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Becoming an entrepreneur takes grit.
Deciding to do it solo takes courage.
This is 1,000 Routes, the podcast where we explore the stories of solopreneurs who have made the bet on themselves to build a business that serves their life. Every episode you'll hear about the lessons they've learned and the uncommon routes they've taken to stand out in a world that is purposefully trying to commoditize them.
[00:00:00] Devin Bramhall: when I say That I was my DNA was forever changed for the better during That fundraiser, I mean it because it was the first time I got to like, I got to just like lay down and I got to let my like adrenal glands kind of like, you know, just like I didn't have to, I could stop fighting for like a second.
[00:00:38] Nick Bennett: Hey, it's Nick and welcome back to the show. You know, sometimes life throws you a curve ball and sometimes it throws you to, and that's exactly what happened to my returning guest, Devin Bramhall. See, when she first joined us, we talked about her incredible journey to soul partnership, but we just kind of glossed over a crucial chapter of the story.
So today she is back to share her battle with not one, but two different types of cancer.
A part of her journey that deserves to be heard, needs to be shared and will absolutely move you. Devin's story isn't just about survival, it's about finding strength in places you never knew existed. This episode is a real dialogue and it might just change how you think about resilience.
And I am beyond thankful for Devin to come back and share this part of her story with us. This is 1000 Routes.
[00:01:25] Nick Bennett: this is gonna be a fun conversation. Cause I feel like this is a conversation that we danced around a bit the first time we chatted And now you're back.
[00:01:33] Devin Bramhall: And now I'm back.
[00:01:34] Devin Bramhall: Usually part two comes like six months later at minimum, but this was like six days later, maybe two weeks. but this was a much needed part two because we were chatting after the fact you were talking about your experience and I was like, you know, we didn't really touch this at all. And I think because it feels like a touchy subject. Not to me, honestly, just because I lived it. And there's something about cancer where And this is true across several other cancer survivors that I've gotten to know since. sort of walk away and you're like, I think everything's fine. You know what I mean? Like, day to day.
[00:02:09] Devin Bramhall: I was really afraid to talk about it in the beginning, like when I still had it, cause I was afraid now I felt like there was a reason for people to not take me seriously. And like, I already had to battle that my entire career just by like being a woman, not going to like a fancy school.
[00:02:25] Devin Bramhall: I was already constantly succeeding and still having to like work really hard for people to be like, oh, you're smart,
[00:02:34] Nick Bennett: can you back up a second? Cause you said another reason for people to not take me seriously. like she's not dead yet. Like that was like the whole premise of even us wanting to come back and have this conversation.
[00:02:44] Nick Bennett: It was
[00:02:44] Devin Bramhall: I love that so much. I've not been able to stop thinking about it since. I'm like, well, I'm not dead.
[00:02:48] Devin Bramhall: not dead yet.
[00:02:50] Nick Bennett: was the Monty Python. Yeah, yeah, I got you. Um, that's kind of like what prompted the thing anyway, but it's like, Well, what is it about having cancer that makes you feel like somebody wouldn't take you seriously?
[00:03:03] Devin Bramhall: Because I was sick. The one thing I had my whole career that nobody could ever like tell me anything about like they couldn't change about me is that I was incredibly strong and resilient and brave and those are things you just can't argue about you know what I mean like it's too apparent so anyone could belittle my success or just straight claim it from me they could do all that stuff but I was like when it came to My strength, like that was something I always felt I had control over and ownership over.
[00:03:35] Nick Bennett: And being sick, I was like, well, now I'm going to be this like sick woman and no one's going to hire me. And I really needed people to hire me You need money to pay for cancer treatments.
[00:03:47] Devin Bramhall: that and like living your life. Cause I That, that part is also important.
[00:03:52] Devin Bramhall: So I was like, Oh, I need money to like have this apartment. It's like studio apartment, and like feed myself and stuff like that. And so it's
[00:04:01] Nick Bennett: not in like Ms. Maisel's apartment. You're in like, a regular, it's regular apartment. All right. So hold on. Let's, let's back up to the beginning. When I first, because I didn't know, I didn't know who you were until one day Jay Akunso, I know, can you believe it? I just, I must live under a rock.
