Hope Unscripted

Ep. 2 - Small Changes, Big Prevention Wins with Hannah Qualls

• Jamie Dietrich and Brittnee Harmon • Season 1 • Episode 2

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What if cancer prevention didn’t mean a drastic life overhaul, but a handful of small choices you can actually keep? We sit down with Hannah, our wellness manager and certified personal trainer with a master’s in nutrition, to unpack practical steps that make a real difference: no guilt, no gimmicks, just habits that fit your life.

We walk through how she personalizes full‑body training for people at every stage of the cancer journey, from diagnosis to remission, and why caregivers benefit when they move alongside their loved ones. Hannah shares simple at‑home starters, 15 to 30 minutes of walking, balance and core basics, and explains how small, consistent actions rebuild strength for everyday tasks like stairs, standing up, and playing with kids. On the nutrition side, she goes beyond buzzwords to a single, sticky rule: flip the label and aim for under 5% Daily Value for added sugar. From protein‑smart breakfasts to serving size sanity checks, she turns “healthy confusion” into clear choices.

Whole‑person health threads through every topic: how stress and poor sleep can drain immunity, how quick guided meditations help reset the nervous system, and why support groups create empathy that fuels better follow‑through. We also dig into prevention must‑knows: age‑appropriate screenings like mammograms at 40 and colonoscopies at 45 (earlier with risk), tobacco cessation resources, and real‑world sun safety. SPF 30 daily matters year‑round, even through clouds and car windows, especially for ears, hands, and that driver’s arm, and UV clothing can make long days outside safer and easier.

If you’ve felt overwhelmed by wellness advice, this conversation brings it back to earth: choose one habit, repeat it, and let momentum build. Plus, don’t miss our free skin cancer screening on April 28 from 6–8 pm: quick checks by dermatologists and an easy win for your prevention checklist. If you found this helpful, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help more people find practical tools and real hope.

