EP76: Leading With Love; 3 Steps to Navigate Your Cancer Journey with Nola Peacock

This is winning with wellness, a podcast about inspiring the wellness warrior in you. If you are feeling lost or alone in your wellness journey, or are looking for new ideas and inspiration, you are in the right place, a place you can learn about all things wellness in business life and living. Your host Jenny Ryce, we'll be bringing you inspiring stories and practical tools to improve your overall wellness personally and professionally. Imagine what living a life of wellness would be like. Thank you for joining us today.

Welcome everyone to winning with wellness. We are so excited today to share with you some ideas around navigating the big sea. I have this incredible guest with me, Nola Peacock. She is a ray of sunshine and hope when you're going through some really challenging times around your own health. We want you to know that you don't have to do it alone. And I'm so thrilled that Nola is here with me today to help navigate and share some some journey ideas with you. Thanks for being here Nola.

Thank you for having me, Jenny.

Now you guys, I want to share a bit more about Nola so you understand where she comes from. She is a conscious Care Coach who supports individuals to navigate their cancer journey and facilitate their inner healing so they can reclaim their lives and their health. When Nola was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, she combined her oncology nursing experience, sorry, expertise and mindset coaching skills to guide her through chemotherapy, radiation and three surgeries. During her treatment, Nola created it her care conscious conscious Care Program, which focuses on making conscious choices daily. I love that conscious choice concept so powerful. When crisis strikes, we can choose to shut down or become stronger. Nola is passionate about helping women or other individuals choose the ladder. Again, Nolan, welcome to the show.

This is an eight. It is a huge topic.

And you know, we were sharing this before we press record, I always laugh I'm like, I should just press record the moment people get on because when the deep talks before we dig in, I'm like, Well, we have to bring that back up. We you know, we were sharing that every single person probably on this planet has somehow been directly or indirectly connected to cancer in some way, shape, or form. And it can be such a terrifying, terrifying word. And I think that is a swear word. Actually, it's one of those words I just when I hear it, it actually makes my skin crawl V personally, you know, very close to home with my I lost my aunt to cancer. And I my stepmom. Thank you. And my stepmom is a survivor, which is just, I think the blessings every single day. And I didn't even know this stuff, like what you do was available. So let's talk about like you openly share, and I just share that you've been through your own journey. What led you to creating this program while you personally were going through it?

Well, I when I first heard those words, you have cancer, right? My, I mean, my first thought was, oh my god, I'm gonna die. And even though, you know, I was an pediatric oncology nurse, so I know that that's not the case. But that's where my thoughts went, right? And, you know, I've worked with kids around mindset, right. And so I thought, you know, like this, this isn't good, if that's where my thoughts are going. Right? That's not going to be helpful and just, you know, knowing that that would put me into that fight or flight response, right? It's like that, you know, that's not gonna not gonna serve me. So it's like, Okay, I've got to walk my talk, I've got to, you know, really be conscious of, you know, what I'm thinking, you know, what words I'm using all of that kind of stuff. And so, you know, I just kind of started piecing those things together and reaching out and getting support so that, you know, I can could walk through this with greater ease. So you don't you know, as I was terrified at first and you know, but I also knew that I didn't want to, you know, I didn't want to be in that fight or flight. I didn't. So to me like fighting cancer or battling. I thought, you know that that's not going to help me so I chose to walk through it with love and And so that was were kind of the start of my program. And just intuitively, like, you know, I really, I sat for a while and you know, and I had often said it, like, as a nurse, I thought, well, if I'm ever diagnosed with cancer, I don't know if I go through treatment, because, you know, I watched these little kids go through it, and it was horrendous at times. And I thought, I don't know if I have it in me to be able to do that. So, you know, but when I was, you know, in that spot, and had to make that decision, you know, I mean, I struggled with it, but it was like, okay, you know, I'm not done living. And there was I just kept getting this sense that, okay, you know, that you're going to combine my nursing experience along with, you know, the real life experience walking through it, and be able to help others. So that was there at the beginning. And so I just started, you know, piecing things together. And I did lots of journaling, lots of documenting through the thing and, you know, asked for lots of lots of support and help. And then, and now that, you know, I got the all clear from my oncologist is like, okay, no, I really need to, you know, I need to get out there and help other people through this. Because, you know, I mean, as I mentioned before, with my nursing experience, you know, I mean, it was hard enough, but I just can't imagine sort of not having some of that, and having to go through this journey. So

