Two Weeks Postpartum, Then Thyroid Cancer: Choosing Faith Over Fear with Beth Fralick

Two weeks after welcoming her first baby, Beth Fralick was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. In this honest conversation, the teacher, mom of three, and health and wellness consultant shares the postpartum shock, grief, and pressure of making fast medical decisions while learning to advocate for herself. Beth opens up about second opinions, preparing for surgery, setting boundaries, healing trauma, and reclaiming her voice through long-term survivorship. She also shares the Scripture that anchored her and three practices found throughout survivorship research: gratitude, supportive community, and a vision for your life. A hope-filled episode for anyone navigating cancer, chronic illness, caregiving, or integrative healing.

Beth's contact info:

Email - B.fralick.17@gmail.com

New Bridge Clinic - https://www.newbridgewellness.com/people/beth-fralick/

Beth's Facebook Group: 

Whole Story Healing 

Books that were inspirational during Beth's journey:

Healing Promises by Joseph Prince

Healed of Cancer by Dodie Osteen

When God and Cancer Meet by Lynn Eib 

Change your Cancer Story by Megan Van Zyl

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Transcript

ReLight App And Launch Offer

SPEAKER_01 0:00

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Welcome And Meeting Beth

SPEAKER_01 0:36

to the Hope Unlocked podcast. I'm Kristen Kurtz, your host. I pray this episode is like a holy Ivy of hope for your soul. Please help me welcome Beth Freilig to the show. I'm so excited to have her here today. I I know that this is gonna be really powerful because the trial that it took for us to even get to this point is like wild. And we're like, nope, we're gonna make this work today. So we actually just met. Gosh, was it maybe two months ago? I can't even remember. It was within the game. And wasn't planning to go to an event. And we ended up chatting, and I was like, oh my gosh, I just love this one. And I did ask her, I think even then I was like, hey, would you like to share your story on Hope Unlocked? So I know you're gonna be coming here with a powerful testimony to share with the world. And before we do that, could you just share a little bit about yourself?

SPEAKER_00 1:30

Sure. So currently I live in the Twin Cities, and that's how we met. We met at a wellness event. We happened to sit right next to each other, and it was really funny because we got talking on the topic of food and what were you going to order and what was I going to order? And then it started, it branched off into like, oh, well, I have these food allergies and I have these things. And then, and it was funny how the conversation continued because I'm like, oh my gosh, you are like you're the other version of me in so many ways. And so we just connected in that way. And so it's just funny how my particular journey and your journey and how our our paths have crossed in such a way at this time. Uh, so for me, I have three children. I have a six-year-old, I have a four-year-old and a two-year-old.

SPEAKER_02 2:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:18

I am a teacher. I've been teaching for about 15 years. And once I started having children, I went down to part-time teaching. So I just teach a few days a week. And then I also am consulting in the health and wellness space. I work with cancer clients and those with chronic illness. And that is something that came out of my own journey.

Thyroid Cancer Two Weeks Postpartum

SPEAKER_00 2:42

So back in 2019, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer shortly after my son was born. And it was a very unexpected diagnosis. Through the years, I had multiple reoccurrences of cancer. I did Western medicine, I did alternative medicine, and I was just on a path of trying to understand why I did cancer, and just processing and working through that while having young children. And in that journey, God brought me to a place of really shifting my focus off of my own health journey and what I needed to do to heal, but then also, well, how can I come alongside others and support others who are on a very similar journey as me? And I found that through my experience, there really wasn't a lot out there when it came to emotional or spiritual support. And I realized that when you go through chronic illness and when you go through cancer, it can be extremely isolating. And that is something that I didn't want others to have to experience. And so I developed a support group system where we meet bi-weekly and I just create a quiet space, a space where people can either they can share about where they're at, what how their appointments have gone, what different decisions they have to make as far as treatments go or next steps. It's really open-ended, honestly. And then I try to provide a time of support and encouragement where we can all encourage one another, we can pray for one another, we can give each other hope. So that all stemmed from my own personal experience of what was I felt like I really needed on my own journey to get through really difficult time. So that's what I'm currently doing. And I'm working towards getting my functional medicine license and helping continuing to help support people that are going through chronic illness get to the root of their disease.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

Yes. Well, I want to I want to thank you for sharing. Like I I love how you shared how, you know, a lot of times when we walk through something, we have an opportunity, we have a choice to kind of turn around and help others. And I love how you just were so willing and obedient to, well, you know, you had that stirring of like, there's nothing really out here that I needed. So I'm gonna crave something. I think that it's just beautiful. I want to kind of touch back to if you guys heard, she has two, four, and six-year-old, right? So how old were your children at the time you were given this diagnosis?

