Hope and Heartache, Hand in Hand with Caitlan Killian
Caitlan is a writer and metastatic breast cancer thriver. She began blogging after a devastating diagnosis in 2019, but found healing through words. She publishes the “Goodness & Grace” newsletter and hosts the “Goodness & Grace” podcast. Her small business, Still Good Co, is an apparel line that raises awareness and funding for MBC research. You can find Caitlan snuggling her fluffy cat, Moo, or daytripping with her sweet husband, Andrew, looking forward to the future.
Subscribe and Listen On…
Hope and Heartache, Hand in Hand
"We can hold joy and grief together because we realize that light is always available, even here. Remembering the good reminds us that it’s possible, even here."
In this episode of The Burn, Caitlin Killian shares a deeply moving memoir about friendship, metastatic breast cancer, and the tender paradox of carrying hope and heartbreak at the same time.
Caitlin was first diagnosed in 2019 at 29 with Stage III triple negative breast cancer. In 2021, she was diagnosed with a metastatic recurrence. In her essay, Hope and Heartache, Hand in Hand, she reflects on a friendship that began in a virtual support group and grew into a real-life connection built on shared understanding, ordinary joys, and the comfort of not having to explain.
As Caitlin moved toward stability in her own treatment, her friend Stacy’s cancer spread. The essay doesn’t look away from the ache of that reality. Instead, it sits inside the tension—asking what it means to celebrate a clean scan while grieving someone you love, and how friendship can leave a lasting imprint.
"I pray she was as hope-filled as I was from our friendship. Having a confidant, a real-life friend to giggle over make-up and hold hands over immense grief in this wild cancer story made my journey a better one."
This episode is about the people who paddle beside us through impossible waters—and the ways connection can make even the hardest road feel a little less lonely.
Writing Prompts Inspired by Today’s Episode
Set your timer for eight minutes, write without stopping or editing yourself. There is magic in leaning into that time. The prompt is:
What they left me.
Today’s story invited us to consider how we carry someone after they’re gone—how grief and gratitude, heartbreak and growth, can live side by side.
Write about someone you love who has died. Choose one specific moment, memory, or scene that captures their essence—something small but true. Maybe it’s a phrase they always said, the way they entered a room, a habit, a kindness, or even a contradiction. Honor them on the page.
Then gently turn your attention to what changed in you because of loving them and losing them. What did they leave behind—not in their belongings, but in you? Let both exist: the hurt and what has crystallized in its wake.
If you find that you write best with a good prompt, check out our free prompts and learn about our writing workshops.
Happy writing! Until next time, take good care.
Episode Links
Read a transcript of this episode.
Purchase the 2025 “MBC:Paradox” issue of Wildfire Journal.
Find Caitlan on Instagram. Learn more about Caitlan and Still Good Co.
More about our episode sponsor: iRise Above Foundation
More From The Burn
