Cathy McKinnon: I Survived Cancer and Here Is How I Did It

An Interview With Savio P. Clemente

Your Care team is critical! It is extremely important to surround yourself with doctors that you are comfortable with, that hear your concerns and allow you to advocate for your health. Having doctors that take the time to listen, address your concerns and adjust the course appropriately truly have an impact on your journey. If you do not feel that your concerns are heard your mental health will decline with stress and frustration. You truly have to be your own advocate even if that means transferring doctors or hospitals!

Cancer is a horrible and terrifying disease. Yet millions of people have beaten the odds and beat cancer. Authority Magazine started a new series called “I Survived Cancer and Here Is How I Did It”. In this interview series, we are talking to cancer survivors to share their stories, in order to offer hope and provide strength to people who are being impacted by cancer today. As a part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Cathy McKinnon, Transformation Coach, Cancer Warrior, 3x#1 International Best-Selling Author and Founder of Exponential Legacy.

As a Transformation Coach, Cathy helps serves women who know deep down they are meant for more and they are ready to take the steps to start embodying that version of themselves. As a heart lead entrepreneur her coaching container walks alongside these incredible women helping them gain clarity on the major facets of their life and start stepping into the gifts, confidence and magic they were born to share with the world!

Her coaching leaves women with confidence, growth, and healing so they can more effectively lead themselves, their families, their organizations …while thinking big.

This is the journey of gratitude, ambition and creating living legends!

In April 2021, Chicago Entrepreneurs Magazine named Cathy “Chicago’s Top Coach”

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! We really appreciate the courage it takes to publicly share your story. Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your background and your childhood backstory?

My coaching business was birthed from my journey. I never envisioned being a coach as a child. However, my experiences, my journey and my intuition guided me to this place knowing that we can and should share our message to help others. We can all learn and uplift each other to create an impact in this world; we all have unique knowledge that we should utilize to make the world a better place.

What you see is just that, my imperfect journey as I do the work to refine my highest-level self. I walk with gratitude and ambition towards the next level, the continual evolution, the next steps!

My work has been built from the stones that were thrown at me, I’ve taken those stones to build the life I have today so that I can lead others on their journey!

I am at this place today to help women take back their lives and their magic; this work gave me my life back.

I’ve been told for decades I’m an old soul, through the lowest lows in my life ( infertility, cancer) I was able to navigate with a calmness knowing I was intuitively following the right path despite how challenging it may have been, boldly walking with bravery and fear with my head held high.

I continue to do the hard work and put in the time to evolve my mission to help women shift their lives.

I took what was supposed to kill me and I came out a happier more vibrant version of me.

The women my clients have become have left me in tears with pride. They are showing up in an entirely new way, they are leading their legacy!

I am grateful beyond words for my people/my network; they have brought me so much joy, laugher and incredible conversations.

My life is filled with stories and experiences; full of successes and lessons learned as I continue to evolve every day.

The Warrior way is the way I choose to live my life. The nickname Warrior came from my story, my journey.

Grace while balancing grit, resilience and a mindset that took me further than I could have fathomed.

A vision so large, I am continually evolving and calibrating so that I can continue to lead others.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Sometimes the bravest and most important thing you can do is just show up.” Brene Brown

It is the message to keep going — it might be messy and complicated, but we keep going one day, one step at a time.

When I was handed my cancer diagnosis, I didn’t know what the journey ahead of me would look like or the impacts on my life over all! In that moment, all I knew was that I had to show up and be committed to each day- one day at a time to get through this part of my journey.

The reality is you won’t always be motivated but if you are dedicated and determined you will find a way. I was determined to fight for my dream of becoming a mother and creating my legacy. I always grounded myself in the fact that this was bigger than me, the emotions, the fear, the unknown; I had to walk through the fire and answer the ultimate calling.

Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about surviving cancer. Do you feel comfortable sharing with us the story surrounding how you found out that you had cancer?

