It’s no coincidence that Joy Huber’s name is full of exuberance.
She’s using her name – and her experiences as a stage four cancer survivor – to help others through a new podcast streaming from her dining room table in Milford.
“Dose of Joy” is a free, weekly podcast that explores the highs and lows of a cancer diagnosis from someone who has been there.
“You never really understand something until you experience it firsthand,” Huber said.
The podcast launched in October 2021 during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“I did not have breast cancer. I actually had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but October is such a heightened time of cancer awareness,” Huber said. “You see a lot of pink ribbons in stores and on NFL players’ sneakers. I thought it was a good time to start a cancer show.”
In her first four months of producing the show, Huber has already reached listeners as far away as Dublin, Ireland.
“What’s exciting to me about the medium is the opportunity to broadcast from the comfort of home but to be heard potentially globally,” Huber said. “Who knows where this will go.”
Positive patient
perspective
Huber has spoken professionally about her cancer experience at hospitals, churches and cancer treatment centers. Those talks have helped her become comfortable behind the microphone.
“I’ve had people come up and say, ‘I just love your voice. You have this comforting and encouraging voice,’” Huber said, noting that for many people, that comfort comes from the fact that she’s not a medical doctor. “I’m that positive patient perspective, someone who’s been there and who knows how devastating it is. A lot of doctors and oncology nurses or health care staff, they mean well and they’re caring and compassionate, but they haven’t personally been through cancer. You really need to hear from someone who’s been there.”
Huber was diagnosed with cancer in March 2010, when she was in her early 30s. She didn’t have any symptoms, so by the time she found out, the cancer had reached stage four – the most advanced form.
She began her treatment with Dr. Van Vahle at Memorial Healthcare Systems in Seward. When her hair began falling out from the chemotherapy, she had her head shaved at Awe Salon.
“I was a 33-year-old, single lady who was going to go bald,” Huber said. “That’s a traumatic thing for a woman.”
That’s when the fun started.
She started thinking about how hard it is for women to change their hairstyles and how infrequently most women do.
“If you go cut your hair short and you don’t like it, you’re stuck with it. You have to wait for it to grow out and go through all the awkward phases,” Huber said.
This was her chance to experiment. She got wigs in different lengths and styles, tried them on and posted photos online for her friends to vote on their favorites.
“They wanted to be supportive, but they didn’t know what to say. It gave them a way to offer support and encouragement,” she said.
Bright side effects
Huber wrote a book, “Cancer with Joy,” in 2012. In it, she shared her experiences transforming fear into happiness and finding what she calls the “bright side effects.”
She also co-wrote a song in 2010, “The Bright Side Effects,” which talks about the unexpected joys she experienced while going through cancer treatment – like not having to shave her legs because her hair fell out and getting paper cuts from all the get-well cards she received.
The podcast expands on the book but allows her to include updated information more rapidly than could be printed. Plus, a book costs readers money, but listeners can tune in to the podcast for free.
She said she likes the flexibility that a podcast offers. People can listen when and where it works for them.
“We’re all so busy, but we all like to have that background content going. I can’t sit and read a book while I’m driving to work, but I can listen to a podcast,” Huber said.
She hopes those facing cancer will tune in when they most need the encouragement.
“They’re able to take me with them when they get all hooked up to the machine or they’re in the chair with the blanket over them in the hospital bed. They can kick me on and truly get that dose of joy,” she said. “It really is a shot of encouragement to complement what the medicines are doing.”
Something
for everyone
The podcast focuses on topics like how to handle hair loss or how to pay for medical bills – topics that apply to people going through all kinds of cancer.
So far, she’s explored handling the high cost of cancer treatment, fulfilling the wishes of cancer patients, preserving memories and how to navigate a cancer diagnosis with a full-time career.
She also highlights the different types of cancer during different months: cervical cancer awareness in January, lung cancer in November, and others.
Huber holds a master’s degree in health communication from Boston University. She uses that, along with her personal experiences, to take complex medical information and break it down into digestible chunks that people can understand.
“Of course, not being a doctor, I do cite credible sources that people don’t seem to always know about,” Huber said.
She also is a certified coach and can talk with people one-on-one about their individual cancer situations to find resources tailored to them.
Her goal is to provide resources all in one place so that those facing a diagnosis don’t have to go searching on their own.
“People facing cancer don’t have time, and they don’t have energy,” Huber said. “Life was probably already busy beforehand with kids and school and work, and now you have cancer on top of that and you’re trying to work in doctor consults and treatment. Who has time?”
By offering credible resources, Huber also hopes to prevent others from running into what she calls, her biggest “don’t.”
“Unfortunately, a lot of people still Google their problems,” she said. “That’s my number one ‘don’t,’ because you can find a lot of misinformation. I learned the hard way. I was searching and I freaked myself out really unnecessarily.”
A larger purpose
Huber spends 10 to 15 hours a week working on a new episode of the show. She researches her topic, writes the script, times it out and records it. Then, she edits any outtakes and adds a musical introduction before posting the final cut online. Episodes range from 15 to 40 minutes in length.
Working on the show has helped her process the big emotions surrounding her own cancer journey.
“I think with my faith, it’s given my personal cancer experience more of a purpose,” Huber said. “It kind of helps to explain why this happened to me. Maybe the Lord intended to use me right here in the heartland to help guide so many others through cancer. It’s a free voice that can come to you in the darkness and be the light.”
That light – and a positive attitude – are the keys to getting through the bad days, Huber said.
“No one’s happy they have cancer, but you can have cancer and still be happy,” she said. “We know the tremendous power of positivity and the power of the mind-body connection. Give yourself permission to have those bad days. Don’t be afraid to throw yourself a pity party and cry or throw the covers over your head and wallow. I just don’t want you to stay stuck there.
“There is a lot of hope for people facing cancer these days. There is so much more that can be done, and there have been so many treatment advances made. Cancer is a word, not a sentence. It’s not the quick death sentence that it used to be. I had stage four cancer, and here I am a decade later, doing well.”
Listeners can find the free Dose of Joy podcast on any podcasting platform, with new episodes every Sunday morning. Huber shares additional resources and links daily on the Dose of Joy Podcast Facebook page. For more information, email doseofjoypodcast@hotmail.com.
