The After. Conversation: Episode 1 – Claiming Your Identity After Cancer

July 20, 2026

Featured from The After. Cancer Podcast with Dr. Leslie Waltke

🎙️ Watch Episode 1:

🎧 Or listen on your favorite podcast platform

▶ See the full podcast episode list on YouTube

📬 Join The After. Cancer Podcast email list to get future episodes delivered directly to your inbox.

Claiming Identity (Or Not)

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “We’re all in the same boat.” But in reality… when it comes to cancer, we’re not. Yes, we’re all human. And yes, all cancers are a bunch of rogue, rapidly dividing cells. But the people facing those cells? They’re in different boats, caught in different storms, with different captains, different crews, and often wildly different resources and expectations.  Yes, cancer may be a universal disease, but the lived reality of it is deeply unique and individually experienced. So if there are nearly 19 million people in the US and more than 53 million people across our beautiful planet that have heard the words you have cancer how do we talk about this? …this universal disease and all the people caught in all of those boats in all of those storms?

Ah enter the cancer labels. Have you ever noticed that often Before anyone ever even tells you what to expect after a cancer diagnosis, they often give you a label or tell you what to call yourself? Words likepatient, survivor, victim, warrior, or thriver… these labels didn’t come out of nowhere. They were shaped by medicine, by culture, by advocacy movements, by fear, and sometimes by hope. And over the years, these words have carried comfort for some… and a heavy sting for others. //.

So why launch a cancer podcast by talking about a word? We have a billion things we could talk about — treatments, side effects, recovery, fear, hope — and I’m starting with language. Yes. And here’s why. Because cancer doesn’t just affect the body — it disrupts identity… you know this well. Suddenly the life you knew, and the way you understood yourself inside it, can feel uncertain. Words start appearing around you: patient, survivor, fighter, thriver. Some people embrace them. Some reject them. And some feel disoriented by them altogether. Identity, disorientation, shame, and fear can begin to blur together — and language sits right in the middle of it all. Because language carries power. It shapes how we see ourselves, how others see us, and how we begin to make sense of what has happened. When you’re already struggling to reclaim your personal identity after cancer, it raises a new question: do you now need — or want — to claim a new one as well?

And  language is the doorway into identity. Because the labels we inherit, choose, or reject shape how we understand ourselves. Because after cancer, the words you choose become part of how you navigate what comes next…

One of the biggest problems in survivorship is that we rarely pause long enough to say something simple but important: it’s okay if none of these words fit you. It’s okay if they change over time. And it’s okay if you need something different altogether.

But if you’re going to walk forward into life after cancer, your feet need to be firmly on the ground. And that begins with understanding what you want to call yourself — and why it matters.

So in this inaugural episode of The After. Cancer Podcast, we’re going to trace how these labels evolved, where they came from, and why it matters that you get to decide what feels right for you. From whispered stigma to empowering language — this is your life, this is your language, and finding your comfort in that space may be the first real step in understanding… your after.

Hugs,
Dr. L

Reflective Prompts for Episode 1

1. What word or phrase feels right for you today? Survivor, patient, victim, thriver, warrior, human—or something else entirely?
2. Has that label changed for you over time? Could it change again? Again, there are no right or wrong answers and no right or wrong label. The point is that language is personal. It’s yours to define. 

About Dr. Waltke

Leslie Waltke, PT, DPT, is an internationally respected oncology physical therapist and a founding and current Board member of ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis. She serves as the Cancer Rehabilitation Coordinator for Advocate Health in Wisconsin, where she works to ensure people living with and beyond cancer receive evidence-based rehabilitation across the full continuum of care. For more than three decades, she has walked alongside individuals and families navigating cancer, helping them protect their strength, independence, and confidence. Dr. Waltke is also the host of The After. Cancer Podcast and is dedicated to providing clear, medically sound guidance rooted in both science and humanity to help survivors live fully after cancer. She regularly speaks at universities, medical conferences, and survivorship events across the country.