Ep. 8 - Working While Healing: Navigating Cancer, Career & Survivorship

A cancer diagnosis changes everything instantly, but the reality for many patients is that professional responsibilities do not simply disappear. Navigating the logistics of intensive medical treatments while maintaining an identity and standing in the workplace creates an immense dual burden. In this episode, we tackle the complex intersection of employment, active treatment, and long-term survivorship. We sit down with Brittney Duke, a retail marketing professional and multi-time cancer survivor, to discuss how professionals can manage their careers while facing life-altering health crises.

We get into the specific corporate frameworks and personal choices that allow an employee to stay engaged without burning out. Brittney Duke shares her journey through a bone marrow disorder, leukemia, breast cancer, and colon cancer, offering a rare perspective on what it means to be the CEO of your own health. We break down the impact of formalized corporate programs like the Working with Cancer pledge, the necessity of open communication lines between managers and associates, and the value of small, highly personalized team gestures like peer support groups. Our discussion highlights how a workplace can shift from a source of stress to a pillar of stability and normalcy during extended medical leaves and subsequent returns to the office.

The unglamorous truth is that returning to work after treatment is rarely a seamless transition because the person coming back is physically and emotionally changed. Employees often struggle with ongoing fatigue, the pressure to look normal when they do not feel normal, and the exhausting task of constantly fighting health insurance companies for pre-authorizations. Viewers will walk away with a clear understanding of why strict corporate schedules fail during a crisis, how to effectively advocate for your own physical limitations, and how employers can provide genuine flexibility instead of rigid, transactional policies.

If you care about workplace culture, healthcare advocacy, and supporting colleagues through crisis, you will get a lot from this conversation. Please remember to subscribe to the channel and share this episode with anyone navigating a major health transition at work. What is the most impactful way a manager or colleague has supported you during a personal or medical crisis? Let us know in the comments below.

Transcript

Welcome And Introductions

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Hey there and welcome to Hope Unscripted, a podcast of Hope Cancer Resources. 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.

SPEAKER_02 0:23

Welcome back to Hope Unscripted, a podcast of Hope Cancer Resources. I'm Jamie Dietrich. I'll be your co-host today, alongside the wonderful Chuck Hyde, our president and CEO. And we have a wonderful guest here today, Miss Brittany Duke. And we are going to be talking about work and the cancer journey all in one. So I'm going to kick it over to Chuck and he's going to get us started.

SPEAKER_04 0:44

Yeah,

Brittany’s Diagnosis And Timeline

SPEAKER_04 0:45

Brittany, um, we've known each other for a bit. I'm going to start, just start by sharing your story, a little bit about your story, maybe life before cancer. Sure. And then uh once you had that personal journey, you know, through treatment and now into survivorship, just broad brush, just introduce yourself to our audience.

SPEAKER_00 1:01

Yeah, well, thank you for having me. Um, I when I was first diagnosed, I always said if there's things I can do with this experience to help other people, then I'm fully gained, even if outside my comfort zone. Um, but I have lived in Northwest Arkansas for over 20 years, um, currently work in the retail space, have had my entire career in marketing agency um consulting and now um on the brand side in the retail space. Um and have never married, don't have kids, have a dog who thinks she's a kid. No. Um two of those. Yeah. No, no, we know that well.

SPEAKER_05 1:38

That's good.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

And have had the privilege of most of my family being in the area and being surrounded, which is important as we talk about the cancer journey. I was initially diagnosed in 2014 with a bone marrow disorder called myelobusplastic syndrome, which I remember at the time an oncologist at Mayo said, Oh, this is the worst thing you could ever hear, which was not great, bedside banner. Um, it terrified my parents, especially. Um, but it was very treatable and not actually as dramatic as he had suggested. Um, I was then diagnosed with leukemia in 2017, went through about a year of intensive treatment, most of which was inpatient. Um, so I do cycles in the hospital and then time to recover at home, and then followed by two years of maintenance um treatment. Um, at the I finished that in February of 20, which was fortuitous, um, because the whole world changed as we all know now in March. Um, but um, you know, was feeling great and well and had recovered well during that time. I was then diagnosed also with breast cancer and colon cancer almost simultaneously, literally one week apart, um, in 2024, um, and had surgeries for both of those and then a reoccurrence of colon cancer in 25 and have finished that um recovery journey as of this fall. We learned through that entire process that I have a genetic mutation called check 2. I've inherited it for both my parents, which is very unusual, um, which basically means like the cancer receptors are all shut off. Um but the good news is all the cancer that's predisposed for check two mutations I've already experienced. So we've checked all the boxes.