SPEAKER_00 5:22

Well, I actually had just had my son, my first, my oldest, and I was diagnosed about two weeks after having him.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

Okay. So like he was two weeks old. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I I recently heard that you know, a lot of times when you're given a diagnosis, there's usually a very accelerated like pathway that the medical system tries to put you on, and you don't really get a lot of time to think about the next steps. Tell me more about that because gosh, I mean, my oldest is now 21 almost, and my youngest is almost 18. So that was a long time ago, but I can still remember like those first couple weeks, first couple months of being a new mom for the first time, and just already you're just you're tired. You're tell us more about like what did that look like for you to experience this diagnosis at that point.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

I mean, I don't know if words can really describe the feeling of getting a diagnosis like that. It's you're in a state of shock, you're in a state of denial, like you're questioning, well, why me? I'm a young mom. I just had a baby. This isn't fair. So I went through a number of different feelings and emotions and trying to process and work through that. And and and then, you know, even come to an understanding of why do I have cancer? Like, what did I do wrong to get cancer? And for me, I was married later on in life. I was so excited to be a mom. That's what I had always wanted to be. And then to get this diagnosis so shortly after having a child, I was like, this isn't fair. This is robbing me of one of the biggest dreams I've ever had. Now I can't even enjoy being a new mom because I have to think about this diagnosis. And so I just remember, yeah, just crying and being so angry and so afraid and angry at God, um, angry at my circumstances, and just like, I've already gone through so much in my life. Why do I now have to go through cancer on top of everything else? You know, so you go through, I think there's just a lot of indignation and righteous anger and frustration. And so I went through that whole, you know, that processing, and then you're in the midst of appointments and you're having sleepless nights because you just had a baby. And and my doctors were like, Well, we want you to have surgery to remove your thyroid and then radiation. And so I'm thinking about this timeline. They're like, you know, wanting me to schedule, schedule this. And I'm just like, I just had a baby. I can't think about having a surgery and then going because surgery was going to be like a 10-day recovery where I couldn't hold my like carry my son around. And I, and then doing radiation after that, which was gonna be another like two weeks that I couldn't be around him. And I'm like, this is a lot. I just had my baby. I just want to hold my baby and be able to establish breastfeeding. And so I did tell my doctors after some time of processing and thinking through it. I was like, I'm not ready to go into all of that. I just had my son. My body is recovering from a birth, it's not in a state to go into surgery. So I want some time. And so I did some research on breastfeeding and what was like, you know, how how difficult it can be to establish a breastfeeding relationship with your child and how long it usually takes for them to catch on and develop a rhythm and an understanding of how breastfeeding works, and then understanding fly and flow and supply. So I gauged from all my research between like three and four months is usually what it takes to really establish a healthy breastfeeding relationship with your child and to establish your flow. And so I was like, you know what? I'm gonna give myself four months and I'm just going to focus on really connecting to my child and figuring out breastfeeding, how to be a new mom. I'm going to prepare for this surgery so I can go into it as as best as I can mentally and physically, and we'll do that, and then we'll take the rest from there.

Choosing Timing And Skipping Radiation

SPEAKER_00 9:41

So that's what I ended up doing. I had surgery four months after having my son. And it was, it was a more invasive surgery than we had planned because it had spread to my lip nodes. So recovery was just, it was harder. Then we talked about treatments afterwards, and I did I prayed about it. I consulted with a number of different practitioners and in the alternative world and in and then getting another opinion from another doctrine oncologist. And we just decided that radiation wasn't the right choice at that time for me. So that was, you know, it's just a whirlwind. Like it is very true, and that's something that I work with my clients that I support is you in Western medicine, they do have their protocols and they have their systems and they classify you and they put you through a system. And a lot of times it is very much based on convenience and timing for them. And it's not always putting into thought, well, what are your life circumstances? What do you have going on? Are you a young mom? Do you have care at home to help you recover? Also, I mean, everything that we know about the body is that when you go through a surgery, you're getting antibiotics, you're getting anesthesia that shuts down your immune system. And then to put you right into harsh treatments, your body is not going to be out of place to really sustain and be at its best to help not only kill the cancer, but keep your body working and fighting and trying to get out all the bad. And so I really advocate for my clients to obviously it's depending on the cancer. There are some cancers you have to move more quickly on, but there are most cancers that you can take some time to really, you know, get that initial diagnosis, process that, get another opinion if needed, work with integrative care, alternative care to support your body so that it has the best outcome when it comes to surgery and recovery and then going into treatments. So I really try to bring education awareness around those things and give clients a voice that they do have a voice in their health journey. They don't have to follow all this, you know, all of the expectations of their oncology team. If it doesn't resonate with them or fit into what they feel like is best for their body, they have a right to say no or re-evaluate or get another opinion.

