Cancer Wasn't Part of the Plan

Dr. Deb Waterbury
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Cancer wasn’t part of the plan. But neither is letting it have the final word. Cancer Wasn’t Part of the Plan is a faith-filled podcast with Dr. Deb Waterbury for women navigating breast cancer, treatment, recovery, and life after a diagnosis. Through honest conversations and biblical truth, Dr. Deb talks about the parts of cancer that don’t always make it into the medical conversations—the fear, loneliness, anger, exhaustion, changing relationships, body image, survivor’s guilt, and questions about where God is in all of it. Whether you’ve just been diagnosed, you’re in treatment, recoveri

  1. 2d ago

    The People Who Stayed

    Some people leave when life gets hard. Others stay. In Episode 16 of Cancer Wasn’t Part of the Plan, I’m talking about The People Who Stayed—the friends who don’t need you to be okay, don’t try to fix you, and simply enter into the hard places with you. Jesus modeled this ministry of presence when He wept with Mary and Martha. Paul experienced it when God comforted him through the arrival of Titus. And I’ve experienced it through meals, texts, prayers, and friends who simply kept showing up. Sometimes we spend so much time staring at the empty chairs that we miss the people who are still sitting at the table. Who has been your Titus? And perhaps an even more important question: Whose Titus can you be? 🎙️ Episode 16 — The People Who StayedCancer Wasn’t Part of the Plan with Dr. Deb Waterbury

  2. Sep 29

    I Thought I Was in Control

    I thought being responsible meant staying in control. Cancer reminded me how little control I actually have. In Episode 15, What Cancer Taught Me About Control, we talk about the difference between wisdom and control—and why real peace doesn’t come from managing every outcome. It comes from surrender. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart…” — Proverbs 3:5–6 What if the thing you need to let go of is the very thing stealing your peace?

  3. Sep 22

    Are You Tired of Waiting on God? | The Waiting Is Still Part of the Story

    Waiting is hard. And if I’m being truthful, I’m discovering that I’m not very good at it. My cancer journey has felt like one long series of “hurry up and wait.” I waited for answers, surgery, and pathology results. Now, even with good news, I’m waiting again—for treatment and for what comes next. But cancer isn’t the only place I’m waiting. There are prayers I’ve prayed for years. There are relationships I’m still asking God to restore. There are places in my life where I know God is writing the story—I just can’t see what the next chapter looks like yet. Maybe you’re there too. In Episode 14 of Cancer Wasn’t Part of the Plan, “The Waiting Is Still Part of the Story,” we’re talking about what happens in that uncomfortable space between where we’ve been and where we’re going. I call it the hallway. And here’s what I’m learning: God is not absent in the hallway. Waiting doesn’t mean God has stopped working. It doesn’t mean He has forgotten you. And it certainly doesn’t mean your story is over. Sometimes what looks like a period to us is actually just a comma in the hands of the Author. We’ll talk about Isaiah 40:31, what it really means to wait on the Lord, why trusting God is a choice rather than a feeling, and how God uses these in-between seasons to deepen our relationship with Him. Perhaps the prayer we need in a waiting season isn’t simply, “God, get me out of here.” Maybe it’s: “God, don’t let me miss what You’re doing now while I’m waiting for what You’re going to do then.” If you’re tired of waiting on God, this episode is for you. 🎙️ Cancer Wasn’t Part of the Plan with Dr. Deb WaterburyEpisode 14: The Waiting Is Still Part of the Story Follow the podcast so you don’t miss an episode, and share this one with someone who is living in the hallway right now.

