When most people face a stage 4 cancer diagnosis, they might feel like their life is over. But not our guest, Chuck Keels. He took this dire prognosis as an opportunity to change his life, his mindset, and most surprisingly, his faith. In an awe-inspiring twist on a classic heart-rending tale, Chuck recounts his journey of being diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and how his encounter with Jesus during a hospital visit changed him. This profound experience not only sparked a miraculous recovery that left his doctors astounded but also inspired him to push past limitations and take an active part in his healing process.
Chuck's journey didn't stop at his personal healing. Armed with renewed faith and unyielding determination, he and his wife used their experiences to fuel a movement called "Get Up and Live". This initiative aims to help others navigating the treacherous waters of cancer and other severe medical conditions. Through this platform, they provide resources, strategies for managing treatment side effects, and most importantly, they teach people how to use the power of their mind to fight their physical battles.
But their fight against cancer doesn't stop there. Chuck and his wife have also established the Living Hope Cancer Foundation, a haven that offers cancer coaching, support, and resources to patients and their families. In a world often overwhelmed by the dark cloud of cancer, the Kiehls stand as a beacon of hope, proving that even in the face of terminal disease, one can find happiness, make a difference, and yes, even live a fulfilled life. Listen in as they share their empowering journey and inspire you to "Get Up and Live", no matter what life throws your way.
Follow Chuck Keels at Get Up And Live:
● Website:
Follow us at:
● Personal Instagram: @shannonmburrows
● Podcast Instagram Page: @bustinoutofbreastcancer
● Personal Facebook: Shannon M Burrows
● Podcast Facebook Page: Bustin' Out of Breast Cancer Podcast
Don’t forget to Follow, Subscribe and Share this podcast so you can help us Change The World, One S.M.I.L.E. At A Time!
When most people face a stage 4 cancer diagnosis, they might feel like their life is over. But not our guest, Chuck Keels. He took this dire prognosis as an opportunity to change his life, his mindset, and most surprisingly, his faith. In an awe-inspiring twist on a classic heart-rending tale, Chuck recounts his journey of being diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and how his encounter with Jesus during a hospital visit changed him. This profound experience not only sparked a miraculous recovery that left his doctors astounded but also inspired him to push past limitations and take an active part in his healing process.
Chuck's journey didn't stop at his personal healing. Armed with renewed faith and unyielding determination, he and his wife used their experiences to fuel a movement called "Get Up and Live". This initiative aims to help others navigating the treacherous waters of cancer and other severe medical conditions. Through this platform, they provide resources, strategies for managing treatment side effects, and most importantly, they teach people how to use the power of their mind to fight their physical battles.
But their fight against cancer doesn't stop there. Chuck and his wife have also established the Living Hope Cancer Foundation, a haven that offers cancer coaching, support, and resources to patients and their families. In a world often overwhelmed by the dark cloud of cancer, the Kiehls stand as a beacon of hope, proving that even in the face of terminal disease, one can find happiness, make a difference, and yes, even live a fulfilled life. Listen in as they share their empowering journey and inspire you to "Get Up and Live", no matter what life throws your way.
Follow Chuck Keels at Get Up And Live:
● Website:
Follow us at:
● Personal Instagram: @shannonmburrows
● Podcast Instagram Page: @bustinoutofbreastcancer
● Personal Facebook: Shannon M Burrows
● Podcast Facebook Page: Bustin' Out of Breast Cancer Podcast
Don’t forget to Follow, Subscribe and Share this podcast so you can help us Change The World, One S.M.I.L.E. At A Time!
Hey there and welcome to Bustin' Out of Breast Cancer, the podcast that educates, empowers and inspires those impacted by breast cancer. I'm your host, shannon Brose, a Realtor who found her purpose at the intersection of passion and pain while navigating her own breast cancer journey and loves giving back to my community. Having worked with many breast cancer survivors and their families, I understand the challenges they face and the importance of raising awareness about this disease and bridging the gap between the medical and fitness industries. Join us as we share stories of survivors, caregivers and healthcare professionals who are making a difference in the fight against breast cancer. Our goal is to raise awareness, provide resources and create a community of support for those affected by this disease. I have a mission of changing the world one smile at a time. So whether you're a breast cancer survivor, a loved one, a friend or just interested in learning more, this podcast is for you. Let's bust out of breast cancer together and make a difference in the lives of those affected by this disease.
Speaker 1:I am so excited to have our guests on today. You don't understand. Like we, I've been following his journey for probably three years, four years maybe. I was actually introduced to him by one of Briley's gymnastics coaches here in Florida. She's like have you ever heard of this guy? I was like no. So I looked him up and I started following whatever, I messaged him or whatever, and anyway, he's pretty cool and we have not had very many male guests on here. So I'm really excited about this and he has the most incredible, empowering and inspiring journey that you're going to need to just buckle up and sit down and have a little listen. You're probably going to want to save this world. Listen to it again. So I would love to welcome you, chuck Keehles. Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate you being on the podcast. I'm so excited to see you face to face and have a conversation, not just social media.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for inviting me on. I am completely honored.
Speaker 1:Aw, thank you. So we've been playing tag on trying to get you on here for quite some time and then you've had your ups and downs, your journey. You're all over the world speaking and whatnot and sharing all the awesomeness that you're doing. But let's take it back to the beginning of your journey. When were you diagnosed? How did you know that you had something going on, and what was your actual diagnosis?
Speaker 2:And I think also I want to add, before I even get into that, jen the fact that now I'm in the cancer industry and I'm around breast cancer a lot, so that maybe gave me a little more credentials as far as being on here with you right now. And then also through my cancer journey I've had surgeries. They actually stopped my testosterone production and I get hot flashes. So maybe now we have more in common. Yeah, that's right. So now I really feel more comfortable when I fit right in.
Speaker 1:Good. So if we start stripping off our clothes, we know we're having a hot flash.
