The Burn

This week we’re sharing a favorite episode from the archives as we take a break from our regular podcast schedule to celebrate the New Year.  Production assistant Monica Haro selected this episode from December 2021 to reshare.  Enjoy! Tova Wolking is an attorney from Oakland, California.  She was diagnosed at age 43 with Stage III, hormone positive breast cancer.  She also car...

This week we’re sharing a favorite episode from the archives as we take a little holiday break from our regular podcast schedule.  Production assistant Monica Haro selected this episode from October 2021 to reshare.  Enjoy! In this episode, Laurie Ratliff reads her piece “Where Do You Go When You Don’t Belong Anywhere?” from the 2019 “Social” issue of Wildfire Magazine. We all want to kn...

This week we’re sharing a favorite episode from the archives as we take a little holiday break from our regular podcast schedule.  Production assistant Monica Haro selected this episode from December 2021 to reshare.  Enjoy! Erica Fitch was 12 when her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Two decades later at 30, she was diagnosed with DCIS: stage 0, estrogen positive breast cancer when...

Lorie Kolak is a wife and a stay-at-home mom from Illinois.  She was diagnosed at 41 with Stage II breast cancer, and also carries the pK71 genetic mutation.  Lorie has worked in university libraries, book sales and distribution, copywriting, and copy-editing. When not writing or reading, she enjoys arts and crafts.  In this episode, Lorie reads her essay “Door Marked Danger” from W...

Claire Lemiski is an airline pilot who was diagnosed at 36 with Stage III, hormone positive breast cancer. As a captain at a regional airline in Toronto, Claire is passionate about providing mentorship to new and aspiring women pilots.  In this episode, Claire reads her essay “About Damn Time” from Wildfire Magazine ’s 2024 “Family” issue.  Claire’s piece is about breast cancer being a g...

This week we are sharing a favorite episode from the archives as we take a little fall break from our regular podcast schedule.  Production assistant Monica Haro selected this episode from September 2021 to reshare.  Enjoy! When Katie Murray was diagnosed with breast cancer, she was surprised to discover that old traumas she thought she had dealt with were reawakened within her. She turn...

Jennifer Bringle is a freelance writer and editor who was diagnosed at 37 with Stage II, hormone positive breast cancer.  She also has the BRCA2 genetic mutation.  Jennifer lives in  North Carolina with her husband, young son and special needs cat.  In this episode, Jennifer reads her essay “Bra Hunting” from Wildfire Magazine ’s 2024 “Body” issue. Jennifer’s essay is about bra...

Shangrong Lee was diagnosed with hormone positive breast cancer at age 43 in 2017.  Shangrong is a mother, wife and marathon runner.  She is a Baddie Ambassador with For the Breast of Us, and a Young Advocate Alumni for Living Beyond Breast Cancer.  In this episode, Shangrong reads her essay “The Story About My Body” from Wildfire Magazine ’s 2024 “Body” issue. Shangrong’s piece is...

Hannah Haworth was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 41, and she carries both the Check2 and ATM genetic mutations.  Hannah is an author of teen fiction and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and daughter.  In this episode, Hannah reads her essay “The Deformed Woman” from Wildfire Magazine ’s 2024 “Body” issue. Hannah’s piece is about attending a support meeting only...

This week we are sharing a favorite episode from the archives as we take a little fall break from our regular podcast schedule to enjoy some Halloween fun.  Production assistant Monica Haro selected this episode from January 2022 to reshare.  Enjoy! Megan-Claire Chase was diagnosed with lobular breast cancer at 39 after watching her mother go through her own cancer. Her mom was still ver...

Psychotherapist Erin Weiss returns to The Burn for a third visit.  Erin was diagnosed with Stage IV de novo metastatic breast cancer (MBC) following her first mammogram at age 42.  She’s been living with MBC since August 2019.  In this episode, she reads her essay “Barbershop Quartet” from Wildfire Magazine’s 2024 “Body” issue.  Erin’s piece is about her experience of life’s tr...

Susan DiGregorio of Maine was diagnosed just days before her 38th birthday with Stage Ib hormone positive breast cancer. Susan is a mom, wife, volunteer and also works in real estate.  In this episode, Susan reads her piece “The Hidden Struggle of Secondary Infertility” from Wildfire Magazine’s 2024 “Family” issue.  Susan’s story is about the complexities surrounding her inability to hav...

