Meet Stephanie Miller | Cancer Coach & Essential Oil Specialist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephanie Miller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephanie, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
As a cancer survivor myself and the care giver to my husband during his cancer journey I didn’t realize the there was a healing process that needed to take place when a diagnosis hits the home. When going through a cancer journey your life is interrupted in the most devastating way. The fear, emotions, overwhelm, loss of control, loneliness take over and your life is handed over to the medical team to kill the disease. After treatment is done life is expected to return to normal.

It was 6 years after my husbands diagnosis (and 11 years after mine) I started to reflect on the journey our lives have been on and became aware of the emotional component that was missing. I realized it was difficult for me to talk about what we went through without big emotions presenting and every time I did I started to feel a sense of opening, a feeling of relief, an understanding and healing. I started to realize I wasn’t the only one feeling this way, I wasn’t alone in this and my emotional releases began my healing process.

There is a gap between the emotional and medical aspects of cancer. The medical team is put in place to kill the disease and keep the disease from killing you. The emotions that surface are not always addressed and we grow up learning to suppress these emotions. I started feeling my emotions as they started to surface. I began to research how emotions affect out body and mind. I began my personal healing process from a diagnosis 17 years prior, and started to heal from the effect my husband’s cancer had on me.

I began to understand what is truly needed to heal from a diagnosis. A cancer diagnosis doesn’t start and stop with just the medical team, it involves going inward and doing the hard inner work; mind, body, spirit. This healing helped me transform into a new version of myself to help others thrive through cancer. As I’ve made the transformation through my personal cancer journey and see the importance of expressing emotions (along the way) I am here to help other women heal from their trauma of cancer.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My career started 27 years ago with an associate degree as a Radiologic Technologist working in the clinic and hospital setting. My credentials grew to certifications in Mammography and Computerized Tomography (CT), and a B.S. in Business. I worked in healthcare in patient care those 27 years in addition to managing the CT department for the last 19 years, while also performing patient care.

I learned the healthcare model, performed thousands of exams on patients, many with a new and ongoing cancer diagnosis. My diagnosis came at a time I was growing professionally in addition to personal life changes. After returning from my cancer treatment recovery I was offered the leadership role in my department. At this same time we purchased a new home and were moving my mother into her new home. An exciting and challenging time in my life however with the help of family and the mentorship at my work place the transitions were seamless.

When my husband was diagnosed with his cancer I had a solid medical knowledge base and had worked closely with the Oncology department performing exams, involved in treatment planning procedures, scanning protocols, etc. Having this knowledge helped me understand more of the medical aspect of a cancer diagnosis than most people have when diagnosed. I learned so much more watching and supporting my husband go through his treatment, appointments, etc. which was different than my own.

Throughout our cancer journey I gained an understanding from many perspectives. I was the patient, I was the family member/care giver of a loved one going through the cancer experience, I was the technologist behind the screen performing the imaging for the oncology and radiology providers to help diagnose disease, I was the caregiver comforting family members waiting for their loved one going through the biopsy/procedure,

I was the wife watching her husband go through chemo and radiation, watching him deteriorate from the poison and radiation, laying in a hospital bed fighting for his life, I was the support that helped my husband heal from the life altering effects of his treatment.

I was the friend who supported her best friend go through breast cancer treatment, I am the coach who can relate to what others go through, the support women need when they are overwhelmed and afraid. I am the voice to let them I know how they feel, that it is normal, and it’s okay to not be okay.

I’ve learned throughout this journey the importance of mindfulness, to live in the moment and release what isn’t serving you. It is okay to feel our emotions. If we suppress our emotions they will come out in another way physically or mentally. What we feel we can heal and that is the message I tell my clients.

When we open up our mind and heart we can see life through a different lense. A cancer diagnosis (or any disease) doesn’t define us, we have options and we have a voice. Too often we lose our control and don’t feel we can be part of the experience we go through.

I’ve learned how natural options can support the mind and body and that we need more than just the medical model to heal from a traumatic experience. Taking a holistic approach to life will allow us to thrive through.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Let’s hop on a plane to a tropical area to soak in the sun & beach, listen to the waves and relax in nature. Look out over the blue waters and dream of the life of our dreams. Enjoy a walk on the beach, hike through the tropical forest watching the wildlife, noticing the beauty around us, the colors of the flowers, and noises of the native land.

The afternoons we will relax on the beach soaking in the sun, people watching, maybe a massage on the beach, and an occasional tropical drink, The evenings we’ll get dressed up to take in an incredible dinner of seafood with all the fixings, and trying all the things on the menu. After dinner sitting on a balcony enjoy the music of a live band.

Meeting someone on the trip to have a deep conversation about live, learn about their experiences and enjoy sitting quietly soaking in what we’ve learned about each other.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Without the support of my life coach (Beth) who helped me open my mind and heart, to express who I am, what I was feeling and to see the impact my story has on others, the beautiful being I’ve turned into wouldn’t have emerged.

Website: www.stephanie-miller.org

Instagram: @stephanie.m.miller

Linkedin: Stephanie Miller – Cancer Doula

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephaniemillercancerdoula/