Kathy's Diagnosis and Early Shock

This podcast often explores ambition, leadership, confidence, and impact.

But sometimes? Woman’s work looks a whole lot more like survival.

Not the inspirational quote version. Not the neat-and-tidy comeback story. Not the “and then she rose” highlight reel.

This episode of This Is Woman’s Work dives into the raw, relentless, day-by-day kind of survival — the kind that asks someone to keep showing up while life is actively coming apart.

Nicole Kalil is joined by Kathy Giusti — two-time cancer survivor, healthcare entrepreneur, founder of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF), and author of Fatal to Fearless. After being diagnosed with multiple myeloma at 37 and given three years to live, Kathy turned her prognosis into a movement that helped transform cancer research and dramatically extend life expectancy for patients.

Yes. From terminal diagnosis to systemic change.

In This Episode, They Discuss:

• What survival really looks like after a terminal cancer diagnosis

• Why resilience isn’t pretty — and rarely feels brave in the moment

• The difference between “fighting” cancer and running a marathon with it

• How to advocate for yourself inside a broken healthcare system

• Why women must step into the role of CEO of their own healthcare

• The power (and responsibility) of using social media wisely for medical information

• The hard truth about boundaries, burnout, and forgetting to live while trying to stay alive

Kathy shares what it meant to raise a family while preparing for death. To build a global research foundation while undergoing chemotherapy. To carry hope, fear, responsibility, and grief — all at once.

And perhaps most powerfully, she shares the regret she didn’t anticipate: that in trying to save her life (and so many others), she sometimes forgot to fully live it.

Thank you to our sponsors!

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Connect with Kathy:

Website: https://www.kathygiusti.com/

Book: https://www.kathygiusti.com/book 

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathygiusti/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/kathy.giusti/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/KathyGiustiMMRF

Related Podcast Episodes:

• 161 / Survivorship and Breast Cancer with Virginia Carnesale 
• 156 / Cell Care with Dr. Monisha Bhanote
• I’ve Got Beef With The Health & Wellness Industry | Unfiltered & Unhinged

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