The Life I Choose, Every Day with Vanessa Cuccurullo
Vanessa Cuccurullo is a two-time cancer survivor who was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma at 20 and breast cancer at 48. She is the founder of Mrs. C Botanicals, a clean cannabis brand, and lives between New York City and Shelter Island with her family.
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The Life I Choose, Every Day
"Living well, for me, has never meant chasing perfection. It means seizing the moments between the pain and discomfort that affect us all. It means living in spite of fear, smiling and dancing in the middle of uncertainty."
At 48, after a breast cancer diagnosis and a year of treatment, Vanessa Cuccurullo stepped onto a plane to Portugal with 23 women she had never met. What followed wasn’t just a trip—it was a quiet, powerful reclamation of self.
In the space between recovery and living, she found something steady. Not the old version of herself, but a woman who could move, feel, and choose again.
“It wasn't just travel. It was a reunion with myself.”
Through movement, connection, and the kind of joy that doesn’t ask for permission, Vanessa began to trust her body again—to live not from fear, but from love.
“This wasn't a return to who I once was before cancer. It was a beginning of who I am now.”
This episode holds the truth of survivorship so many don’t say out loud: that healing isn’t about going back. It’s about claiming something new—and choosing it, every single day.
Writing Prompt 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:
Reclamation…
I invite you to write about a time you felt different after a major life event—not because the event changed you, but because, like Vanessa, you claimed something back. What did you reclaim? How did you know something in you had shifted?
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 “Living Well” issue of Wildfire Journal.
More about our episode sponsor: Young Survival Coalition
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