Full Transcript Podcast Introduction and Liz's Story 0:06 Welcome to the Doctors Making a Difference podcast where we help physicians to be empowered with the tools they need to successful in medicine, 0:13 in finance and in life. 0:15 Join us as we highlight doctors and other professionals around the world who are making a difference. 0:26 Today's discussion is kind of a special one. 0:29 I have one of my friends who's dealing with metastatic breast cancer as a guest. 0:34 Liz Roberts is the founder of the Happy Wanderer Travel Company, a very positive and uplifting person who has been dealing a really challenging diagnosis. 0:44 And I respect Liz and her approach to a challenging disease. 0:48 She told me once, go and do the things. 0:51 If there's something you've been meaning to do, boy, just put it on the calendar and save up for it while you got two legs to it, 0:56 while have the time and health and energy. 0:58 That doesn't mean put off your family or things of that nature, but put on a calendar. 1:02 Do the things while can do them because life presents so many challenges and you don't know what the next chapter holds. 1:09 I really appreciate Liz Roberts and I look forward to sharing this podcast with you. 1:13 I'm really honored today to be able to have as a guest one of my friends, Liz Roberts is a friend. 1:21 She lives in my same community and has been an example to me and to my family. 1:25 So I was so honored that she would take the time to share her experience and her example of dealing with metastatic cancer. 1:31 It's a rotten diagnosis. 1:33 it's, it' a club that nobody wants to part of. 1:35 But I just appreciate Liz and what she has taught to others who are in her circle. 1:43 And again, I'm really pleased that you would do that. 1:44 So Liz, would you mind introducing yourself in more detail to our audience? 1:48 Yes. 1:49 Hi. 1:49 I am Liz and I've had cancer now for four years. 1:53 In fact, in this week, it will be four exactly that I started chemotherapy for my first time. 2:00 And I was diagnosed with breast cancer. 2:04 And then about a year and a half ago, it spread. 2:08 And so I got another diagnosis of brain cancer and it's spread to my spine. 2:14 So something called Leptomeningeal disease. 2:19 It's still considered breast cancer, but in my brain and spine, But I've slowed down quite a lot since I had cancer. 2:28 I just kind of had to, because I'm so tired all the time. 2:32 But, I believe that life is supposed to be fun. 2:35 And I really got that out of the scriptures. 2:40 So I don't think we're supposed mope about, even if we have cancer, or even we do have a due date, which is in two months for me, 2:47 but I do believe in miracles and with a good attitude.
Cancer Diagnosis and First Reactions 2:52 Life is still fun! 2:53 Liz, you're so brave. 2:54 And again, I appreciate you explaining that. 2:57 Again, this podcast goes to a lot of physicians, but a lots of people who listen are other folks who are dealing with cancer because it's something that 3:04 I deal with. 3:05 So it is meaningful and relevant to hear the experience of someone who has walked that path. 3:10 Would you just for a minute describe the somewhat unintended way that you found out about breast cancer? 3:17 Because I think that's unique and maybe kind of starts this journey a little bit. 3:21 how I found out that I had breast cancer. 3:24 Yeah, about your diagnosis. 3:26 Oh, yeah. 3:26 First of all, I was doing self-exams. 3:30 So I thought there was something there. 3:32 I went to my doctor. 3:33 They did the biopsy. 3:35 And so we're like, okay. 3:38 Then I get a text on my app, on phone, in my chart that says, you have cancer, basically. 3:46 So I found out I had cancer sitting in my house reading my phone by myself, and I was just like, you hear that word, but You think a lot of things about 3:59 other people getting cancer. 4:01 You never think that you're the one that's going to get cancer." So I took a screenshot of that and I sent it to my friend who's a doctor, 4:08 my friends husband, and he immediately called me back. 4:12 And I was like, crap, because I didn't know all these words. 4:16 But yeah, that was how I found out I had cancer I'm so sorry, Liz. 4:21 I think it's instructive for the physicians listening. 4:24 We're all about patients having access to their information and their test results. 4:30 But I've encountered that sometimes as a doctor, we put out all these results and it is so quick. 4:35 And unless you have done something really specific to limit the person's ability to see the information, the patient is often able to access the info before 4:44 I see it. 4:45 Sometimes that's fine, many times that is fine. 4:47 It's their But I feel like in your case, it would have been so much better to sit down knee to knee, eye to eye with someone and say, 4:55 let's go over the details of what this means. 