I'm Still Here: Real Conversations About Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer

Gillian Burles was 39 years old when her breast cancer metastasized to her spine — so severely that her T10 vertebra had to be replaced with a titanium alloy cage. She was living in the Northwest Territories, 1,500 kilometers from the nearest major cancer center, with two young children at home. Her oncologist gave her 18 to 24 months. That was 20 years ago. In this conversation, Gillian talks abo...

Heather and Larry are back together, and they're catching up on a full couple of weeks. First up: Larry's first time volunteering at a Little Pink Houses of Hope retreat on the Outer Banks — what he expected, what surprised him, and why he's already ready to go back. From the families powering through the week despite treatment to the moment a 10-year-old said it was just nice to see o...

What do we actually want when we go into a scan? When we make the hard choices about treatment and energy and how we spend ourselves? We want a Tuesday. An ordinary, unremarkable, nothing-special day when we feel fine, go to work, eat dinner, and nothing interrupts it. In this episode Heather talks about why the Tuesday is the whole thing — not the milestones, not the moments that take your breath...

You had questions. Heather answered them. In this episode, Heather pulls from questions submitted on Instagram to talk about where her mets were, the treatments she's been on since her 1998 diagnosis, how she manages anxiety and scansiety, why she can't attribute her 27 years of living with MBC to any one thing, and what the first year of a metastatic diagnosis actually feels like from the...

Scan results don't always come back clean. After 28 years living with metastatic breast cancer, Heather has learned that "okay" doesn't always mean "clear" — and that learning to trust the process when the report isn't black and white is its own kind of work. In this episode, Heather and Larry talk through her most recent PET scan and oncology appointment — includin...

If you've ever felt like your body is always bracing for the next thing — you're not imagining it. In this solo episode, Heather explores what happens to your nervous system when you've been living with metastatic breast cancer for years. Drawing on her background as an occupational therapist and her own 27 years with MBC, she talks about what dysregulation actually looks like — not ju...

How are you? Busy? Overwhelmed? Maybe both? In this solo episode, Heather gets honest about what the last month has really looked like — navigating a sleep study, insurance approvals, cardiology appointments, and the quiet exhaustion that comes from managing your health on top of managing your life. This isn't a crisis episode. It's a real one. Because for those of us living with metastati...

You asked, and we're answering. In this Q&A episode, Heather and Larry tackle questions submitted by listeners on Instagram and Facebook — the real ones, the hard ones, the ones a lot of people are thinking but don't always say out loud. Topics include how to live with uncertainty and still make plans, staying present when fear wants to take over, scan anxiety (yes, it's still a th...

When Larry said "in sickness and in health" at 25, stage four breast cancer three years later was not what either of them had in mind. In this episode, Heather and Larry pull back the curtain on what caregiving actually looks like in a long-term marriage — the hard days, the fear, the moments of connection, and the ones that just needed a hug or a joke to survive. They talk honestly abou...

Janelle Slavic was 24 years old when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. A year later she was told it had spread. She has now been living with metastatic breast cancer for 14 years — and somewhere in the middle of all of it, she became a mom to 20-month-old twin boys via surrogacy. In this episode of the Sensational Survivor Series, Janelle shares what it was like to be diagnosed young, ho...

There's a particular kind of loneliness that comes with long-term metastatic breast cancer — and it's not the loneliness of being sick and scared. It's quieter than that. More structural. More built in. In this episode, Heather gets honest about something she's been sitting with: feeling alone in a way that doesn't fit the story people expect from someone 27 years into survivorship. She talks abou...

After a short break, the podcast is back with a refreshed focus and format. In this episode, Heather shares why the podcast subtitle has changed to Real Conversations About Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer and what listeners can expect moving forward. Living with metastatic breast cancer is about much more than treatment. It touches work, relationships, finances, identity, energy, and the day-...

Last week in Part 1, I shared the story of being diagnosed with metastatic (stage 4) breast cancer at just 26 years old — the shock, fear, and life-altering moment that changed everything. In Part 2, I talk about what came next. After living with metastatic disease for 27 years, my perspective on life, time, fear, and what truly matters has shifted in ways I never expected. This episode is about:...