Meet Hannah And Her Role

Inside The Wellness Center

Caregivers And Accountability

Hiring And Growing Capacity

Hannah’s Path To Hope

Why Prevention Matters

Small Steps Over All Or Nothing

Screening Basics And Ages

Tailoring Wellness To Real Goals

At‑Home Movement Starters

Nutrition Consults And Protein

Label Reading And Added Sugar

Whole‑Person Health: Stress And Sleep

Meditation, Support Groups, Empathy

Starting When You Feel Overwhelmed

How To Reach Hannah

Proactive Prevention: Tobacco, Sunscreen

Daily Sunscreen Myths And SPF

UV Clothing, Kids, And Drivers

Free Skin Cancer Screening Event

Closing And Encouragement

SPEAKER_00

Hey there and welcome to Hope Unscripted, a podcast of Hope Cancer Resources. Here we're having real conversations about cancer from prevention and education to support resources and the stories that remind us that we are not alone. And we're your host. I'm Jamie Dietrich. And I'm Brittany Harmon, and we're so glad you're here. Now let's talk about hope, healing, and the journey unscripted. Hey everybody, welcome back to Hope Unscripted, our Hope Cancer Resources podcast. I'm Brittany Harmon, and I'm here with Jamie Dietrich. And it is our second episode now, and we are still in February. So it is Cancer Prevention Awareness Month. And so we are here today with Hannah Quals. She is our wellness manager at Hope Cancer Resources. So, Hannah, tell everybody what exactly do you do at Hope? Well, first of all, thanks for having me on the podcast. I'm super excited about it. Um, but I am the wellness specialist manager. I am a certified personal trainer and have a master's degree in nutrition. And so I am kind of running the wellness center right now. We do personal training. Um, I've got group classes, yoga sessions, and I also do nutrition education as well. And then with my new title as the manager, I'm kind of stepping into like a prevention education mindset of things too. So that's being added to the list. So, Hannah, in the wellness center, kind of paint a picture for us. So, like what is your what is your day look like? Are you meeting with patients one-on-one? Do you have some group classes? Like what kind of exercises are you doing? Like what's behind the scenes with Hannah? Absolutely. So days vary. Um, not one day is the same, but I'll normally coming into the office, making people's workouts. I'm seeing probably like four to six patients a day. Wow, that's a lot. And they get an hour training session. So we're in there working hard. Um, I like to do full body movements just because I'm only seeing them once a week. So we'll do some upper body things, lower body things, core exercises. We work on balance. Um, anyone that comes in, I always meet with them beforehand and we kind of sit down, talk about what their goals are, what they want to focus on. And that kind of helps me structure their workouts and what we really want to focus on over the 16-week program. So, but I've got yoga, like I said, and then we do a women's group class and a men's group class. So there's there's always something going on in the gym. I feel like everybody's body is so different. So when you're doing those one-on-ones, they're very tailored to that person, what their current diagnosis or recovery stage is, things like that. Absolutely. Yeah, I see all walks of life. People that have just found out that they've been diagnosed with cancer, or maybe they're in remission, or they're actively getting treatment. So everyone is different and everybody is different. And you go for caregivers too, don't you? Yes. So we do caregivers that could look like somebody's spouse. I've got a couple of people right now that are bringing their spouse in. So we do like a group workout, and it's really fun and good to see them bond in ways that they haven't before. And they can also hold each other accountable by doing the workouts together at home outside of the gym. Oh, I didn't even think about that. Like they can go home and then do that together. And then check shows your support. And I feel like that's a good break for caregivers too, because you don't think about sometimes the heavy load that that carries with them, also. Absolutely. They also, you know, have a lot going on too. And and they might not even realize how much it's impacting their mental or physical aspect of things, but we get in there and work on it all. So that's amazing. Now, uh you're you said you're now a wellness manager. So you're hiring someone. Yes. Okay. Right now we've got that job posted in the process of reviewing resumes and just looking at getting the the right fit in there. Okay. We've got several people on our wait list right now. So there's lots of work for several patients on your wait list, right? Yes, several ways. Okay. So it stays busy in the gym. And then with my education prevention side of things being added to my title. I know your pork calendar is always swamped. So my Google calendar, I live by it. So it's it stays busy, but I love it. So awesome. Well, let's take a step back and let's think. Um, so you said you had a master's degree in nutrition, right? Okay. And certified personal trainer. So, what was your journey? Like, how did you come to Hope Cancer Resources and end up in this amazing position? Yeah, that's a great question. I am just like everybody was kind of searching the job market, I really wanted to find something that I was passionate about. My parents have always told me, you know, you're gonna be working for a long time, and so you need to find something you love to do. And so true. My passion is working out, exercising. I've done that since I was a little kid growing up, and just understand the importance of how it makes you feel. And then nutrition. I love food, cooking. I love food too. So it just was a good combination with the degree that I have. And