A Hopeful Life with Lara MacGregor

2021 was a hard year for Lara. In this final episode of Season One she reflects on the past year. Her vulnerability to share her challenges honestly is the heart of each of our conversations here. Note- at 5:19 the procedure I am referring to to a pleurodesis.

Adiba Barney's story starts in war torn Lebanon.  At seven her family escaped to Sweden on a smuggler's boat where she grew up as a refugee and found her own path of independence leading to professional success in the tech industry. Her unique story will captivate you as she shares challenges and lessons learned throughout her hopeful life.

Dr. Dizon shares his experience facing cancer from his perspective as an oncologist. We talk about empathy, wellness, uncertainty and research. His kind, caring voice conveys a masterful expression of his passion to help people with cancer.

Tom is a strong, capable athlete. A determined man whose life’s work is focused on strength and conditioning. When a devastating accident changed the trajectory he doubled down on his determination and has found a way to live a hopeful life despite what others see as limitations.

Therapeutic approaches that treat suffering as a problem to be fixed are incomplete. In this conversation we talk about flourishing in the midst of suffering by cultivating meaning.

In celebration of Hope Scarves annual Storython I sit down with Alison to hear her story and learn how she faces metastatic breast cancer. Alison is an artist, professor mom and MBC patient. Her work has exhibited in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas and Washington D.C. as well as internationally in Paris, Venice and Tokyo. Her art and life are examples of mixing colors, textures and experiences to create something brilliantly a work in progress and a masterpiece, at the same time. Enjoy this beautiful story.

Writing has the power to help us reflect and heal. It can also be intimidating. April breaks this all down as she shares her personal story and the transformative power of storytelling.

When Dana was diagnosed she didn’t know young women got breast cancer. She also thought she had the “easy cancer.” She’s learned that neither of these things were true in real life. So she set out to change this.

We are all experiencing a collective trauma - global pandemic, economic uncertainty, racial injustice, polarizing politics. Shelly Sowell helps us understand our feelings and build resiliency in an uncertain time.

In our continued efforts to increase understanding of stage 4, metastatic breast cancer I share an emotional conversation with MBC patient advocate Beth Fairchild.