SPEAKER_04 3:28

Wow. Wow. Yeah, that I mean, such an extended time and then multiple um rounds, I guess, is the way to think about it. So and you so you've been through it. Uh and and and again, in survivorship, you're still still there for in a lot of ways, I'm sure. Um, as you know, one of the things we wanted to focus on is just the the work component for people. Um, and so as we kind of move into that, you know, from your own lived experience, people at work maybe that you've known have also had that kind of experience. What are some of the biggest challenges people face when they're trying to balance work and a cancer diagnosis and treatment?

Cancer As A Second Full-Time Job

SPEAKER_00 4:04

Yeah. I had a friend who was a coworker for a time um tell me when I was diagnosed that having cancer is a full-time job in and of itself. And you almost have to become kind of CEO of your health. Um, and so there's a lot to juggle logistically between appointments and scheduling and insurance conversations and all the things that are pretty disruptive to your normal schedule. I think emotionally you want, I wanted to feel um normal. I crave there's very little you actually control when you're going through a diagnosis like this, or really any probably crisis in life. Um, and I crave normalcy, yet nothing about life is really normal. Um, and so just that mental um kind of balance of you know, focusing on the mission of being well while also craving normalcy. I don't want people to see me as a cancer patient. I don't want people to look at me as sick, yet that's a very real part, you know, we often all face physical um implications of our treatment so different ways. And so just balancing all of those things with work and being a great associate and doing a great job and wanting that to be your focus during that time. It's a lot to kind of have the mental and physical juggling.

SPEAKER_04 5:26

Well, building on that idea of being a full-time job and just being CEO of your of your health.

Managing The Unpredictable Curveballs

SPEAKER_04 5:31

Um, I would imagine again, people in my life that have kind of walked that, you know, you have a schedule, there's a treatment plan, and and it would be great if everything were ordered and structured and just play out great, right? And you could you could plan around that.

SPEAKER_00 5:42

Very predictable, right?

SPEAKER_04 5:44

Yeah, exactly. But then there's the unexpected, right? So you're you you you think you've got this, you're trying to balance those responsibilities. You still want to be contributing to work, and then here comes the curveball. That wasn't part of the plan, right? Right. Like maybe comment on that about what people are thinking, particularly in life and work together.

SPEAKER_00 6:00

Absolutely. I learned early in my journey a couple things. One is that no two paths are alike, even with the same diagnosis. Everybody's experience is very unique, and there's a lot of benefit in those shared experiences, but you can't look at somebody else's and say, okay, I know what that's going to look like for me, because it is very different. But there's also so many things that your body goes through through your treatment that you can't predict. Um, so when I was in treatment for leukemia, my white cells were incredibly low for you know several periods of time, which meant I couldn't actually be in public around other people. Um, so you kind of anticipate as best you can, but every day really is different. Um, and so you have to be able to flex. I had the and continue to have an incredible blessing of managers and a company that's super supportive and were willing to be flexible with me and understood that it wasn't going to be predictable. Um, I think being open, communicating frequently were keys to that. But I have not had to worry about if my company will be able to flex with me, fortunately. But I know that's not the case for everybody. For some, that is a challenge.

SPEAKER_04 7:15

So building on that then, um particularly during the treatment that that that part of when you're it's it's unpredictable and you're working in a plan.

What Meaningful Employer Support Looks Like

SPEAKER_04 7:25

What does, or in your experience, what was the meaningful workplace support on the on the on the employer side of the equation? Yeah. What did they do that kind of made a difference during that time? Or what would you say to employers that are maybe listening to it?

