Episode 55

One Diagnosis. 3,000 Women Helped.

with Lyndsay Levingston

One Diagnosis. 3,000 Women Helped.

How do you turn a life-changing cancer diagnosis into a mission that helps thousands of others?

At 37 years old, Lindsay Levingston was building a successful career in television news in New York City when she discovered a lump that would change the course of her life. The diagnosis was stage 2B triple-negative breast cancer. What followed was a journey through treatment, difficult decisions, and unexpected challenges that ultimately led her to a greater sense of purpose. Today, Lindsay is a breast cancer survivor, advocate, speaker, and founder of Survive Her, a nonprofit dedicated to education, support, and empowerment for women affected by breast cancer.

As Lindsay reflects on her diagnosis, she shares how faith, family, and community became her foundation. What began as a desire to tell her story during the pandemic grew into Survive Her, a nonprofit dedicated to breast health education, support, screening awareness, and survivorship. She discusses the growing number of young women facing breast cancer, the importance of knowing your family history, and why every survivor's story matters.

This conversation is a powerful reminder that hope is medicine, support changes lives, and purpose can emerge from places we never expected. Lindsey's story offers encouragement for anyone facing cancer and a call to use your voice, your experience, and your compassion to help others along the way.

Highlights:

1. Learn why knowing your family history can be a critical part of early cancer detection.

2. Discover how support systems can impact both treatment and recovery.

3. Understand the unique challenges younger adults face after a cancer diagnosis.

4. Hear how faith and mindset can help people navigate uncertainty and fear.

5. Learn how personal adversity can become the foundation for meaningful service and advocacy.

Mentioned Resources:

CanCare- www.cancare.org

SurviveHER – https://www.imasurviveher.org/

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About the Guest:

Lyndsay Levingston is a breast cancer survivor, nonprofit founder, and tireless advocate for women navigating their breast health journey. After her own diagnosis, Lyndsay turned lived experience into lasting impact, building SurviveHER into a vibrant sisterhood offering education, financial assistance, wellness resources, and access to life-saving screenings for uninsured and underinsured women. Since 2020, SurviveHER has supported more than 3,000 women and received national recognition, including acknowledgments from the United States Congress. Her work has been featured in ESSENCE, Oprah Daily, NBC News, and Yahoo!.

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Making Joy the Reflex

with Jenna Schutt

How do you hold on to hope when treatment, uncertainty, and fear become part of daily life? Jenna Schutt’s diagnosis is different, but the terrain will feel familiar to many facing cancer. A cardiac nurse and mother of two, Jenna was diagnosed at 30 with systemic mastocytosis, a rare blood disorder affecting roughly one person in a million. Her medical journey is similar to many cancer journeys included more than eight rounds of IV chemotherapy, repeated procedures, long periods of isolation, and a stem cell transplant. Knowing the medical system from the inside didn’t make being a patient easier. Jenna still had to advocate for herself when something felt wrong, ask harder questions, and eventually seek different care when she wasn’t being heard. She also faced treatment during COVID, when the support she needed most often couldn’t be in the room. Through those years, Jenna learned that hope doesn’t require ignoring what is hard. Her Joy Reflex framework grew from learning to recognize fear, anchor herself in what is true, and take the next faithful step instead of trying to solve everything at once. Her story offers a reminder for anyone facing illness or uncertainty: fear may come first, but it doesn’t have to decide what comes next. Highlights: Advocate Without Apologizing: Ask questions and speak up when something feels wrong. Focus on the Next Step: Keep moving without needing the whole plan. Let Fear Be Present, Not in Charge: Choose how you respond to uncertainty. Find People Who Understand: Lean on support that doesn’t require explanation. Create Meaning from Hard Seasons: Turn what you’ve lived through into hope for others. Mentioned Resources: CanCare- www.cancare.org Jenna’s website - https://www.jennaschutt.com/ About the Guest: Jenna Schutt is a cardiac nurse, homeschooling mom of two, and creator of The Joy Reflex. At 30, weeks after her second son was born, she was diagnosed with Systemic Mastocytosis — a one-in-a-million blood disorder treated like a blood cancer. After eight rounds of chemo and a stem cell transplant from her brother, she now teaches others to make faith, peace, and joy their reflex instead of fear.

Spoiler Alert: She Lives

with Tracy Case

Can a stage four cancer diagnosis leave room for a long life filled with purpose and hope? Tracy Case is a 22-year stage IV breast cancer survivor, CanCare volunteer, and author of Spoiler Alert: She Lives. Her cancer journey began while she was raising a three-year-old and caring for a newborn. Faced with a prognosis of 18 months to five years, Tracy leaned on faith, family, friends, and a strong support system while moving through years of cancer treatment. As the years passed, Tracy began setting small milestones instead of focusing on an uncertain future. She learned to advocate for herself, seek a second opinion, communicate honestly with her children, and accept help when she needed it. Her experience also shaped how she approached marriage, motherhood, survivorship, and the fear that can remain long after treatment begins. Today, Tracy uses her story to give others the same hope she once needed. Through CanCare and her memoir, she reminds people facing cancer that they don't have to walk alone. Her message is simple: find your people, ask questions, advocate for your care, and keep taking the next step. You may be stronger than you ever imagined. Highlights:  Finding ways to live with uncertainty without letting fear lead every decision  Helping children feel safe through honest, age-appropriate conversations  Knowing when another medical opinion may help you move forward with confidence  Protecting relationships through clearer expectations and open communication  Turning lived experience into meaningful support for someone else Mentioned Resources: CanCare- www.cancare.org Tracy’s Book – https://a.co/d/01rB8MCl About the Guest: Tracy Case is a stage IV breast cancer survivor, marathon runner, and author of Spoiler Alert, She Lives, a memoir about the twenty-plus years she was never supposed to get. Diagnosed at 33 when her daughter was just six weeks old, she now volunteers with CanCare, walking alongside other women facing what she once faced.

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