Advertise on podcast: The Burn
Rating
4.9from
This podcast has
284 episodes
Explicit
No
Date created
2021/08/30
Latest episode
2026/09/30
Average duration
36 min.
Release period
10 days
Description
Listen every other Wednesday when April Stearns and the writers of Wildfire Journal & Writing Community share their experiences of being diagnosed with breast cancer under 50. The Burn is about telling cancer stories like you’ve never read - or heard - before. We go way deeper than the medical facts to the transformation of survivorship, and in the process, we talk about the healing power of writing. Whether you’ve been diagnosed with cancer or not, you'll be inspired to write the stories in you that need to be shared. Come for the stories, stay to discover how to write your way back to yourself. #WeAreWildfire
Podcast episodes
Check latest episodes from The Burn podcast
Tiny Things with Lorie Kolak
2026/09/30
Today's storyteller brings us into the quiet, exacting world of tiny things — and what it means to build something beautiful when the larger story of your life has gone completely out of your control. This is a piece about chemo brain and lost words, about a miniature garden assembled with tweezers and a glue gun while a wound vac churned beside her, about what happens when you can no longer offer the people you love the story they want to hear.
This conversation explores chemo brain, finding comfort in small things, friendship, uncertainty, redefining health and wholeness, resistance, creativity, finding your own cancer story, and how cancer changes your perspective on life and the future.
More about Lorie: https://www.instagram.com/lkolak/
More about Temple of Kinship: https://www.instagram.com/p/DdlycKqkdUf/
https://www.templeofkinship.org
More about Paxman Cooling: https://coldcap.com/
https://www.instagram.com/scalpcooling/
Buy the Metamorphosis issue: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/meta25
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
Proof I Was There with Adrienne Holland Hubbard
2026/09/16
Today’s storyteller recalls a particular grief of being edited out of your own life. Of watching the early years of motherhood blur and vanish under the weight of an aggressive diagnosis — and the slow, tender reckoning that comes years later, when the life you fought for is finally, undeniably yours again. But more than anything, it's a story about proof. The kind you find not in memory, but in the unexpected places you least expect it.
This conversation explores the lasting impact of cancer on motherhood, identity, and healing. It touches on the isolation of treatment, reclaiming connection with family, redefining life after cancer, quiet wellness, creativity, writing, and community.
More about Adrienne:https://www.instagram.com/adriennehollandhubbard/
https://substack.com/@adriennehollandhubbard
More about StyleEsteem:https://styleesteem.com/
https://www.instagram.com/styleesteem/
Buy the Metamorphosis issue: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/meta25
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
I Can Still Feel It with Cassandra Umbriaco
2026/09/02
Today’s storyteller reflects on receiving a breast cancer diagnosis at 28 and the lasting emotional imprint of survivorship more than a decade later. Moving between past and present, she explores the survival mindset that carried her through treatment and the gradual return of feeling after years spent simply trying to stay alive.
This conversation explores memory, identity, inner resilience, and the relationship between who we were before cancer and who we become afterward — revealing how pain and love can coexist in the same story.
More about Cassandra:https://www.instagram.com/cu.therapy.ont/
https://www.cutherapy.ca/
More about AnaOno Intimates:
https://www.instagram.com/anaonointimates/
https://www.anaono.com/
Buy the Survivorship issue: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/survivorship
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
My Grandmother’s Grandchildren with Esther Yumi Ko
2026/08/19
Today’s storyteller reflects on her relationship with her grandmother against the backdrop of a family deeply marked by cancer. As relatives fall ill and pass away, truths are hidden and grief moves quietly through generations.
This conversation explores memory, cultural silence, substitution and survival, what it means to be mistaken for someone who is gone, and how presence itself can become an act of love. It’s a meditation on mortality — and on what it means to remain.
