One Of Eight with Jillian Wagner

How do you prepare for a surgery that changes both your body and your future?  In this episode of One of Eight, Jill faces the reality of her diagnosis head-on. After learning she has stage zero breast cancer hidden within branching papillomas, she begins preparing for a bilateral mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. Before she can even fully prepare for surgery, a frightening complicati...

What if the thing meant to give you peace of mind…changes everything instead? In this episode of One of Eight , Jill prepares for surgery with cautious relief. After being told her biopsy results were benign, the plan feels straightforward: remove the problem area to stop the discharge and move on. But as the process unfolds, from seed placement to surgery and a difficult recovery, things don’t go...

What do you do when you’re told there’s a 50–95% chance it could be cancer… but no one can actually tell you what it is yet? In Episode 4 of One of Eight, Jill moves from uncertainty into something heavier. We follow Jill through her biopsy, a traumatic physical experience, and the mental toll of waiting for answers that still aren’t clear. After her MRI is flagged as highly suspicious, she’s left...

What happens when the waiting suddenly starts moving faster? In Episode 3 of One of Eight, Jill finally meets with a surgeon and begins what she hopes will be the final steps toward answers. What she expects to be routine follow-ups quickly turns into something more serious. A breast MRI scheduled within days, new symptoms emerging, and the growing sense that something bigger may be unfolding. As...

What if something is wrong… but no one can tell you what it is? In Episode 2 of One of Eight, Jill enters the healthcare system and quickly learns that getting answers isn’t just about showing up. It’s about calling back. Following up. Asking again. Advocating harder. After being told she’s “too young,” Jill navigates referrals sent by fax, a missing appointment, weeks of silence, and the emo...

At 29 years old, breast cancer wasn’t something Jill thought about. She was rebuilding her life after leaving a toxic job, managing PCOS, planning community events, traveling to concerts, and figuring out who she wanted to become. Then one morning, something felt off. In this first episode of One of Eight , we don’t begin with a diagnosis. We begin with the spiral that comes before it. The Google...

As of 2025, one in eight women in Canada will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. This podcast is the story of just one of those women.  Jillian Wagner is a community builder and event planner based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who was diagnosed with DCIS (Stage Zero) breast cancer at 30 years old. This series follows her real-time journey through the diagnosis, from the first undeniable sym...