SPEAKER_00 7:38

Yeah, absolutely. Well, I think one, Walmart just has an incredible Cenurb excellence program that gives us access to the best health care we need. Um, and that in and of itself relieved a huge burden and the benefits that we provide from an insurance perspective. But more personally, um, because my initial treatment was largely inpatient, I couldn't be in the office. And this was pre-COVID, so we didn't know how to work remotely at all at that point. The infrastructure wasn't air tech question. No, it was not. It was not. Um, but my boss was very willing to allow me to work remotely during that time. And so he and I just had an agreement. If there's a day where I'm like, I need to be on the bench, I'm calling out, you know, yeah, he was totally accepting of that. But I also said to him, if you see me making bad decisions, put me on the bench, you know, because I want to still be present, I still want to contribute, and I need this to feel normal. But if I'm not serving our business and customers well, then feel free to call me out. So we just kind of had that mutual agreement up front. Um, and I now have did have worked with different leaders through my additional diagnosis, and they've all been the same. Like we've been able to have kind of that upfront agreement of as long as I can do this, I'm gonna do this. But the minute I can't, or that you think I can't, you know, we have that in terms of absolutely, absolutely great.

SPEAKER_02 9:06

Yeah, so that kind of got me thinking as you're going through that, because one of the things you said is no two people's cancer journeys the same, right? Like it's yeah, you don't know what that path is gonna be until you're living it. Yeah. So

Choosing Leave Or Choosing Work

SPEAKER_02 9:18

one of the things um we're kind of thinking about is like what should individuals consider like in deciding whether to go back to work or whether to take time away from work. And you know, hopefully everyone can have that same support that you did, but we know it's not always the case. So, what are some things around that that you would suggest or give advice on?

SPEAKER_00 9:39

Yeah, one of the big lessons for me through all of this has been you have to be your own advocate. Um, even I have the best doctors, like I hands down, I think I have the most incredible team. Um, but there are still times where you have to advocate for yourself because only you know how you're feeling, really, emotionally and physically. Um, and so I think that's like paramount in this journey. I think the other thing is don't feel the pressure to do what other people do. So I trust my doctors a ton. Um, when I started my treatment for leukemia, they said you're not gonna be able to work. Like, you need to take an extended leave of absence, you're not gonna be able to work. So I did an initial 10-week leave. And um, by the end of the 10 weeks, I had redecorated every room in my house and spent way too much money and was bored out of my tears. And I said to my doctor, like, I can't keep just being home, I want to go back to work. And he was fully supportive. So I think just um your experience is your own and be the advocate for your own experience. If you feel great, then advocate for yourself. If you don't feel great, then advocate for yourself. But it's having a voice and knowing, you know, how to use that that I think is so important.

SPEAKER_02 11:01

It sounds like just really listening to your body, yeah, and just dialing into that and not not fighting it either. Yeah. Okay, today's a bad day. I mean, absolutely. Today's a great day, I can push forward.

SPEAKER_00 11:12

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 11:13

Yeah, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 11:14

Yeah, and I'm a big like mind over matter kind of, I mean, I do think how you are grounded emotionally, spiritually is really important. Um, and there's plenty of days where I had to make an intentional decision not to wallow in the things and to push forward and to get up and go to work and to do, you know. And I think for me, anyway, those distractions were helpful to not kind of get drawn into what can be, you know, a really dark place too.

SPEAKER_02 11:46

Yeah, absolutely.

Returning To Work After Treatment

SPEAKER_02 11:48

Um our next little segment that we were going to talk about is transitioning back into work. So we've we mentioned it a little bit and we talked about it just a little bit, but from your experience or what you've seen in others, what are some common physical, emotional, or even cognitive challenges that you may face when returning after an I'd say, you know, somewhat of a leap.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

Yeah. I think um, and again, this is probably true of many crises, um, not just cancer, but I think you're not the same person. Um, and so part of it is you have to accept, I have to accept that I'm different. Um, and in a lot of ways, I'm way better for it. Um, but you have to start by saying, like, I'm a different person. So my motivations might be different, my ambition might have changed, my capacity might be different. Um, you deal with fatigue ongoing. Some people have physical pain ongoing. So your body is physically different. Um, and that's okay. So, like, you have to kind of accept that and um the place that you are at that point in time. I actually have found survivorship to be harder than when you're in active treatment. When you're in active treatment, you're like mission focused, there's a clear goal you're working towards, you know, there's a path ahead of you. Survivorship, it's like I look normal and I feel mostly normal, yet everything on the inside is still, you know, you're living with it every day, you're thinking about it every day. Um, and so I think that's a challenge is you go back to work and you appear to be quite normal. You know, your hair grows back out and you're wearing your normal clothes again, and yet you may not feel like the person you were, and you may still be dealing with like the aftermath of it. Um, yet you don't you want people to look at you as normal. So again, it's always that tension of like, I want to be normal and don't treat me like I'm a cancer patient. Yet there's still stuff going on, you know, that you're managing with. So I um during all of this time, my role changed. And in hindsight, it was such a blessing because it gave me a little bit of space that I needed that I didn't know I needed. Um, because I'm not going to be the one to admit that I need the space, but it gave me a little bit of space to to heal and to be well and to think differently. Um, but I, you know, your whole perspective changes about what's important, and that pertains to your career and your work as well. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:21