4:58 Yeah. 4:58 Cancer is a big word and it means lots of different things for lots diseases. 5:02 And you really didn't have that other than you did have a friend who's married to a physician. 5:06 So you were able to get a little bit of context. 5:09 What a wild way to find out something so heavy and so overwhelming as cancer. 5:14 My other option was Google. 5:16 I know I didn' t want to Google that. 5:18 I thought, I don't want these words. 5:21 I want to type up these word. 5:23 So I was grateful I could talk to a doctor. 5:25 But yeah, agree with you. 5:27 There are some results you just can't get like that. 5:33 Yeah. 5:33 Well, it is kind of mean and in some ways it's not the physician's fault. 5:36 The system is set up such that the data just drops in and it' yours and its in your hands. 5:42 And again, you don't want to restrict information, but how you deliver information is really important. 5:48 Sometimes you just need to know someone is going to go on that journey with you and help you. 5:53 You're not just cast aside because you have a difficult diagnosis. 5:56 Yeah, that's exactly right. 5:58 Liz, let's back up for a minute. 5:59 Again, Liz Roberts, you guys on the podcast don't know Liz. 6:03 Liz is someone who lives life to the max. 6:06 She got to be an empty nester, she and her husband, and instead of saying like, oh, lets just sit around and watch the grass grow and enjoy relaxation, 6:14 She started a travel company where you can travel the world with Liz and she took people all over the place and is just like so excited to share And so 6:23 you had really gotten that off the ground and going in the middle of all this. 6:26 And if you don't mind kind of tell about how that business was affected. 6:31 We have kind a personal connection on how bad intersected with your diagnosis. 6:36 I've shared with my listeners that I had a type of sarcoma called solitary fibrous tumor. 6:40 So your and my diagnosis kind jives, share that story if he would. 6:45 OK, yeah, my daughter lives in Switzerland, and so my husband's a school employee. 6:51 I'm like, well, that doesn't really jive, you know, being able to afford trips to Switzerland every other week when we've got grandbabies. 6:57 And so I had to come up with a... 7:01 career that would get me to Switzerland a lot. 7:04 And so I just started this company called Happy Wanderer and I would take up to 10 people at a time and we'd go to Europe,
Travel Business and Living Through Treatment 7:12 mostly Switzerland. 7:14 But my first trip ever was a trip to France. 7:19 I got my cancer diagnosis like two or three weeks before I was supposed to leave and was suppose to start chemotherapy. 7:31 had knowledge of the French language from having served a missionary. 7:36 And I asked her, like, would you take this tour for me? 7:40 Like, be my employee. 7:42 I'm like I'll pay for everything. 7:44 You just go and take all these people and do my tour. 7:47 For me, and she is so great, Christy. 7:51 When she took my Tour, I found out when she got home that you had been diagnosed while she was on the tour. 7:59 You had some tests and stuff and it all came to light while was she on my tour, so I was home in the comfort of however much comfort your home provides you, 8:12 which was a lot while I going through this, and she out taking my 10 people around France. 8:19 and you were home alone dealing with that. 8:22 I'm just so grateful that she was still willing to do that for me and she had a great time and so did everybody else with her. 8:31 She did love the trip and it was really neat but you know the point in this that I wanted to make is when somebody gets a diagnosis of cancer or a tumor 8:41 or something along those lines it can feel really challenging and I would say no matter who you are it has an effect on your life and your loved ones and people. 8:50 So in my case, I knew I had a mask, but I needed to get it biopsied. 8:54 But by the time the results all came through and it was ready to kind of decide what we were going to do, she was on a trip to Europe with your group. 9:02 And so I have this late night for her. 9:04 We met with the oncologist at the cancer center over the phone. 9:08 Christy was very far away, a lot of time zones difference, trying to sneak in there and listen to what was going on. 9:15 Anyway, it's kind of a crazy story. 9:17 But I guess the point, and you did the same thing, Liz, you just have to still live your life and still find those moments of joy. 9:26 Because I'll note that even though that was one of your first trips, It was not your last. 9:31 You went on several trips. 9:32 Even kind between radiation and cancer and surgery, there's always some information about, oh, this is headed on another trip. 9:40 She's going to go see her kids. 9:41 So I want to hear a little bit about that chapter. 9:43 How have you done that? 9:44 Despite something that's a real challenging diagnosis. 