Hear candid conversations between people conquering cancer – patients, their family and friends, and doctors and researchers working to help us all.
When 31-year-old Molly Hones was diagnosed with fibrolamellar cancer for the second time in less than two years, she made two critical decisions. First: She wouldn’t focus on the unknowns of her condition, like the fact that this extremely rare liver cancer remains poorly understood and is often only diagnosed at advanced stages. Instead, Molly decided, she’d focus on the positives—including her care team at home in Wisconsin and their commitment to helping her face the challenges of treatment.
Second, she resolved to use her experience to give back by participating in research. And so, in June 2023, Molly traveled to the Johns Hopkins Hospital, where oncologist and Conquer Cancer grant recipient Marina Baretti, MD, was running a clinical trial for people with fibrolamellar cancer. “I like to say I’m donating my body to science while I’m still alive,” Molly says. “And how cool is it to see my legacy when I’m still around?”
Which is how she found herself in Baltimore, Maryland, on the day she received an unthinkable phone call: Her husband Grant had passed away at age 45 from a brain aneurysm.
Even faced with such devastating news, Molly remained committed to moving forward with her treatment, connecting with other fibrolamellar patients, and celebrating life whenever she could. Being brave and facing challenges with a smile on her face, she says, is her way of honoring the people she’s lost and the people she’s met through her cancer journey.
“You make a choice to march boldly forward, and it brings along so much development that you don’t think you had within you,” Molly says. “It brings strength and courage that you didn’t think you had.”
In this episode of Your Stories, Molly speaks with host Dr. Mark Lewis about her experience with fibrolamellar cancer, the importance of community when facing a rare cancer, and her hopes of contributing to a world where every person with cancer can live life to the fullest.