Patient Voice In A Rushed System

SPEAKER_01 12:18

Yes, that's so good. I wanted to really just highlight that for the listeners that, you know, I just think back to some of my times before I like knew more about like holistic and functional medicine, naturopathic. I just kind of listened to the doctors and I just kind of did whatever they said because I thought, well, they know more than I do. And I I think it's just really important for you guys to hear that you don't have to do, you don't have to do what they say. You don't have to do what they say when they say you need to do something, of course, pray about it. But you know, with Beth, she shared here like just having a brand new baby, and she's like, No, I'm I'm actually gonna take some time to establish breastfeeding with my child and knowing what you knew, and thankfully you knew, and I think I think it's really hard because as somebody who's maybe not been trained, you know, in medical system to kind of kind of push against the system in a way, wouldn't you say? Have you found that to be challenging for some of the the people that you've come alongside at first? Are they like, oh, I can like kind of push back a little bit? Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

Yes, most often people come to me though at a place, they're they're at a place already that they're like, I don't feel completely comfortable with the plan that's been given to me. Or I I I have some doubts or I have some questions, or is there another way? So a lot of times people already are coming to me with more of an open mind. Or I have found, and and what I do a lot of educating, where I put on my social media page where I'm just educating and bringing awareness and giving options and saying there are other things out there, or here are some other options that could be possible for your journey. It doesn't have to look the same as, you know, this other person you knew, or you don't have to have the same outcome, or and and so sometimes people will just stumble across my things and say, huh, that's interesting. Or they'll they'll heal my hear my story and say, Oh, I didn't know that was an option. I didn't know that there were other things that I could have done or should have done. Or so it's all about exposure and it's all about, I just really believe that learning to listen to your intuition, God gives us, gives us wisdom. Like if we seek him and we're asking him, like, what is what should I do in this situation? Or what is next? What is the right choice or right decision? And what's unfortunate when it comes to cancer is there's so much fear. And so a lot of our decisions are made out of fear. And that's that's due to what we've seen in our society, like in our world, the exposure that we've had to cancer. And so when people hear the word cancer, they're like, I'm gonna die. I mean, that's generally like you're gonna have a horrible, awful experience. You're not, you're gonna lose your hair, you know, like all worst case scenarios. So when you get that initial diagnosis, you're immediately put in this place of fear. And how am I going to make it through this? How am I going to, oh, am I going to have to have this treatment or do that or make these choices or lose my, you know, lose my job, lose this. And so we we start operating out of a place of fear. And unfortunately, our doctors, and not all of them do this, and not even all of them, I don't believe, are doing it purposefully. But they put you in this place, they also drive that fear. They encourage that fear in some ways of like, well, you need to deal with this now. This is urgent, or this is, and they they like, if you don't do this, I mean, I've had pe clients come to me and say, Yeah, my my I told my oncologist I'm stopping chemo. And he said, Well, I probably won't see you in my office again. Like he they'll say, Well, you're gonna die. Like, this is these are your only choices, either do chemo or you're gonna die. Or you only have four months left to left to live. And and sometimes doctors, it's like, I don't know, it's if it's out of frustration that they will say these things because their client is, and honestly, and the more I learn about the medical system, I know a lot of it is driven by their superiors, like the pressure they have that if they don't keep us in a certain track doing X, Y, and Z, then insurance will stop paying or they won't make the money that they need to make because we're not fitting in a certain lane per se. So there is pressure from oncologists that it's like if we don't fit within their framework and do what they say we need to do, they can get in trouble.

Fear-Based Care And Doctor Pressure

SPEAKER_00 16:52

And so I learned that from one of my oncologists when I refused to do radiation. She basically was like, Well, if you're not gonna do it, I'm not gonna work with you any longer. And I'm like, Oh, okay. Like she stopped. I was like, Well, I just want to monitor. I want to do, I want to do ultrasounds regularly, I want to do lab work regularly. And if we start seeing things that are coming up that are questionable, then we talk about next steps. And she was just like, did everything she could to make it difficult for me to have those tests ordered and to read my tests and give me the information that I needed and be supportive. And so I ended up having to stop working with her. I was like, well, if you're not going to support me and the decisions I'm making for my body, I'm going to find a doctor that will.