More about Esther: https://www.instagram.com/estheryumiko/
https://paragraphsandpixels.substack.com/
More about iRise Above Foundation: https://www.iriseabovefoundation.org/
https://www.instagram.com/irise_above/
Buy the MBC: Paradox issue: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/digital-mbc25
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
Be Bold. Be Beautiful. Be Confident. with Hannah Morales
2026/08/05
In this episode, today’s storyteller, Hannah Morales, shares a vivid account of the days surrounding her mastectomy and the moment she first saw her changed body in the mirror. Expecting grief and resentment, she instead discovered pride, relief, and a deeper sense of identity that extended beyond appearance.
This conversation explores body image after cancer, surgical loss, motherhood, scars as story, and what it means to define boldness, beauty, and confidence on your own terms — not society’s.
More about AnaOno: https://www.anaono.com/mates/
https://www.instagram.com/anaonointimates/
Buy the Body issue: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/digital-mbc25
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
Biopsies and Baristas with Laurie Pomeranz
2026/07/22
In this returning guest episode, today’s storyteller, Laurie Pomeranz, shares a vivid and surprising account of the day her metastatic recurrence was confirmed through a spinal biopsy. What unfolds is not only fear and dread, but humor, music, connection, and an unexpected act of kindness from her care team.
This conversation explores how patients experience medical procedures from the inside out, the power of levity in hard moments, and how small gestures of care can become unforgettable anchors inside life-altering news.
Learn more about Laurie: https://www.instagram.com/lauriepommie/
More about Triage Cancer: https://triagecancer.org/
https://www.instagram.com/triagecancer/
More about Cancer Kicks: https://cancerkicks.org/
Buy the MBC: Paradox issue: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/digital-mbc25
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
Friendship is Sacred with Alyssa Tsagong
2026/07/08
In this episode, today’s storyteller, Alyssa Tsagong, reflects on a decades-long friendship that grew into something she now calls kinship: a relationship rooted in truth, curiosity, and shared tending of body and spirit. After a metastatic diagnosis, that friendship became a place where fear could be spoken out loud and held without being fixed or minimized.
We talk about friendship as sacred work, building capacity for grief and joy at the same time, and how supportive relationships can be intentionally cultivated — not just relied upon — through practice, ritual, and presence.
Learn more about Alyssa and Temple of Kinship:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DZBXckJGfgK/?img_index=1
https://www.instagram.com/temple_of_kinship/
https://www.templeofkinship.org/
More about Triage Cancer: https://triagecancer.org/
https://www.instagram.com/triagecancer/
Buy the MBC: Paradox issue: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/digital-mbc25
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
I Might Be in Love with All My Friends with Emily Rau
2026/06/26
In celebration of Pride Month, each Friday in June we’re re-sharing our favorite episodes featuring LGBTQ+ voices from the Wildfire community.
Emily Rau is an Assistant Professor of Digital Humanities at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and the editor of the Willa Cather Archive. In this episode Emily reads her essay “I Might Be in Love with All My Friends” from the 2023 “Love & Intimacy” issue of Wildfire. Emily’s story is about sensuality mixed in with a lot of milestones and steps in a breast cancer experience that we haven’t really heard before at Wildfire. April and Emily will talk about why it was important to share a cancer story that folds into Emily’s queer and polyamorous life, honoring her grief in cancer, the role the polyamorous community played in Emily’s cancer journey and the fear of overtaxing people with our burdens. They will also discuss the prairie, and hear Emily beautifully explain the comfort and metaphor this particular landscape provided her in cancer. This episode contains explicit content about drugs and sex.
More about Emily: https://www.instagram.com/ejrau/
Purchase the “Love & Intimacy” issue of Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/queerincancerland24
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
Hope and Heartache, Hand in Hand with Caitlan Killian
2026/06/24
In this episode, today’s storyteller, Caitlan Killian, reflects on friendship formed during treatment, the parallel journeys of two young women with breast cancer, and the paradox of celebrating healing while mourning loss. This conversation explores metastatic survivorship, community, grief, faith, and what it means to hold hope and heartache hand in hand.