9:47 Yeah, it was a challenging Diagnosis and it it almost more Stressful to think about than to live through because I never got sick. 9:55 I Never threw up my first round of counselor And I felt pretty good. 10:00 They still had my energy. 10:01 Had this looming diagnosis and I was bald But I still felt good and they still thought like I had something to share so I still went for it. 10:13 I made sure I had some people in the wings that could take my tours for me if I took a turn. 10:20 And I did have a hard situation because I also got hit by a car by drunk driver when I was walking down the street. 10:28 And so I had a concussion. 10:30 So I have to get one of my people, which was my youngest daughter, to go with me on this tour, just so that I didn't forget stuff. 10:38 I forget everything. 10:39 Forget where I was. 10:40 And you know, we just do these little backups so you can manage the best you could. 10:47 It was great. 10:47 They've all been great tourists. 10:50 When you got hit by that car, I know you discovered that there was metastasis to the brain. 10:55 Is that when they found out that because sometimes they'll do imaging of the brains after a car wreck? 10:59 Or how did you end up finding that you had a brain and spine metasthesis? 11:03 I did get a bump on the head. 11:06 That's how I got my concussion from that. 11:08 Car accident. 11:09 And it happened to be the exact spot where my brain cancer showed up. 11:15 I got a tumor right in the back of my, well, let's see, it was- On your right side. 11:19 Back right. 11:20 Yeah. 11:20 But they said it had nothing to do with the junk driver or whatever. 11:25 And I just had headaches since the car accident, just headaches. 11:29 And pretty soon they got really bad, like really, bad headaches and everybody thought I had a migraine. 11:35 Tell me what to do with the migraines. 11:36 I'm like, okay, it's going on a week now. 11:42 being awake. 11:43 And anyway, I was in Switzerland actually and kept going to the hospital because these headaches were just so bad. 11:51 I wasn't in the hospitals for like three or four days there and finally they did a CAT scan and they could see that there was a large tumor there. 12:02 So I came home immediately and had brain surgery within the week. 12:07 For the doctors listening, you'll appreciate that there's a difference between the healthcare systems. 12:12 In the U.S., if you bump your head and you go to the ER, the CAT scan is ordered before the patient even arrives in the E.R. 12:18 It seems like in Switzerland, they're probably a little bit more conservative on use of large-scale radiations.
Brain Metastasis, Surgery, and Medical Care 12:25 But in your case, it really discovered what was going on with your brain. 12:28 So in some ways, kind of a blessing to figure that out. 12:30 Yeah, they ended up doing an MRI before they released me to fly home. 12:35 And if I'd been flying alone, I don't know what would have happened. 12:39 They said I had to have a medical escort, but Brian was with me, thank goodness. 12:44 So we both flew home after that, and they said it was for sure a tumor. 12:51 But at that point, we didn't Cancer or not? 12:54 I mean, we did know because the triple positive cancer that I had in my breast was known to come back. 13:02 We were expecting it to comeback. 13:05 And I was, my husband wasn't. 13:07 But my brain surgeon said that they can't really tell by looking at it. 13:12 They have to send away a sample to find out for sure if it's cancer. 13:16 and they don't guess about it because it is too often too wrong. 13:21 After I woke up from brain surgery, he said, it's definitely cancer. 13:25 Like he could tell without a doubt. 13:28 So yeah, I was glad to be at the Huntsman, glad be in my own country and I'm very well taken care of. 13:37 Well, Liz, it's such a crazy story and I appreciate your willingness to share it. 13:41 And I guess just to reflect for a minute to those who are listening, you know, I think we can all put ourselves in the shoes of what Liz is saying. 13:49 Nobody knows what that's like to walk it till you've walked it, but I can tell you, from my own experience, that it is so hard to receive that diagnosis 13:57 and there's so much uncertainty and so much unknown and yet you still have to proceed forward with life and take care of your family and your responsibilities 14:06 and you're kids. 14:06 I wanted to kind of hear, you've had such a positive bright outlook on that. 14:11 How have you done that? 14:13 Like most people get a little bit just withdrawn, they don't want to talk about it and maybe they're a nervous about it or maybe ashamed or embarrassed or, 14:20 you know, a whole host of emotions. 14:22 Yeah. 14:22 You have been open, kind, bright, and you've chosen to take the positive route. 14:29 And I want to hear how that came about. 14:31 I actually don't know where I heard it at first, but at the first I said the C word, then I thought, no, it's cancer. 