then I found this wellness specialist position online, and I was like, this sounds like my dream job. Wow. And got my foot in the door, and and it is my dream job. It's way more than what I ever thought it could be. So what do you love most about your role that makes you most excited when you come to work every day? The thing I love most is the patience and forming those relationships with them. I feel like I'm able to be an accountability person for someone when they're coming in. And also like they're going through so much as it is, and being able to just take their mind off of it and focus on their body or working out, or them just telling me stories about their families or vacations they have coming up, just forming those relationships with people are things that I really love about the job. That's amazing. So, February being Cancer Prevention Awareness Month. Yes. So tell us, you know, what why is that such an important time? And how can we, or you, as the wellness manager at Hope Cancer Resources, like what do you want to share with our listeners and our community? And what are the most important things around that prevention? Absolutely. Prevention is very important. Um, kind of just throwing some numbers out there. 50% of cancer cases can be prevented through lifestyle and just early screenings. So that's really important, getting those early screenings done. Um and just the fact of prevention, it's not an all-or-nothing mindset. I feel like a lot of people feel like they need to just completely do a 180 and change everything about their lifestyle or their eating habits. Um, if any of my patients are listening, they've heard me say that Rome wasn't built in a day. That's so true. It's small little steps, and same thing with nutrition, working out, um, all of those things. It's small little changes throughout. So they don't have to go home, throw everything out of the pantry and start from scratch. No, yeah. And that that is very overwhelming for people, you know, feeling like they have to just completely start from scratch. And it's just little things like, for example, let's try drinking water just throughout the day. Like if you normally are drinking sweet tea or energy drinks, soda, like let's just start with drinking water throughout the day. Or um on a physical aspect, let's park at the back of a parking lot. And when we're walking into the grocery store, just little things like that. And then it you form habits and then build on top of those habits and just keep going. I'm gonna laugh when I go to the grocery store next week and I notice all the cars in the back of the parking lot. I'm missing you a picture and be like, okay, they heard you, hands. Yes, yeah, they should be. And you're probably less likely for your car to get dinged or something if you park towards the back. So that's true as well. When we're in situations, yes. Um, so what do you wish more people understood about prevention? Like, what's the biggest misconception that you hear when people are talking about different ways that they're their own perception of prevention, I guess. Right. Yeah, kind of just going back to that like all or nothing aspect, just not feeling too overwhelmed with things. And if it's, you know, screenings or things like that, start with just one screening to focus on, not the whole body, because there's several different screenings that people can be going and doing. So just picking one or or even just making that appointment with like your primary care doctor and getting in and being like, okay, here's my age, and what should I be doing like at this point? And what can be saved for maybe like five years down the road or something like that. So, like, for instance, um, females, I think it's when you hit 40, correct me if I'm wrong, but you're supposed to get your first mammogram at 40, at least. Yeah. Um, unless you're high risk and have other needs, right? Or like a family history. And then men, like they're supposed to get their first colonoscopy, I think, at like 45. So those are the type of things that you're talking about when you say screenings. Absolutely. Okay. You hit the numbers great on those two. I thought I had it. I was just sure. Yep. Okay. Exactly. Okay, Hannah. So you work with a lot of different patients, a lot of different diagnoses. Um, tell us a little bit, like, what does that wellness look like for different patients? I'm sure you have some younger, some older, men versus women. Like, what does that look like for the average person? Yeah, I see people of all different ages. And again, going back to their goals, everyone has different goals. You know, I've got some people that have grandkids or even kids, and they want to be able to get down on the floor and play with their kids or go outside and play different activities with their kids and not feel like they have to sit on the sidelines and just watch. They want to be out there actively doing things with them. And some goals can even be like looking at having better balance, being able to walk upstairs by themselves instead of having to use an elevator if they're going to appointments, things like that. It's okay. It's all different goals and it's different. So when we think wellness center, we're not in there just pumping iron, like we're working on flexibility, we're working on mobility, balance, balance. Some basic, very basic things all the way up to rebuilding muscle, right? Right. Yeah. And even just like your core strength is so important in everything you're doing. Even just like standing up from a chair, like that's going to involve your quads, um, your calves, just all different movements uh in in everyday life. So, what are some basic things that people can do at home? Like if, like you said, you've got a bunch of patients on your wait list right now, and if they're listening, maybe some