Being diagnosed with cancer can be a daunting and life-altering experience for many individuals. Today, I’m interviewing my friend Bill Potts, who has been battling cancer for the past two decades. In his latest book, “Up for the Fight: How to Advocate for Yourself as You Battle Cancer,” he shares all the valuable lessons he has learned and highlights the importance of self-advocacy for those fighting cancer.
A lot of people think that the cancer journey is owned by the medical care team, but it’s really owned by you. And so once you decide that it’s my journey, I’m going to own it, it changes your perspective, and so that you can come up with them with your plan, but it helps so much in the mental aspect of grounding yourself because now it’s mine, not anybody else’s
Bill Potts
Listen to the episode onย Apple Podcasts,ย Spotify,ย Podcast Addict,ย Pocket Casts,ย Stitcher,ย Castbox,ย Google Podcasts,ย Listen Notes,ย Amazon Music,ย or on your favorite podcast platform.ย You canย watch the interview on YouTubeย below.
Enjoy!
In This Episode, Bill Potts And I Discuss His Book “Up For the Fight.”
Every year, 18 million people worldwide are diagnosed with cancer. Suppose you, or your loved one is one of them. In that case, you know exactly how overwhelming, scary, and confusing it is to navigate the journey through diagnosis, treatment, prognoses, and all their accompanying emotions. Entrepreneur, business leader, IRONMAN triathlete, and six-time cancer survivor Bill C. Potts has waged a 20-year battle against the disease. In todayโs episode, we will discuss his book “Up for the Fight: How to Advocate for Yourself as You Battle Cancer.”
In our interview, Bill Potts shares his personal cancer story and those of others, outlining everything you need to know to take on this fight. With empathy and honesty, Potts explains precisely what to expect and shares lessons and essential tips you can put into action from diagnosis, and treatment, to remission to cure–and how to face setbacks on your road to recovery.
The interview with Bill Potts covers the following subjects:
- How to advocate for yourself
- How to pick and manage your care team
- How to care for yourself emotionally and mentally
- How to make your treatment days more comfortable, manage side effects, and understand test results.
- You’ll also find important information on diet, exercise, wellness, and staying active
- How treatment and disease affect your immune system.
- And much, much more!
- Have any questions, comments, or stories youโd like to share?ย Drop us a line atย [email protected]m!
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More From My Interview With Bill Potts
During our interview, I asked Bill how you ground yourself at the start of your cancer journey.
Bill Potts explains, “It’s a great question. First of all, to help ground yourself, you must make sure you own your own journey. There’s nothing like reducing some of the anxiety; the stress is taking charge of it yourself. Many people think that the medical care team owns the cancer journey. But it’s really owned by you. And so once you decide that it’s my journey, I’m going to own it, it changes your perspective, and so that you can come up with them with your plan.
But it helps so much in the mental aspect of grounding yourself because now it’s mine, not anybody else’s. And I think this is analogous to many things in life, particularly for cancer patients. For me, faith has been an important part of grounding myself. For me, surrounding myself with the right group to support me becomes very important.
It’s pretty common in the cancer world. And you may have seen it firsthand. But many people disappear on you when you’re diagnosed with cancer, right or wrong. They can’t handle it. Most cancer patients have people that just disappear from their lives, but the ones that lean into you become super important also helps me to be grounded is to remember every day why I’m fighting so hard. Every day, I wake up, and I remind myself this is why I’m fighting for family and friends. God really helps ground me as well.”
Thanks, Bill Potts
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Resources From The Show With Bill Potts
Please note that some of the links on this page (books, movies, music, etc.) lead to affiliate programs for which The Passion Struck podcast receives compensation. Itโs just one of the ways we keep the lights on around here. Thank you so much for being so supportive!
Bill’s resource guide for cancer patients and their families: https://www.billcpotts.com/blogs-resources
- Website:ย https://www.billcpotts.com/book
- LinkedIn:ย https://www.linkedin.com/in/billcpotts/
- Instagram:ย https://www.instagram.com/billcpotts93/
- Twitter:ย https://twitter.com/BillCPotts
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC961rdCvn0QxJ07WdhEvmfA
- Learn how to fight pancreatic cancer with Dr. Michael Pishvaian
- Overcome cancer and live a crazy perfect life with Dara Kurtz.
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- Astronaut Chris Cassidy on the Importance of Being Present
- Katie Cookโs Story of Being the First Female Blue Angels Pilot
My solo episode on why you need to stop chasing perfection: https://passionstruck.com/stop-chasing-perfection/
Want to hear my best interviews from 2022? Check out episode 233 on intentional greatness and episode 234 on intentional behavior change.
My interview with Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman and Dr. Jordan Feingold on Choosing Growth and transcending self-doubt, fear, and anxiety: https://passionstruck.com/jordyn-feingold-scott-barry-kaufman-chose-growth/
My interview with NYU Stern School of Business Professor Scott Galloway on Why America is Adrift: https://passionstruck.com/scott-galloway-america-is-adrift/
My solo episode on why micro choices matter: https://passionstruck.com/why-your-micro-choices-determine-your-life/
About Todayโs Guest, Bill Potts
BILL C. POTTSย is a motivational speaker, creative business leader, energetic community builder, and dedicated father and husband. A five-time cancer survivor, he pursues life and all that accompanies it with the utmost passion and drive. While his kids call him โsometimes slightly embarrassing,โ they also admit heโs the โtoughest man we have ever met.โ He loves his job and wakes up each morning expecting an A+ dayโbecause every day is an A+ day, no matter the circumstances.ย He has held executive positions at the IRONMAN Group and the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and lectured on marketing at Tulane University, where he earned his MBA.
He is the co-founder and was a managing director of a marketing agency and an IRONMAN triathlete. He is a proud Advisory Board Member of the Halo House Foundation, which provides affordable housing for cancer patients, and a long-time volunteer at his local homeless shelter.ย Bill and his wife Kim, who are the parents of three adult children and a sweet dog (Pippa), live in St. Petersburg, FL.
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John R. Miles is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO and founder of Passion Struck. This full-service media company helps people live intentionally by creating best-in-class educational and entertainment content. John is also a prolific public speaker, venture capitalist, and author named to the ComputerWorld Top 100 IT Leaders.
John is the host of the top-ranked Passion Struck Podcast. The show focused on exploring the mindset and philosophy of the worldโs most inspiring people to learn their lessons to living intentionally. Passion Struck aspires to speak to the humanity of people in a way that makes them want to live better, be better, and impact.