[00:04:19] Nick Bennett: One day Jay Akunso publishes, Hey, we're gonna, we're hosting this event for my friend, Devin Bramhall. She has a really rare form of cancer and we want to do something to support her. And a bunch of people, like all our friends are like, we're getting involved. John Bonini, Brandon Hufford, a bunch of other people were really invested in supporting that.
[00:04:38] Nick Bennett: And I was like, who's this Devin person? People seem to really care about her. And when we were talking the other day, that's what you said to me. You were like, I am just blown away that people.
[00:04:49] Devin Bramhall: what was cool about it is that I was in a place at that time, like going into cancer where I'd really just lost faith in the community and the industry. Like, I was just like, man, people just suck. And I was like, I'd kind of given up. I was like, I don't even want to do this anymore.
[00:05:08] Devin Bramhall: I was sort of demoralized permanently. And so then I go off and have cancer and the whole like the institution doesn't support me either. and so I can't get like, I can't get social security.
[00:05:21] Devin Bramhall: can't get, um, unemployment cause my former employer blocked it. Um, for no reason. Yeah. I mean, it's like the level of fucked upness. That is out there is immense.
[00:05:36] Devin Bramhall: I was saving, but I was like, I had to liquidate like investment assets, savings account. Like I was on the last of it and I still owed taxes on the money I'd made for work that year. I was actually technically in debt, just like not physically yet. And no, I couldn't get a yes.
[00:05:52] Devin Bramhall: I was literally fighting for my own life and not a single f***ing thing in the universe was like, can I help you at all? And the answer was no for a while, until my mom was like, she'd asked me early on, she's like, we can do like a fundraiser for you.
[00:06:11] Devin Bramhall: I was like, no, I'm not doing that. Like, that's not, you know what I mean? For some reason, I just couldn't do it. I couldn't show my community. I was too afraid to show that I was weak in any way.
[00:06:25] Devin Bramhall: I finally said yes. But I was like, I'm not sharing it with anyone in my community. Like, I'll send an email out to friends or whatever, but like, I'm not doing it. And it was Allie Tunnel who worked for me at Animals, who I was mentoring at the time. And we were just like friends, obviously. And she was like, it had been going for a few days. And she was like, so invested, so invested. And she was like, Devin I want you to, I want to ask you to let me share this. I want you to let me do it. And I was like, at that point, I was like, I just gave in and I was like, yes.
[00:07:03] Devin Bramhall: And then I chucked my phone across the room and refused to look at it for 24 hours. Cause I was like, GASP I was so afraid. I was afraid. I did not look at my phone at all.
[00:07:13] Devin Bramhall: And finally I looked at it and I was like, Every inbox of mine was like overflowing and it was one of those things that changed me. It changed my DNA perspective, right? I was like healed in such a way that I was like, Oh, not everyone's bad.
[00:07:34] Nick Bennett: it's like the Grinch's heart grew three sizes that day.
[00:07:37] Devin Bramhall: yeah, exactly. Little, little baby marketing Grinch was like, well, maybe,
[00:07:42] Devin Bramhall: so this was like a really cool way to like, show me that.
[00:07:45] Devin Bramhall: My life hadn't been a complete and total waste, which is how I felt before.
[00:07:50] Nick Bennett: you had cancer twice and I think this is also a part of the story that not many people know
[00:07:58] Devin Bramhall: So I had cancer in my mouth when I was CEO at Animals. I think it was like the end of 2021
[00:08:06] Devin Bramhall: and also they weren't sure, um, They'd gotten it all. And so they had to wait months for me to heal before doing another, uh, scan. the doctor was really good at telling me beforehand.
[00:08:22] Devin Bramhall: He's like, if we didn't get it at all, it means it was deeper than we thought. In which case, like we have to do a major surgery on you.
[00:08:30] Devin Bramhall: So anyway, I end up finding out that spring that I'm fine. They're like, yep, we got it all. You're good to go now.
