“My Pony-Tale” with Lauren Bruns
Lauren Bruns was diagnosed at 38 with Triple-Positive breast cancer while eight-weeks into her second pregnancy. Lauren is a former competitive dancer, engineering graduate, and earned her MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. She is currently a management consultant. Lauren loves traveling, biking, swimming, NYT games, and rooting for her beloved Cleveland sports teams.
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My Pony-Tale
"A cancer pregnancy following a pandemic pregnancy was a tough hand to be dealt; my hair was not going to fall out without a (very cold, very long) fight."
Lauren Bruns was 38 years old and just 8-weeks into her second pregnancy when she was diagnosed with stage 1, triple-positive breast cancer—a discovery she made while breastfeeding her toddler.
In today’s episode, Lauren brings us into the unexpected places she found steadiness: motherhood, ritual, and the complicated relationship she had with her hair. She shares how she cut 10 inches of her hair to donate to kids with cancer, never imagining she would be facing her own diagnosis one year later.
And how cold capping, pregnancy hormones, and sheer determination created a strange and tender kind of magic: “It was very empowering to be able to choose to look normal on days I wanted to.”
This is a story about identity inside chaos, about holding onto something small when everything else feels impossibly big, and about realizing that sometimes the thing we keep becomes the thing that carries us.
Writing Prompt Inspired by Today’s Episode
Set your timer for ten minutes, write without stopping or editing yourself. There is magic in leaning into that time. The prompt is:
What I held onto…
Lauren reminds us that what we hold onto during a cancer experience isn’t just about survival—it’s about identity. She held onto her hair not simply to look “normal,” but because it helped her feel like herself at a time when everything else felt unsteady.
I invite you to reflect on something you held onto during your own cancer experience—physically, emotionally, or symbolically. What was it, and why did it matter to you?
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 "Hair” issue of Wildfire Journal.
More about our episode sponsor Wildflower Health Coaching.
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