Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of Still I Rise, Lisa sits down with Kati Cheek—an Allstate agency owner, breast cancer survivor, and a woman whose strength and generosity extend far beyond her profession.

What began as a desperate search for affordable homeowners insurance in the midst of Louisiana’s insurance crisis turned into an unexpected and life-changing connection. Kati not only helped Lisa save thousands of dollars on her home and auto policies, but she also became a trusted friend, a supporter of her nonprofit mission, and a powerful example of resilience in action.

Through her journey with cancer and her experience in the Fight Club program, Kati reached a place of deep personal growth—one that allowed her to begin sharing her story with honesty and courage. In this conversation, she opens up about navigating life’s hardest moments, finding strength in vulnerability, and stepping into a new chapter of purpose.

Since this recording, Kati has continued that journey and is now working on a book centered on resilience and rising through adversity.

This episode is more than a conversation—it’s a reminder that sometimes the people who enter our lives through the most ordinary circumstances become part of our most extraordinary stories.

Support the show

Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY. To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories. Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story? Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome to the Still I Rise Podcast—where stories of resilience, healing, and the human spirit remind us that even in our darkest moments… we rise.

Today’s episode is one you won’t forget.

Our guest, Alexis Santoro, shares a journey she describes as living through years of wildfires—unexpected, relentless, and life-altering. From the unraveling of a marriage, to losing both of her parents to cancer within a short span, to navigating life as a single mother… Alexis became, in her own words, an untrained firefighter—constantly responding, constantly surviving.

But the most personal fire came in 2020, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer during a routine mammogram. What followed was a double mastectomy, years of recovery, and the emotional weight of fighting for her life while raising two young children and holding everything together.

And yet—this is not just a story of survival.

It’s a story of what happens after the fires begin to quiet… when you realize the land beneath you needs healing too. Alexis opens up about reclaiming her life, rediscovering her strength, and learning that vulnerability is not weakness—it’s power.

This is a conversation about loss, love, resilience, and the courage to rebuild from the ashes.

So take a breath, lean in, and get ready to be inspired.

Because no matter what you’ve walked through… there is always a way forward.

And together, we rise.

Support the show

Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY. To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories. Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story? Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com

Send us Fan Mail

This episode… it hit hard.

Because today, Rachel Giammolva shares something so deeply personal, so honest… that it’s going to make a lot of women feel seen.

Rachel has lost over 100 pounds. By every standard, that’s a transformation the world celebrates.

But what she reveals is something we don’t talk about enough…

Her mind still sees someone she doesn’t love.

Rachel has lived with extreme body dysmorphia—something that didn’t disappear with the weight. And when you hear her story, you begin to understand the depth of that struggle.

She grew up carrying a quiet but painful question: “Why can’t anybody see me?”
A question shaped by childhood trauma, abandonment, and a lifetime of searching for safety and worth.

Then, at 53, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

And suddenly, everything she had quietly feared about herself… felt real.

She opens up about the loss—not just of her body, but of identity, intimacy, and the parts of herself she’s had to grieve. She talks about being called “strong”… while feeling anything but.

And yet, in the middle of all that pain… she found something unexpected.

She found healing.

She found faith.

She found what she calls daylight—the gold that can only be discovered in the darkest places.

But this episode asks something bigger…

How many women are living like this right now?

How many of us are spending our days—our precious, limited, beautiful days—being hard on ourselves, criticizing the very bodies that have carried us through survival?

How much life are we missing?

Rachel’s story is raw. It’s courageous. And it’s a reminder…

that even when we struggle to see our own worth—

we are still rising.

Support the show

Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY. To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories. Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story? Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com

Send us Fan Mail

Today’s story is called “A River Never Ceasing” by Helen Connors—and it is exactly that… a life that keeps moving, keeps flowing, no matter what it encounters.

Helen is someone who doesn’t sit still for long. She moves forward, pushes through, gets things done. But as you’ll hear, when she allowed herself to slow down and tell her story out loud, something unexpected happened.

There was a moment—one she didn’t anticipate—when emotion rose to the surface. It caught her off guard. It was tied to a very early chapter in her life… when her mother left her as a child.

And isn’t that interesting?

How we can carry something for decades—filed away, managed, maybe even minimized—and then suddenly, when we revisit it, it speaks again.

Sometimes our memory banks hold more than just facts… they hold feelings. And those feelings can surface when we least expect it. They can even trigger us.

But here’s the beautiful part—and what makes this story so powerful:

Those emotional responses aren’t something to fear… they’re something to listen to.

Because when we pause and evaluate them, instead of pushing them back down, we gain insight. We gain healing. We gain understanding of the parts of ourselves that are still quietly asking to be seen.

Helen’s story is one of resilience, growth, and perspective—but also a reminder that even the strongest among us have moments that deserve reflection.

She describes herself as a river—shaped by the rocks, but never stopped by them.

And as you listen today, you may just find yourself reflecting on the places in your own life where the current kept moving… even when it was hard.

This is “A River Never Ceasing.”

Support the show

Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY. To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories. Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story? Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com

Send us Fan Mail

When Kimberly Meyers-Turner sat down for this interview in September 2025, she believed she had survived breast cancer.

After undergoing a double mastectomy and reconstruction, she was celebrating what she thought was the end of a long and difficult journey. Full of faith, hope, and gratitude, Kimberly shared her story believing the battle was behind her.

But just months later, her life would be completely uprooted.