well, I love to that you've created this program around the actual, you know, you're in it, not only you, you're your own test subject, let's be honest, right, like, if you Yeah, worked through it, but also from the perspective of being the support and the provider of, you know, taking care of these, you know, cancer is ageless, unfortunately. Right? Like it. So what translated in your oncology career absolutely translates, you know, through through all experiences. So when we, when, when you think of back then, to where you are now, like, so, before you really stepped into who you are today, and, you know, being very proactive in all things that you do? What did wellness mean to you back then? And what does it mean to you now?

Oh, what a good question. Well, you know, I think back and, and sometimes I kind of have to chuckle to myself at say, you know, when, whenever we young people would ask me some kind of questionnaire like, what are the important things in your life, right? Health was always at the top of my list. But I, you know, it was not, it was not my priority. And I was so used to, you know, giving and taking care of other people, you know, as a nurse or coach, or, you know, single mom, whatever, just, you know, I'll just do for for everybody else. And, well, you know, later I'll get to, you know, going and going for a walk or whatever, and I put things off. And I remember, you know, so often, like, I'd be sitting in my office and, you know, working on things at 1010 30 at night, right. And I mean, you know, working from a home office for so long, right? Yeah. I mean, you don't turn it off. It's not like you can, you know, leave the office and you leave it behind. So, you know, and now it's just like, I finally, you know, have learned, it's that I have to put myself first and my wellness, and that's something, you know, like, every morning now, you know, I have have coffee in bed with my sweetheart, right? It's just, you know, and I've had people say, Well, you know, maybe you should just do that on the weekend. And I'm like, no, like, I'm, I'm doing that every day, right? Just having this, you know, lovely start to my day. And, you know, and I kind of joke about, you know, sneaking out of the office and going for a bike ride, you know, and I've got an electric bike. I think we got them in in November, and the only month that we missed was December, like we every every time the weather was good enough, right? We're and you know, and so that's something that that's totally new for me. And I think that's, you know, one of the things and no matter you know, what it is whether it's cancer or something else, but when we've got, you know, have some trauma or some crisis in our life, it's like, it really does give us the opportunity to make the changes and that's, you know, what I say about making those conscious choices every day like, you know, what, what do you want to choose? What do you want your life to look like and making sure that you're, you're taking those steps and yeah,

and I love that you share that So honestly, because I too have health at the top of my list and I can honestly say without shame that it isn't always the priority because I am chronic of being a giver. And it's a great gift that I have but again like you shared it can come at a price at times. So just really learning to see the truth and And, you know, what is my truth here? Am I doing the things? Right? Right? Am I being honest? So I thank you for sharing that, because somebody's listening right now needs to hear that. They need to hear that, you know, what we wish, and what we're doing are not always the same thing. So how do we, you know, you know, I always love to say, and it's Napoleon Hills, quote, you know, a goal is a dream with a deadline for hate, right. So, you know, just transferring that into all things is really important. You know, when you talk about choice, and you talk about being conscious, and I shared that when I was reading about, you know, your conscious care program, you really focus on three steps within that program of how to choose and how to move into action. Can you give a little synopsis? Obviously, we don't have a ton of time, but you know, and I don't know, I mean, you know, you don't have time to share your whole program, let's be honest, there's some key highlights that will encourage people, because not everybody's going to be ready, but they need something and some encouragement right now to choose conscious action, like choose who's conscious action? Do you mind sharing a little bit around what that is?