At 26 years old, I was diagnosed with metastatic (stage 4) breast cancer — a moment that changed everything in an instant. In Part 1 of my story, I share what led up to my diagnosis, the shock of hearing the words “stage four,” and what those early days of fear, uncertainty, and life-altering decisions were really like. This isn’t a clinical cancer story. It’s the human side — the emotions, the qu...

In this special episode of I’m Still Here , Heather sits down with her son Ty to talk openly about his adoption journey, growing up as a brown child in a rural community, and what it’s been like navigating identity, belonging, and difference. Ty shares his story of being adopted from India, what family means when you don’t share DNA, and the moments that shaped how he sees himself and the world. T...

Eat This, Not That — 2026 Edition What do I actually eat — and how do I think about food now? In this episode, Heather shares her Eat This, Not That — 2026 Edition , responding to one of the most common questions she gets. This is not about food rules, trends, or government guidelines — it’s about real food, real life, and what helps her feel steady and energized while living with metastatic breas...

While cleaning and decluttering, Heather came across a stack of books that carried her through the early years of living with cancer. Some were informational. Some were inspirational. And some simply helped her feel seen. In this episode, Heather and Larry talk through those books—not as prescriptions or promises, but as companions during a time when reaching for anything steady mattered. They ref...

A new year often comes with pressure to set goals, do more, and fix ourselves. But when you’re living with metastatic breast cancer, that framework can feel exhausting — and disconnected from reality. In this New Year episode, we talk about a different way forward. One that starts by asking a more honest question: What do I need this year? Because when cancer doesn’t reset on January 1st, the goal...

After 27 years of living with metastatic breast cancer, I attended the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium for the first time — not knowing what to expect, or even if I would feel like I belonged. What I found was something I didn’t realize I’d been missing: connection, affirmation, and a growing movement focused not just on survival, but on living well with metastatic disease. In this episode, I...

In this powerful episode, Larry and I go back to the week in December 1998 that changed our lives forever. What started as a routine appointment just before the holidays quickly became a devastating spiral of tests, unanswered questions, and the phone call that revealed I had stage 4 metastatic breast cancer at only 26 years old. We share: The moment my doctor noticed something was wrong The shock...

The holidays hit different when you’re living with cancer. In this honest and heartfelt conversation, Heather and Larry talk about the emotional weight of the season — the pressure to make everything perfect “just in case,” the anxiety that comes with big family gatherings, and the guilt of not being able to keep up with old traditions. They dive into boundaries, expectations, caregiver dynamics,...

In this episode, Heather opens the door to a conversation many people living with metastatic cancer think about privately — but rarely speak aloud: You are allowed to live. You are allowed to plan ahead. You are allowed to imagine a future that is yours. Heather shares how, at 26, she was told her life would narrow — that cancer meant shrinking dreams, shorter plans, smaller horizons. Twenty-seven...

Episode Description: The holidays are a mix of joy, chaos, and endless temptation — which makes it easy to say, “I’ll just start over in January.” But what if you didn’t have to throw in the towel? In this episode, Heather and Larry talk about how to stay intentional, flexible, and grounded through the holiday season — without giving up all the things you love. From choosing simple non-negotiables...

When your mind starts spinning with fear, what-ifs, and worst-case scenarios, how do you stop it? In this episode of I’m Still Here , Heather and Larry talk about the “cancer spiral” — that flood of anxious thoughts that shows up at diagnosis and sometimes never fully leaves. Heather shares how her new guide, Stop the Cancer Spiral: The 15-Minute Reset , was born out of her own experience of livin...

Finding balance isn’t about perfection — it’s about learning what works for you. In this episode, Heather and Larry dig into the daily juggling act of work, health, and real life while managing metastatic breast cancer. They talk about scheduling versus spontaneity, energy management, and how both structure and grace play a role in living well long-term. Heather Jose was diagnosed with stage IV br...