Kintsugi Heroes
Kathleen Langmore · 51 min
Two friends — one at the start of a cancer journey, one just out the other side — share an honest, hope-filled conversation proving that mindset and community can be as powerful as medicine.
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Kathleen Langmore was fit, active, and confident in her body when a mammogram after a climbing trip to America detected breast cancer. She chose surgery and moved on. Two years later, a persistent cough and dropping energy levels led to tests that revealed stage 4 melanoma, not on her skin, but deep in her lungs and elsewhere in her body. The diagnosis arrived without warning during an appointment where her oncologist hadn't read her biopsy report. In shock and physically failing, she couldn't advocate for herself. Her eldest daughter did it for her, demanding accountability and immediate referral to a specialist.
What followed was Kathleen's decision to fund immunotherapy herself at a cost of $150,000 rather than start with targeted chemotherapy. She worked closely with her doctor to manage side effects as they arose, addressing problems immediately. Within six months, she was walking again. A year later, she completed a 15-kilometre walk in South Africa. She also left her job in 2018, unwilling to spend three hours commuting each day when her time had become too important. Today, she remains in recovery and openly reflects on what the experience has changed: her tolerance levels, her sense of what matters, and her understanding that cancer doesn't discriminate based on how well you've lived.
This conversation between two longtime friends, one at the beginning of his own cancer treatment, the other looking back, explores what actually helps: family advocacy when you're too ill to speak for yourself, medical support that listens to you, community that shows up, and the choice to rebuild your life around what feels true.
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Kintsugi Heroes · Registered Australian not-for-profit · kintsugiheroes.com.au ↗