SPEAKER_01 17:44

Wow. And so how like how far were you into the journey at that point where she like basically was kind of giving you an ultimatum in a way?

SPEAKER_00 18:31

I was about two years, two years in working with her. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

So how did you like at that point you basically broke up with your oncologist, right? So how did you like did you get referral from somebody else? I think it's just it's just very hard to find. And I'm just gonna say this, it's really hard to find good doctors. I know that there's good doctors out there, but how did you find, you know, the next person that was willing to kind of go outside the box with you a little bit?

SPEAKER_00 19:07

Mm-hmm. I I actually found him through a friend. They said, Oh, I really think you would like my endocrinologist. You should check him out. I read his bio. I reached out to him and said, you know, this is my history I've had of cancer. This is what I am doing currently to support my body and try to bring it to complete healing. I need a doctor who is not like willing to order the tests and support me to keep monitoring and as I make different decisions regarding my cancer journey. And he, you know, we had about an hour-long consultation and he was so gracious and kind and listened to my concerns, listened, you know, we went over my past history of cancer, and he gave his recommendations and he was like, This is what I would recommend, but the choice is up to you, what you decide to do. And he's always been like that throughout this whole cancer journey, which is really amazing. But it is, it is really hard to find. But I tell clients, I say, if you aren't comfortable with your oncology team or your oncologist or doctor, you're paying them. They're not paying you to come see them, you're paying them. So if you're not happy, go find someone else and pay them.

SPEAKER_01 20:29

Right. It's it's interesting because I'm almost getting a vision of like, you know, you go to get your hair cut and it's like, would you go keep going back to the same person who's like jacking your hair up? Like you'd probably want to go somewhere else. Like you keep saying, like, no, I want to keep my hair long, but they keep butchering your hair, and you're like, no, I'm not, I'm not happy with this. So I don't know. That's kind of the analogy that I'm I know it's not the best analogy, but it's like, why would we keep going back to somebody that is not doing what we're asking, right? Or or own choices, right?

SPEAKER_00 21:02

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And I definitely think, you know, there has to be, there has to be wisdom. There has to be that grace too. And and that's something like I had worked with her about two years, and I and I, I, I really did try to receive what she said. And every decision I have I make, I always step back and evaluate is this decision that I'm making being driven by fear or being driven by wisdom? And I think that's really important with whatever diagnosis you have, or or any, I guess any decision that you you have to make in life, you have to know what is driving that decision. And so even if it is a hard choice, let's say my doctor suggests this treatment, and I'm just like, nope, I'm not doing that. And I have to reevaluate. Wait, is that because I'm afraid? I'm afraid to do that, that option. If so, I then need to get before God and say, God, this is a really hard choice that I have to make. And I don't want to do what they're suggesting to do. But if that's what I need to do to get healthy and be healed, then give me the grace to go through it and give me peace in that decision. And so it has been a learning, a learning process as I've gone through cancer to really not allow my feelings, my fear to drive the choices that I make. about my body and to really lean in and ask God, what are you saying in this situation? What are you saying about my diagnosis? Because I think that when you go through cancer and you uh you experience the fragility of life and I think it's very easy to sorry I'm getting emotional about this. Um take a deep breath it is very easy to allow your emotions to drive your decisions and it's very easy to allow then what others are saying the fear the doubts the concerns to then weigh in on the choices that you're making and I think that's what I I learned is that I really have to make sure that I am listening and in tune with God. I am leaning into his word and his promises and that I'm allowing that to guide my journey. And so that's a really hard I mean maybe some people are a little bit stronger in their faith and more experienced in that but that's a really hard thing to grow in and to learn to to learn how to navigate. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:03

Well I'm I'm curious you know like we all want to we we all go to God first like that's ultimately like the the focus right but we are gonna have we we need advisors in our life we need people to help like I couldn't have my baby on my own like I needed yeah somebody to help me birth just like you know in your situation you needed people to help you through the process so just from your own experience did you find and and even looking back I guess I would ask since you were on you know maybe a little bit more of unconventional journey in some ways did you feel like God was having you to maybe just share with a smaller group of people did you find yourself sharing you know asking for prayer on a a broad level like how did your family come alongside you? I'm just kind of the community aspect like the connection support to help like bolster you and your time so like I said cancer can be very isolating because a lot of people don't know how to handle these the the emotions that come with cancer, the fears that come with cancer the the decision making knowing like how do you support someone that has this type of a diagnosis and so there are a lot of people in my life that were very much pushing me to do a certain type of care because they were fearful.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