Speaker 2:Cover starts flying. I know this too well, too well. What I like to do is I like to just tell a quick story about how I even got into the cancer industry, because my story is definitely very different than most people and most people I'm dealing with now as a cancer coach and I love telling it and I love to see the look on people's faces and I'm not kidding you, it's constantly. I'm getting goosebumps and things like that. And so I was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in 2015. And what happened with that was I have something that I call the male mentality, and that's when things start feeling weird and you probably need to see a doctor and you keep putting it off and saying I'll be okay tomorrow. And I wasn't okay tomorrow.
Speaker 2:I was getting worse and worse and I couldn't figure out what was going on and I finally, on a Friday, after taking my two boys out to dinner, I ended up at an emergency room in Gilbert Arizona and I was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer and they said you just waited too long and it's like that night I just got the word cancer.
Speaker 2:I went through all of the biopsies, I went through all of the tests and things, like everybody else does, bone scans, everything but the result was stage 4 prostate cancer and what happened was that the prostate cancer started and in men, if they catch it at early stages, it's not as threatening or as tough on a person. There's a lot of interesting things out there in the medical industry and in the natural industry that actually can get them through their journey, but once it gets to stage 3 and stage 4, a complete different story and you'll talk to people who lost somebody to prostate cancer and once they find stage 4, it's on fire, it's going, you know, it's running wild through the body. And that's what happened to me. My nuclear bone scan came back. It went from my prostate into my bones and my lymph nodes and it basically they said there was a trace of cancer in 90% of the bones in my body.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so just head spinning. You know you plan for your kids' weddings, you plan for you know all these things. You do not plan to hear. You have cancer and you're at stage 4 and there's nothing the medical industry can do about it. Go home and be at peace with your family, Right? And that exactly what happened to me. And not only did I go home and be to be at peace with my family, but that night I have a knock on the door and two hospice nurses come in and are sitting on my living room couch, and one of them had a tear on her face. And I'm thinking in my head it cannot get any worse than this. And this all happened in 2015, eight years ago.
Speaker 1:Wow, yeah, so they lived. You went to the ER on that same night. They had hospice at your house.
Speaker 2:No, that was. I went to the ER that night and they said it was prostate cancer. They sent in some specialists the next day and did all the biopsies and then they sent me home and three days later called me and said we got all your test results. Come back and see your doc. And when I went back to see the doc he just shook his head. He goes I can't even believe. You just walked in here. I've never seen bone scans like this in the person still walking around.
Speaker 1:So I feel like, with stage three and stage four, regardless of what cancer it is is, I mean again, like you and I, we, all those of us that have been, for we advocate early detection, saves lives, like literally, if you literally could just get out there, get your screenings, do the things, listen to your body, be your own advocate, all of that you really can, you know, not get to that stage, you know, get to stage three and four. So what were your symptoms? I know that you said you were, you know, had a male mentality, but like you, just you just fell off, you just didn't feel like you were.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm a gym guy. I've been that way my whole life. I've been a fitness dude, you know. So I knew my body real well and the first thing I noticed was, all of a sudden, I was, I was getting tired and I and I'm the type of guy that never gets tired I go 110 miles an hour all day long.
Speaker 1:Those are my speeds, so I started. I noticed Go and go faster.
Speaker 2:And then and then also, the a little bit of pain started coming in in my back and central back, which would be my spine, and then I started losing some weight and noticing my hair started looking really strange. And you know, so I, I, I got to the point at stage four. I was down at one point, down 40 pounds.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:And not only that, shannon, but you know, when you lose weight I wasn't I wasn't. I may have had a little bit of weight to lose, but I did not have 40 pounds to lose. And I looked at my legs and the muscle on my body melted off of me. I was actually in a hospital bed looking at my legs and I go who's legs are these? These are not mine. This is the weirdest thing in the world. And and so, yeah, it was the. It was the signs around me of mostly just just just tired, achy, and the pain increased, increased, increased, and to the point where I actually, like I said, end up in the ER, diagnosed, thought, thought about it and started thinking you know, you're melting the way pretty fast here. And you got two boys, single dad, and I raised my voice since they were in diapers, and so I started thinking I need to get my two boys back to Ohio because I'm melting away pretty fast here. And so made the plans that week. And when you make plans, when you're diagnosed with stage four cancer, it's not a calling the moving company making plans, it's calling your friends and I come, come by for a hug and take whatever you want with you, because you don't move your crap across the country when you're diagnosed with stage four cancer and told you had three months to live. And so there was that.
Speaker 2:That week I bought plane tickets for the following Sunday. So the next six days was giving everything we own away hugs and tears. And so we stayed at the Hilton Tapatio Cliffs in Central Phoenix. Because, yes, kind of like a joke, on Saturday my voice said dad, where are we staying tonight? You gave away our beds, all right. So I didn't think about that, you know. So I called down and got a reservation at the Hilton Tapatio Cliffs. It's close to the Phoenix airport. I'm gonna fly the next morning. We're gonna fly from Phoenix back to Columbus, ohio, where my family's at and where I'm originally from.
Speaker 2:And the next morning I get up to go down the hall and in the little resort and there's a popping sound and I hit the floor and I can't move and I'm feeling pain like I've never felt before in my life. And I always considered myself kind of a tough old farm boy from Ohio and this was totally beyond me. And I was laying there and I couldn't even get a good breath because of moving your diaphragm. To just take a breath. I couldn't do it and 911 was called and it took eight firefighters to get me into one of those Akiah sacks and then onto a gurney and into an ambulance and then down out of the little mountain area to the closest hospital called John C Lincoln Hospital and every bump that I'm putting me in the ambulance and every bump that the ambulance hit felt like somebody was jabbing me in the back and the head Sends you over the edge.