My cancer was discovered as a complete fluke! I was working with my infertility doctor as I had suffered several miscarriages with no clear cause when my cancer was discovered. During one of my appointments the doctor felt my neck for swollen lymph nodes and what she discovered was a small pea sized mass. I had no symptoms or indications of the cancer in any of the testing I had undergone. I had no family history of this type of cancer, nor did I fit the typical demographic. It was literally a fluke! At that point I was so tired of seeing doctors that I was tempted to not have further testing completed especially since my doctor downplayed it explaining that it was not uncommon for women to have thyroid nodules. Finally, I decided to go get the nodule checked out and quickly was sent for a biopsy despite the tumor being just under the clinical threshold for biopsy. The tumor was 1.1cm and at the time the threshold for biopsy was 1.2cm or larger. The diagnosis I received from 5 biopsy samples was a clear indication of papillary thyroid cancer.

The initial response was absolute disbelief to the point I had to see and hold a copy of the biopsy report for it to sink in. I remember just staring blankly at that piece of paper as I walked out of the doctor’s office and then sinking to the floor in the hallway. Absolutely everything drained from my body in that moment and I just sat there on the floor trying to wrap my head around the words on the page, “positive for malignancy”

What was the scariest part of that event? What did you think was the worst thing that could happen to you?

I think for anyone being handed a cancer diagnosis the scariest part is the unknown. There is no playbook for a cancer journey, each case is unique and as such you must take one day at a time. It is the ultimate waiting game and the not knowing that truly terrifies cancer warriors. The worst thing that could happen would be that the cancer was spread beyond their initial indications and it would be a fierce uphill battle. The technology and science in today’s world can tell us so much however you do not truly know until you are on the journey and deep dive into understanding the true impact on your body, how it will respond and how much you can endure.

How did you react in the short term?

In the short term it was simple in my mind, set the emotions aside and go through the necessary treatment so that I could move forward on my journey to become a mother. As challenging as it is, you have to let go of the “what ifs” and possible outcomes; putting your energy and focus on the facts and steps in front of you. It is very easy to get overwhelmed if you try to process the entire journey, treatments and how long it can take from start to finish. I took one day at a time (and I avoided googling my prognosis)!

After the dust settled, what coping mechanisms did you use? What did you do to cope physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually?

Physically it was about preserving my energy, resting, eating right and keeping up some level of physical activity.

Emotionally it was finding outlets to express all the thoughts going through my mind, sharing with my close circle and journaling. I know that bottling up all those thoughts was just unhealthy and as such had to find a way to work through them. Any cancer battle is as much mental as it is physical; you must be able to set boundaries and do what you need in those moments to protect your mental health. For me, this meant at times not sharing my journey until I had time to process it myself. I absolutely believe that those around me had good intentions however maintaining my peace and mental clarity was a priority for me and as such I took much needed time to myself to process and work through all the thoughts floating through my mind.

In my own cancer struggle, I sometimes used the idea of embodiment to help me cope. Let’s take a minute to look at cancer from an embodiment perspective. If your cancer had a message for you, what do you think it would want or say?

My cancer diagnosis was my wake-up call that I had to get my life in order if I wanted to be the Mom that I envisioned. I wanted to be that Mom playing all out, running around the playground with my child, going on crazy adventures and showing my child that we can do big, fun things however in order to do that I needed to be healthy. I say to my coaching clients all the time, do not wait for a universal smack like I received to get your health and life in order. Take intentional actions with your life and time on this planet, we do not know how much time we get so go out and make the best of it.

What did you learn about yourself from this very difficult experience? How has cancer shaped your worldview? What has it taught you that you might never have considered before? Can you please explain with a story or example?

I learned that I was not intentional with my life or what I wanted from it. I wanted to be the best mom I could be and know I was put here to be however I was not acting that way. My vision and my actions were not aligned. I had to honestly step back and evaluate what I wanted for my life and then align my actions, environment and relationships to create the life I wanted. I had to gain clarity on the legacy I wanted to live out.

How have you used your experience to bring goodness to the world?

The physical transformation and knowledge I gained from my journey was the catalyst for my coaching business. I take all my learnings and research to help my clients become the best version of themselves. My coaching business started with a focus on physical health and the impacts of our environment on our health. My business has since expanded into incorporating mental health and life coaching aspects to help others truly step into the legacy they desire and dream of.

What are a few of the biggest misconceptions and myths out there about fighting cancer that you would like to dispel?

