From Passenger to CEO: The Mindset That Can Save Your Life | Kathy Giusti - EP 763
Passion Struck with John R. Miles
John R. Miles
4.7 • 779 Ratings
🗓️ 5 May 2026
⏱️ 57 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of Passion Struck, I sit down with Kathy Giusti, two-time cancer survivor, healthcare innovator, and founder of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, to explore what it truly means to turn crisis into calling. After being diagnosed with multiple myeloma at just 37 and given only a few years to live, Kathy did more than fight for her life. She helped transform an entire field of medicine.
Drawing from her book From Fatal to Fearless, Kathy challenges one of the most dangerous assumptions patients make: that the healthcare system will naturally work in their favor. Instead, she explains why patients must become the CEO of their own care by advocating, questioning, and acting with urgency in a system that often moves too slowly.
We explore how urgency can become both a superpower and a burden, why navigating illness requires more than medical treatment, and how adversity can clarify what truly matters. Kathy also shares hard-earned lessons on survivorship, the fear of relapse, and the often unseen cost of dedicating your life to something bigger than yourself.
Passion Struck is the #1 alternative health and personal growth podcast dedicated to human flourishing and the science of mattering.
Full Show notes: https://passionstruck.com/beating-cancer-and-finding-purpose-kathy-giusti/
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Coming up next on Passionstruck. |
| 0:02.2 | I think the fear of relapse is what survivors struggle with the most because whenever you have |
| 0:09.4 | a certain ache or pain or things happen, your automatic instinct is to think the cancer is back. |
| 0:15.1 | And it does happen. |
| 0:16.6 | In multiple myeloma, we have survivors that have been out 10 years in remission and it's still relapsed. |
| 0:22.9 | It does happen. That's why we continue to force progress on new treatments. And oncology has seen |
| 0:30.2 | unbelievable advancements, thank God. Welcome to Passionstruck. I'm your host, John Miles. |
| 0:36.1 | This is the show where we explore the art of human |
| 0:39.0 | flourishing and what it truly means to live like it matters. Each week, I sit down with |
| 0:44.3 | change makers, creators, scientists, and everyday heroes to decode the human experience and uncover |
| 0:50.4 | the tools that help us lead with meaning, heal what hurts, and pursue the fullest expression |
| 0:56.0 | of who we're capable of becoming. |
| 0:58.0 | Whether you're designing your future, |
| 0:59.4 | developing as a leader, or seeking deeper alignment in your life, |
| 1:03.1 | this show is your invitation to grow with purpose |
| 1:06.0 | and act with intention. |
| 1:07.7 | Because the secret to a life of deep purpose, |
| 1:10.3 | connection, and impact is choosing |
| 1:12.4 | to live like you matter. |
| 1:16.6 | Welcome back, friends, to Passionstruck episode 763, whether this is your first episode or |
| 1:27.3 | your 200th. Thank you for being part of this global |
| 1:30.2 | community committed to living intentionally, leading with purpose, and creating a world where |
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