  4. Sep 15

    Deeply Loved on My Worst Day

    Does God still love me when I’m not handling life very well? Not the strong version of me. Not the faith-filled, Scripture-quoting, encouraging-everybody-else version. The exhausted me.The afraid me.The angry me.The woman who cried again, worried again, doubted again—or Googled the thing she promised herself she wouldn’t Google. 😏 In Episode 13 of Cancer Wasn’t Part of the Plan, “Deeply Loved on My Worst Day,” Dr. Deb Waterbury talks about one of the hardest truths to believe when life falls apart: God’s love for us does not rise and fall with our performance. Walking through cancer, illness, grief, disappointment, or any season that strips away your strength can make you wonder whether God is disappointed in you. But Romans 8:38–39 gives us an extraordinary promise: nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. In this episode, we’ll talk about: • Why your circumstances are not evidence of how much God loves you• What to do when you know God loves you but don’t feel loved• Why your weakness doesn’t disappoint God• The danger of turning God’s love into a spiritual performance review• Why you can bring your fear, anger, questions, and exhaustion honestly to God• How cancer can change the way you see yourself—and why your diagnosis is never your deepest identity• What it means to be able to say with Paul, “I am persuaded.” Before a doctor ever spoke a diagnosis over you, God had already spoken beloved over you. Your diagnosis didn’t cancel it.Your scars didn’t cancel it.Your fear didn’t cancel it.Your questions didn’t cancel it.And your worst day cannot cancel what Jesus secured at the cross. On your best day, you are loved.On your ordinary day, you are loved.And on the day when you barely recognize yourself… You are deeply loved there, too. 📖 Scriptures: Romans 8:38–39; Romans 5:8; Psalm 139; Hebrews 4:16; Lamentations 3:22–23; Ephesians 2:8 If this episode encourages you, share it with someone who needs this reminder today: You do not have to earn the love of God. You are already deeply loved in Christ.

  5. Sep 8

    Survivor's Guilt

    Episode 12 — Survivor’s Guilt: When Good News Feels Complicated What happens when you finally get the good news you’ve been praying for—and somehow, celebrating it feels complicated? In Episode 12 of Cancer Wasn’t Part of the Plan, Dr. Deb Waterbury shares a milestone in her own breast cancer journey: her pathology came back clear. No cancer. There was relief. Gratitude. Joy. And then something unexpected showed up: Guilt. Because while one woman is celebrating a clear report, another is hearing that her cancer has spread. Someone else is facing another surgery, another treatment, or news she desperately hoped she would never receive. And suddenly the question becomes, “Why did I get this outcome when someone else didn’t?” In this deeply personal episode, Dr. Deb talks about survivor’s guilt, gratitude, grace, and the danger of treating cancer outcomes like spiritual report cards. A good pathology report does not mean God loves one person more—and a devastating report does not mean He loves another person less. Our circumstances are not the measurement of God’s love. The cross is. You’ll also hear an important reminder: your gratitude is not a betrayal of someone else’s grief. Scripture makes room for both rejoicing and weeping—sometimes even in the same person. You don’t have to apologize for surviving or make your joy smaller to prove that you care about someone else’s pain. And survival isn’t a debt you have to repay. Grace was never meant to feel like a bill. Instead of spending the rest of our lives asking, “Why me?” perhaps the better question is, “God, what do You want to do with the life I have today?” If you’ve ever felt guilty about receiving the answer someone else is still praying for—or if you’re still waiting for your own good news—this episode is for you. Maybe survivor’s guilt can become something different: Survivor’s gratitude. Celebrate the gift. Thank God for today. And let your good news make you gentler, more compassionate, and more willing to walk beside someone who is still waiting for hers. You don’t have to apologize for surviving. But you can allow surviving to change the way you live.

  6. Sep 1

    The Friend Who Disappeared

    Episode 11 — The Friend Who Disappeared There are some things you expect cancer to change. Your calendar. Your body. Your plans. Your sense of normal. But there’s one loss nobody really warns you about: The people who disappear. In Episode 11 of Cancer Wasn’t Part of the Plan, Dr. Deb Waterbury talks about the painful reality of relationships during a crisis—the friend you thought would call but doesn’t, the person you expected to check on you who never does, and the unexpected hurt of needing someone who simply isn’t there. Crisis has a way of revealing relationships. But not everyone who disappears does so because they don’t care. Some people are afraid. Some don’t know what to say. Others simply don’t know how to sit beside suffering. Understanding that may not erase the hurt, but it can help keep disappointment from turning into bitterness. And you are allowed to admit that it hurt. Forgiveness doesn’t require pretending something didn’t happen. Grace doesn’t require denying disappointment. Sometimes wisdom means forgiving someone while also recognizing that a relationship has changed. Forgiveness and access are not always the same thing. Dr. Deb also looks at Paul’s experience in 2 Timothy 4. When no one stood beside him, Paul could still say, “But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me.” Human absence did not equal divine absence. If cancer—or another difficult season—has changed the way you see some of your relationships, this episode is for you. Grieve the person who disappeared. But don’t become so focused on the empty chair that you miss the people who stayed. And don’t allow someone else’s failure to teach you to withhold love. People may fail us. Even people we love. But Jesus stays. The friend may have disappeared. Jesus didn’t.