Sure. So the first step is clarity. So getting really clear on where you're at, right? And some of that is being honest with yourself, like, you know, like I said, health was at the top of my list, but I was I was I choosing to, you know, do things. You know, and I find, when you know, someone's first diagnosed with cancer, I think a hardest things is, is that waiting, right? Until you, you know, you see, like, the client that I'm working with right now that she, you know, was diagnosed and had some surgery, and then was waiting to see the oncologist. And that, and that part in there, where we're not clear where we don't know where we stand. I think it's, you know, it's so hard. Once we know, right, what we're up against, or what we need to what we're facing are, then I think it's easier to start making some changes, making some right making some decisions. So getting really clear, like, where, where am I at right now? And then the second step is creating that vision, like what, you know, what do you want things to look like? And, you know, that might sound a little bit different when you're thinking about going through cancer? But for me, it was like, Okay, well, you know, I wanted to do it with love. Right. And I wanted to, to make it as easy as possible. So, you know, it was like, what, what do I want to feel like? Who do you know, who do I need to have with me? Those kinds of things? Right? What? What are the things? You know, sometimes we don't even take the time to sort of stop and think about, what is it that brings me joy? Right. So that was one of one of my, my steps was creating lists of what are the things that really nurture me? What are the things you know, that make me happier? You know, so it's creating, creating that vision. And then the third step is that, you know, consciously choosing or that and creating that plan, right, that action step and, and really breaking it down, into into little pieces, successful things, right? Because I think when we're trying to change things, you know, so often, we've got this great big goal, right? And we, we start off and you know, doing great, and then, you know, we so easily slip back, and then we beat ourselves up. Right? Which, which doesn't help. So it's like, you know, putting these little baby steps in, right, so that we can, you know, be successful and cheer ourselves on and then keep going and just everyday, sort of consciously choosing and going, Okay, well, did that work for me? Or didn't it? You know, do I need to shift it up a little bit, and make it you know, make it easier. So, you know, for example, one of my things was, I knew that going through chemo there were going to be days when, you know, I wasn't feeling well. And maybe I wasn't going to get far from my bed. Right. So. And one of the things that, you know, that helped to relax me and to be mindful and write is coloring like I love so I had these coloring books and crayons, beside the chair in my bedroom, right? So it was set up, it was easy for me to be able to get up and, you know, do something besides, you know, laying in bed and moaning and groaning feeling sorry for myself, right. So, but setting, setting yourself up for success and doing you know, just little things that that make a difference every day. And yeah, the magic pill finding,

isn't it? Right? The magic is in the planning and I love you know, like you say those are three simple steps. And it's funny, many times for many of us the things that are the simplest can sometimes be

the most elusive

To me, the most challenging is like taking the five minutes to catalog, what feels good to me, what brings me joy, all those kinds of things. Those are beautiful support tools and suggestions. So when we think about I can't believe how fast time is going right now, when we think about the wellness journey, and we think about, you know, stepping into, what would you say, has been the now that your, which is incredible, and congratulations, that you're on the positive side of this experience? What do you think is going to be the hardest part about maintaining this new way of being?

I think, you know, making sure that I'm taking care of me that that, you know, I'm at the top of the list, and I know, very often, you know, I'll start to get busier, or I sometimes it's just thinking like, oh, you know, I've got, I've got lots to do. And I know, like, inside there's this right, because it's like, I, I know, for me that I can never go back to the way that I was right with working so much and not. So, you know, again, it's that consciously choosing every day. And so I created my own sort of daily planner, right. And so part of part of that I, every day, I set the intention, and part of it is how do I want to feel today, right? What am I committed to? How do I want to show up? And I write those those things in and it's like, yeah, I, you know, I want to feel peaceful today, or I want to feel like I've accomplished something. So it's like, okay, well, today, I can, you know, really focus and work on something, you know, and that will fill me out. But there's some days where, you know, I just want to feel peaceful, I want to, or I want to go and have fun and be playful, so then, you know, I just make sure that, that I do and, and then just being really aware of, you know, my thoughts like not to start beating myself up. And, you know, I think it's, it's so easy, like, you know, you look at Facebook, or you know, social media and you see your friends and they're doing this and that and it's like I should and it's like, no, no, like, I'm learning like they sometimes I'll even say out loud, stop just right. And then it's like, okay, no, like, I'm exactly where I meant to be. So it's yeah, it's just those, you know, reminders, and I, you know, I've got little sticky notes and things just, or reminders on my phone and stuff like that. And as I said, the daily planner, so every day, there's that reminder for myself that, you know, it's, it's my