Speaker 1:Oh.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was incredible. So I get to John C Lincoln Hospital and they said you just suffered a compression fracture. The scans and the x-rays and everything they started doing came back that my spine because of it was being metastasized, jeopardized and broken down from cancer collapsed in two different places into the nerve endings, and it was absolutely unbelievable if you could imagine it. And anybody else out there that's ever went through broken bone because of cancer knows the pain that comes from that. And they finally got me on liquid morphine and some serious pain meds so that I could just kind of relax and get through the day and their scans.
Speaker 2:Actually, what happened was they brought in a cancer doctor that was a house doctor there a cancer doctor, a house doctor, two spinal surgeons because of my back. I asked the spinal surgeons. I said, hey, what's the plan here? What are you guys gonna do? And they said we're not gonna do anything unless they get a handle on the cancer. You know they've got to fight that and when we get on top of that, we come in and we do surgery and we put some kind of a product in there that's man-made. That's so incredible that when they find your body a million years from now and it's just dust. These discs will still be there because this product is so dense. And but they said, until we get a handle on the cancer there's nothing gonna happen.
Speaker 2:So what happened was the four of them the house doctor, the cancer doctor, the two spinal surgeons came in my room that morning and said we have a plan. And I said what's the plan? Because I was put in hospice on the other side of town. We wanna do two surgeries tomorrow. Stop your testosterone production because it's feeding the cancer. Put your port in your chest and the next day start chemo. So if we can stop feeding it and start killing it, there's your chance. And I said let's go.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:I mean, that was the plan that had very weeks, weeks. You know, I've gave a plan and so I went into two surgeries that next morning and, like I said, still going through a lot of pain and had still spend in 50 years old, diagnosed with cancer, and I have the two surgeries I'm in the recovery room. The doctors came in one by one and explained that these surgeries went perfectly and that they were gonna follow up with me. Once I left the hospital, the nurses brought me water and said hey, a few more minutes. You're gonna go upstairs, your family's waiting for you, you're looking good, you're doing good, and I'm laying there waiting to go upstairs and I'm thinking about my boys and my family upstairs.
Speaker 2:And for no reason at all and this is the interesting part, this is what blows my mind is all for no reason at all. The room turned weird cold and I'm thinking what just happened? Where did that come from? And so the first thing I do is I look to my right, which is the double doors where they're taking the patients in and out for surgeries, and I look down there and thinking somebody left the door open and the cold air is coming through. When I look down there, the doors are shut.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:So there I start to go back to my left and I said this is weird, where's the air coming from? I come back to my left and there's somebody standing right here over my left shoulder and I kind of jumped because it startled me and I'm thinking it's a doctor or a nurse. I'm laying in the ER right or in the recovery room of the hospital and I'm thinking it's a doctor or a nurse, and the person standing there reaches out and touches my shoulder and as soon as he touched my shoulder, in my head it says you're in the presence of Jesus.
Speaker 1:Wow. Like you just got a second life.
Speaker 2:I'm like what is this? And I look up again and he's gone and, according to what I heard in my head, for two to three seconds of my life I was in the presence of Jesus and I'm an old Catholic boy that hasn't been a church in 15 years.
Speaker 1:I was just gonna say to you so have you been like really into your faith prior to this?
Speaker 2:But no, obviously, no, I was a believer. I learned the basics and I learned the foundation Thanks to the Catholic church. That in the Catholic school that I went to in Ohio but never established something that happened that night in the hospital room of laying there with this head spinning like what in the heck is going on here at 50? And is this a long journey or short journey? And I've got boys at home and I've got things in my life I haven't accomplished. And all of a sudden I hear a voice in my head, like I called it download, and I hear what are you doing? You've been a fighter your entire life.
Speaker 1:Wow, how old were your boys at this time?
Speaker 2:13 and 15.
Speaker 1:Yeah so they were they were old enough to be aware to watch and witness you oh. Yeah this miraculous experience.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. But was the first thing when they experienced was my dad's dying, and you know that that they went through that, those emotions and that stuff in their head.
Speaker 2:And then the next thing I hear is as long as you're alive, be fully alive right and I'm, and I'm laying there in bed feeling sorry for myself because of cancer and what's going on in my Voice at home, and all this, and I sit up in the bed, I put my feet on the floor and I'm gonna go towards the bathroom to wash my face and turn off the lights, which I put off, and and instead of going in the bathroom, I went on the hospital floor and I started walking and I walked two laps around the hospital floor as nails face down 40 pounds, little, little teeny, you know chopstick legs and I get back to the room, washed my face, turn off light, get in bed and I, I thank God and I thank God and I and I said you know what, I don't know what's gonna happen next, but I know that you did something here and I don't know what's going on. But I'm completely in and so that that that is actually my, my way of saying that that was my night of of having a personal relationship with Jesus. That's before that I didn't have it. Before that I, I would say I'm the spiritual guy I go out for a hike on Sunday morning because that's God's church all around me. I was that guy and all of a sudden I'm chatting with, chatting with with God, and and the relationship started there and started to grow. And what I realized was that Next day, when the nurses came into my room and it said, okay, time for your meds.
Speaker 2:And they said here's your steroids for shrinking your tumors, here's your, your bone strengtheners. Now your pain meds are as needed, and so on a scale from one to ten. How bad, you know, how bad is your pain right now. It's, with ten being the worst. And I sat up in the bed and I said I don't feel any pain and they said order something. You know, you just you just broke your back and had surgery.
Speaker 2:Order something because we need to build the insurance right and I said I don't even like taking aspirin, so I'm not. I'm not taking a drug if I don't need it exactly.
Speaker 2:And so and so at that point, what happened was they handed me the nurse call button and they said when it comes back and it will, because you know they're in the medical industry and they just seen what I just been through yeah, they said what comes back and it will hit the button and we'll get in here and get you on something. We don't want to get too far out of control. And from May 26 2015 to hanging out with you right now, I never touched another pain med.
