Serenity Rising: Healing with Cancer

About Serenity Rising: Healing with Cancer

What does it mean to heal when a cure isn't guaranteed? Serenity Rising is the podcast for people living with cancer, chronic illness, and those walking alongside someone they love. Created in the third space between science and soul, evidence and experience. Hosted by Bron Watson, a registered nurse, educator, and two-time cancer survivor living with incurable Multiple Myeloma, each episode blends research-backed insight with honest, lived wisdom. No toxic positivity. No hustle. Just real conversation about the human experience of navigating illness with courage, clarity, and compassion. From expert interviews to fireside Q&As, Serenity Rising explores the emotional, psychological, and deeply personal side of living with cancer. The parts your medical team rarely has time to address. Because healing isn't about reaching a finish line. It's about finding peace in the journey itself. Where moments make memories, and memories are how we make every day count. Brought to you by the team at The Serenity Project Learn more at http://www.serenityproject.com.au/

Publisher

Bron Watson, the Serenity Project

Category

education · health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

8 Sept 2025

Latest episode

6 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

34 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   6 Oct 2026

   Given No Choices, She Made Her Own with Emma Victoria Johnson

   Emma Victoria Johnson was 43, fit, healthy and diligent with her annual mammograms when she was told she had stage four breast cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes and liver. Seventeen years earlier she had lost her mum to lung cancer within six months of diagnosis, so she knew exactly how fast this disease can move. Within weeks, her relationship of seven years ended, the luxury beauty business she had spent more than a decade building in Newcastle closed, and friends fell away. In Australia, Emma says she was offered no surgery, chemotherapy or radiation because her cancer was too advanced, only two palliative tablets and a timeline. So she made her own choice and got on a plane to Oasis of Hope Hospital in Tijuana, Mexico, for integrative treatment that combines immune based therapies with conventional medicine, including the hormone blocker she still takes today. In this conversation, Bron and Emma, who have both lived through breast cancer, talk about the split second decision that said I am not ready to die, what it takes to trust your own voice when the people who love you think you are crazy, and the head noise that arrives before every scan. Emma shares why she goes to every scan alone, how Guns N' Roses and meditation pull her back, and how documenting her treatment on Instagram grew into a community of more than 50,000 people who carry her through the hard days. Her latest scans show her breast and lymph nodes clear, with one stubborn area in her liver still being treated. When Bron asks what serenity means to her, Emma describes surrendering to, and becoming, your inner warrior: going through the darkest place and rising into the best version of yourself. As the youngest of three sisters she was always the softest, the princess, and she never knew she had strength in her until cancer asked for it. "I have found my inner warrior and I activate my warrior mode," she says. Now, whenever a new treatment or a needle frightens her, she goes inside herself and finds her. Serenity Rising is an interest only podcast. Emma shares her personal experience of integrative treatment at Oasis of Hope, where she is now a patient ambassador, and nothing in this episode is medical advice. Please talk with your own medical team about any treatment decisions. In This Episode Losing her mum to lung cancer at 26, and receiving her own stage four diagnosis 17 years later A weekend behind locked doors, and the moment she decided: I am not willing to die A tsunami upon a tsunami: losing her partner, her business and her friends within weeks, and asking who am I now Why the internet rabbit hole of cancer advice became too much, and how she learned to listen to herself instead Being offered no surgery, chemotherapy or radiation in Australia, only palliative tablets, and choosing a plane ticket instead Walking through the doors at Oasis of Hope and feeling safe, seen, heard and, for the first time, hopeful What integrative treatment looked like for her: a 16 day first stay, hyperthermia, immune therapies, and the hormone blocker she still takes Head noise before every PET scan, and why Emma chooses to go alone Guns N' Roses or meditation: how Emma breaks the spiral, and the look up tip Bron learned from a clinical psychologist friend How sharing her journey on Instagram built a community of more than 50,000 people, and why she answers every message herself Why she is happier now than she was before cancer, and her one piece of advice: do not give up hope What serenity means to Emma: surrendering to and becoming your inner warrior, rising through the darkest times into the best version of yourself, and the warrior mode she switches on whenever a treatment or a needle frightens her. Resources Mentioned Oasis of Hope Hospital, Tijuana, Mexico: oasisofhope.com How to Starve Cancer by Jane McLelland, the first book Emma read after diagnosis The Serenity Prayer Be Where Your Feet Are, Bron Watson (coming early 2027) Related Episodes Two Cancers Later, She Found a Better Word Than Resilient with Cheyenne Heflin (S2 E16) https://push.fm/fl/jugdagss I Had Cancer. Cancer Did Not Have Me with Zulma Williams (S2 E7) https://push.fm/fl/ajfbye1p The Storm Will Pass: Bill Derrick on Business, Cancer, and Never Quitting (S2 E12) https://pages.serenityproject.com.au/serenity-rising-with-bill-derrick Your healing matters every day. Connect With Emma Instagram: emma_victoriaj https://www.instagram.com/emma_victoriaj/ TikTok: @emmavictoria_j https://www.tiktok.com/@emmavictoria_j Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emma.victoria.johnson/ Emma is a patient ambassador for Oasis of Hope Hospital: https://www.oasisofhope.com/ Connect With The Serenity Project Website: https://serenityproject.com.au Instagram: https://instagram.com/bron_watson Facebook: https://facebook.com/bronwatsonme LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/bronwatson YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@BronWatson Have a question or feedback? You can leave a message here: https://fanlist.com/serenityproject

2. 

   29 Sept 2026

   The Voice That Said Get Up: Surviving Cancer, Loss and the Worst Days of Your Life with Gaylynn Kapri and LaVonne Chastain

   Host Bron Watson interviews Gaylynn Kapri and LaVonne M. Chastain about the profound decision to "get up" amidst unimaginable loss and a stage four cancer diagnosis.

3. 

   22 Sept 2026

   Educate, Educate, Educate: Michael Bovarnick's Twenty-Three Year Prostate Cancer Story with Michael Bovarnick

   Bron Watson interviews Michael Bovarnick, founder of the Prostate Education Project, about his twenty-three-year prostate cancer journey and the power of education in navigating illness.

Who has been a guest on Serenity Rising: Healing with Cancer

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Gaylynn Kapri
• LaVonne M Chastain
• LaVonne Chastain
• Michael Bovarnick
• Cheyenne Heflin

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Contact Serenity Rising: Healing with Cancer

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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