terney, right, like living your journey and being true to your journey, because we are easily distracted. I 100% agree. You know, and what's so fascinating is we know not 90% of what we see is not real. It's, you know, we see the highlight, literally, the highlight reels. So yeah, those are some really beautiful shares. I thank you, because we're all come up against roadblocks in all areas of our lives. And, you know, seeing it for what it is and setting that powerful intention in the morning, when you become very clear of how you want to show up in a day. It's, it's not as easy to off the path. Would you agree?

Right, right.

Yeah so as we close our timeout together, I want to make sure is there anything Nola that I've missed, or you want to make sure that the audience hears or any last thoughts you'd like to leave with them?

Well, I just think about, you know, for anyone who's facing, you know, the C word. You don't want to do this alone. And I think, you know, one of my first thoughts too, was, you know, like, I didn't even want to tell my kid I didn't tell my kids right away. I knew because I didn't want to be this burden. So you know, but it's so important. Like, you need to put yourself first you need to learn to receive and to ask for help. Right? And, yeah, it's the only way you're gonna get through it is having that, that support. So, you know, push yourself if you're, you know, normally someone that goes, Oh, I've got this just it's like, and that I think that was one of my biggest lessons was to be open to receiving and to be able to ask for help. Right? And, and to know that whoever is going to step in to help you that it's such a gift for them, right? They're gonna feel so good being able to do something for you. So, you know, kind of like a coin I often think right? There's two sides to the coin. So yeah, it is okay to to ask for that help.

I love that and accept that gift with grace because you don't want to turn finish their intention either I'd love right now you have offered to share and we'll put this in the show notes so that people can can find you but a compliment to survive to thrive breakthrough session, can you share just really quickly what that is?

It Well, it's a half hour call with me and just to, you know, again, talk about where they're at, they you know, get some clarity and then help them to put, you know, the next step in place for them to, you know, to be really clear and start creating that their own conscious care plan.

Now, somebody might be listening and thinking, I'm not going through cancer, but my mom is or my dad is or my best friend, could they reach out as well?

Absolutely, absolutely. So, I support you know, the, the patient or the person going through cancer, but also the caregivers, because I think it's so important. And I think that's, you know, something that's really important. So even if, you know, like, if they know, somebody who see one of their loved ones is going through cancer, you know, I would love to support you, and help because often people will come to me and go, you know, I don't know what to do for them. Right. And, you know, and I think that's a big thing. And if someone is actually, you know, in treatment, you know, what I found was from the chemo and stuff, and, and just the stress, like, I often couldn't think I mean, one, you know, the one day I was having so much pain and after chemo, and you know, here I am a nurse, like, you'd think that I could go well, you know, what about, you know, taking some sips of water, what about this? What about, I just, I could not right? And so I you know, I had to put things in place so that somebody else could could do that for me. And so that's you know, and that's another thing, if you're supporting someone going through it, like I would love to, you know, to be able to support you, you so that you can support that person because it's, it is challenging, right. And, you know, and often the person that wants to help, they just it's like, well that but I don't know what to do. So that's another place I can tell you what that person is going to need. Really

saying, and what a generous offer. So we will make sure that everybody has the accessibility and regardless, you guys find her on her website. Like easy peasy. So thank you so much so much for being on the show. Noah, it was a pleasure to spend time with you. And I you know, I just thank you for being here.

Thank you so much for having me, Jenny.

And to all of our listeners out there. Thank you for stepping in and listening to this sometimes very difficult topic. Just know you're not alone. No matter what phase or experience you are. If you are touched by cancer, you are not alone. There's resources and people outside of what you might already know about. Do not hesitate to tap in and try new things. As always, we invite you to be proactive in your health and in your wellness. We encourage you to come and check out your holistic Earth where you can find additional resources and connect with those amazing providers that want to provide you additional support. Thanks again for listening. We cannot wait to catch you on the next episode.