About this episode

Nerissa Balland shares her journey as a two-time cancer survivor and how creativity helped her process adversity.

Some conversations stop you in your tracks — this is one of them. My guest Nerissa Balland was five months pregnant via IVF when she was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. What she did next and who she became because of it is the kind of story that reminds you what's actually important. In this episode, we're talking about what happens when life forces you to reevaluate everything. Nerissa Balland is a two-time cancer survivor, artist, author of Canvas of Courage , and arts and health practitioner who helps people process adversity through creativity. After nearly two decades in marketing and advertising for brands like Amex and Pepsi, a cancer diagnosis while pregnant changed everything and eventually led her to a completely different life. We talk about: Being diagnosed with metastatic melanoma five months into an IVF pregnancy and being told to terminate Why adversity doesn't have to be cancer to force a reckoning with yourself How creativity (not just therapy) can help us process what words can't reach The difference between choosing a safe path out of wisdom vs. choosing it out of fear What 100 interviews with young mothers facing cancer taught Nerissa about resilience Her…

People in this episode

Host: Nicole Johnson

Guest: Nerissa Balland

Topics covered

• creativity
• healing
• cancer
• resilience
• midlife
• identity

Keywords

• metastatic melanoma
• IVF pregnancy
• adversity
• creativity
• resilience
• midlife
• identity
• cancer survivor

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Amex, Pepsi

Books & works: Canvas of Courage

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