Awesome. Um, how can returning to work play a role in healing identity and survivorship? You talked a little bit about that, but you also in that said, like, I don't want to be treated as a patient. I just want to be the new version of me.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:35

So tell us a little bit more about that.

SPEAKER_00 14:37

Yeah, I mean, I think for me, returning to work was a signal of um, like I almost see it as a milestone in the journey, whether it was returning after, you know, extensive chemotherapy or returning after a surgery, it's like I've kind of accomplished a milestone in my progress forward, which feels good. I think we all want to be making forward progress and anything. And so it's almost like it's like, okay, that was a gate that I needed to reach and I've reached it. And that, you know, now what's the next gate or the next challenge? Um, but I and I mentioned before, like cancer can be can be all consuming. It takes up a ton of your time, it takes up your physical well-being, it can take up all of your emotional, and and I don't actually think that's a good thing. Um, despite that, like it's a you know, you're fighting for your life. So of course it is, but I think um returning to work allows you to start to rebalance your focus in healthier ways so that such that it isn't all consuming, um, both mentally, nor is your identity.

SPEAKER_02 15:45

It's a little bit of normalcy back, yeah, even though so much has changed. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 15:51

Well,

The Working With Cancer Pledge

SPEAKER_04 15:52

Brittany, we've talked a lot about just your experience on the sort of the employer, the associate side of things. Um, so earlier this year you posted on LinkedIn about your your experience with cancer and specifically acknowledged your colleagues at Walmart and the company itself, uh how much support you received.

SPEAKER_03 16:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 16:10

Well, shortly after that, I see a national TV spot and you're I'm like, Brittany, you know, and uh but it was it was uh working with cancer, if I'm right, right? And so there's a and then the pledge an employer can make around that. Tell us about that effort and kind of what caused you and I guess Walmart to get involved. Uh, but tell us about what that ought to be and what resources might be available there on the on the workplace side of the street.

SPEAKER_00 16:33

Sure. Um, so Publicist Group, which is a global agency holding company network in the advertising space, started the pledge several years ago after their CEO himself had gone through cancer diagnosis. And he, through his own personal experience, recognized the role that work and companies need to play in helping people through this journey. And so he rallied a number of multinational companies around the world to say, hey, we're on board and we recognize this is important, and so we're gonna take this pledge with you. Um, and so this campaign is um it's been a few years, and so it's an effort to kind of renew the commitment that we all need to make to our employees and to each other to support each other through this journey. Um, and really it's um to get companies sharing best practices on what they're doing. As I mentioned earlier, I I have to believe Walmart's high on that list of best practices between our COEs, the benefits program that we have. We have support groups for cancer patients, cancer survivors, um, loads of open dialogue. So I was really proud that we were one of the early companies to sign up for that pledge. Doing things like being in a camp TV campaign are not things that I love to do. Um, but again, as I said in the beginning, like if there's things I can do to help other people and use my experience and given Walmart's scale and impact, felt like it was an important thing to to one, show my gratitude to the company, but two, also um be part of that to help make sure other companies recognize the importance. I think there's so many things um that on an individual basis were done for me and have continue to be done for me through my journey from our one of our partners. They, every individual on the partner team sent me a postcard every week when I was doing my intensive treatment. So every week I just got an a word of encouragement from um our partner team. Somebody on my team set up a private Facebook group and everybody posted dad jokes. So it was like for a little dose of humor, I could go there. You know, so there were tons of like fun things that just brought levity and humor and life into the journey. But then there have been other moments like a colleague who also is doesn't isn't married and doesn't have kids texted me and said, I know how hard it is to go through something like this when you don't have a partner and you don't have kids. I see you and I'm here for you. And like that text meant so much to me, just for somebody to recognize, you know, personal um experiences. So there's a wide range of things that I think employers, managers, teams can do to support somebody from having access to the best benefits in the world to, you know, a f private Facebook group that are just so meaningful and have stuck with me even in the 10 years since.