They were afraid and

Boundaries With Family And Friends

SPEAKER_00 25:41

I had to learn to listen to their advice or their concerns but then put that aside and say I know that they love me and this is coming from a place of love. But it's not coming from a place of faith or a place of support for what I felt like was best from my situation. And so there were very few people in my life that were like you know whatever you decide to do, we're there for you we're gonna support you we're gonna be alongside you because they didn't un they hadn't heard of people that did the type of journey that I did like you know usually it's just like the standard of care you do X, Y, and Z and and then you're done with cancer. Whereas mine looked very different, you know, all the the IVs and appointments and different modalities that I tried and like some of the things that I did seemed very strange and diet changes and and just like well that's a lot of work why are you doing all these things and why don't you just do chemo? Why don't you just do you know it seems much easier and and so it took a lot of educating and having hard conversations and and then coming to a point with the people who were closest in my life and saying this is what I want to do this is what I feel like I need to do for my journey if you don't support that you don't support that but please keep your opinions to yourself at the end of the day I just need you to support me pray for me be there for me as I go through this and I'm trying to make the best decision I can make and you have to trust that and trust God ultimately yes well what I'm hearing is very strong boundaries have and I I'm just curious because I I know that there's a lot of people that really struggle with sharing their opinion and sharing kind of their stance like they're kind of taking a stand and keeping like boundaries so that it doesn't infiltrate you know what I'm you know what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01 27:48

Have you always been like that?

SPEAKER_00 27:50

Like did you come into this with those strong like no no so this is this is funny how yes how God I was I was meditating and thinking about the verse how the enemy the enemy means things for harm whereas God he will turn them for a good and I really wrestled with that through my diagnosis because I was like I know I know the enemy's attacking me cancer is not of God but how is God going to turn this for good? Because everything in my life was affected by cancer and it was incredibly dark, stressful. I mean anyone that's gone through cancer knows just the financial burden that it brings on a family the strain that it brings on a marriage just your physical the toll that it takes on your physical health and I'm like God how are you going to use this for good I do not know where you're going with this and I don't know how to trust you. And I really wrestled with that but going through it and in hindsight just seeing how God used this experience to teach me about boundaries like how to have boundaries how to develop confidence in myself how to walk in confidence and trust and belief that he he was taking care of me he was speaking to me he was guiding me that he would provide for me. So he really I did a deep deep work and honestly if it wasn't for having my cancer diagnosis I don't know if I would have ever fully addressed my past so when I got thyroid cancer I had you know I went through standard care the first time and then after that I was like well I don't want to have cancer again and then I ended up having a recurrence a few years later and I was like okay I did standard care I did everything they told me to do. Yeah cancer came back what is going on and that's when I started to do a deep dive into alternative care and holistic care understanding my body as a whole and what drives cancer and I met a woman her name is Megan Van Zill and she she focuses on spiritual and emotional roots of disease. And so I started working with her on a weekly basis and we started to really unpack the trauma from my past and my belief systems and understanding what possibilities could have been driving cancer. And I started to really study my body and understand where trauma had affected my body. And ironically in Chinese

Trauma, Lost Voice, And Healing Work

SPEAKER_00 30:32

medicine the thyroid when you have thyroid cancer they say it's because you've lost your voice. Some your voice is trapped and there's been some trauma to your voice. And it's so ironic when I discovered that and started unpacking my trauma from my past that I truly had lost my voice from a young age I experienced sexual abuse and I had that was until about 12 years old I really because of those experiences and some of the traumas I experienced as a young child I did lose my voice. I didn't feel like I had the ability to speak up for myself I didn't have the ability to I I my boundaries were so crossed that I didn't know what it was like to have healthy boundaries. What did that look like and so when I started unpacking and understanding how some of the trauma had driven choices that I had made and how I viewed myself and my belief systems, God started to do a deep inner healing and I received so much deliverance and and like just profound healing that I didn't know I had needed. And so again God used the cancer to bring me to a place of realizing that a lot of the unhealthiness the things that I experienced for years and years and years that went undiagnosed or doctors have no idea what is going on and just felt like everything was in my head is like well maybe that was the trauma that I hadn't healed from the things that I needed to be delivered from.

SPEAKER_01 32:14

Wow I mean and and that's Romans 828 if I'm remembering correctly right turn everything good Romans 828. I want to just like if you could just maybe unpack a little bit of you know I I know a lot of women their voices have been kind of you know shut down.

