168. Brenda Crawford: Part I – Spiritual Sovereignty & The Cancer Diagnosis

Brenda Crawford is the first guest we’ve interviewed that didn’t have a bio for us to read, and she explained that what she would have had us read in years past is no longer fully true.  She has many accomplishments: psychologist, musician, wife, mother, businesswoman – however, her identity completely shifted 5 years ago when out of the blue, and with few symptoms, she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.   This interview was raw, real, funny, hopeful, and as Brenda said, an opportunity to leave a legacy for my children.   We were so spellbound by Brenda’s story that it’s as if we were beyond the confines of time, which is another way to say, we need 2 episodes to cover her full story!  Today’s episode is an introduction to Brenda, her family, her history with the medical establishment, and her initial reaction to her diagnosis.  Check next week for part 2 of this amazing interview. Today we discuss: How Brenda “loved my childhood” as a precocious child, but one who didn’t cry much or show pain. Her familiarity with the medical establishment starting with chronic ear infections as a child, a mystery illness at 5 years old that put her in the hospital for several weeks, a car accident in college, and now a 5 year journey through 104+ cancer treatments. Her amazing 2 children and why spiritual sovereignty has been a key concept in how Brenda is relating to them. The unexpected diagnosis that turned her world upside down during a time that she felt “on top of my game”. The moment her doctor showed her the scans of innumerable lesions on her liver and “everything stops and in a second your entire life is different”. To join the Tend Her 4.0 Course on Hope (It’s Free!), visit here: https://dryogamomma.com/tend-her-4-0-hope/ Past Episodes You Might Like with Kate & Betsy about Health: Episode 128: Anne Marie Nest-Pinero & Kristin Marrs: Performance Art that Educates about Infertility & Miscarriage Episode 122: Nina Lohman – The Body Alone: A Lyrical Articulation of Chronic Pain Episode 108: Angie Chaplin: Mindful Sober Leader Episode 105: Kate O’Donnell: Ayurveda for Women Episode 99: Cate Stillman: The Witch’s Cancer Journal Episode 88: Sam Ferm-LeClere: Healing with Chronic Illness Episode 83: Our Precious Bodies Today’s Episode sponsored by: Kate Moreland Coaching Dr Yoga Momma Heartland Yoga Want to go on retreat?  Want to join Betsy in Costa Rica in May 2026 at her favorite retreat center to help you reorganize your inner space using yoga, meditation, energy medicine, and hypnosis?  All the details here! Source