SPEAKER_04 19:37

Yeah, I'm I'm glad you went there because that my next question was going to be about because I think I think a skeptic could say, well, it's Walmart there, the world's they can do whatever they want, right? I'm a small business, I can't, I'm a small business owner, I'm a nonprofit, I'm a whatever I am, and I'm not that, so I can't do that. But whether it's a a formal pledge or just as an employer, I'm gonna make the commitment to myself and my team that I'm gonna do this. Uh and you know, my story includes my two brothers-in-law who who both received amazing support from their workplaces that were not Fortune 100, right? They were they were a law firm and a community bank.

SPEAKER_00 20:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 20:11

And they had the same kind of thing. So I you you mentioned it, but regardless of size or industry, just those practical things. I mean, is there anything else that comes to mind that or or places they can go? If like I'll I need, okay, I've got a few Facebook group notes, yeah. Check, check.

SPEAKER_03 20:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 20:26

What are the kinds of things people could go and say, okay, what would what idea starters or things that could provoke our our a unique or authentic expression in our workplace that could

Small Acts That Matter At Work

SPEAKER_04 20:38

be? What are your thoughts on that?

SPEAKER_00 20:39

Yeah, I mean, I think it's you know, things we all strive to do as leaders every day, anyway. Open communication, trust and transparency, um, respect for the individual and their needs, flexibility. Um, you know, life throws all of us lots of curveballs, and as employers, more and more we're having to figure out how to there isn't that delineation between work and life. Um things merge. And so I think really just like being empathetic and being human and listening to what the person needs are things any company of any size can do for their team. I think making sure you have great benefits, like that's a practical one. Um unfortunately, you know, cancer oncology would be a great business for us to be out of the business of, but it's a growing um space. And so we should all assume that somebody on our team in our workplace is likely going to go through this journey. And so if you don't have benefits now, make sure that that's covered. But I think most of it's just like really practical human based things. I think for patients, there's loads of resources available through all of the cancer um organizations. You know, there's in my case, Blood Cancer United has funding assistance in states. If you need supplemental help with travel or those sorts of things, I'm sure they all do. But there's also great peer-to-peer networks that can help you navigate some of the stuff you don't know to ask questions about until you have to. And there's great resources through many of the cancer networks also.

SPEAKER_04 22:24

A

Supporting Caregivers In The Workplace

SPEAKER_04 22:25

thought that I was thinking came to me uh on the way here was for the person with the diagnosis, but then what's your experience or perspective on when it's the caregiver? You're the employer of the caregiver, uh, that spouse or that that maybe it's uh I'm caring for my adult, my my father or mother who has the diagnosis, but I'm the caregiver. Like, what how does what's what lens would you put on that?

SPEAKER_00 22:47

I think it's the same. I mean, honestly, I don't a caregiver role is very different than the patient role, but many of the same um challenges in terms of juggling the emotional side of things, the physical, like physically being there for the person that you're giving care to, juggling being at work. So I think a lot of the same things apply. We probably don't spend enough time thinking about the role of the caregiver, quite honestly, and that's a hard role. Um, as I have the best caregivers in the world, um, and an incredible family and friends support group. Um, but that's a lot, you know, it's a lot of burden on those people. And I don't know that we spend enough time on that. But I think I would think as an employer, the same kinds of things apply: flexibility, transparency, open communication, you know, understanding that even though they're not the patient, their schedule is not their own either. Um, they're at the mercy of all the things, um, just as the patient is.

SPEAKER_03 23:50

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:51

Thanks. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:51

Yeah.

Missteps Employers Should Avoid

SPEAKER_02 23:52

Kind of going into that, we talked about the things to do right. So are there any like missteps or things that you know of from your network that uh maybe a company did and it wasn't intentional, but it was just certain things you're like, oh no, we could have done better with with this.