SPEAKER_00 32:34

So maybe somebody's listening in today and they're like yeah you know I've experienced that and maybe they're not even connecting how that could be something from their past but even as maybe as an adult if you could kind of fast forward with your voice like what did that look like for you maybe into your adulthood to have your voice I I I almost call it like taken captive in a way and that's honestly what trauma does what trauma and abuse I because over the years I have worked with women coming out of domestic violence out of trafficking out of sexual abuse and that's one thing that we it takes time for them to feel safe enough to actually express what they need or to even learn to express their emotional needs or what they're feeling. And honestly there's always this tipping point when I know someone's getting to a place of breakthrough and in healing all of a sudden the emotions all start coming out whether it's tears or the anger or and and you're just like a lot of people are like what is wrong with that person but it's they're actually at a place where they're starting to let themselves feel everything and acknowledge everything that has happened and it starts coming out and that's when it's like okay we're on a good path we are seeing breakthrough like this person is starting to experience and find their voice and that's honestly a journey that many of us who have gone through abuse have had to through therapy through through the Holy Spirit and his his healing have had to go on a journey to find our voice to learn how do we speak up for what is important to us or what we need or even what we're feeling developing that emotional intelligence because so much of us that was shut down for so long in many of us. And so I think you know when we go through a chronic illness or a disease or yes it's almost easier to just follow along with whatever the whoever's authority is telling us to do because that just seems safer easier but what I realized is like so much of my life I I led not expressing what I needed or what I was feeling like just suppressing my feelings or my my needs and and I came to the point of like I can't do this any longer because obviously I'm at a place of disease now like I'm not healthy. I I need to get healthy from the inside out and so that journey has really done that not just focusing on the external symptoms and trying to heal from cancer externally but really digging deep into internally what has not been dealt with what has not been healed.

SPEAKER_01 35:25

And Father God has just been so gracious and so kind to bring me to healing thank you to did you say her name was Mary Megan Vansell so Megan so she was like a catalyst for a lot of this that you received and then again you now are like what you learned you're now taking that and it's like the torch has been passed and you're both able to do this. I love this if anybody's listening who lives so we're in the twin cities in Minnesota I I just want to capture this really quick in case somebody hops off where can people like learn more about what you're doing as they're listening to they're like well I want to hear more about what she's doing to help maybe could she help me can she help me virtually can she help me in person or is it a both and it's a both and so I have a Facebook group that I started uh that anyone can join and I put information on there daily whether it's it's educational whether it's just inspirational we have a support a biweekly support group that you can join via our Facebook group

How Beth Supports Clients Today

SPEAKER_01 36:37

and that's about an hour every two weeks.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

And then I do work at a clinic in EDINA called Newbridge clinic and I see clients there. And as of right now that's that's what I'm doing. I don't know how God is going to grow that or if he's going to ask me to do more but at this point with having young ones and and balancing all the things that's what I've committed to but I definitely Newbridge I can be in person but I typically do Zoom just because most people especially when they have chronic illness or cancer is harder you already have a ton of appointments. You don't need another appointment to get to so it's nice to have the ability just to get on your computer and chat and talk and so that's that's generally what I've been offering at this point. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 37:23

So anybody in the world could could come see you. Yes yes please please do so I'll make sure if you guys are listening and you heard um what is the name of your Facebook group? It's called Whole Story Healing. Whole story healing okay well be sure to link the group link into the show notes and also the Newbridge website as well so as we continue on today's June 10th as we're capturing this interview. Where are you now? Like how how are you doing health wise now?

SPEAKER_00 37:54

How's Beth yeah well I had my first clear scans back in April so that was really exciting yes so so we had a huge celebration we were really really excited and to get that that news back uh so right now we're just continuing to monitor and still continuing to follow follow a pretty rigid diet like what what I feel like is best for my body at this time and exercising and and just different lifestyle habits that I I have created to try to help my body stay cancer free. And

Clear Scans And Lingering Fear

SPEAKER_00 38:34

and I just felt like you know anyone that goes through cancer there's always I I think you'll forever have that fear in the back of your mind of like what if or when will it come back? And that was something honestly because the journey had been so long and so hard that when I got the clear scans and like everything's looking great and it's been you know almost a year now that since my last reoccurrence that it was like it was almost this emotional hurdle I had to get over of everyone around me was so excited and like yeah you're cancer free but I was stuck still in the trauma of my cancer and the fear of well what if I'm not done? What if you know I go through it again. And so these last number of months I've been working through that and getting you know some deep inner healing in that area just processing my cancer journey and trying to heal from that and then also walking in faith and and really strengthening my inner man of being able to speak against the fear speak against the negativity that comes my way and and the thoughts of the what if what if this happens and going to that place of well if it does happen God got me through this last time I can do it again. And so just really building up my spirit and and not getting stuck not getting stuck in the fear but living my life.