Speaker 2:I love it the medical, the medical industry was flipping out. I love and and I started through chemo because I didn't know what just happened or what was gonna happen. All I know is that the chemo really floored me and I had all the side effects from a burnt burnt the lining of my throat and Floored me, I couldn't get out of bed and just a mess. But on the days like three days after the chemo, I was up, moving, so I would go to the park and walk, I would get in the pool and swim, I would push myself to do things when I could, yeah, and then another chemo session and back down again. So, basically, what happened was they you know they they were going, was going through my chemo and they did my scans after three months.
Speaker 2:And my doctors from Pakistan, and she's a little fireplug. I picked her because I love the way she, you know just, you're not just another number walking in her door, you're actually, you know, somebody that you know she's, she's going through your files, she's going through how the cancer is behaving and all this amazing stuff. And so and what happens is I walk in and she's like I couldn't wait to see you today and I said, why, dr Maad what's going on? And she says I studied cancer all over the world. I've never seen anything like this before in my life. She said your journey is not of medicine, it's miraculous. She says not only have you been healed of terminal cancer, but the bones in your body are so clean we couldn't tell they were ever broken.
Speaker 1:Holy cow, yeah, yeah. See, now you understand why this is such an inspirational interview, like he's so amazing, like such a crazy, amazing, awesome, inspirational story like this is unreal.
Speaker 1:These are the kind of stories that people really need to listen to, and hear and connect with and and know that there is still a fighting chance. You know you don't have to, you don't have to hear those words and say that's it, I'm gonna die and whatever you know, as long as you can fight and you can, you know, have faith and and be an advocate for yourself and fight for yourself.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and don't get me wrong, I understand that there's a such thing out there is called case studies. So if you've got a thousand people your age with this type of cancer, then you know. And then so they say well, you know what, based on what we're seeing here, you've got six months to live or a year to live, right, and hey, I Got puppies in the house and and they say these things and and then the patient goes home Just hearing they've got a year to live and they're on the couch, freaking out, bummed out, yeah.
Speaker 2:And then somebody's like you got a call, you know, you got a call Chuck's Foundation and chat with him. And I get him on the phone and and they're really not in that bad physical Shape but the mental shape they're in because what the news they just heard is so alarming and such a such a tough thing. I came up with a phrase. I came up with a lot of phrases, but one of my favorite phrases is cancer is a situation, not a sentence mm-hmm, and and. And the thing is, me and Thousands of other people I've met now like me that were told they had three months, six months, a year, two years to live, 15 years later are still kicking it. And so we are that that, really that I know they use the word hope in marketing out there all the time, but we are the real hope. Sure, the stories. And they're sitting there on the phone or face-to-face Talking to you and they're looking at you and they're looking at my bone and seeing me broken down body, bad bone scans, cancer, all these things, and they're looking at me now, you know, eight years later, and I'm I'm doing crazy stuff all over the world and and they and they go wow, wow, and all of a sudden you see that person that was like, okay, I've been told I have, you know, six months or a year, live. They've got that. Look on their face to all the sudden.
Speaker 2:So, chuck, what do we do with this? Do you juice? Do you have a juicer? No, I don't have a juicer. Okay, get a juicer, get a produce and call me. I get a call three days later. All right, buddy, here we go. I got my juicer, I got my produce. What are we gonna do? And the cool thing about that, the what, what they just said was it's not, it's not what they just said, it's, it's how they just said it.
Speaker 1:They're excited. They're like okay, what do I need to do to save my life?
Speaker 2:They went from I'm dying to I'm fighting Right Different whole different show Mindset. Right, whole different mindset, whole different walk, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, different scene, same movie, different scene.
Speaker 2:That's right. That's right and you know. The thing about it is you know how it is. It's cancer or it's anything in life. When you can see it, you know you can achieve it. When you believe it, you can achieve it. The mind is everything, 100%. If you're told you're you know gonna die and you're bumming out your mind's telling your whole body we're dying.
Speaker 1:Right, shut down, but when you?
Speaker 2:get a crazy guy like Chuck that calls you and says you're living and you're gonna get up and live and all of a sudden, you know, you see the difference on their face. So what's going on in their mind and what kind of messages is it sending to every cell in their body? We're gonna, we're gonna kick butt.
Speaker 1:Yep, I had so many people even to this day they're like I don't understand how you, you know, stayed so positive through your diagnosis and throughout. For them, I'm like it was a choice. Happiness is a choice. My mindset is a choice. You have to work on it every single day. You know, whatever it is whether it's a cancer diagnosis, whether it's you know some other trauma or tragedy that happens in life it's 100% mindset. You have to look at it and like, no, this is, I'm gonna change the narrative and this is what it's gonna look like and this is how I'm gonna see it and this is how I'm going to direct it and it's it really it's yeah.
Speaker 2:And I and I you know I went through it through my cancer journey of going to the gym when I my body was melted down 40 pounds, walking in there, didn't want to be there. I used to lift the whole stack of weights and I put the pin under the top one and I move it and I'm doing my exercises. And I thought about it and I said you know what? You're not that gym guy, that gym rat. You know that you used to be Yep, but you're here. But you're here and and it would be very easy to to not get in the car and not to drive there and not to be there.
Speaker 2:And I told myself right then I said it's a serious mind over matter situation. And that's exactly what you're saying right now. We have a choice to stay in bed, cover up your head. If doctor said you got a year to live, you know, cover up your head, live in fear. Or you have the choice to get up and live, and it may start with some baby steps and some mini goals.
Speaker 2:It may start slow because you've had a surgery because of your cancer or you're going through a treatment that's kicking your butt. It may start slow, but it doesn't matter if it starts slow and you're like you know what, chuck, I'm walking to the kitchen and making tea for the next two weeks, okay. I'm walking to the mailbox. Okay, I actually went to the beach and walked on the beach today. I see these stories every single day and it blows my mind and I love it. I know I'm where I'm supposed to be. You know getting these people to these places and off of their couch. And one of my favorite ones is a friend from Atlantic City who is still going through her cancer right now, but she was bummed out, not leaving the house for a year and a half, and I get a picture from her and her husband on vacation and she's swimming with dolphins.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's awesome and I'm like hi, I'm so jealous, I would have been there and you're kicking butt. You know you're getting up and living so.
