From Mud

From Mud

By: Isabel Conley

Language: en-us

Categories: Education, Self Improvement, Health, Fitness, Mental

All about resilience and grace—the way a lotus flower grows from mud. After losing her husband to cancer in 2024, leaving her to raise two toddlers alone, health educator/coach, Isabel shares how she is navigating her widow journey but with a health and wellness twist. How do we stay well when life gets hard?

Episodes

Our Family Cancer Journey (series) - Episode 6 - the end of an era
Jan 09, 2026

!!!CONTENT WARNING!!! This episode contains vivid detail of being with someone in their final moments dying from cancer. This may be very upsetting content to listen to. Please consult with your therapist or supports if this becomes too upsetting to hear.


This is the 6th and final episode in my premier series where I tell the tale (in great detail) of our family’s experience when my husband, Justin, was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive kidney cancer, his two-year battle fighting cancer, and how we navigated our life with our toddler plus me being pregnant/gi...

Duration: 01:03:40
Our Family Cancer Journey (series) - Episode 5 - happy days/the end is nigh
Dec 21, 2025

This is the fifth episode in my premier series where I tell the tale (in great detail) of our family’s experience when my husband, Justin, was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive kidney cancer, his two-year battle fighting cancer, and how we navigated our life with our toddler plus me being pregnant/giving birth during Justin’s battle with cancer.

This episode picks up in November 2023 after Justin did his 3 month scans. The scans had positive results. This treatment was working. He continued to improve over the next several months so this is a happy times epis...

Duration: 01:09:42
Our Family Cancer Journey (series) - Episode 4 - new year, new baby, new challenges
Dec 11, 2025

This is the fourth episode in my premier series where I tell the tale (in great detail) of our family’s experience when my husband, Justin, was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive kidney cancer, his two-year battle fighting cancer, and how we navigated our life with our toddler plus me being pregnant/giving birth during Justin’s battle with cancer.

In this episode I share more about our 1st year after cancer diagnosis including our first holiday season after diagnosis, preparing and welcoming in our baby girl, enjoying good times as a family of 4 until about July...

Duration: 00:58:48
Our Family Cancer Journey (series)- Episode 3 (part 1)- Storytime: life is still happening
Nov 21, 2025

This is the third episode (part 1) in my series where I tell the tale (in great detail) of our family’s experience when my husband, Justin, was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive kidney cancer and his two-year battle fighting cancer and how we navigated our life with me being pregnant during Justin’s first year with cancer plus parenting our son who was 1.5 yr old when Justin was diagnosed— and just doing life and all the things. 

In this episode I share more about Justin’s daily battles with cancer, being pregnant during this crucial time for our f...

Duration: 00:51:01
Our Family Cancer Journey (series)- Episode 3 (part 2/2)- practical preparations for widow life
Nov 21, 2025

This is the third episode in my series where I tell the tale (in great detail) of our family’s experience with my husband, Justin and his two-year battle with cancer and how we navigated our life with two toddlers and cancer and doing life and all the things. 


In this episode I share  some of the practical steps we took to prepare for Justin’s life being cut short bc of cancer and to prepare me for life as a widow mom of two toddlers.

Duration: 00:39:32
Our Family Cancer Journey (series)- Episode 2- kidney cancer facts and our early signs/symptoms
Nov 01, 2025

This is the second episode in my series where I tell the tale (in great detail) of our family’s experience with my husband, Justin and his two-year battle with cancer and how we navigated our life with two toddlers and cancer and doing life and all the things. In this episode I share more about what I’ve learned about kidney cancer and I share our earliest signs of this aggressive cancer that eventually took Justin’s life at age 39 as well as my theories on a connection between anxiety/panic disorders and increased risk of cancer. 

Duration: 00:48:05
Our Family Cancer Journey (series) - Episode 1- Diagnosis/Cancer Year 1
Oct 20, 2025

We found out Justin's cancer diagnosis in June 2022. He passed away in July 2024 at age 39, leaving me (his wife, partner, and friend of the previous 16 years) alone to raise our two babies who were just 3 & 1 at the time of his passing. This episode is the first in my series where I share Justin's cancer journey from diagnosis to his eventual passing 2 years later. This first episode is all about how he came to get diagnosed and the first year of treatment and coping for us as a family. 

Duration: 00:50:16