One of the largest misconceptions is that once you are in remission you are “fine”. The reality is that while the cancer may no longer be in your body, there are forever reminders. Whether it is a weakened immune system, medications, annual scans, or consistent doctor visits, you never get to forget and move on from a cancer diagnosis. It forever changes your reality. It forever changes how you view your life going forward.

Fantastic. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your experiences and knowledge, what advice would you give to others who have recently been diagnosed with cancer? What are your “5 Things You Need To Beat Cancer? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Your Care team is critical! It is extremely important to surround yourself with doctors that you are comfortable with, that hear your concerns and allow you to advocate for your health. Having doctors that take the time to listen, address your concerns and adjust the course appropriately truly have an impact on your journey. If you do not feel that your concerns are heard your mental health will decline with stress and frustration. You truly have to be your own advocate even if that means transferring doctors or hospitals!
2. Ensure you are addressing your mental health! While cancer is obviously something that impacts your physical health it is an ultimate test of your mental health. It takes a warrior mindset even on the tough days to get through the physical challenges. Our bodies can do challenging things if our mind allows it. Cancer is a battle that will test even the strongest minds. You must be willing to advocate for yourself, don’t hesitate to ask questions, prioritize your mental health and give yourself grace on those challenging days.
3. Maintain Strength! Physically any cancer battle will require your body to fight a fight unlike anything it has before, so you need to continue to keep up your physical strength. Ensure you are taking the time to feed your body with proper nutrition, physical movement to keep going, meditating, doing everything you can to be as healthy (physically and mentally) as possible. Another key aspect to maintaining strength is removing energy drains from your environment so you can maximize and focus your energy on the battle at hand. Create those healthy habits and routines as well as ensure those around you know your routines so they can support you on your challenging days.
4. Having a Support system is key! We all need support and, on those days, when you think you cannot continue you need someone to lean on. We all need those people we can count on to share not only the journey, our thoughts but also be there when you just need to know you are not alone in this battle. Cancer can feel very isolating, ensure you have those you can call on even if its just to chat over a cup of coffee.
5. Flex your Resilience muscle! Cancer is a battle unbeknownst to anyone. No two battles are the same, there is no playbook for it. It will require you to pull from deep down to step up to challenges you thought you could never face, let alone conquer. It will test you in ways you could never imagine. You will need to pull deep down and flex that resilience muscle to keep going and fighting the battle at hand.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be?

We need to dial it back to basics- being kind to each other, being there for each other, the understanding that we are all on this crazy ride we call life. We check in on those around us, you never know the burden they are carrying around in silence. There are 7 billion people on this planet and we are more connected than ever, yet we are so disconnected. We need to see and acknowledge the mental health crisis that this world is facing.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them. :-)

One of my absolute favorites is Gary Vaynerchuk. His overarching message of leading with kindness and empathy is something that truly aligns with my work. His understanding of the person and what motivates them creates a community that drives success. We as a society got so caught up in driving for results that we lost sight of the fact these are humans not robots. Together we can and will rise! We need to truly understand that being there for one another won’t take anything away from our success.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

www.instagram.com/thecathymckinnon

https://www.facebook.com/cathy.mckinnon.33

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathy-mckinnon/

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

About The Interviewer: Savio P. Clemente helps cancer survivors overcome the confusion and gain the clarity needed to get busy living in mind, body, and spirit. He inspires health and wellness seekers to find meaning in the “why” and to cultivate resilience in their mindset. Savio is a Board Certified wellness coach (NBC-HWC, ACC), stage 3 cancer survivor, podcaster, writer, and founder of The Human Resolve LLC.

Savio pens a weekly newsletter at thehumanresolve.com where he delves into secrets from living smarter to feeding your “three brains” — head 🧠, heart 💓, and gut 🤰 — in hopes of connecting the dots to those sticky parts in our nature that matter.

He has been featured on Fox News, and has collaborated with Authority Magazine, Thrive Global, Food Network, WW, and Bloomberg. His mission is to offer clients, listeners, and viewers alike tangible takeaways in living a truly healthy, wealthy, and wise lifestyle.

Savio lives in the suburbs of Westchester County, New York and continues to follow his boundless curiosity. He hopes to one day live out a childhood fantasy and explore outer space.