#485 Breast Cancer and Big Goals - Is It Okay to Still Want More?#485 Breast Cancer and Big Goals - Is It Okay to Still Want More?
The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach
Laura Lummer reflects on living with metastatic breast cancer while still wanting big things for her life and work. She talks about balancing gratitude with desire, reframing obstacles and giving herself—and others—permission to keep dreaming despite ongoing health challenges.
18:23•23 Oct 2026
Breast Cancer, Gratitude and the Courage to Still Want More
Episode Overview
- Gratitude for being alive does not have to mean giving up on big goals or desires.
- Obstacles such as pain, fatigue or hospital stays may signal a need to change the path, not the dream itself.
- A helpful reflection is: "Life as it is includes ___, and it also includes my desire for ___."
- Research cited suggests that stepping back from a blocked route and engaging with a new one is linked with more positive emotion over time.
- Creating more white space or rest in life may require saying no, setting boundaries and repeatedly recommitting to what you truly need.
“Life as it is includes pain, shortness of breath, hospital stays…and it also includes my desire to speak and teach and create.”
What drives someone to seek a life that feels bigger than their diagnosis? This conversation with breast cancer recovery coach Laura Lummer sits right in that tension between gratitude and longing, asking a brave question: is it okay to still want more after breast cancer? Laura shares candidly about celebrating six years of living with metastatic breast cancer, only to land back in hospital days later with chest fluid and yet another health setback.
From her hospital bed, cute pyjamas and manifestation book in hand, she reflects on a line that stops her in her tracks: to "affirm even the shadows" and "say yes to life as it is, not as you wish it were." You’ll hear how this year’s pain, shortness of breath and repeated hospital stays collided with her big dreams of speaking on stages, teaching, and reaching more women after breast cancer.
She admits to the inner voice that says, "You're alive… isn't that enough? Why do you keep wanting more?" and gently questions the idea that serious illness means you’ve somehow used up your share of desire. With warmth and humour, Laura introduces a powerful mountain-and-boulders metaphor: big goals sit at the top of the mountain, and life’s obstacles keep rolling down.
The work, she suggests, is deciding whether the dream is still worth getting up for, and whether the path—rather than the dream—needs adjusting. She offers a simple reflection exercise: "Life as it is includes ___, and it also includes my desire for ___." From fatigue and scans to dreams of travel, new classes or simply more white space, nothing is off the table.
Aimed at women living with or after breast cancer, this episode speaks to anyone who’s ever wondered, "Who am I to want more?" and gently reminds them that gratitude doesn’t have to mean shrinking their dreams. So, what would you write in that sentence about your own life as it is—and what you still want?
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