Speaker 1:That's right.
Speaker 2:Pretty amazing.
Speaker 1:I can relate to the, the, the whole, not the gym rat anymore, and all of that, like going through menopause here I'm 51 menopause, like I've lost all muscle mass. I'm like, what is this? 15 fluffy shit. I didn't sign up for this and like, but I do. I mean I can sit there and get depressed, I can get frustrated, or I could be like you know what? I'm alive. I'm alive and yeah, I'm.
Speaker 1:I don't have the strength. I'm still, you know, still working with some cancer. You know patients through their exercise recovery, but, like I, we're doing the best we can. And like you know what I can. Either I can sit and be depressed about it or I can just laugh about it and be like, well, you know what? Like you said, I can move the pin, I can change my weight, I can do different exercises, I can, I can do something, but at least I'm doing something. And I look at myself going through this and this mental psychoconversation that happens with this stupid committee up here. And then I can see this guy who's like 70 something, eight years old, on the treadmill and I'm like, look at him, go every day, he just gets up he goes up the treadmill.
Speaker 1:He's like two minutes, you know or 10 miles, that's right.
Speaker 2:So you know I like to take it what maybe even one step further than what you just said. You know I have the choice to do these things. How about I have the choice to do these things with a smile on my face?
Speaker 1:That's right. That's how we're changing the world, with a smile at a time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, to do these things with with joy in my heart, a smile on my face and you know that that's the way my brain works and and even through my cancer journey and everything I see going on, and I know we'll talk about a little bit about like, like what I'm doing now, but what happened was being the problem solver that I am. You know, here's a situation, here's something I can do, here's something that's going to improve my life, my health, my attitude, and then I started thinking about it. I'm like how many more people are out there going through this that I could actually share this with and help them and change their life? And that's pretty much what happened to me in the last eight years after my stage four Building that community right.
Speaker 1:Building that community of like-minded people who they can feel that they can surround themselves. Because whether you're alone or even if you have family, they don't understand, they're not in that same mindset. They don't know what to say, how to do it. Any of you know the right or wrong things to say or you know they just can't. They're not there. Not that they're not trying, but when you can be with like-minded people and they get it and and you know, yeah, maybe, maybe it's a different outlook of life, and you're just like, well, how can you just be happy all the time because it's a choice. But you know what, if I die tomorrow, at least I know I can say that I was happy every freaking day and did. I did whatever I wanted all the time and had fun in my fun pants.
Speaker 2:That's right. That's right, and you know the thing is with social media. I know some people are like, well, I'm not big on social media, blah, blah, blah. The thing is, what I do love about it is not only are they hearing us like doing a podcast or chatting or doing a live or whatever it may be, they can watch us. You know they can watch us, and so that's why I love my social media platforms is because I actually I did my first international trip to the Netherlands. I'm all over the country now and and how can this guy, after stage four cancer, do some of the stuff that he's doing? I would say the probably the craziest thing that I did. The other, the other stuff is more coaching and teaching and speaking, but I did last year ride a bicycle from San Diego.
Speaker 1:I saw that.
Speaker 2:The St Augustine, florida, and it took me 75 days, 50 miles a day. Two and a half months of my life I rode a bike and I wanted to do it to prove to people that after a cancer diagnosis there's so much life still out there. And then I started a cancer foundation and I also wanted to do it, to bring it, to bring it awareness.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about that in just a minute, shall we? Let's take a break. We want to hear from our paid sponsor and I want you all to hear about all the amazing things that Chuck is now doing to be able to help the cancer community and give back, because life really is worth getting up and living, so hang on.
Speaker 3:This podcast is sponsored by the Shannon Burroughs Real Estate Group, where we are committed to changing the world one smile at a time and giving back to breast cancer in our communities. Did you know that Shannon Burroughs, our founder and lead realtor, is a breast cancer survivor? Shannon found her purpose at the intersection of passion and pain while navigating her own journey and wants to give back and help others. At the Shannon Burroughs Real Estate Group, we're dedicated to providing exceptional service to our clients while also making a positive impact in our community. For every home sold, a portion of our commission goes towards supporting breast cancer organizations to help women on a local level and be a resource through their journey.
Speaker 3:We believe that everyone deserves a safe, comfortable and happy home, and we're here to help make that a reality. Whether you're buying, selling or investing in a real estate will be with you every step of the way, and when you're working with us, you will not only be supporting your own goals, but also helping others through their breast cancer. So cheers the Shannon Burroughs Real Estate Group, where you can trust that your dreams and values are in good hands, no matter where you live. We can help you. Visit our website at ShannonBurroughscom or give us a call today at 561-494-6389 to learn more.
Speaker 1:All right, here we are. We are back with Chuck Kiehl's. I'm super excited. As you can tell, he is super awesome, inspiring and amazing and a true thriver. So, with everything that he's been through, there's so much more that if you want to know more about GoFollow him on social media. We'll give you all of his links and whatnot in the show notes. But he has also come out thriving and really truly is giving back to the cancer community in so many different ways. So, chuck, let us know how we came up with get up and live.
Speaker 2:Wow. Well, there's a part of the story that we really haven't gotten into yet. After my survival, it was getting better and I was starting to tell other people how they can get better. What happened was I started volunteering for a lot of cancer foundations all different kinds of stuff and probably one of the bigger ones was that was the keynote speaker for American Cancer Society here in Arizona in 2020. And it was, like you know, just helping everybody else's foundations. And what happened was I meet this beautiful young lady and she's got stage four triple negative breast cancer, and so we actually started hanging out having coffee, talking about life, cancer, faith, being single parents and all this stuff. And what we realized was I was like man, she's very attractive, and so I say, you know, I was curious. I said do you want to go out on a date besides talking about cancer and having coffee? And so we started dating, fell in love and got married, and so that was an interesting journey, because now you've got two stage four cancer people running around together, you know. And so when we got back from the honeymoon, she's seen all the calls I was taken and she said I think we need to start a foundation. So she was the brains behind of Living Hope Cancer Foundation is what we launched in February of 2020.
