281: Deb Krier on Business After Breast Cancer

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Business After Breast Cancer

Running a business is hard enough. Now imagine doing it after three different cancer diagnoses—including Stage 4 breast cancer.

That’s the reality Deb Krier has lived and worked through. In episode 281, Deb and I get brutally honest about what it takes to keep a business alive while your body is fighting to stay the same.

We talk about what nobody warns you about: the mental chaos, the well-meaning but exhausting “helpers,” the decision fatigue, and the bizarre world of medical bureaucracy.

Through it all, Deb’s message is clear—you are the CEO of your business and your body.

Whether you’re navigating a health crisis yourself or supporting someone who is, this episode delivers the kind of real talk you won’t find in the brochures.

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Meet Deb Krier

Deb Krier is a communications expert, entrepreneur, and founder of TryingNotToDie.LIVE, a platform that empowers people living with cancer to keep living boldly.

She started her business—Wise Women Communications—over two decades ago. But her life took a dramatic turn in 2015 when she was diagnosed with Stage 4 triple positive breast cancer. Add thyroid cancer in 2023 and a bout with skin cancer, and Deb has earned her survivor stripes multiple times over.

Despite it all, Deb continues to show up as a speaker, advocate, podcaster, and marketer—with unshakable humor and fierce clarity.

She’s not just surviving cancer—she’s building community, questioning the system, and helping others reclaim their voice.

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What You’ll Learn

• Why Deb kept working through chemo (even from her hospital bed)
• How to decide which business tasks to pause, delegate, or double down on
• Why your oncologist should not be your only point of care
• The unexpected ways cancer changes your business priorities
• What support really looks like—and what to ignore
• How to be your own fiercest advocate without losing your mind
• The role of tools like Herceptin, acupuncture, float tanks, and that tiny magic patch
• Why it’s okay to be mad, be messy, and still build something meaningful

Episode Breakdown

• 00:00 Intro: When business and cancer collide
• 02:30 Deb’s first diagnosis: Stage 0 to Stage 4 overnight
• 06:15 Chemo, septic shock, and working from a hospital bed
• 09:40 Why Kandas stopped her podcast—and what brought it back
• 13:10 Ports, Herceptin, insurance battles, and treatment evolution
• 19:30 Complementary therapies: What helped, what didn’t
• 24:00 Oncologists vs primary care: Why you need both
• 27:10 When to fire your doctor (and how to find a better one)
• 31:30 Humor as medicine: Princess Anastasia Beaverhousen enters
• 36:00 The real deal with medical marijuana and biosimilars
• 40:20 Cancer’s impact on business decisions and boundaries
• 44:10 Deb’s advice for newly diagnosed entrepreneurs
• 47:00 Kandas’ take: cancer doesn’t define your business
• 48:30 Moment of gratitude & wrap-up

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Mentioned

Disclaimer: Some of the links on this page may be affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase. This helps support the podcast at no extra cost to you.

• “Living Proof” is the true story of the development of Herceptin
• Focus by The Super Patch Co.
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• 271: Nikki Smith on Facing Death with Grace

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Deb’s story is a powerful example of what’s possible. If you’re in the thick of it and need tools to stay emotionally grounded while keeping your business alive, read my guide on building emotional resilience during breast cancer.