When the Zebra Catches You: Living with Rare Cancer at 28
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“There’s still time left and it's navigating how and what space do you live in every day.”
At 26, Rachel was living her dream life in Chicago. She’d moved from her small town Texas roots and was young, independent, and thriving in the city.
But mysterious symptoms that began in college refused to go away. After being dismissed by doctor after doctor—told it was anxiety, IBS, or nothing at all—Rachel found herself in crisis. Unable to work, she packed a suitcase and flew home to Texas, putting her Chicago life on pause.
What followed was a whirlwind of appointments that led to an unexpected discovery: stage 4 metastatic neuroendocrine cancer, a rare “old person’s cancer” that had already spread throughout her body. The diagnosis was devastating but also, strangely, a relief—finally someone believed her.
Now 28, Rachel has moved back to Texas permanently for her family’s support, undergone major surgery, and is navigating what it means to live with a slow-growing but incurable cancer that gives her a prognosis of 15 to 20 years.
In this episode, Rachael and Cody explore what it means to have a terminal diagnosis that still puts a lot of life ahead of you, how to live a full life with a chronic and fatal condition, even how to navigate dating and finding love (Rachael’s story of how her girlfriend showed up for her on their third date is so…dang…sweet).
Rachael also shares practical advice for supporting cancer patients without making them comfort you, discusses her complicated relationship with the evangelical Christianity of her youth, and explains why the zebra is the symbol for this rare disease.
It’s all a lovely reminder that you don’t need to be dying to live intentionally, that advocating for yourself matters even when no one believes you, and that there’s always a lot more life to live.
Follow Rachael on TikTok at RachaelKicksCancer
(“dancing through infusions”…perfection)
For more information on the sponsor of this episode,
please visit the Iliff Death Care Collective.
>>Theme Music by Michael Shynes, "The Other Side"<<
Music featured in this week's episode (please follow and support these beautiful artists):
Daniel Pratt, Goes and Starts
ARYEH, I Love You
Beò, For the Rest of My Life
