Anne Hamilton was diagnosed with stage 3C breast cancer at thirty-five years old. Her treatment included chemotherapy, a bilateral mastectomy, radiation, and multiple surgeries. But for Anne, finishing treatment did not mean the cancer journey was over. She found herself facing fear of recurrence, survivor’s guilt, a changing relationship with her body, and the difficult question of how to truly live again after cancer.

That experience ultimately led Anne to create the Survivorship Collective, a community focused on the emotional, spiritual, and existential challenges of life after cancer. Through community, therapy, somatic healing, spiritual practices, and research based approaches, the Collective creates space for survivors to feel seen and understood. Anne believes healing is not necessarily the same as being cured. For her, healing is about belonging and finding connection with others who have walked a similar path.

Anne also shares her personal experience with psilocybin and the research surrounding its potential role in helping people process some of the emotional challenges that can come with cancer. She emphasizes education, research, safety, and community as important parts of these conversations.

This conversation is ultimately about what happens after treatment ends and the work of learning to live again begins. Anne offers a powerful reminder that no one should have to navigate survivorship alone, and that healing can come through community, connection, purpose, and the people who help us find our way forward.

Episode Resources:

The Survivorship Collective:

https://survivorshipcollective.com/

https://www.instagram.com/survivorshipcollective/

Oklahoma Proton Center

https://www.okcproton.com/

https://www.instagram.com/okprotoncenter/

https://www.facebook.com/OKProtonCenter

The Cancer Project Podcast

https://www.instagram.com/the_cancerproject

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581844363126

https://www.tiktok.com/@protonguy