things that they can do at home just to start that, that they don't have to have a gym membership. They don't have to force themselves to go out and wear themselves out completely. Just a good starting point if they're not ready to come visit you quite yet. So if you're not ready to come visit me quite yet, I would definitely just focus on um activity outside. Walking is a great form of movement that a lot of people tend to think, oh, well, I just walked for 15 minutes with my dog in my neighborhood. Like, no, that's a great place to start at and just getting in getting outside to like that fresh air is really important. I know it's kind of hard it being February. It's probably a little cold right now, but still just getting some movement, maybe even 30 minutes a day. And then once you and even call me, like we can have conversations like that. Everyone starts at some point. So we can take laps around the building, and if that's something we need to do for the first four weeks, we'll do that for the first four weeks and just talk about where we can progress from there. Okay. So you talked a lot about nutrition. And so, like, what is that nutrition counseling? Like, what does that look like for the patients that you see? Are you building a full meal plan? Are you kind of evaluating what they're already doing and helping them tweak that? Like, tell us a little more about that. So, nutrition is so broad. And I tell everyone when they want to have a consult or a phone call with me, come with questions that you have, and whatever rabbit hole we go down as far as like what you what kind of information you want to know, that's like where we'll go. It could be someone just needing more recipe ideas because they have picky eaters in their household and they're just trying to come up with something that's gonna be more nutritionally dense for everyone, but but still tastes good. Um, I talk to a lot of people about how to add protein into their diet. Maybe they're not eating breakfast at all. And here's where we can like have something small that's got some protein in it that's gonna keep you full uh throughout the day, or um specific things like maybe related to their cancer or like what kind of plastic wear they need to be cooking in, just different things like that. Nutrition is so broad, so that's what I say. I'm like, we can go in any direction. Okay. What is something that people assume is healthy, but might not. So a lot of this is a loaded question, by the way. It is a loaded question. Um, just again, nutrition is so broad and it can be confusing for people. If you go down the wrong rabbit hole, you might get wrong information. I would say one of the things that is considered healthy or along those lines is like granola bars, protein bars, um, fruit snacks, fruit drinks, yogurt, a lot of it sounds healthy and it's not, you know, coming from a fast food place. So, but it can be kind of deceiving, and a lot of added sugar can be in all of those products. So it's really important to read nutrition labels. And um, I'll kind of give a few tips on that, just throwing that out there. Always look at the back of the package and you'll see the nutrition label. And if the ingredients is uh listed by the weight. So if sugar or like high fructose corn syrup is one of the first ingredients, that's gonna be kind of a tip to you that okay, this product has a lot of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, things like that in it. And maybe we don't need to have that compared to something else that's gonna have more natural things in their ingredient list. It's hard to read some of those labels sometimes, they're overwhelming. And if you don't understand them, like what's a good starting, like you just said that by the weight. But do you have any other tips as far as when you first flip over something on the back and there's 15 different ingredients? Is there something specific I need to be looking for? I would look at the number, and that'll probably be easier than having to remember all these hard scientific words because sugar is there's many names for sugar. Um so if you flip to the package on the back, you'll see um daily value. Sometimes it's abbreviated as DV. And so I would look, it's on the right-hand side, but I would look at that and added sugar. You are wanting to look for a number that's less than 5% on the daily value. So that's going to be something that doesn't have a lot of added sugar into it. If you're seeing a percentage of like 20 or higher percent on the added sugar daily value, you might want to just put that back on the shuttle. Be done with that. And and look for something different. But yeah, kind of that number, you want less than 5% on the daily value for added sugar. That's very helpful. It's a good guideline. So you're not so worried about like the calories and macros and stuff like that. You're like, hey, a good rule of thumb is look at it this way. And if it's above this, just right, swing it back. And we can, you know, as you get better about looking at nutrition labels, looking at the percentage of added sugar, then we can look more into how many calories are in that food that you're eating, how many servings. Because you could look a bag of chips, might you might think that that's one serving, but if you look on the back, the package could be three servings. It's they really try to believe it. They try to trick you. So they do. It's the more education you can have on just reading the label, the better. So I always like to start small and just we'll look at one thing and not be too overwhelmed with trying to read everything. That's very helpful. That's very simplistic. I like how you break that down. You're like, hey, let's start here. Yeah, and then we can make it going back to Rome wasn't built in one day, small stuff, little videos and just stacking