough to keep her going. But years later, when her boys were grown and she was finally beginning to discover who she was beyond motherhood, another wave came crashing in. Breast cancer. A double mastectomy. Twelve rounds of chemotherapy. The loss of her hair. And eventually, the news that she would need a hysterectomy. But something unexpected happened during her cancer journey. All those emotions she had packed away for decades began rising to the surface. And during You Night's Candle Pass experience, surrounded by women who understood what it meant to carry invisible scars, Kimberly discovered something she had never given herself permission to do. She could stop being strong for everyone else. She could finally let someone be strong for her. Her story, Sink or Swim: Becoming the Shore, is about a woman who spent her entire life building boats to survive the storms, only to discover that surviving and healing are two very different things. And perhaps the greatest revelation of all? She wasn't simply the woman who kept everyone afloat. She was the shore. This is Kimberly Foley. Support the show Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY.  To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories.  Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story?  Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com

    Kimberly Foley: Surviving Breast Cancer, Finding Healing & Becoming the Shore

  5. Oct 6

    Covered: Hearing God’s Voice, Finding Faith & Trusting His Protection by Lisa McKenzie

    Send us Fan Mail Have you ever heard the voice of God? There have been moments in my life when I believe God has spoken to me so clearly that I couldn't ignore Him—during grief, heartbreak, fear, and moments when I questioned whether the work I was doing even mattered. In this deeply personal episode of Still I Rise, I share three experiences that changed the way I understand faith and God's presence in my life: a vivid dream during the unraveling of my marriage that led me unexpectedly to Psalm 91; an encounter during one of the most difficult seasons of my work with You Night; and a remarkable message that came after the death of my mother, just when I needed encouragement most. At 63, these experiences have taken on a new meaning. I'm thinking differently about time, the battles I choose to fight, the people I give my energy to, and how I want to spend the years I have left. For much of my life, I asked, "Am I worth it?" Today, I'm learning to ask a different question: "Is this worth my time?" Covered is a story about hearing God's voice, trusting His protection, letting go of battles that aren't ours to fight, and recognizing that none of us knows how many summers we have left. Psalm 91 says, "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge." Maybe being covered doesn't mean we won't experience heartbreak, loss or hardship. Maybe it means we don't have to walk through any of it alone. The wings weren't there to keep me from living. They were there to make me brave enough to fly. Support the show Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY.  To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories.  Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story?  Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com

    Covered: Hearing God’s Voice, Finding Faith & Trusting His Protection by Lisa McKenzie

  6. Oct 4

    Tara Alviano: Breast Cancer, Motherhood & the Strength to Keep Fighting

    Send us Fan Mail There’s a difference between being bent and being broken. Life can put so much weight on us that we barely recognize ourselves under it. It can change our bodies, shake our confidence, disrupt the future we thought we were going to have, and make us question just how much more we can carry. But sometimes, it’s under that weight that we discover what we’re actually made of. When Tara Alviano heard the words, “You have breast cancer,” her world changed in an instant. Suddenly, her days were filled with radiation, chemotherapy, surgeries, medical appointments, exhaustion, and fear. There were mornings when simply getting out of bed felt like climbing a mountain. And there were moments when she looked in the mirror and struggled to recognize the woman looking back at her. Before cancer, Tara thought strength meant handling everything and not showing fear. Cancer taught her something very different. Strength could mean being afraid and showing up anyway. It could mean asking for help. Letting someone else carry you when you couldn’t carry yourself. Celebrating a good lab report, a short walk, a peaceful morning, or simply another day with the people you love. And through it all, Tara kept coming back to one of the greatest reasons she had to keep going—her children. She wanted them to see that courage isn’t about never being afraid. It’s about what we choose to do when we are. Cancer left Tara with scars, both visible and invisible. But today, she doesn't see those scars simply as evidence of what cancer took from her. She sees them as evidence of what she survived. Her story reminds us that some of the strongest people we know aren't the ones who were never brought to their knees. They're the ones who discovered they could rise again. Cancer may have bent her. But it did not break her. This is Tara Alviano. Support the show Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY.  To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories.  Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story?  Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com

    Tara Alviano: Breast Cancer, Motherhood & the Strength to Keep Fighting

  7. Sep 27

    Adelia Ramos: How Breast Cancer Taught a Lifelong Caregiver to Finally Choose Herself