14:40 It's Hi, mom. 14:42 How's my cancer's doing? 14:43 Great. 14:44 Your kids, cancer doesn't seem to be affecting me too much today. 14:48 Let's go do something. 14:50 Or, you know, I said the word a lot so that people weren't afraid to say it back to me and they weren' afraid of talk about it. 14:58 Cause I think the more you talk something, the easier it is for one thing. 15:03 And I really think that helped me just to like cancer is now part of my life. 15:09 It's not less of a life, It's not more of a life, it's just an experience that I'm having this cancer, and other people have it too. 15:20 And you can have cancer and you could be happy, or you have to have a cancer or just be sad. 15:28 I have have the cancer. 15:30 So I might as well be and do as many things as I can do with the cancer and enjoy what is still fully available to me, which is my family. 15:42 You really discover what matters to you and what's important. 15:47 I was so busy before. 15:48 You know, my business and my family and visiting my kids and fixing up the house, whatever. 15:55 You really find out what's important to you when you have to narrow it down because of your energy and everything. 16:05 And I feel like it's a blessing in some ways, because I really feel I found out the meaning of life, the purpose of our lives here. 16:13 Liz, thank you for sharing. 16:14 I just reflect for a minute because you and I found diagnoses around the same time. 16:19 And I remember in the first phases of that, especially now I'm multiple years into the treatment and kind of in a holding pattern right now, 16:28 but I remembered specifically in those first six months, just exactly what you just said. 16:34 to realize what's really important. 16:36 And you know what? 16:37 It's not stuff. 16:38 It was love. 16:40 Like the people I really cared about and the relationships I cared and spending time with the causes I believe in. 16:49 And the other thing I found, I'm interested, you probably never had fear of anything in your life, but I became fearless. 16:55 I don't care what people think. 16:56 i've already been told I have cancer and I might die. 17:00 What else can you take from me? 17:02 Certainly you could take my family or something else that would be really challenging. 17:06 But in some ways, it gave me a perspective and a fearlessness that I still try to remember today. 17:12 And I hope it helps to reframe how to see another person not as a failed person in their mortal experience, but someone who's going through a challenge 17:22 in life. 17:22 But they're probably still a decent person. 17:24 It helped just reframe my perspective. 17:26 How has it reframed or changed your perspective on dealing with other people and dealing life?
Choosing Positivity and Expanding Compassion 17:30 Oh, it has expanded my heart so much. 17:33 I can't believe it. 17:35 Like I'm a people person, I guess. 17:40 I've never had a problem loving people, but boy, that's expanded. 17:44 And I love people in all their faults, in their bad choices and everything, I just think. 17:51 man I wish you would do something to make your life happy instead of hard but I love you and as different people have had different challenges with their 18:03 families or yeah just their own challenges and I watch them make choices that are hurting them, and I think, man, I just love them. 18:15 And I that's how God sees us a little bit, like we're going through all these challenges or making mistakes, And he just thinks, 18:24 Man, they love you. 18:24 I love him. 18:26 They want you to be happy. 18:27 That's just how I feel about people now. 18:32 No, totally get it, Liz, because you can choose the path of bitterness and frustration and why me or you can choose the Liz Roberts route, 18:42 which is, I can chose to see the blessings, the love, and maybe just a little bit of that godly perspective of how valuable and how well you are seen by 18:55 the divine and I think that's really powerful and it reshapes your experience. 19:00 And it's almost like you talk to older people who, you know, in their eighties and nineties and they've gained that perspective through a lifetime of challenge. 19:07 and suddenly, Liz, if you get this diagnosis when you're in your forties or fifties, suddenly you have to like really quick, 19:13 fast forward, gain some of that. 19:14 Perspective because yeah, You have. 19:17 To kind of deal with your own mortality in a way that you never have had to deal and you realize that other people. 