Speaker 2:The Living Hope Cancer Foundation really nothing changed. We launched, we launched a 501c3 nonprofit and to love on cancer people, but nothing changed. And what I mean by that is we were. We were already doing it. We were already loving on cancer people. We were coaching people through the hardest things in their life. We were there with them. We were hugging, crying, laughing. We were, we were new best friends in their life. And so just because it was labeled now Living Hope Cancer Foundation and nonprofit, nothing really changed. We can continue. Continue doing what we were already doing. And so what happened in the next three and a half years was we started the foundation.
Speaker 2:I had already authored my first book about my miraculous healing and it's kind of funny because the end of the book says I don't know what's next. But I do, but I do hear a little bit of a rumble like God's got a plan but I don't know what it is. And then and then I helped Hannah. Hannah actually had a lot of notes and stuff. So we put together and published a book. Her book called Faith like skin and it was just about her tough things in life, including your cancer journey, and how our faith got her through that. So it was called faith like skin. And we are writing a third book together called get up and live, and it's it's I I'm not kidding you.
Speaker 2:I was coming back from speaking in Florida and I was going through the airport and God said, read your own book. And I go what. And I was like digging through my backpack and I found one. I was like I got one. So on the way back I read, I read my own book and I was laughing and I was crying and I was like, wow, and the reason why?
Speaker 2:It's? Because you know it's, it's all about what we were going through, what we were dealing with the cancer, the surgeries, the treatments, the spread. This is gone. Now it's shown up somewhere else and now we're trying a new treatment because it's triple negative and it's not hormone controlled and you know. So we dealt with all of this and we talked about it through our book and we talked about our faith and how, you know, being together as a couple and being married, how these things got us through some of the hardest things in life, and so I really enjoy reading my own book. The lady next to me was just finishing a book and I go have you picked your next book yet? And she goes no, I said, here you go, and I signed it and gave her a copy of mine.
Speaker 1:Nice.
Speaker 2:And I said this is mine and she goes no way. You're an author and I go. That's the crazy. That's the funniest thing in the world also is being a published author. I never dreamed of it in a million years, but that's kind of. You know. A lot, of, a lot of changes and amazing things happened when my faith became part of my walk.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 2:So so plan for cancer.
Speaker 1:So there's that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right, that's exactly right. So so we were. I was coaching somebody sitting at my desk one day both of our desks were side by side here in the office and he said I was diagnosed four months ago and since the diagnosis not that I can't get out of bed physically, I'm having trouble getting out of bed mentally. And I haven't gotten out of my bed in four months since my diagnosis oh, geez, and Hannah's sitting in the same room and she goes. You need to tell him he needs to get up and live.
Speaker 2:And I was like you need to get up and live. You got to get out of bed, you got to take a shower and feel human again. Yeah, you've got to, you know, you've got to. You know you, you know, do things, you know be, you know get up and live. And and so get up and live became way bigger than I ever imagined At first. It was just get up and live, telling the cancer patient that was you get up and live mentally, get up and live physically. And can we get up and live spiritually? So get up and live. And then me and Hannah even went out and got to get up and live. On us, get up and live everything we have, and we even patented get up and live phrase. So we we own it now.
Speaker 2:We actually own the phrase. And so and so, in this amazing trip of speaking events, authoring books, me pinching myself like who, dude, who are you? And so what was was the journey with Hannah's cancer, you know, like I said, a couple of really really traumatizing surgeries and a lot of changing of the treatment, a lot of broken bones and 30 days in bed through the holidays. And I was like, oh my gosh, you know, all of our holiday plans are out the window because she's going to be stuck in bed for the next month or two months. And every single friend we had came over and we had chairs in her room and a table and they brought food and they brought cookies and cake and we had the most amazing holiday. Even though Hannah was bedridden, written for 30 days, we didn't skip a beat. It was absolutely beautiful and amazing. And throughout this journey, like I said me, ride the bike across the country she drove an RV, you know, behind me. It was such a team, it was so cool and such a beautiful relationship and the love was so amazing.
Speaker 2:But in what happened was they found three little nodes on her brain and they said you know, we're thinking the best thing is just to get rid of them and just do brain radiation get rid of them. And you know, we're still learning a lot about cancer and treatments and alternative choices and things like that, and so at the time we just shook our head Okay, that's what we're supposed to do. Well, what happened was she got the brain radiation. That took two weeks, five days, weekend off, five days and everything started changing. And the next four months I'm going to get emotional. The next four months I watched her body shut down, her organs started turning off, her body couldn't take the radiation, it couldn't take the treatment and it'll be. It'll be a year in November 29.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:Well, one year, so 11 months ago, I lost Hannah and it was, without a doubt, probably the hardest thing that I've ever had to deal with in my life. And what happened? Through my? Okay, get back on the horse. I went to Florida and did. I did 17 speaking events in like 21 days. I mean, I was fried, but I was like I'm jumping back on the horse.
Speaker 2:I started doing these things and every time I did them and came back to Phoenix I felt like weight was lifted off my back. It was part of my morning process, it was part of my dealing with you. You lost her, but she wants you to get up and live also and just like, if I lost, if she, if, if I died, I would want Hannah to have the most amazing life, to go on, to be successful, to be happy, to meet somebody new, whatever, whatever that, that, that that encased. I would want that for her and I'm sure she wants that for me. And so living hope cancer foundation is is is on fire. It's growing throughout the country and a little bit around the world. Get up and liveorg. We captured that because it was just so easy to remember Get up and live every year.
Speaker 2:There's people that caught get up and live foundation, which it's not, but I don't mind it because it's kind of go with it.
