Multiple-time cancer survivor and storyteller Brigitte Cutshall joins Heather Eck on Your Radiant Spirit to explore how creativity heals, why curiosity is essential, and what it takes to build a business from rock bottom.
There is a particular kind of resilience that comes not from toughening up, but from staying curious.
Brigitte Cutshall — storyteller, creative strategist, multiple-time cancer survivor, and host of Real Things Living — has it in abundance. And in this episode of Your Radiant Spirit, she shares exactly how she found it.
Starting a Business During Cancer Treatment
In 2014, Brigitte was laid off from her corporate job. She was looking for her next step when she received another cancer diagnosis. Instead of putting her life on hold, she did something most people would never consider: she started a business.
Her company, Gemini Media, was born during chemotherapy. And Brigitte says it actually helped her. Having something to build, something to create, something that said “I’m still here, I still have value, people still need what I have to offer” — that was its own form of medicine.
The TEDx Talk: Why Curiosity and Humor Are the Last Human Things
Brigitte’s TEDx talk centers on a simple but profound argument: in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, the two things that make us irreplaceable are curiosity and humor. AI can summarize. It can generate. But it cannot genuinely wonder. It cannot laugh. It cannot hold the strange, tender, chaotic experience of being a human being with a sense of wry delight.
For Brigitte, these weren’t just philosophical ideas. They were survival tools. Humor, she points out, is literally physiologically healing — laughter releases hormones that reduce stress and help the body recover. Curiosity keeps you searching, keeps you open, keeps you from getting trapped in any single diagnosis, any single story about what is or isn’t possible for you.
Authenticity Over Guru-ship
What I love most about Brigitte is that she has no interest in positioning herself above anyone. She doesn’t want to be a guru. She wants to help people see themselves in the stories she tells — to recognize their own resilience, their own creativity, their own capacity for healing.
That’s what Real Things Living is built on. Not performance. Not pretense. Just real things: what it actually feels like to navigate illness, reinvention, and the ongoing creative life.
Color, Creativity & the Body’s Intelligence
As an intuitive artist, I believe deeply in what Brigitte is pointing to. Creativity is not a luxury. It is the language the body uses when it needs to express what it cannot yet say in words. Whether you’re painting, writing, moving, or simply making something with your hands — that act of creation is medicine.
If you’re feeling the call to explore that, our Color Healing Creative Workshop Series happens every third Sunday for $77 a month. Our next session is April 20th. It’s a phone-free, nourishing creative space and I’d love to create with you. Find all the details at heathereck.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can creativity help cancer patients heal?
Research supports the role of creative expression in healing. Art therapy, music therapy, and journaling have all been shown to reduce stress hormones, improve mood, and support immune function. Brigitte Cutshall’s experience — starting a business and maintaining a creative practice during cancer treatment — reflects what the research shows: creativity gives people agency, purpose, and a sense of continuing identity during illness.
What is the Real Things Living podcast?
Real Things Living is a podcast hosted by Brigitte Cutshall that amplifies voices making a positive impact through resilience, curiosity, and authenticity. Brigitte brings her background in communications and publishing to honest conversations about healing, creativity, and what it really means to embrace life. Find it at brigittecutshall.com.
What does Gemini Media offer?
Gemini Media, founded by Brigitte Cutshall, offers writing and editing, production and publishing support, project management, and speaking and workshops focused on creativity, resilience, and purpose-driven storytelling. Learn more at brigittecutshall.com.
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