Learn more about Caitlan: https://www.instagram.com/caitlanreesekillian/
https://www.caitlanreesekillian.com/
Learn more about Still Good Co.: https://www.instagram.com/still_good_co/
More about iRise Above Foundation: https://www.iriseabovefoundation.org/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPOTM2NjE5NzQzMzkyNDU5AAGnkEObg0wWMKTZ27TRqEOAJfnv_LUMJ6RcPntNoRxRzpzTBfIYJoX7AFhhvH8_aem_YG3pfl1-lKGh0VUZ0vcCJA
https://www.instagram.com/irise_above
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
Longing to Belong with Ash Davidson
2026/06/19
In celebration of Pride Month, each Friday in June we’re re-sharing our favorite episodes featuring LGBTQ+ voices from the Wildfire community.
Ash Davidson was diagnosed with breast cancer at 42, a diagnosis discovered during gender-affirming surgery. In this episode, Ash reads his essay, “Longing to Belong,” from Wildfire Journal’s 2024 “Queer In Cancerland” issue. His story explores the unique challenges of navigating cancer as a trans man within a medical system that often overlooks the diverse experiences and identities that make up the cancer community.
April and Ash discuss what it has been like to share his story repeatedly, building and finding queer support in cancer spaces, and the desire to advocate for greater inclusion within the cancer community. They also reflect on their relationships with scars, feeling unsafe in one’s body, and navigating intimacy after breast cancer.
More about Ash: https://www.instagram.com/transashtoning/
Continue exploring stories from Wildfire Journal’s “Queer in Cancerland” issue with Slowing Down to Write One Moment, featuring Dawn Amodeo: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/a082c76d-bd6e-4345-adc5-2b3ac29af98f/
Purchase the “Queer In Cancerland” issue of Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/queerincancerland24
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
Asymmetry with Julia D. Pereira
2026/06/12
In celebration of Pride Month, each Friday in June we’re re-sharing our favorite episodes featuring LGBTQ+ voices from the Wildfire community.
Psychologist and artist, Julia D. Pereira was diagnosed at 32 with Triple Negative breast cancer. In this episode, Julia reads her essay, “Asymmetry,” from Wildfire Journal’s 2024 “Queer in Cancerland” issue. Her writing beautifully explores the theme of uncertainty.
April and Julia discuss the quiet magic found in uncertain moments, finding strength in the unknown, and making empowered decisions in the midst of ambiguity. They also reflect on what it means to find connection and community within breast cancer as a queer person.
More about Julia: https://magicofthewild.substack.com/
More about our episode sponsor Triage Cancer: https://triagecancer.org/
Purchase the “Queer In Cancerland” issue of Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/queerincancerland24
Shop Wildfire for merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/queerincancerland24
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
My Chemo Companion with Danielle Connor
2026/06/10
Danielle Connor was diagnosed at 48 with Triple Negative breast cancer. She is a wife, mother to a teenage daughter, and a lifelong baker. In this episode, Danielle reads her essay, “My Chemo Companion,” from the 2025 Living Well issue of Wildfire Journal. Her piece invites us into the heart of her kitchen, where grief, survival, and sweetness rise together.
April and Danielle discuss humor and resisting the “Disney Princess mom” narrative, emotional support hobbies, and gratitude. Danielle also talk about her twin sister Nicole’s contrasting cancer experience.
Learn more about Danielle: https://medium.com/@Bingeandbake
Purchase the Living Well issue of Wildfire Journal: `https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/print-body25
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
My Life, and Being Wrong with Stephanie Millett
2026/06/05
In celebration of Pride Month, each Friday in June we’re re-sharing our favorite episodes featuring LGBTQ+ voices from the Wildfire community.
Stephanie Millett was first diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer at 25, and again at 31 with Stage IV MBC. Stephanie is a retired hairstylist, writer, and advocate for advancedbreastcancer.net. In this episode, Stephanie shares their essay, “My Life, and Being Wrong,” from Wildfire Journal’s 2022 Legacy Stories issue. Stephanie and April discuss the power of sharing your story through advocacy, the reasons some people choose privacy around their cancer experience, and what it means to model resilience and honesty for our children. They also talk about Stephanie’s future plans to write a book offering practical guidance for others who want to begin telling their own stories.