[00:08:36] Devin Bramhall: mouth, and then a year later, I have an ovarian cyst and it ruptures and I, I've honestly been in the hospital a lot of my life. I have never been in that much pain in my whole life
[00:08:47] Devin Bramhall: and the male surgeon Who ended up treating me was like, Oh yeah, you feel like you're going to die. He's like, it's the worst pain in the world. So anyway, I get the cyst and they're like, this is good news.
[00:08:59] Devin Bramhall: It's really big. You're going to lose your right ovary and your fallopian tube, but because it's big, it's probably not cancerous. So like, this is going to be fine. So I'm like, fine. And so they take it out a few days later and then I come back a month later to get the results from the biopsy they do of the thing or whatever.
[00:09:21] Devin Bramhall: And I go to this like, the guy's office or whatever and he's like, So, you have cancer.and he's like, it's this really rare cancer that everyone dies. 60 people in the whole world have ever had it. Everyone dies because It's really good at hiding so it doesn't show up on scans. It spreads like wildfire, like it's a fucking pro, right?
[00:09:45] Devin Bramhall: and because it's undetectable, like, by the time it is, it's too late and you die.
[00:09:54] Devin Bramhall: so, uh, he's like, so I ended up being really lucky, right? They're like, you're not going to die, but you need chemo. But then I'm like, well, why the fuck do I have cancer again? Can we talk about this?
[00:10:03] Devin Bramhall: So the, I'm at MSK and they had treated my last cancer. So I get transferred over and they do a genetic study and they're like, cool, your two cancers are unrelated. There's absolutely. Nothing that links those two cancers together.
[00:10:19] Devin Bramhall: They are like, it's like Oil and water. So like, we don't know. We just don't know why you got those two. But we found this gene. It's called the CHECK2 gene. And it makes you more likely to get colon cancer or breast cancer, neither of which you've had.
[00:10:40] Nick Bennett: So be ready is what they just said.
[00:10:43] Devin Bramhall: yeah, so I'd already gotten my mammogram that year. So I was good. And they did a colonoscopy and. Now I have to get them like all the time. So they did a colonoscopy. Then I have to go do another one in like two weeks. But the point is I'm lucky there too because now I'm on such an aggressive monitoring schedule that like I might
[00:11:03] Devin Bramhall: not what if they're, if, if something's coming, they'll find it. Yeah. Okay. So they find this very aggressive super cancer that spreads like wildfire. And they're like, everybody dies from it.
[00:11:16] Devin Bramhall: And no one knows anything about
[00:11:18] Nick Bennett: But how, what was it about your situation that they were like, you're going to, you're going to be fine.
[00:11:24] Devin Bramhall: because they, because
[00:11:25] Nick Bennett: They found it
[00:11:26] Devin Bramhall: reason
[00:11:27] Nick Bennett: Like, so you're, you're, you're this ovarian cyst that exploded, alerted them to this thing before it was too late.
[00:11:38] Devin Bramhall: this surgeon, He looked at me and he was like, Your cyst saved your life. I was like, that's a little dramatic, but also I guess you're right.
[00:11:49] Devin Bramhall: So long story short, I start chemo in like November, but guess what? During this time, Ashley and I are speaking at InBound. So I go to InBound in September amidst like my entire life changing and like I'm giving a talk, right?
[00:12:07] Nick Bennett: Marketing is important. Trust me. Like, how do you stand on stage and tell everyone, This is important things. Please care about it.
[00:12:16] Devin Bramhall: I think I was still in the process of like finding out exactly how bad it like, I knew I had cancer, but I didn't fully know what was going to happen yet.
[00:12:27] Devin Bramhall: So I'm at this like conference and I'm like trying to be like, okay, fine. You know, and I don't know if I'm going to lose my hair or not. And then I go to Austin. And I'm like, you know, again, I'm just trying to like, be normal, and like, that was really when the anxiety like, super hit. Like, I started to lose my mind, because I'm like, I got my eyebrows tattooed on just in case, I was like, I have to learn how to, like, I have to learn about wigs, I have to like, You know what I mean?