up off of it. So a couple weeks ago, we hosted Chuck Hyde, president and CEO of Hope Cancer Resources, and he talked a lot about like whole body health. So, from a nutrition expert, um, share with us what that means to you, what that means in our community, and how we at Hope Cancer Resources are really kind of getting into that um focus. Okay. So being the wellness specialist, I you would think, you know, in the gym, getting strong physically, but there's mental, emotional, all sorts of um things that combine because your mental and emotional well-being plays a role on your physical well-being. Say you are, you know, really stressed out, having a bad day, just not in a good space mentally. You might go home and not sleep really well that night, and not getting enough sleep is going to play a toll on your physical well-being. Your immune system would be compromised. Um, it's just kind of like a snowball effect. You're just going downhill if you're not taking care of all aspects. It's not just physical. So well, it seems like some really basic things like getting sleep. I feel terrible, but I can't imagine um having a cancer diagnosis on top of lack of sleep or you know, nutritional choices and like all the things. Stress too. Stress, I know, plays a huge factor in a lot of this and can really impact somebody's cancer diagnosis as far as how aggressively it can even spread. Like they talk about studies like that all the time. Are there specific ways that you can think of to help alleviate? It's even hard to say. Everybody has stress. But how can you reduce it? Managing the management. Stress, yeah. Yeah. We we have a um meditation subscription that we're subscribed to that I always tell people about when they first get started with me. You just scan the QR code. And it's just uh, you don't, you're not reading anything. You could put some headphones in um and just kind of like listen to the music, take some deep breaths, just closing your eyes for, you know, a couple of minutes and kind of ground yourself. Like think about your feet, like what are you holding on to? Are your toes flexed or are they scrunched up, things like that. Um, but I also love that we have support groups at Hope Cancer Resources. So that's one way to get like plugged in and just being able to be around other people and talk with people that know what you're going through. Cause sometimes if you're trying to express how you're feeling about your situation and it's with somebody that's never been diagnosed or had a family member diagnosed, it's hard for them to understand exactly how you're feeling. So it's kind of going back to we had a a someone come in and kind of talk to us just about like compassion and empathy versus sympathy. So you don't want to sympathize with someone, you want to empathize with them, kind of like jump down in that hole and be like, I'm here to listen to you, um, even if I don't know really what to say. Yeah. So that's a really good point. Um what would you say to someone who feels overwhelmed and just can just thinks, I'm just not for this healthy lifestyle, just can't do it. I would say pick one thing and just run with it. You know, whether that be walking outside for 15 minutes and slowly, you know, work up your time, maybe go for 20 minutes, like two weeks later, just being intentional about one or two things, whether that be adding water into your daily living, if you're not really good about drinking your water or not enough water. I'm really bad about drinking my water. So I've got my water bottle here. Trying to get four of those down a day sometimes can be hard for me too. So just knowing that it's just one choice and you build off of it, not having to be that whole 180 turn and throw your whole pantry out and go work out for four hours every day. Everybody's built for a healthy lifestyle, it's just what fits with your lifestyle. My lifestyle compared to Jamie's lifestyle is very different. She's way more active than I am, but I do a bunch of outdoor activities on the phone. On the farm. Yeah, you're on the farm. So it is very different. But yeah. So yeah, and make it fit to your lifestyle. That's how you're going to um keep it going. I tell my my patients, um, it has to be sustainable for you to do it. Don't try to go do something crazy that you're not going to be able to do every day or every other day. Those New Year's resolutions, everybody's New Year to me so fast. And it takes because you do you try to overcommit. So yeah. And if you're listening, we're into February. And if you feel like you fell off the wagon after January 3rd, get you back on it. Don't feel like that. Yeah. It's just a, you know, you could have one day that's not good, but it's not gonna set you back. Don't let it just keep moving forward and change the next day. So I think that was a really good segue into like what is the easiest way for someone to connect with you, Hannah, and like learn more about what all you offer and just kind of get back on track. Get back on track. Um, you can give me a phone call or an Email or swing by our office. Um, we're in the middle of kind of renovating our gym. And so I love to show everyone that comes in. You know, we've got new paint on the wall, we've got some new equipment in. So I'd love to show it off. But yeah, just a phone call or an email is the best way to get in touch with me, and we can get you on the wait list, or maybe we'll have that position filled and get you started as as soon as possible. Amazing. Um what would you tell to someone who hasn't been directly affected by cancer but wants to be proactive in their prevention? I would say I've got like three things that I would tell people. Um, being proactive about getting your annual assessments, um, those preventative screenings are very good. Um and then as far as like if you're doing any kind