47. Diagnosed with Cancer at a Young Age Fueled Her Fire to Help Others Share Their Stories with April Stearns

Welcome to Episode 47 of the Warrior Words podcast!   Cancer is a disease of older people, right? Sadly, this is not true. Children, teens, and young adults are being diagnosed more and more. What do you do if you're the only one you know who is undergoing cancer treatment as a young adult with a baby at home? There are no support groups. There's no one to contact who is currently in treatment or has survived for you to connect with. Now, there are online groups for just about anything you can imagine, but 10, 15, or 20 years ago? Not-so-much. April navigated this difficult time in her life in a world without much social media and no local groups for women her age. But she didn't let it stop her! She instead, allowed it to light a fire - a fire that would burn and grow into a wildfire supporting women 50ish or younger who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Tune in to learn what she did, and continues to do, with that fire!   Learn more about April: Website: https://www.wildfirecommunity.org/ Instagram & Threads: https://www.instagram.com/wildfire_bc_magazine Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildfirecommunity/ Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-burn/id1583622715   Resources April mentioned: Dr. Rita Charon, PhD, MD, Columbia University: Narrative Medicine Young Survival Coalition AYA (Adolescent & Young Adult) Cancer: Elephants & Tea Magazine   Donate to the Star of the Sea Guild through our fiscal sponsor! https://raisedonors.com/xaviermissionfund/star-of-the-sea-guild   Armor Up. Fight the Good Fight. Seek Beauty. Make Your Words Warrior Words. Merch Store: https://heather-clr-shop.fourthwall.com   Join your fellow Warriors: https://subscribepage.io/pearlsofwisdom YT: https://www.youtube.com/@beautyafterbattlesart YT: https://www.youtube.com/@warriorwords IG: https://www.instagram.com/mywarriorwords/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/heathergaffneyauthor/   People and sponsors/affiliates who helped make this podcast possible. Please support them and help keep Warrior Words on the air! Editor & Music Composer: AgentSecret24 - https://www.youtube.com/@Agentsecret24 Podcast to Profit Podcast Course (aff): https://heatherg--stefaniegass.thrivecart.com/podcasttoprofitmastermind/ Podbean Podcast Hosting (aff): https://www.podbean.com/WarriorWords Gabriella Batel's Editing Services: https://bonepiercer.com/editing/first-chapter-packages/ 1st Phorm for your Health Goals (aff): https://1stphorm.sjv.io/K01j3e Catholic Owned (aff): Get 10% off any Business or Speed Networking membership with my code WARRIOR at https://catholicowned.com/   NOTE: Beliefs, practices, and opinions expressed by guests of the Warrior Words podcast are not necessarily the same as those of the host. One of the purposes of this podcast is to share stories. This cannot be effective if everyone is identical. * Links marked with (aff) are affiliate links. I receive a small commission with your purchase at no additional cost to you if you click through my links.