SPEAKER_01 40:06

So good I can only imagine like I and I haven't walked your journey and I I just feel like whatever you know people are listening in today and you know maybe they're walking through something right now or maybe a loved one is walking through a diagnosis of a new diagnosis or maybe they've you know received clear as well what would you like have you had like some Bible verses that have just been really I I call them like anchoring verses but have you had some Bible verses that have just really been anchoring for you on this journey and then part two of that is who is like a Bible figure that has really just been almost

Healing Scriptures And Joseph’s Story

SPEAKER_01 40:50

like a somebody you really look up to to help you in this journey if if any there's a number of verses honestly I I got a book on healing and it just had a ton of verses in it and I'm so sorry I can't think of the name of the book right now but it was it was basically physical healing.

SPEAKER_00 41:14

Yes yes in the show notes yeah yes so there were two particular ones on on healing and had a number of verses and then prayers attached to it and that's what I used throughout my diagnosis I every morning I would read one of the chapters because I was wrestling with does God heal? Can he heal? Can he heal me? Maybe he'll heal this person or that person but will he heal me and understanding just trying to really understand well what does the Bible say about healing so I had a girlfriend give me two different books and they were so life giving and so I just encourage everyone and I did that myself too before I got those books I just started going through the Bible and looking up any word that I could find on healing and reading those verses and meditating on those verses. And one of the verses that I loved was in Isaiah and it said I will restore your heal I will restore your soul and bring healing to all your wounds. And I just that's what I clung to through my whole journey because I knew that if my soul was healed my body would be healed and that's that's just that was what God spoke to me from the beginning of my journey he said I'm healing you from the inside out so when I found that verse I was like oh this is my verse he is healing my soul he is restoring my body he is healing all of my wounds and so that was my primary verse and then and there's just so many characters in the Bible like if you as you read throughout scripture all of them went through adversity all of them had to overcome life challenges to become the person of God that you know that he had designed them to be and to fulfill their calling and particularly Joseph I always think of Joseph I've gotten that prophetic word over my life many times but it was like you just the things that he had to overcome and endure and the seasons that he went through that be like well where is God like how what is he doing right now? Like why has he left me here? How does this make sense to his story to this story? Because I think you know God gave him that initial dream. Right. But then he had to go through years and years of trials before he ever saw well oh this is this is who I was created to be this is what you had for me and how you're going to use me. And so he had to cling on to that hope that God had and that that word that that dream all those years and and that's something in my own journey when I got my diagnosis and many people around me were afraid and and worried and concerned and and I had to tell them I was like no this is this is not cancer is not my story. Like this is not the end of my story because God has already spoken to me like he has already given me a calling and a destiny and he had given me a very clear prophetic dream and and many words of knowledge up to that point. And I was like I'm gonna go back to my journal and I'm just gonna read over those things because Satan was working so hard to make me feel like that was the end of my story. Yeah, it's all so fresh here. I'm just like a hot mess, and of course you're recording. You're good. This is this is burning. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 44:53

You're gonna make me start making my eyes sweat too.

SPEAKER_00 44:58

And so I think often that when God puts a calling on our lives, when he gives us a vision, when he gives us a word of what he has called us to, the enemy is gonna come in with every tactic to discourage us, to confuse us, to really sidetrack us and keep us from that. And so I had to really grow and exercise my faith in that area and learn how to stand against those tactics and to speak life and destiny over myself, even when no one else was. And so yeah. So I just challenge anyone that's going through a really difficult situation, whether it's cancer or you know, something in your marriage or something with your child, ask God for a word, ask him for a word of knowledge, a dream, have like someone to come and you know, pray over them, something, because that can sustain you and carry you through the most difficult things.

SPEAKER_01 46:10

Yes, so true. Like I feel you on that. Like and just like you, like we so many of us have been given visions for things of the future that it's like, how is this gonna, how is this gonna happen? We just really have to hold on and like like Joseph, yeah, he was from the pit to the palace. And a lot of times it's like, how does this make sense? And I think sometimes we just have to like rather than that question, what would the question be that maybe you would encourage somebody to ask rather than why or how does this make sense? How is this gonna work? Would you have maybe another question for somebody to ask?