More about Stephanie: https://www.instagram.com/_the_radiatedlizard/
Listen to Stephanie on another episode on The Burn: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/bf5a9ce5-4858-43b1-88ff-d4b00cb8623c/
Shop Wildfire for merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/queerincancerland24
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
Sleeping Snakes and the Lake with Katie Murray
2026/05/27
Second-time guest Katie Murray joins The Burn to share her story of being diagnosed at 41 with Stage II invasive lobular breast cancer. A writer, teacher, and mother of four, Katie reads her essay “Sleeping Snakes and the Lake” from the 2025 Living Well issue of Wildfire Journal.
Her piece offers a meditation on healing — not the kind defined by treatment end dates or clean scans, but the slow, quiet kind that arrives unexpectedly years later, in moments as small and tender as noticing baby eyelashes. April and Katie discuss healing versus recovery, the pressure of timelines, hope, and the shame Katie carried about her cancer diagnosis.
Learn more about Katie: https://www.instagram.com/1day_2019/
Listen to Katie’s previous episode on The Burn: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/e220fb14-d5bb-47d4-acb6-4c488df7d62f/
Purchase the Living Well issue of Wildfire Journal: `https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/print-body25
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
Ready for Battle with Liz McFarland
2026/05/13
Liz McFarland was diagnosed with HER2+ breast cancer at 39. A realtor and proud choice mom to two young adults, Liz joins this episode to read her essay “Ready for Battle” from the 2025 Body issue of Wildfire Journal.
Her piece explores beauty and body image, the lasting impact of middle school shame, and the complicated realities of silicone, surgery, sensation, and sagging. At its heart, it’s about vulnerability — about what happens when we stop pretending to be warriors and simply tell the truth.
Liz and April discuss the need to control the small things during cancer, how adolescent experiences shape our emotional terrain, the persistence of body shame, and what survivorship looks like for Liz now, thirteen years after diagnosis.
More about episode sponsor Resensation: https://www.resensation.com/
Learn more about Liz:https://www.instagram.com/lizzymcfarland/
Purchase the Body issue of Wildfire Journal: `https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop/p/print-body25
Buy the Wildfire book Igniting the Fire Within: Stories of Healing, Hope & Humor, Inside Today’s Young Breast Cancer Community: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJVJ629F?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
Get the free Wildfire “Hot Flashes” email newsletter: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/newsletter?rq=newsletter
Learn about Wildfire writing workshops: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/workshops
Shop Wildfire merch & more: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/shop
*Free* Get Wildfire and The Burn freebies here: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/free
More about Wildfire Journal:
https://www.wildfirecommunity.org
https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine/
https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity
Information on submitting your story for consideration to be published in Wildfire Journal: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/submissions
Podcast reviews
Read The Burn podcast reviews
Freckles221 2025/05/29
Helpful
Appreciate the vulnerability of the guests and their willingness to share their stories. Thank you
LWL34900 2023/02/01
Burn
Love how conversational the podcast is.
AuggieRai 2022/07/20
Wonderful resource!
This podcast feels like sitting down with old friends who really understand you.
MichelleJ24 2022/04/14
A calming source
This podcast provides both a source of enlightening views on a cancer diagnosis and also a look into the experiences of others through an entertaining...
crasherfd 2021/11/25
Thank you…
…for continuing to create content that is so relevant to the cancer community and also to those that care about it. I recommend these podcasts for eve...
Christy Greenleaf 2021/09/04
Your story matters
Thank you April for the work you do in sharing stories of women who have gone through breast cancer and normalizing how we look and feel. The art of s...
AnnieOakley78 2021/09/03
Just what a cancer fighter/survivor needs!
Forget what the doctor ordered; you need this podcast to help you heal your mental psyche! Just kidding- do what the doctor ordered too, but listenin...
laramacG 2021/08/31
Stories connect us and this podcast will too
The transformative power of storytelling after cancer now has a beautiful podcast. What a gift to the world.