19:23 And we're just on this earth temporarily and how we treat each other and the way that we interact with each is probably more important than the stuff we 19:31 have or where we live or pretty much anything else. 19:34 Yeah. 19:35 Well, so Liz, somebody listening to this has just received this heavy diagnosis of cancer or they're listening and one of their loved ones has, 19:44 or maybe it's a physician who's just told somebody the worst news they could tell them. 19:49 Yeah. 19:49 What would you tell someone in those first few weeks after that kind of diagnosis as far as perspective and how to handle that? 19:56 Yeah, the first thing you need to do is accept it and understand it. 20:03 And I think one thing that was really hard for me was when they told me I had cancer, my first appointment, they just threw all this stuff at me, 20:13 all the things I would have to do, but also like the help groups or support groups that were available, like all of this. 20:22 And, I just wanted to say, just take a step back, unless you have start treatment that day or something. 20:29 But just take a step back one step at a time. 20:33 And if it's you that have the diagnosis, you know, You can keep it to yourself for as long as you can. 20:41 But then you want to share with your loved ones so they can not only support you, but pray for you and everything. 20:49 I think, yeah, just taking it slowly at first, but not being ashamed, or I thing it's such a strange thing that people would feel ashamed because of their diagnosis, 21:00 like they weren't living a real life now, that now they had to shut it off. 21:04 But we're on this earth to learn, is what I believe, and there's no better way than through some life-changing illness to really learn what it is all about. 21:16 and how you want to interact with people and invite people into your life that you maybe hadn't before because you were in a different place now. 21:25 I don't know if that makes sense. 21:28 No, that's beautiful. 21:29 And I agree when that happens, you can keep it to yourself for a little while, but the experience is meant to be shared with friends and loved ones eventually. 21:38 Yeah. 21:39 That circle gets wider. 21:41 I've been really surprised in some ways that instead of feeling rejected or like, oh, well, let's pass that guy by, he's got the C word, 21:48 or he got cancer. 21:49 It's better just to like oh hey, Welcome to mortality. 21:53 You have a trial too. 21:54 It kind of helps you to realize we're all broken in some ways. 21:58 And it's helpful you realize, we are just all in the stew together. 22:02 As you sort of accept it and pull people in, just like you said, with your friends and family, it is not a diagnosis I would want anybody to have to deal with. 22:10 But there is a positive way to do it. 22:12 Liz, you've been so exemplary in your approach to it! 22:15 Well, thank you. 22:16 I always tell people, like, I would never wish cancer on anyone. 22:20 No one would I wish it on. 22:22 But this experience has been huge for me. 22:26 And I've grown a lot, and I learned a whole lot. 22:28 Yeah, just the compassion you have for other people who are going through hard things and... 22:34 I wouldn't give it up. 22:37 That's amazing you would say that. 22:38 The back half of that question is now, four years into this, you see the advancing part of cancer. 22:46 And not everybody who gets a cancer diagnosis will pass away as a result.
Facing Mortality and Planning the Time Ahead 22:50 There's lots of treatments and there's lot of things where people can live with the cancer for a long, long time or perhaps it'll be cured or put into 22:57 remission for decades. 22:59 So it depends on the type. 23:01 But I wanted to gather your perspective on advancing cancer. 23:05 And you said at the beginning, hey, maybe I have an expiration date. 23:08 Maybe I don't get to live the same length of time as I would have envisioned four years ago. 23:14 How do you approach that? 23:15 Because that's a subject that I think is really hard for me. 23:18 It's hard everybody to think about, like, if I had to face that chapter, how do I be brave during that or how to navigate those waters with my family or others? 23:28 I just wanted hear your perspectives on that. 23:30 Well, I think as long as you're talking about cancer like a normal amount, which would be kind of a lot if it's new, like you'd be talking to your family 23:41 about Cancer and things and then you just kind, of I don't know maybe just my family. 23:46 I just kinda threw it out there. 23:47 Yeah, well, i've got an expiration date, you know, maybe in one year. 23:51 Maybe I've Got one your left. 23:53 What should we do with that year? 23:55 And it's been pretty fun, actually. 23:57 I spent a few months in a wheelchair. 24:00 Was it a couple months or like one month? 24:03 But I couldn't do very much at all. 24:05 But my husband and I just started taking drives. 24:08 Drives through the beautiful country and, you know, at the right time of day when the sun is beautiful. 24:15 just found other ways to kill our days. 24:17 But if you're talking to your family about your life and what you want to do in the next few months, like, what if this is my last Christmas, 24:26 for example? 24:27 Let's all get together. 