Kimberly began noticing something unusual on the skin near her reconstructed breast—small changes that didn’t seem urgent at first. Like many women, she trusted the system and followed medical guidance. She was referred to a dermatologist, facing a long wait for answers, while cancer cells were quietly continuing their spread beneath the surface.

What was initially believed to be a dermatological issue was later identified as something far more serious: cutaneous metastases, a form of secondary breast cancer that appears in the skin.

By the time the correct diagnosis was made, what might have been a more treatable situation had progressed. Kimberly was given a devastating prognosis—between three months to two years to live.

And yet, Kimberly’s message is not one of fear.

It is one of awareness, advocacy, and urgency.

In this episode, Kimberly shares her story so that other women will know what to look for. While cutaneous metastases are not the most common form of recurrence, they are real, and they can be missed.

Her message is clear:
If you notice anything unusual—any bump, nodule, rash, or change in the skin on or around your breast after cancer—do not wait. Ask questions. Push for answers. Insist on a biopsy.

Kimberly hopes that by sharing her experience, other women will be empowered to advocate for themselves, catch signs earlier, and potentially change the course of their own story.

This is not just a conversation.
It’s a warning.
A lesson.
And a powerful reminder to trust your instincts.

Support the show

Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY. To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories. Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story? Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com

Send us Fan Mail

What happens when life slowly wears away your sense of worth—and then cancer delivers what feels like the final blow?

In this powerful episode of the Still I Rise Podcast, Lisa sits down with Dina Buscher, who shares her deeply personal story of growing up in a loving Italian family, building a life rooted in strong values, and then slowly losing sight of her own worth through years of painful circumstances.

Dina describes her life using a powerful metaphor: a wooden post carved by the Master Artist—God Himself. Over time, life’s hardships and hurtful voices sanded that post down until she felt like nothing more than dust and shavings.

Then came cancer.

Instead of asking “Why me?” Dina faced the diagnosis with faith—but the emotional weight of the journey revealed something even deeper: who truly stands beside you when life gets hard.

Through her battle with cancer, Dina experienced a profound spiritual awakening. In a moment of worship, she felt God speak to her spirit with the powerful reminder:

“The same power that crushed the enemy lives in you.”

In this episode, Dina shares:

• Her experience navigating a cancer diagnosis and treatment
• How painful life experiences can erode our sense of identity
• The role faith and spiritual surrender played in her healing
• The surprising ways cancer helped her rediscover her worth
• Why our value is never defined by circumstances or other people

Dina’s story is a powerful reminder that even when life reduces us to ashes, God is still the Master Artist—and He is never finished with us.

If you’re facing cancer, personal loss, or a season of feeling worn down by life, this conversation will inspire you to remember that your worth was never lost.

Listen now to this moving story of faith, resilience, and rising again.

Support the show

Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY. To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories. Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story? Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com

Send a text

What happens when you are just three months away from celebrating ten years cancer-free… and you hear the words no survivor ever wants to hear again:

“You have cancer.”

In this powerful episode of the Still I Rise Podcast, Lisa sits down with cancer survivor Jeannie Travalini, whose life was turned upside down when cancer returned just before her long-awaited 10-year milestone.

Jeannie shares her deeply personal story of navigating a second diagnosis, the emotional toll of recurrence, and the unexpected ways faith, nature, and resilience carried her through some of life’s darkest moments.

Using the metaphor of weeds in a garden, Jeannie reflects on how life’s toughest challenges—like cancer, loss, and uncertainty—can become the very experiences that shape our strength and growth.

In this conversation, you’ll hear about:

• The emotional shock of cancer recurrence after nearly a decade
• How faith and spirituality helped her through the hardest moments
• The lifestyle and holistic changes she embraced after her diagnosis
• Finding strength in unexpected places
• Why life’s “weeds” sometimes become our greatest teachers

Jeannie’s story entitled "Weeds that Grow Us" is raw, honest, and inspiring—a reminder that resilience doesn’t always look perfect. Sometimes it simply means getting up and trying again.

If you or someone you love is navigating breast cancer, cancer survivorship, or recurrence, this episode will remind you that even in life’s hardest seasons, hope can still grow.

Listen now to Jeannie’s powerful story of survival, faith, and rising again.

Support the show

Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY. To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories. Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story? Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com

Send a text

In this powerful episode of Still I Rise, Alana Acereto shares her story, “The Darkness and the Light,” a deeply moving reflection on childhood trauma, generational healing, and her journey as a cancer survivor.

For years, Alana sought healing through therapy, trying to untangle the chaos left by early trauma. She shares that participating in Story Crafting was the first process that truly allowed her to release the pain she had carried for decades. While some parts of her story remain sacred and were shared privately within her small group, she chose to tell her public story through powerful metaphor — describing darkness, light, and the courage it takes to break cycles.

When she became a mother, Alana made a defining decision: the shadows of her past would not shape her daughter’s future. That commitment to bring light into darkness carried her not only through trauma recovery, but also through her own battle with cancer.

This episode explores childhood trauma healing, breaking generational cycles, motherhood as protection, cancer survivorship, and the power of storytelling as therapy. It is a testament to the truth that healing does not erase the darkness — it teaches us how to carry light into it.

If you are navigating trauma, illness, or the quiet work of rewriting your story, this episode will remind you: your light matters — even when it flickers.

Support the show

Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY. To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories. Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story? Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com