of like tobacco products, that's one of the leading causes of cancer. So doing your best to get that out of your life. And we have Lisha who can help you do that. So give her a call. Um, and then skin cancer is very prominent too. So you can offset that by wearing your sunscreen. So wearing sunscreen, getting the tobacco products, cutting those out, and um again, just like that act active lifestyle, walking 30 minutes a day, getting your water in, all those good things. Hannah, tell us more about sunscreen. And the reason I say this is my husband, bless him, love him. But I say, husband, put on your sunscreen every day. He's like, Jeannie, the sun's not out. And I'm like, I don't know. It's literally out. Put the sunscreen on. Yeah. Cannot get him to do it. Yeah. Would you kind of talk about that a little bit and why we would always put sunscreen on, even if the sun's not shining? Even if the sun's not shining, even if it's February, January, when you you don't think about how much sun exposure you're getting in the winter months just because it's cold outside, but you're still getting a lot of uh UV exposure. And so it's really important to have sunscreen that's got at least like 30 SPF in it and applying daily. And then, you know, when we hit those summer months, you want to make sure, especially if you're gonna be outside in direct sunlight, to be putting that sunscreen on like 15 minutes before you go outside and then reapplying every two hours. Um sun exposure is something that can is something that we can help prevent as far as like with our sunscreen, but just being proactive about doing it every day. Yeah, and staying on top of it. And I know I've learned this too, especially with men. It's not as bad with women because most of us have long enough hair to cover up our ears. My dad has had a spot covered with his ear because of that, because you don't think about why would you put sunscreen on the top of your ears? Yeah, but it's a thing, and that's where uh I feel like a lot of different men have issues with. Definitely wearing a hat, yeah, you might look goofy, but like it's important to keep cover the ears and anything that's gonna be exposed to your hands. I feel like are something that a lot of guys miss out on. But women, a lot of the lotions and things like that are kind of having that added SPF into it. So that's great. We just need to get the get the guys on track. Yeah, yeah. Well, it it brought to mind for me men who have jobs that require them to drive all day, right? And so my dad was a truck driver, and so his arm is on the window. Yeah, they got the arm on the window. So this arm was always tan and this arm was always wire. But I've I've heard some stories and seen a few videos of men that are in jobs like that, and they end up with a skin cancer or issues with that arm because it is being hit on the sun all day long. So again, that goes back to finding that lotion that's gonna have some SPF in it, and you know, even wearing like a long sleeve shirt, just being more cautious about covering that. We too wear long sleeve. And they make those UV shirts now, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And they're also they're lightweight. Yeah. So if it's, you know, in the summer, sweating. I've noticed my son has one. They started doing them for kids too that play outside, and it's really helpful to see that they're using those same brands for kids because you have to think about it when they're just out ran loose. So yeah, yeah. You want to start as early as possible. And with kids, their skin is so um fresh and sensitive, and you want to make sure that they're they're protected. Yeah. Awesome. Well, ladies, we got about two minutes left. So, Hannah, tell us, is there anything else that you would like to share, whether it be about your services, um, about hope cancer resources, or just any inspirational type thing that you would like to say? Yeah, um, I will go plug on the skin cancer screening um or us talking about the skin cancer. Um, we are having an event April 28th for our annual skin cancer screening event. It's free to the public. It'll be after hours from six to eight. So I encourage everyone to come. And one, you can see our our building. I'll show you the gym, like I talked about, but also um we'll have dermatologists in there doing um skin checks. And so that's something that is free to the public that they can come. And we have ways to register to secure your time because they're very quick appointments with that dermatologist just to get that initial screen and go from there. And it's a it's a free, like I said, so that's like one thing you can check off your list as far as like the preventative screenings, getting that done. And so that they can go to our website. Yes, go to the website and be able to sign up there, and then we should have some people contacting you when it gets closer to time, confirming those appointments, because it'll be about like a five to seven minute like in there with the dermatologist. So things will go fast, but we'll have someone confirm like what time to be be there. Awesome. Well, Hannah, thank you so much for being on our second Hope Unscripted episode podcast. Um, we are very excited to have you. Thank you for the wonderful information. Um, and to all you listeners, thank you again for tuning in. We hope you got something valuable out of this and that we will continue to tune in as we move forward throughout the year. Again, I'm your co-host, Jamie Dietrich, and this is Brittany Harmon. And thank you for um the conversation and making your venture less intimidating today. Absolutely. And yeah, we're always here to help. Thanks so much for listening to Hope Unscripted. Join us next time as we share real stories, meaningful resources, and reminders that you're not alone. Until then, keep choosing hope.