24:28 We had some great experiences because it might be my We are all hoping and praying, and we believe in miracles. 24:37 And so we believed that I might last longer than September is the date they gave me. 24:44 But so, we're like, yeah, but if you do live, then this and this. 24:47 They're just saying that without tears and, you know, because it's a normal conversation. 24:54 Hey, if we are still around next year, We should go on this cruise or whatever. 24:59 And at first it was hard. 25:01 It was to say that. 25:03 And everybody would cry. 25:05 But now we don't. 25:08 Man, Liz, thank you. 25:09 I am thinking of just what a cheerful and brave, kind person you are, because that is very hard. 25:15 And those are some of the heavier parts of life. 25:18 But I do think that it's really important to retain that perspective that, like you said earlier, just because my time is short and doesn't mean that time 25:27 without value. 25:28 To say, well, if I've got this time, what can we do on the days when I feel great? 25:31 Let's do that. 25:32 How can I spend time with people that I love? 25:35 Anyway, I admire your bravery during that. 25:38 But I also think that's an interesting approach to talk to your family and say like, okay, that is not a taboo subject. 25:43 Let's talk about it and figure out what we'll do now and what will do later if I get the opportunity. 25:49 And then maybe the second part of that, is the legacy you build for your loved ones, anybody that has cancer. 25:56 If it takes our lives, I don't want to be remembered as that bitter sick guy that stayed in bed all the time and didn't talk to anybody because he was mad. 26:04 I'd rather them say this was the hopeful person who dealt with one of life's biggest trials in a way that was still positive and still giving back and 26:12 trying to leave the world better than he found it. 26:15 What comments do you have on that? 26:17 Oh, I do hope that when I'm remembered, it's not just the sick times. 26:22 My dad died of cancer when i was 31 and I had two little kids and he didn't want to see them towards the end because he was getting so grumpy. 26:33 And now I appreciate that at first I was pretty mad like, well, they want see you. 26:38 They want say goodbye. 26:39 He's like no, no. 26:41 because he was in a lot of pain, not having a good experience. 26:45 But I'm going to try, as it gets to the end, to do the things that are going make me happy or comfortable or whatever until the ends. 26:56 And I am not going just try not to be that. 27:00 cancer person that is just miserable and drags on forever and ever in their misery. 27:06 If you're still alive, there's reason to be happy. 27:10 And I don't know, I just can't see it for me. 27:14 Maybe I'm delusional, but it helps. 27:18 Every day it just helps to think, either way you are going to okay if I die. 27:23 I know I have faith I'm going to be okay and everything is going be OK for me and for my family. 27:29 This is God's plan. 27:31 What can I say? 27:32 Liz, that's one thing to have. 27:34 that level of faith and talk about it. 27:37 But it's another thing to be able to say, I find personal peace even amid one of life's greatest trials, and to just say my faith doesn't just stop at 27:46 a theoretical sense. 27:47 I'll abide in that even when it is the hardest times. 27:50 And you know, this isn't necessarily a religious discussion, but I think most people have some sort of a faith construct. 27:57 Living with that helps you to understand that you're part of something bigger than yourself. 28:01 And I really appreciate your perspective and I honor the experience. 28:05 I wanted to ask you, it's kind of a similar question that I asked earlier. 28:09 If someone was facing the time when they were told they had an expiration date, what would you tell them to do? 28:15 If, you know, they're beginning of that and the doctor says, Hey, we think you've got X number of months to live. 28:21 What would your counsel someone to if they find themselves in that situation? 28:25 I would counsel them to share that information with their loved ones, especially their family, and reach out and forgive so that you don't have any negative 28:39 feelings about anyone in your family or past friends. 28:43 And then decide together how you want the last days to go. 28:48 What do we want to do for these months or years that we have left? 28:54 I just think sharing, like not giving it to yourself. 28:57 Like I know so many people right now who are ill and I didn't know it. 29:01 I called them for one reason and they blew me out of the water with their health story. 29:08 Why haven't you told anyone? 29:10 We want to help. 29:13 In any way we can, even if that's just sending good vibes or prayers or whatever. 29:19 So I would say first thing is share when you can. 29:23 And then make some plans. 29:26 Have something on your calendar. 29:27 I remember that from COVID.