    Send us Fan Mail Today’s guest is especially meaningful to me because I had the pleasure of getting to know Adelia Ramos in a very personal way. I was one of her coaches during this year's Story Crafting program, where our little group proudly called ourselves the Iron Rebels. And over those weeks together, I had the privilege of watching Adelia begin to unpack a pattern that had shaped almost her entire life: Taking care of everyone except herself. Adelia was only eleven years old when a traumatic injury changed her mother—and her family—forever. Almost overnight, she went from being a child who was cared for to becoming a caretaker herself. And that role followed her into adulthood. Adelia describes her life as an overflowing plate at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Every responsibility, every obligation, every person who needed something went onto that plate. And somehow, she kept finding room for more. Everyone else was being fed. But Adelia was starving herself. Eventually, the plate shattered. At 30, she found the courage to leave a relationship of more than ten years, faced panic attacks, depression and tremendous uncertainty, and began the difficult process of rebuilding her life. Her young son became the catalyst that helped her recognize a cycle she didn't want to repeat—and for perhaps the first time, Adelia began choosing herself. And then came cancer. But remarkably, Adelia says cancer taught her something she hadn't learned through all those years of being the strong one: Grace. Grace to stop carrying everything. Grace to say no. Grace to accept help. And grace to understand that taking care of herself doesn't mean she loves anyone else less. Today, Adelia no longer sees herself as that overflowing plate—or even as the rock that has to hold everything together. She sees herself as a leaf. A leaf doesn't fight every current. It bends. It moves. It trusts. And most importantly, it decides where its energy will go. Her story is called “The Plate Finally Shattered.” And having had the privilege of watching Adelia find the words for this story, I'm especially proud to share her voice with you today. She is a mother, daughter, caregiver, leader, advocate, cancer survivor—and a woman who finally understands that choosing herself is not selfish. For now, and for the future, she chooses to be the leaf. This is Adelia Ramos. Support the show Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY.  To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories.  Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story?  Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com

    Adelia Ramos: How Breast Cancer Taught a Lifelong Caregiver to Finally Choose Herself

  8. Sep 23

    Olivia Joly: Surviving Hodgkin Lymphoma, Overcoming Loss & Becoming the Mountain

    Send us Fan Mail Today’s episode is especially meaningful, and before I introduce my guest, I want to dedicate this conversation to someone very special. My guest today is Olivia Joly, a cancer survivor whose story is rooted in family, sacrifice, resilience, and the belief that no matter how deep the valley, we somehow find the strength to keep climbing. Cancer has touched Olivia’s family in a profound way. Two of her sisters have also gone through our program, making this journey one that their family has shared in a way few families ever should. And there is something important I want you to know about when this conversation was recorded. At the time, Olivia’s sister Idalina was fighting for her life against cancer. Since this interview was recorded, Idalina has passed away. And so, with tremendous love and respect for Olivia and her entire family, this episode is dedicated to the memory of Idalina. Olivia's own story begins thousands of miles away on the island of São Miguel in the Azores, where she grew up as one of seven children in a family that had very little materially, but possessed an extraordinary abundance of love. In 1975, her parents brought their seven children to America with a few battered suitcases, no safety net, and an enormous amount of hope. It was her father who taught Olivia one of the greatest lessons of her life: you don't stop in the valley. You keep climbing. And Olivia would need that lesson again and again. Through a failed marriage and single motherhood. Through her diagnosis with Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 50 and a frightening surgery that could have changed her life forever. Through the death of her beloved father. Through watching her mother face Alzheimer's disease. And through losses and fractures within the family she loves so deeply. Yet somehow, Olivia kept climbing. Her story is called “Becoming the Mountain: A Story of Peaks, Valleys, and the Legacy That Carried Me.” Because Olivia eventually realized something extraordinary. For years, she thought her story was about surviving the mountain. But after everything she had endured—the storms, the valleys, the scars, the grief, and every seemingly impossible climb—she realized: She had become the mountain. Weathered. Scarred. Still standing. And beneath every step is the path her father carved before her. Today, we honor Olivia's story—and we honor Idalina, whose life and memory are now forever part of it. This is Olivia Joly. Support the show Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY.  To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories.  Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story?  Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com

    Olivia Joly: Surviving Hodgkin Lymphoma, Overcoming Loss & Becoming the Mountain
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Real stories. Raw truth. Unshakable hope. Hosted by Lisa McKenzie, founder of You Night Empowering Events, The Still I Rise Podcast is a powerful, heartfelt series that shares the voices of women who have fought — or are still fighting — cancer, and the transformative journeys they’ve taken to reclaim joy, identity, and purpose. Each episode highlights inspiring survivor stories, candid conversations with mental health experts, and uplifting insights for anyone facing life after diagnosis. We dive deep into the emotional, spiritual, and psychological layers of healing — reminding every woman that she’s not alone, and that her story matters. Whether you're navigating cancer, supporting a loved one, or simply seeking inspiration and sisterhood, this podcast is for you. Want to share your story, connect with our community, or support our mission? Visit YouNightEmpoweringEvents.com to learn more about our cancer survivor empowerment programs and how you can get involved. #StillIRisePodcast | #CancerSurvivorStories | #WomenWhoFightCancer | #YouNightSisterhood Support women rising. Align your brand with a mission of hope, courage, and transformation. Let’s talk about creating a sponsorship package that meets your goals. Call us at 877-591-5936 x1 or email lisa@younightevents.com  

Information

  • Creator
    Lisa McKenzie, Founder of You Night Events
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    124
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Still I Rise Podcast
  • Show Website
    Still I Rise Podcast