  7. Aug 25

    Looking in the Mirror Again

    Episode 10 — Looking in the Mirror Again What happens when you look in the mirror after cancer—and the woman looking back at you somehow feels different? Maybe surgery changed your body. Maybe treatment changed your hair, weight, energy, or hormones. Maybe there are scars that weren’t there before. Or perhaps nothing dramatic has changed on the outside, but you have changed on the inside. In Episode 10 of Cancer Wasn’t Part of the Plan, Dr. Deb Waterbury talks honestly about body image, femininity, scars, grief, and learning to see yourself again after cancer. You are allowed to grieve what has changed. You can be grateful to be alive and still be sad about what cancer has taken from you. Gratitude and grief can exist together. But the mirror only shows you what you look like. It cannot tell you who you are. Your value was established long before cancer, surgery, scars, or treatment entered your story. Your femininity was never located in a body part. Your beauty was never dependent on your hair. And your worth has never been determined by a number on a scale. Dr. Deb also offers a different way to think about the scars cancer leaves behind: a scar isn’t simply evidence that something happened—it can also be evidence that you’re still here. If you’ve struggled to recognize yourself after cancer, surgery, illness, or treatment, this episode is for you. Maybe what needs to change isn’t the woman in the mirror. Maybe it’s the eyes looking at her. Give her some grace. She’s been through a lot. The mirror can tell you what has changed. But only God gets to tell you who you are.

  8. Aug 18

    Anger, Tears and Honest Prayers

    Episode 9 — Anger, Tears, and Honest Prayers What if the most faith-filled prayer you can pray is simply, “God, this hurts”? Cancer can bring emotions we don’t always know what to do with—anger, fear, disappointment, confusion, and tears. And for Christians, those emotions can sometimes be followed by another feeling: guilt. Shouldn’t I have more faith? Should I be handling this better? Is it wrong to be angry—even angry with God? In Episode 9 of Cancer Wasn’t Part of the Plan, Dr. Deb Waterbury tackles the emotions and prayers that don’t always sound polished enough for church. Through the Psalms, the tears of Jesus, and His honest prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, Dr. Deb shows that faith doesn’t require you to lie about how you feel. There is a difference between turning away from God in anger and turning toward God with your anger. You’ll also discover the biblical language of lament—bringing your pain, questions, sorrow, and disappointment honestly before God while still choosing to trust Him. You can cry and trust God. You can be afraid and trust God. You can have unanswered questions and still say, “Jesus, I trust You.” Dr. Deb offers a simple four-part framework for honest prayer: tell God what hurts, ask Him for what you want, remind yourself who He is, and choose trust—even when nothing has changed yet. If you’ve been trying to clean yourself up emotionally before coming to God, this episode is for you. Your tears don’t scare Him. Your questions don’t offend Him. Your anger doesn’t surprise Him. You don’t have to pretend with God. Sometimes honest prayer is faith refusing to walk away.

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Cancer wasn’t part of the plan. But neither is letting it have the final word. Cancer Wasn’t Part of the Plan is a faith-filled podcast with Dr. Deb Waterbury for women navigating breast cancer, treatment, recovery, and life after a diagnosis. Through honest conversations and biblical truth, Dr. Deb talks about the parts of cancer that don’t always make it into the medical conversations—the fear, loneliness, anger, exhaustion, changing relationships, body image, survivor’s guilt, and questions about where God is in all of it. Whether you’ve just been diagnosed, you’re in treatment, recoveri

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