SPEAKER_00 46:50

I would say instead of asking why, which is completely reasonable. Yeah. In the Psalms, David did that all the time. So if you're asking why do I have to go through this, that's completely reasonable. And I believe that God will meet you there and He will He will be so kind and gracious as you navigate and ask all the questions. But we spend so much energy sometimes stuck in the why,

A Better Question Than Why

SPEAKER_00 47:16

the why me. And it it really postures our heart in a way of being the victim and operating out of a victim spirit. And so rather, I would challenge anyone that's going through a really difficult circumstance, posture your heart in a way that's saying, God, how do you want to use this? How are you going to use my story to bring healing into someone else's story? And I I mean, I did a ton of study and research on survivorship in cancer, and what were the leading causes for someone to survive a cancer diagnosis? And one of the top things was being in a place of gratefulness, daily gratefulness. The other was being surrounded by community, supportive community. And the other was having a vision for your life and not stopping life based on your diagnosis, but keep walking towards your vision. And that's something that I just challenge everyone. If God has placed a passion in your heart or a ministry idea, or you know, you have a family, whatever that may be, that he that brings you life, that brings you joy and fulfillment, run towards that and keep running towards that, no matter what diagnosis is thrown at you, or what life circumstances have thrown at you.

SPEAKER_01 48:51

Yes. Oh my gosh. Could you could you just repeat the three? You said gratitude. I just want people to go grab a piece of paper, write it down.

SPEAKER_00 49:02

Yes, the top three that that I came across in all my research. The first one was living a life of gratitude, so daily gratitude. And then the other was community, surrounding yourself with community and support. And then the other was having a vision for your life, like having a purpose. Make sure that you find your purpose, your God-given reason for being here on this earth.

SPEAKER_01 49:30

Oh good. Well, and it's interesting because usually at the end of the podcast, I feel like this has been so powerful. You're

Gratitude, Community, And Purpose

SPEAKER_01 49:37

you're one that I feel like needs to come back again.

SPEAKER_00 49:39

Oh, I would usually have the t-shirts next time.

SPEAKER_01 49:42

You're good. Trust me. Like this is real and raw. Hope unlocked is real and raw. So at the end of every every show, I ask somebody, you know, whoever's on the show, to give a word and a word of encouragement, word of anything else that you wanted to share. I feel like you just shared it a lot, but do you have anything else that you would speak over that one who we we're doing this for today, who's listening in?

SPEAKER_00 50:08

Yeah, I had written something down that I really felt like it was so so good. Let's see if I can find it or not.

SPEAKER_02 50:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:20

If not, I will I'll just I'll probably just do a prayer because let's see here. So yes, so this is the verse that came to mind. It's Isaiah 43, 5 through 7. And it says, no matter how far, and this is this is not the actual verse, but this is just a synopsis of the verse, basically. But no matter how far you have drifted or how scattered your life feels, restoration is possible. God gathers what is broken and brings the isolated back into community and to purpose. And then the verse that he gives is see, I am doing a new thing, know it, springs up, do not, do not you perceive that. And that's Isaiah 43, 18 through 19. And so I just declare and I believe over everyone that is listening that God is doing a new thing in your life. This diagnosis isn't meant to define you, it's not meant to keep you from all the good that God has for you. And I really believe that he's breaking things off of you right now in Jesus' name, and that he is going to allow you to walk in bolder confidence of who he's called you to be, and that he's going to really create a shift in your perspective of what you're going through.

unknown 51:48

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 51:49

Beth, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 51:51

Yeah, thank you. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01 51:54

Powerful. I I feel like I would love to have you on longer, but I I have to wrap it up today. But yes, no, I understand. I am gonna close with the Hope Unlocked anchoring verse, and it's may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. And I just believe that we have just been given a very strong IV of hope today from Beth. So thank you. And then could you just share again the best way for people to get in touch with you?

SPEAKER_00 52:26

Yes. So if you go on Facebook and you go to groups, look up whole story healing, join our group, and you can definitely personal message me, and I will be more than happy to get back to you. Okay, sounds good.

SPEAKER_01 52:41

And again, I'll have everything in the show notes. The books will get those books

Final Encouragement And How To Connect

SPEAKER_01 52:45

too. So otherwise, thank you so much, Beth, for being on today. I'll be back with another episode next week. Thanks, listeners.

SPEAKER_00 52:51

Okay, thank you. Bye.