SPEAKER_00 24:07

I think I'm always um shocked when I hear that people have um lost their job because they can't be at work. Yeah. Um like that, I just it doesn't compute for me how that can even be possible. Um, so I think that clearly is a big misstep, especially as it relates to benefits and stuff. Um, I think in the realm of benefits, not having sufficient care, you shouldn't have to fight for um pre-authorization and pre-approval for life-saving um procedures, drugs, that sort of thing. And so often I've heard of other people's treatment being delayed because of authorizations um and those sorts of things, which is terrifying, you know, if you're in that position. Um, and I think just not being empathetic, like forcing somebody to keep a predictable schedule when nothing is actually predictable is um, you know, that needs to change for sure. Yeah, that's definitely a hard. And I get like businesses have to manage things, and especially for smaller companies, you know, we have the benefit of scale where if I'm not productive, somebody else is on my behalf, and that isn't the same for all companies of all sizes. Um, but I think being patient-centric or employee-centric in these cases is really critical. Yeah, absolutely.

Advocate For Yourself And Ask Help

SPEAKER_02 25:38

Um, what advice would you give to someone navigating during work or after cancer?

SPEAKER_00 25:44

Um, I think just listening to yourself. Um, and again, being your own advocate, knowing, you know, you have to use your voice, but I think that only you know how you feel um and what you're really wrestling with and experiencing. And so, as you said, you know, being really attuned to your thoughts and feelings. And um, I think don't be afraid to ask for help um or to raise your hand when you need to step out. It's probably a big one. Yeah, it's hard to ask for help. It is so hard to ask. Well, and I it's funny because when I first was diagnosed, I was like, I'm not gonna tell anybody. Um, but of course, through my first treatment, I lost my hair. So at some point, like I had to tell people, but I was a little naive to think that I could just kind of skirt. Nobody'll know, right? I mean, I had you know the deep dark eyes, circles under my eyes and was bald and all the things. Um, and so at some point, whether it's a physical manifestation or emotional manifestation, we all have to ask for help. Um, and I think just being transparent, you know, is critical. Yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_04 26:53

Um Yeah, I know we're about to wrap up probably here, Brittany. But is there uh first of all, thank you for again stepping out a little bit outside of your zone to tell your story because I think it I think it's important for people to hear uh and your role modeling a lot of things for people, which is it was just tremendous. So thank you for that. Um any last thoughts on the employer side, or is there something that you've thought about this coming today that uh just like I I haven't had a chance to say this yet that we haven't asked you about?

SPEAKER_00 27:22

Um I don't think I can't think of anything, I can't think of anything different.

SPEAKER_04 27:28

Yeah, well, um can't thank you enough for uh again, I think again, both for the uh I think about the employees or uh who are in a diagnosis or in survivorship or anywhere on that continuum. I think about the caregivers who have someone in the workplace and it and and I mean it's it's financial security, it's job security, it's meaningful and purpose, all those things. And I think about the employers who in our role to provide that level of of trust and confidence and support is just uh amazing. So thankful that you've had it, you said it was a blessing, and I know that that's that's true for you, and I think the opportunity for us to to get that message out to uh the community is is is great.

SPEAKER_00 28:12

Absolutely. Thanks for all y'all are doing.

Hope Message And Closing Thanks

SPEAKER_02 28:14

Okay, Brittany, is there a message of hope that you would leave with our listeners and our viewers as we so June is National Cancer Survivor Month, and that's a big thing at Hope Cancer Resources, and we do a lot around that. But is there anything final that you would like to share or words of encouragement?

SPEAKER_00 28:30

Sure. Um I two things that I constantly say is that um cancer does not have to define you. Um, it is a big part of my story. Um, and hopefully, like we're on the back end of that part of my story, but it's a big part of my story, but it isn't who I am. I'm still me. Um but I think importantly for me, um, cancer is very bittersweet. There's everybody knows about all the bitterness that comes with a cancer diagnosis, but there's a lot that's really sweet about it. And I hope when I talk to people who are newly diagnosed, I always tell them my prayer for them is that they're able to say that at some point because the love you get to feel, um, the literal physical and emotional support. Um, you just learn some really valuable things through cancer and get to experience things that we don't in our normal life that can be really sweet if you're open to that side of it also.

unknown 29:30

Yeah, wow.

SPEAKER_02 29:30

Well, thank you for sharing that. Absolutely. All right. Well, thank you for tuning in to our Hope and Scripted podcast. A special thank you to Brittany Duke for joining us today and sharing about workplace and cancer. And special thank you to Chuck Hyde, our president CEO, for joining us today. Please be sure to like, share, and subscribe.

SPEAKER_03 29:49

And we'll see you next time.