In your final months of living would you dedicate time to recording down your thoughts, feelings and perspective so others could benefit from it?  Rhonda Bjelan did.

Coming May 1st is the new podcast, Incurable.

Incurable is a real time journey after being given a diagnosis of incurable cancer. It is a mother and sons exploration of what you go through in the last months of life,  Raw, honest and designed to help others understand this period in someone (and their families) life. 

It is for those who might be about to go through something similar, for friends and family to understand and for the simply curious.  Incurable explores what it means to die, to live and asks what happens to belief & trust in God during a terminal cancer journey.

Join Rhonda Bjelan and her son Clayton as they share what it means to be given the word 'Incurable'.

This first episode introduces the concept of a family dealing with the words ‘Incurable cancer’. Rhonda and Clayton ask each other to react to that news.  And they start exploring the difference between thinking through this news and feeling the news.

Their conversation includes discussion on how the individual processes versus how family members process it.  And it answers the question, (right in the moment) - would you rather be told it was incurable cancer or just cancer?

This episode was recorded in Rhonda’s hospital room and starts with the unexpected circumstances that led to the cancer diagnosis.  Connect to the incurable podcast group to hear other stories and share yours at incurablepodcast.com

Could there be a worse word than cancer or incurable?

We discover the word that Rhonda hates in the midst of incurable cancer. 

Hear from her about making the most of each moment despite her diagnosis.  And this episode helps us understand who Rhonda is … things like family, faith, connecting to people, her sensitivity and art.  And how she takes part in MMA! 

We also hear more about who Clayton is… things like radio, family, laughter and faith. 

Connect to the incurable podcast group to hear other stories and share yours at incurablepodcast.com

Why is processing cancer (or anything difficult) so hard? Why do we resist processing the big things in life straight away? 

Rhonda and Clayton explore their tentativeness to process the incurable cancer diagnosis and why.  What stage of ‘grief’ are they in? 

They also talk about living with the decision of stopping certain treatments to allow different treatments to happen – and the consequences of those decisions (both good and bad).  And what control do cancer patients really have? 

Connect to the incurable podcast group to hear others stories and share yours at incurablepodcast.com

How does going through cancer change your identity? How does it change you as the person? How about other family members? 

Is there a better way to understand our identity and how we process?  And what does it mean to be a third child in regards to identity when dealing with life & death.

In this episode, Rhonda and Clayton also talk about the impact from decades of NOT dealing with grief.  

Connect to the incurable podcast group to hear others stories and share yours at incurablepodcast.com  (sfx credit: zapsplat.com)

After around 2 months in hospital - Rhonda manages to get home for just one week before she is given the news that she now only has weeks to live.

With her liver moving into critical condition, this episode covers the family’s reaction to the news that time has suddenly got very short.  How does that make them feel and act with the knowledge of so little time left together?

Rhonda answers the question: are you scared of death? Plus she discuss with Clayton how those around the individual need to balance splitting their time with family and work. 

And this episode finishes on a story of Rhonda’s ultimate revenge on healthcare staff that weren’t too nice! 

Connect to the incurable podcast group to hear other stories and share yours at incurablepodcast.com

What purpose does Rhonda’s impending death have?  What is the best ‘value’ to put on death?  This episode we also find out why Rhonda hates the fact people will say, ‘At least she is not in pain anymore’, after she dies.  And why the phrase, ‘life goes on’, hurts so much.  Plus, preparation to tell the grandkids about cancer begins. 

We also hear how Rhonda’s panic attacks are now a metaphor for her cancer situation.  Plus a bonus extra ‘off-mic’ moment that captures some of the deep emotions of ‘life going on’ around a terminal cancer patient. 

Connect to the incurable podcast group to hear other stories and share yours at incurablepodcast.com

3 big areas covered in this episode: the potential for God to do a miracle, the reality of imminent death and having to tell kids about cancer.

Rhonda & Clayton chat through how they are approaching praying for a miracle differently.  They look at the positive & negative implications on members of the family when telling the grandkids about cancer (we also hear how the grandkids reacted to the news).  And Rhonda reflects on what she has learnt about herself in the past ten weeks. 

Connect to the incurable podcast group to hear other stories and share yours at incurablepodcast.com (that website is also where you will find the photo mentioned in this episode)