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Cancer forces questions most of us try to postpone: What matters now? Who shows up? What does dignity look like when your body and your plans change? Maria sits down with Ann Wax, an Oncology Doula™, speaker, author, and oncology nurse with more than 50 years of experience walking alongside patients and families through chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and the emotional shock that comes with a diagnosis — and who has lived it personally too, as a sister who cared for her own sister through ovarian cancer and a wife who supported her husband through kidney cancer.

Ann and Maria talk about legacy and purpose in a grounded way, including what a "good passing" can actually feel like in the room, and why love, peace, and presence matter at the end of life. Ann explains what an Oncology Doula™ does (and doesn't do) through what she calls "The Care Between the Care™" — why family dynamics can be as hard as treatment itself, and how survivorship can reopen old wounds like shame, guilt, and childhood trauma. If you've ever struggled to say "I love you" to yourself in the mirror, the exercise they discuss will hit home.

They also get real about patient advocacy and mindset without pretending reality isn't real. Chemotherapy isn't what it was 30 years ago, and fear often comes from outdated stories and rushed conversations. Ann shares how language and openness can completely change a patient's experience, and they explore what healing looks like even when outcomes are uncertain — grief that doesn't follow a straight line, and caregiving that demands real boundaries.

Connect with Ann Wax:
💼 LinkedIn: Ann Wax https://www.linkedin.com/in/annwax/

Book: BE your own Lifegaurd: Lessons in Resilience, Healing, and Hope https://a.co/d/0f0LVdMz

📖 NEW BOOK: Against All Odds: The Less Than 1% Chance
I wasn't supposed to survive. As the surviving twin with less than a 1% chance at life, I've spent my whole existence beating odds nobody expected me to beat. In this memoir and anthology, I share my story alongside eight other unbelievable accounts of people who refused to let impossible circumstances write their ending, from cancer and addiction to childhood trauma and grief. Eleven stories. One roadmap for anyone who's ever been told "you can't."
Get your copy here: https://books.by/love-your-life

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