Speaker 2:It works. It works and so get up and liveorg is. We started putting videos on there and there's 60 free videos. There's 40 about any kind of cancer, there's another I think 16 or 20, about breast cancer and what it looks like to deal with going through a mastectomy and all these things. And Hannah came from. She's a nurse OR nurse, and she went through all of this and we made these little three, four, five minute videos. And there's the ones about any kind of cancer are called the cancer roadmap and then right under that on our website it says in case of breast cancer, and you go on there and you watch these videos and people are actually sending us emails and text messages and messenger messages saying thank you so much. It's exactly what I'm needing and my doctor's not saying this, and so we're putting out there, because we're cancer people, what to do to get through this and to do this and to smile and to get up and live. And if you are having side effects from your treatment, step back, know your body. And we started advocating for that, which we just didn't know in the past and we may have taken a different route If we knew what you know.
Speaker 2:Hannah's body hated radiation. She had one other time on a, on a no, been her lung and couldn't swallow, so bad that they had a punch a hole in her tummy and put a feeding tube in. So we've been through all of this stuff and now I've have people who in here here's the deal. I'm not. I'm not a doctor, I don't have a medical background. All I can do is talk about what I've dealt with myself and what I've seen around me. And I have people who said you know, we're really against the radiation or the chemo and we're thinking about just going through these other routes and they are cancer free now. So it's happening out there. But I also know that the power of the mind, our face, all these things are the package. You've got to put it all together and that's that's. That's what's getting people through this, through this monster that we call cancer.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean it truly is. I actually have a couple girlfriends right now that are going through that same you know mental struggle of I don't want to do radiation. I do not want to do radiation at all, period, not interested in it, whatever. I refused it and they're like don't, like there's more Harm that than good that comes from, with the side effects on the organs and things like that. So, but like you said, you know it's hard like yes, no, we're not physicians. We can only share our own journey, our own experiences and things like that. We do our research and we also have to remember that, you know, doctors go to school. For there's a problem, here's a solution with medicine, boom, here we go next. And I oh and, by the way, ps, I also get kickbacks on that.
Speaker 2:So now and and you know the thing about it is is is is they? They say this is the, the, the test that you have, this is a scan you had and this is what you have and this is what we need To do to go in there and try to kill that and that stuff not only kills cancer cells but kills healthy cells.
Speaker 2:And but what the thing that I've really gotten into in the last couple years is is what caused that. How did that start? Right, do you know? What? Is it your diet? Is it your cleaning products in your house? Is it a toxic relationship? Is it a boss that you just can't stand and you want to tell him to take a hike and quit that job? But you got to pay your bills, so you stay there, right? All of these toxic things around us cause all kinds of problems in the human body, and when the problem start, if the immune system starts dropping down and you're not fueling it, you're not juicing, you're not taking vitamins, you're not doing all these amazing things for your immune system and it starts dropping down, there's always cancer cells present in our body.
Speaker 1:They're ready. They're like hey, I'm ready, I'm up, yep.
Speaker 2:Yep. And as soon as your immune system is not there to kick butt, they start taking over and next thing, you know, it's like oh, what's going on here? I don't feel good and the doctor comes back with a cancer diagnosis. But you know, the thing is, what we're doing is we're fighting, and this is kind of funny You'll laugh about this just because my energy and my big mouth and everything I start talking about you know the all of the alternative treatments and some of them I've used. You know. I mean I consider start rattling off alternative things that people are using, and some of my favorites are sour-sob tea, apricot seeds, miso-toe therapy, using castor oil patches on tumor areas and Dissolving the tumors. That I can go in all this stuff and every time I get wild about it, god reels me back in.
Speaker 2:You're my positive mindset guy, yeah put you in this realm and this is your passion, this is your purpose of positive mindset and teaching somebody to get up and live, and so what I'm doing now is I'm going to start putting all of the resources on my website and so that not only can they go on there and hear me talk about the get up and live, and Did you make it to your mailbox and back today, did you lay on your living room floor and do maybe a sound healing class or or a typed in on YouTube, a stretching class for beginners? Are you doing that kind of stuff? And then I'll put all of the the dietitians, the Alternatives, the doctors that I'm dealing with now around the world, that get into all the alternative therapies I'll put them on there and make them available.
Speaker 1:that way, I don't I'm not the guy talking about him- yeah, even though I absolutely love him, I have a cancer nutritionist I need to connect you with. She's actually down here in Fort Lauderdale. I'll connect you with her.
Speaker 2:I have a huge group in Port St Lucie that I deal with on a regular basis too.
Speaker 1:Nice yeah, awesome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Everyone can go to Find you at get up and live get up and liveorg is the website.
Speaker 2:It's all free. We work our tails off to raise money and all different raised right now and we're still a baby, you know. I mean I mean if I have enough money in my account to have the lights on and to sit here at my computer and coach Six people today. You know that's that's what it's all about. Maybe someday it'll be a little bigger, a little more of a household word. You know that'll all happen in the right timing. But get up and liveorg takes you to living hope cancer foundation. If you want to see something really funny, go on YouTube and type in Chuck Kiehl's. We did it one day just for the fun of it and it's all of our videos and oh nice.
Speaker 2:My wedding video, my wedding video with Hannah is on there, and I did a. I had a movie crew come out to Scottsdale and film me and put me on the 700 Club, which is a worldwide TV program, and that's all on there. So it's kind of fun If you just go on YouTube and yeah, meals and watch it's, it's a lot of, it's a lot of you know amazing stuff. But you know, the thing is what what this all comes back to is.
Speaker 2:You know, we've dealt with some very tough Journeys in our life. What do we, what choices are we going to make when that happens? And and we want, if you're just beat, beat up from the treatment, from the, from the diagnosis, from the mental things, you may need a Chuck, you may, you know, you may need a Shannon, you may need another person just to hug you and just to walk you through this, to get you out of that mess, so that then you start acquiring your own strength and you can start doing these things on your own. And I really feel like that's that's, that's my, that's my purpose.
