Like most people, when Deb Krier was told she had metastatic breast cancer in 2015, she went into a tailspin. She previously worked for an oncologist and later, the American Cancer society and still was not prepared. What stuck with her was something the oncologist had said years earlier: 99% of survival is in your head.

Deb shared with us how hard she worked to maintain an upbeat attitude. Always upbeat, throughout her life, she was always independent. As an only child, raised in the mountains of CO, her mother encouraged her to take care of herself.

However, chemotherapy treatment almost killed her - 7 weeks with septic shock in the hospital, in and out of ICU and 30 surgeries.

This experience and two other bouts with cancer led Deb to devote her life to helping people live life while fighting cancer. And so, she created the website, https://www.tryingnottodie.live. The site offers information and support packages: Bear hugs and other ways to brighten the lives of people you care for with cancer.

It is 10 years now. In addition to managing her website and still living with cancer, Deb volunteers with the University of Colorado, is involved with the National Beagle Club of America and reads and gardens with her husband who is a huge source of support.

“We are in charge of how we manage our lives when living with cancer: I choose life.” - Deb Krier

Thank you to our sponsor, Women’s Connection, a nonprofit women’s group with chapters around the country. Members are vibrant, accomplished women, age 50 and forward, who connect around common interests, empower each other to thrive, and stick together as they travel through the stuff of life, no matter what comes their way. https://www.womenconnecting.org.



Women Over 70 is a proud member of the Age-WISE Collective, a group of women-hosted podcasts featuring stories from women 50+ and conversations that promote the pro-aging movement. This week we feature Suzy Rosenstein, host of Women in the Middle: Loving Life After 50. This weekly podcast explores a wide range of topics designed to help women get excited about their lives again. Women in the Middle®: Loving Life After 50 - Midlife Coach

Mary Beth Berkoff, age 82, founded her own PR company in her late 50s—and she still knows how to spotlight what’s good. Long before that, she was a teacher, an injury-prevention pioneer, and a public-affairs leader who helped pass Illinois’s seatbelt and child-restraint laws. Those roles taught her resilience, resourcefulness, and, as she likes to say, that “if you can teach junior high students, you can do anything.”

Today, that same spirit infuses her life at The Admiral at the Lake, a continuous care retirement community in Chicago, where her gift for connecting people enriches both her days and those around her.

Widowed in recent years, Mary Beth says that loss has both challenged and affirmed the words she lives by: “There is always something good around the next corner… I don’t stay defeated… I believe my life will continue to be great; I just need to do the work.”

“There is no lonely where I live in community with other interesting and welcoming people.” - Mary Beth Berkoff

Connect with Mary Beth:

Email: mbberkoff@mac.com

www.theadmiral.org

Recognizing the Age-Wise Collective

Women Over 70 is a proud member of the Age-Wise Collective, comprised of women-led podcasts that feature stories from women 50+ and topics that promote the pro-aging movement.

Meet Suzy Rosenstein, podcast host of Women in the Middle: Loving Life After 50. Suzy shares the good, bad, ugly, and sometimes downright hysterical about growing older and making the changes women want so they don’t have regrets in their second chapter.

Denise Poncher, 73, has spent her life noticing experiences that call her to create. A multidisciplinary artist—-creative writer, documentary photographer, custom art framer, collagist, fiber explorer—-she treats each medium as a path toward deeper understanding. Legacy writing now invites her to weave together difficult losses of significant people with joyful threads of being a nurturing grandmother. Once a painfully shy child, Denise found courage and confidence through her art, ultimately bringing hidden stories such as domestic violence into public view during her MFA graduate work. Outside the corridors of art, she served in public service roles from Department of Justice inspector to equestrian instructor. Today, Denise continues to seek new forms of creative expression—-guided by the belief that personal truth has the power to resonate far beyond the self.

"The deeper I go into my own experience, the more universal my message becomes." - Denise Poncher

Connect with Denise:

Email: drponcher@gmail.com

Fine art photography by Studio 626 in Oak Park, IL - Alignable

Thanks to our Sponsor—Women’s Connection

Celebrating its 25th Anniversary, Women’s Connection is a member-driven nonprofit organization for vibrant, accomplished women who are 50 years old and beyond. In chapters around the country, including a virtual Coast-to-Coast (C2C) chapter, women connect to enjoy shared interests and empower each other to thrive. https://womenconnecting.org

Recognizing the AGE-WISE COLLECTIVE

Women Over 70 is a proud member of the Age-Wise Collective, comprised of women-led podcasts that feature stories from women 50+ and topics that promote the pro-aging movement.

Meet: Ilana Landsberg-Lewis, host of Wisdom at Work: Older Women, Elderwomen, and Grandmothers on the Move! Profiles of disrupters and influencers who kick stereotypes to the curb. http://www.wisdomatworkpodcast.com