Faith, Legacy, and Closing Thoughts 29:30 The calendars went blank. 29:32 That was so depressing. 29:34 You just want something to look forward to. 29:37 Personally, I always have a trip to Switzerland planned. 29:40 That just helps me get through the next phase. 29:43 I don't know, you just have to have something to look forward to. 29:46 And everyone does. 29:48 Everyone can have Something. 29:50 Wow. 29:51 Liz, thank you. 29:52 You've shared with us something that is just, I know it's so deeply personal to you and you've share your journey. 29:57 And I now you have been just in our circle of friends, you been so public and so positive even though something is so difficult as that. 30:04 I knows it is a hard discussion to have in some ways, but on the other hand, we're all going to die someday. 30:09 And it's actually helpful to kind of talk about it in a way that's practical and say, well, let's live life to the meaning we can achieve. 30:16 Let's leave a legacy and let us live with hope and live faith. 30:20 Don't die and don't end life with bitterness and frustration, but instead choose the path of peace. 30:25 Choose the Path of Hope. 30:26 Anyway, I just thank you so much for sharing. 30:29 I really appreciate it. 30:30 Thank you. 30:31 Thanks for giving me the opportunity. 30:34 Well, Liz, are there any other tidbits of wisdom that you would share with anybody else, maybe family members or individuals who are dealing with a cancer diagnosis? 30:44 You know what? 30:44 It's not just cancer, it's aging. 30:48 Like you said, we are all going to die someday. 30:51 And if you are a person of faith, then you know, what that means. 30:56 It is not a negative thing. 30:58 it is just a thing, part of the process. 31:03 I don't know how to describe it, but you just carry on and be grateful for what you have. 31:11 And even though I have cancer, I also have the best husband and the most little girls and now best grandkids. 31:20 I'm probably not going to be able to enjoy them for very long, but I will from the other side. 31:24 It's all positive. 31:28 Well, Liz, thank you. 31:30 I have gained from your perspective, and I know one of the things I've taken away from this experience, or still think about, 31:36 is no matter how it shakes out, you're only given a few decades on this planet, no mater how good it is. 31:43 And really, when a person, even if they have eight decades or more on the planet It's still just really a small amount of time. 31:50 So it's our opportunity and our stewardship to try to leave it a little bit better than we found it, leave a legacy for people that we come across. 31:57 And like we talked earlier, find forgiveness. 31:59 Let people be human and give them a chance to change and grow. 32:03 Don't let people take advantage of you, of course, but there's real power in kind of gaining that perspective of what really matters. 32:09 You have shared that with us and taught us, and so I really want to thank you. 32:13 Well, thank Liz, thanks for taking the time to do this and I will put this out on a podcast and then I'll put your information on there. 32:21 I really appreciate you taking time. 32:23 Hope you have a wonderful evening and keep in touch, Liz. 32:26 Thank you so much, Peter. 32:27 Okay. 32:29 Thanks for tuning into the Doctors Making a Difference podcast. 32:32 And thank you for what you do to help your patients and your community. 32:35 Your work truly helps so many people. 32:37 We produce this content to have the tools you need to stay in medicine and to highlight the amazing work being done by physicians around the world. 32:44 Please note that while I am a physician and many of the guests on this program are also physicians or other professionals, 32:50 the discussions on the podcast do not represent my employer or any professional organizations to which I belong. 32:57 This podcast is for your information and entertainment only, and should not be taken as professional advice. 33:02 You should seek appropriate professional advise pertaining to your own situation. 33:07 Please check out more of our content on our website, DoctorsMakingADifference.com. 33:11 Also, please follow, like, or subscribe on your podcast player or YouTube channel, and give us a five-star rating. 33:17 It really helps to spread the message. 33:19 Finally, if you'd like to be a guest on the podcast, Or if would like nominate someone else to a be guest, Please visit the website or email admin at doctorsmakingadifrence. 33:29 com. 33:30 See you next time.
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