Lauren Tarpley of South Carolina returns to The Burn for a second visit.  She was diagnosed at 34 with Stage II, HER2+ breast cancer.  Lauren is a mom, wife and third generation urban homesteader.  In this episode, Lauren reads her piece “Lucy’s Long Journey” from Wildfire Magazine’s 2024 “Family” issue.  Lauren’s inspirational story is about unexpected and amazing experiences...

DeDe Drake of Michigan was a mother of a toddler when she was diagnosed with Triple Negative breast cancer at 39.  In this episode DeDe reads her essay “Mama” from Wildfire Magazine’s 2024 “Family” issue.  DeDe’s story is about being in the middle between parenting her young daughter and needing the loving support of her own mom - all under one roof. April and DeDe will talk about the tr...

Ash Davidson was diagnosed with breast cancer at 42 that was discovered during during gender affirming surgery.  In this episode Ash reads his essay “Longing to Belong” from Wildfire Magazine’s 2024 “Queer” issue.  Ash’s story is about the unique challenges in a medical landscape that often fails to acknowledge the diverse narratives within the cancer community.  April and Ash will...

Julia D. Pereira is a psychologist and artist who was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) at 32.  In this episode Julia reads her essay “Asymmetry” from Wildfire Magazine’s 2024 “Queer” issue. Julia writes beautifully about the theme of uncertainty.  April and Julia will talk about magic caught in moments of uncertainty, finding strength in the unknown, and making importa...

Celebrate three years of The Burn by going behind the scenes with us!  This one-hour episode is our anniversary special. The tables are turned once again on host April Stearns: production assistant Monica Haro takes the mic & asks April all the questions. April reflects on the unexpected truths found in the episodes from the past year. She’ll share what’s coming up for Wildfire and The Bu...

Kate Rowbotham is a mom and professor who was diagnosed at 47 with de novo Stage IV metastatic breast cancer.  In this episode Kate reads her essay “March 13” from Wildfire Magazine’s 2024 “Family” issue.  Her story is about three generations of overlapping cancer. April and Kate will discuss understanding how love plays out in decision making, patient and caregiver experiences during th...

This week we are sharing a favorite episode from the archives as we take a little break from our regular podcast schedule to enjoy Labor Day.  Wildfire production assistant Monica Haro selected this episode from November 2021 to reshare.  Enjoy! Tracy Ward joins us from the United Kingdom to read a piece from Wildfire Magazine’s 2020 “Family” issue.  She was diagnosed at 36 with Sta...

Mila Knight returns to The Burn for another visit to share something different and special from our usual format.  We often wonder what came next after an episode airs - this is that episode!  In 2022 Mila was our guest reading her piece “Crawling in My Skin” from Wildfire Magazine’s 2021 “Body” issue.  In that story Mila shared how she turned to music for solace in hard times follo...

Stephanie Millett returns to The Burn for a second visit. She was diagnosed with breast cancer at 25.  Stephanie is now 35 and living with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. Stephanie reads her essay “Stay Visible” from the 2024 “Queer in Cancerland” issue of Wildfire Magazine.  Stephanie’s piece is about her experiences of breast cancer as a queer person.  April and Stephanie talk...

This week, we are sharing a favorite episode from the archives as we take a little summer break from our regular podcast schedule.  Wildfire team member Angela Firman selected this episode from July 2023 to reshare.  Enjoy! This is our first episode of The Burn featuring a guided meditation with Justine Egan-Kunicki.  Justine is a breast cancer advocate, social psychologist, profess...

Saroj Tharisayi of San Francisco works as an in-house counsel at a tech company.  She was diagnosed at 36 with Triple Positive breast cancer.  Saroj reads her essay “The Least Terrible Option” from the 2021 “Bay Area Young Survivors” issue of Wildfire Magazine.  Saroj’s piece is about DIEP flap breast reconstruction and making tough choices during treatment.  April and Saroj wi...

In this episode we welcome returning guest Emma Jarrett back to The Burn for a second visit.  She is a performance coach and writer who was diagnosed at 51 with Stage III, triple positive, invasive lobular breast cancer. Emma reads her essay “Paper Aeroplane” from the 2024 “Family” issue of Wildfire Magazine.  Emma’s piece is about not being able to parent her young children the way she...

Sally Joy was diagnosed at 40 with Stage II breast cancer, and is now living with Stage IV MBC.  She is an inspiring corporate well-being leader, keynote speaker and LinkedIn Top Voice who posts regularly about wellbeing, resilience, survivorship and patient advocacy.  Sally reads her piece “The Light Within the Darkness” from Wildfire Magazine’s 2023 “MBC: Lessons Learned” issue. ...