Speaker 1:Absolutely 100%. So now people can make donations on your website, correct?
Speaker 2:Yeah, they can go on the website. There's a couple different places they can donate. We love the ones that say I want to donate 20 bucks a month, 50 bucks a month Because because then it's not the crazy ups and downs of. We got some donations this month we got very few donations, so we're starting to see more and more of those and we can start planning things. We have a lot of programs. I mean, we, we made a jacks, we made a little dog.
Speaker 1:I have it on my desk.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you got a jacks dog and we made these little jacks stuff dogs and it says jacks for hope and on the tag up by the tail says free cancer coaching, get up and liveorg. And we've sent out over 400 of them so far.
Speaker 1:I got one of them. I got one of them. It's on my desk.
Speaker 2:Yep, that's right and so, and then, what I love about it is it makes people smile. It makes people smile. I get, I get this, I get the selfie with the jacks dog of them and the cancer Thriver and the jacks dog and they're smiling and I know that that is beautiful, that is so cool, you know. So we have all these programs and all these things in mind, but you know, you can't, you can't, they, they're not free. It's just like if you own your own business of nonprofit, as a business, it costs murky to have the lights on and to do what you do, and so, yeah, you can go on there and donate if you know of a business that is looking for a very, very good cause. You know, I like my corporate, corporate sponsors. They help us do the bigger projects and you know we're, no matter what happens, we're gonna keep doing what we do and we're gonna keep loving on cancer people Because of of. We know what it's like to go through this journey.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:We know what it's like to deal with this and and and I always pray that Nobody even if someone's diagnosed and they're not married or they're, you know whatever situation is we, I always pray that no one goes through their cancer journey alone.
Speaker 1:Absolutely that's. That's like the scariest thing. Yeah, so all donations go towards cancer coaching courses 100%.
Speaker 2:Okay, 100%. 100% goes towards the foundation and the cancer coaching. Like I said, if we've got to do something that costs money, that comes out of the same the same category as the of the donations. But I would say probably 90% goes towards the cancer coaching. And in the cancer coaching we want a cancer patient, their caregiver, their family, the people around them, to get involved with the coaching. So I may be on the speakerphone or on a zoom call with a whole group, because I want the whole group to be on the same team. We're gonna fight this together. It's not just one person going through this, and so the cancer coaching is absolutely huge and I love my one-on-one coaching. The website is because it did get overwhelming and my board of directors said start putting videos on there. They can go and watch the library and that's. That's helped out a lot. But I love, love, love my one-on-one coaching.
Speaker 1:Well, and it's always, you know, in any business, right? You always want to be able to give value first. Give value first before anyone's gonna give money, right? Like in any any coaching, in the coaching that I've done, whether it's with breast cancer recovery, whether it's real estate coaching, business coaching, entrepreneurship, whatever you always have to give value first. Give value, give value, drop, drop, drop, drop, drop. And then you're like okay, now if you want the full gamut of things, it's gonna cost money and that's just life right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, but you know those little resources can at least help somebody one day at a time.
Speaker 2:Yep, you know. So we've been through these crazy journeys. How many people can we help that need you know? Just to hug in a little bit of guidance of I didn't know I could do that. Or I had a lady tell me she didn't know she could get out of bed and go for a walk, what I don't know if my doctor's going to. Okay that I said what.
Speaker 1:They better.
Speaker 2:You better get out of bed and go for a walk, you know. Yeah, go on a vacation and swim with dolphins, you know.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And, but that's the thing, I've had a lot because I'm stage four. I've had a lot of people after speaking events and they're lined up and I'm signing books and hugging people and taking pictures and there's always a couple of them that cut, that wait till the very end and they come up and they go. Hey, guess what? I was diagnosed with stage four cancer and I was told I had a year to live, 15 years ago, nice, and I love that story and that gives me hope, right, and I tell their stories to give other people's hope that we don't know if it's going to be another. You know, five months, five years, 15 years, 25 years. We don't know that. But how beautiful and special is right now, this moment, today.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:You know, so don't waste it, don't waste it. Get up and live.
Speaker 1:Get up and live. That's right.
Speaker 2:Get up and live All right.
Speaker 1:If you want to learn more about Chuck, I will put all of his social media handles into the show notes and make sure you get over to getupandlivedorg so you can check out Living Hope Cancer Foundation, learn more about what he's doing to give back to the community, the cancer community and you know what. It's the holidays. So why don't you find it in your heart to just drop I don't know five, 10, 15, $20. Let's go five. Let's go five. It's okay. Just drop $5 in so you can help another cancer survivor navigate their journey as well, right?
Speaker 2:Love it, love it.
Speaker 1:I appreciate you so much and I am so glad that we finally got the opportunity to finally chat face to face, not just on social media or text message, and we finally were able to share your journey, because it's magical and, just for the record, folks, it is so much more than what we just covered in, and I know we went over what we normally do in most of my podcast episodes, but it was so worth it. Right, you know it was All right. Make sure you save this episode too, so you can save it, share it with other people that you think would help and benefit from it as well. Thank you for joining us on Busted Out of Breast Cancer. We hope you found our podcast informative, uplifting and inspiring.
Speaker 1:We want to remind you that you are not alone in the fight against breast cancer. If you are someone you know needs support, please reach out to a healthcare professional, breast cancer support organization or me. I'm always happy to listen, chat and help any way. I can Remember early detection is key, so please schedule your regular cancer screenings. Also, if you're in the market for a new home, looking to sell or start investing, don't hesitate to contact me, your favorite fun realtor and podcast host. Together, we can make your real estate dreams a reality and make a difference in the fight against breast cancer. If you or someone you know would like to be a guest, please reach out to us at smile at ShannonBroscom. Thank you again for listening and we'll see you next week on Busted Out of Breast Cancer.