Adventures with Scars

In this episode Lauren welcomes guest Krista Kusuma, Krista is President at Experience First Consulting, which she founded to divine and nurture the potential of leaders of all levels within museums and cultural organizations, creating purposeful transformation. She has helped hundreds of people multiply their talent, work smarter not harder, and lead more intentional and fulfilling lives. She is...

Lauren's guest for this episode is her husband Dr. Clifton Huffmaster! They discuss all the things that are involved with being a family that has been impacted by cancer and specifically being a co-survivor. This discussion is a glimpse into the life of our founder and will be an encouragement to anyone who has been touched by cancer. Some organizations mentioned in this podcast- https://www....

In this episode, Lauren welcomes Shana, mother of four, who is also living with breast cancer.  Shana shares her cancer story and how she parents while cancering. Lots of inspiring stories and funny moments in this episode, Shana even shares her secret to a good life. Spend some time with these two women as they connect and chat about their lives with cancer, you won't regret it.

Author, Speaker, and Life Coach Robert Parti joins Lauren  on the podcast to talk about his wife, Desiree, who passed away from metastatic breast cancer and the life lessons he learned from her and from being a caregiver. He is inspirational! 

In this episode Lauren welcomes Louise Marvulli. Louise candidly shares about her "cancering" journey for the past 11 years. She shares about what she has learned, how she has grown and all the in-betweens. It is a conversation full of encouragement and hope, we think you will really enjoy it.

On today's episode, Lauren sits down with mom, wife, and hula dancer Rachelle Jenio. Listen as Rachelle shares her story of living with Metastatic Breast Cancer for the last 6 years and how she is dealing with the fear, isolation and broken identity. She also shares about how her and her husband decided to keep her diagnosis mostly private for the first few years. Grab a cup of coffee and han...

Lauren's guest for this episode is Christina McAmis. Christina had just had a daughter, was enrolled in law school and about to be married when she found out she had Stage 4 breast cancer. That was nine years ago, her story is a miracle, take a listen and be inspired. 

We are so excited to begin our second season of Adventures with Scars! This season Lauren will be interviewing AMAZING guests and digging into their stories of the cancering life and their experiences with the emotional side effects of cancer. Come for the stories, stay for the inspiration, you won't be disappointed. 

In this episode, Lauren has a conversation with co-survivor, Shirley Padgett. Lauren has  known Shirley  for five years,  two of her daughter's had Shirley as their second-grade teacher and she is loved by all.  She and her husband Steve loved each other and lived well!  They traveled and celebrated life. They also served others in and out of their careers. Her husband's service to our c...

Season 2 of Adventures with Scars opens up with a conversation between Lauren and Katie Harris, a young metastatic mother who participates in Leslie's Week.  Katie became familiar with Adventure Therapy  when Lauren spoke at Stage4Change, a conference hosted by Leslie's Week.  Katie realized, when in preparation for sharing her story at this year's Stage4Change event, she found hers...

Giving back should look different for everyone because we are all unique! Giving back doesn't need to be about giving money to a cause. Funding is always helpful, but your presence is infinitely more helpful, giving back means using when is uniquely you for the sake of someone else. In this episode, Lauren will talk about this season in the healing process, which is where one can be consideri...

This episode Lauren talks all things restoration. Restoration is a beautiful opportunity. It is the gift of cancer. Once our life has been swept clean by the fires that are a cancer diagnosis and a cancer treatment, then we sit in the void of our damaged talents and broken dreams, then we begin to dream for a restoration. During this phase of survivorship, an individual can see their strengths, po...

In this episode Lauren talks about the season after the void which is a fragile, tender season of growth. The painful experiences of cancer are in the past, but uncertainty still hangs in the air. There are many low moments as we first feel raw even in the slightest shifts in the wind, but there are other moments where we feel our strength rising. It is time for us to begin to design our new ident...

The Void is the first season of survivorship that occurs in the first year after treatment. During treatment, all your strength focuses on surviving. Moving through your treatment calendar and recovering is all you can do. Then, one day, you ring the bell and get a certificate of completion. Someone declares treatments are over, and you are now “a survivor.” You walk out of the door of the cancer...

When mountains are on fire, you can smell it from 100s of miles away. Smoke fills the air and erases the horizon. Ash falls from the sky, and even the best moments are covered in a layer of someone else’s hopes that no longer exist. When a terminal diagnosis surrounds you, your dreams are fluttering around those who are allowed to live. When your life is on fire, the mountains of your life are bur...

There is a difference between a cure and being healed.  A cure ensures no further damage is going to be done to your body or mind. A cure is what research creates and what a pink ribbon represents; it is what we think we want.  Healing reverses all the damage, brokenness, and scars. Healing is what we need.  In this episode Lauren discusses how we need healing physically, but equally important is...

During the global pandemic, we all experience the impact of isolation. As humans, not only do we need social interaction and physical touch, but our mental health is also dependent on relationships. We are happiest when we live in community. When cancer treatments end, our mind is exhausted. We are physically tired, relationally stretched thin and might feel completely helpless to make meaningful...

How much thought do we give to protecting our true identity? Just as we would take time to purchase identity theft insurance, shred all personal documents or create unique and elaborate passwords for virtual interactions, we must develop rituals in life that preserve and protect our most authentic identity. Identity is the set of expectations, strengths, and weaknesses that we possess. It also enc...

Most would assume that courage is the opposite of fear, but that is not so. Fear is a constricting emotional response to an expected negative outcome in the future. The opposite of fear is joy. Joy is an expansive emotional response to an expected overwhelmingly positive outcome in every future situation. Lauren calls this irrational optimism. In this podcast episode, she discusses fear and how to...

We get manuals listing what to expect from the physical side effects of cancer and any medications or treatments we are on. There is so much information about the physical part of cancer, but nothing about the emotional toll cancer takes on the individual and the loved ones involved. It is vital that we start recognizing the common emotional side effects of cancer so that those that are diagnosed...

In this episode Lauren shares about how the language we choose around cancer is important and it needs to address the person not just as a patient. To find out more about Lauren's nonprofit Adventure Therapy go to www.adventurefound.org. To visit Adventure Therapy's cancer coaching platform go to www.risefound.com To visit Lauren's website go to www.laurenhuffmaster.com

The intention of this podcast is to tell the story of cancer. Not just my story, but the many others that have impacted the world. We must not only heal physically from cancer, but emotionally as well. The emotional side effects of cancer are never talked about and that needs to change to bring total healing to a person and their loved ones. So come on this adventure with Lauren as she begins to c...

In this episode, Lauren shares her cancer story. It was a bittersweet experience to be diagnosed with stage four breast cancer at the age of 37 for Lauren.  The thought of her young children and what that label would mean to them overwhelmed her. At the same time, she felt empowered, in a way she says, she had waited to be empowered her entire life.  She knew she had a cause to fight for. She knew...