In this powerful and deeply emotional conversation, Kevin Rice sits down with Tracy Ryan, co-founder and Chief Communications Officer of Encore Biotherapeutics, to explore what happens when a mother refuses to accept “incurable” as the final answer.

Tracy shares the moment her 8-month-old daughter, Sophie, was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. In a single phone call, her perfect life as a successful agency founder, new mom, and entrepreneur shattered. What followed was seven years of chemotherapy, 13 surgeries, blindness, seizures, and relentless uncertainty.

But Tracy did not collapse under the weight of it. She built.

From launching a medical cannabis company to support her daughter’s immune system, to producing a Netflix documentary, to raising millions for cancer research, Tracy transformed unimaginable trauma into purpose. When she discovered her daughter had zero natural killer cells in her brain, it sparked a scientific breakthrough that led to the founding of Encore Biotherapeutics, a company now developing next-generation immunotherapy for cancer patients.

This is a story about resilience, betrayal, faith, science, marriage under pressure, and what it really means to choose purpose over despair. Tracy’s journey is tragic, beautiful, and wildly inspiring all at once.

If you have ever faced something that felt impossible, this episode will change how you see suffering, strength, and what is possible.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• What happens psychologically when a parent hears “brain tumor”
• Why pediatric cancer research is drastically underfunded
• How cannabis research led to breakthroughs in immune system science
• What natural killer cells are and why they matter in cancer treatment
• The difference between surviving trauma and transforming through it
• How entrepreneurship can become a vehicle for purpose
• Why 85 percent of marriages fail after a child’s serious illness
• The mindset required to build companies while living inside crisis
• How to find meaning inside overwhelming suffering
• Why resilience is often built, not born

Key Takeaways:

• Tragedy can either break you or become your calling
• Meaning is assigned, not discovered
• Trauma can sharpen purpose when processed intentionally
• Scientific breakthroughs often begin with personal desperation
• Resilience grows when you zoom out from the moment
• You cannot control the storm, but you can control your response
• Marriage under pressure requires active fighting for each other
• Sometimes the worst moments create the most powerful missions