[00:12:56] Devin Bramhall: I was like, what about my clients? Like, I need work. How am I going to work? They're like, oh, you should be able to work. They wrote me a letter immediately and they were like, this bitch can't work. She's fucking, like, in the emergency room constantly.
[00:13:07] Devin Bramhall: Yeah, I mean, I get the whole you start spiraling thing because you're like, This is uncharted territory.
[00:13:15] Devin Bramhall: and you don't want to tell anyone. Like, I didn't want to tell anyone. So I was trying to, I was trying to figure out how to hide it. And then I started, the first round was like kind of fine. So here's the crazy thing. They tell you what to expect. So they're like, you're, I was on two different types of chemo medications.
[00:13:34] Devin Bramhall: One of them, it gives you a cold sensitivity so that when you touch like metal and stuff, it like stings and it's like, You have to wear gloves when you go outside, otherwise your fingers are going to like burn and like tingle burn.
[00:13:51] Devin Bramhall: it's not physically manifesting, but the feeling is very, very real. And the other thing that happens is your throat feels like it completely closes up and you can't breathe. So you have to cover your entire face.
[00:14:06] Devin Bramhall: And when I tell you. That I was walking, like, fully covered still, and it was a little bit cold. Like, I was like, you breathe like this, you're like, like, that's,
[00:14:19] Nick Bennett: And the worst thing is I learned the wrong way one morning, walking my dog that my face was fully covered My eyes swelled shut because of the cold. So I'm standing outside in New York. My dog is right here and I can't, I kid you not.
[00:14:35] Devin Bramhall: I could not fucking see.
[00:14:37] Nick Bennett: So like being, having this chemo in the wintertime is a big no.
[00:14:44] Devin Bramhall: It's the worst.
[00:14:45] Nick Bennett: so the whole time I am, fighting for my life and I'm also fighting for my life because I'm starting to liquidate all of my assets. Right. And so, and because I can't get any social services, because social services and the world hate single women, um, especially if you don't have kids.
[00:15:06] Devin Bramhall: And so, uh, there's nothing for you. Social Security takes six months to even kick in if you can get it and I was already turned away by, unemployment. So I have, I start scouring the internet and I
[00:15:24] Devin Bramhall: find this place called Cancer Care.
[00:15:26] Devin Bramhall: grants and stuff. Cause you're like, there's gotta be something out there.
[00:15:29] Devin Bramhall: eating was difficult and keeping anything down was difficult. I had to go like whatever.
[00:15:34] Devin Bramhall: So I also have this entire huge project of financing myself while this is going on. So I'm applying for all of these grants. I mean, I have this spreadsheet tracker because you have to do things at just the right time. You have to like All this information. I mean, I had to put so many financial documents together and it's not like you can just use the same pile every time.
[00:15:56] Devin Bramhall: It's like very specific with each one and they're all a little bit different.
[00:16:00] Devin Bramhall: But it's like, you can't rest. Like there was no resting because you're like, 500 here, 1, 000 here.
[00:16:08] Devin Bramhall: I'm like, I still have to pay rent. In January, right? And so it's like this whole thing of like, you have to just, you, I couldn't, I couldn't stop.
[00:16:18] Nick Bennett: and towards the end.
[00:16:19] Devin Bramhall: It was so bad that they had to like Loosen up the dose of the pills because I just like couldn't I wasn't keeping anything in my body so when I say That I was my DNA was forever changed for the better during That fundraiser, I mean it because it was the first time I got to like, I got to just like lay down and I got to let my like adrenal glands kind of like, you know, just like I didn't have to, I could stop fighting for like a second.
[00:17:00] Devin Bramhall: I was so tired. I, I couldn't even like talk to anyone.
[00:17:06] Devin Bramhall: So, um, yeah, it was really nice that everybody came out for me and didn't treat me like a sick person after. They were just like, you're not dead!
[00:17:21] Nick Bennett: this is what you said to me though, just to make it like, I'm not that heartless, this heartless of a person. Like you were like, Hey, I came back, I posted this thing to LinkedIn. You're like, I'm back and I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm doing something and I'm back.
[00:17:32] Nick Bennett: I was like, you could have posted, I'm not dead yet. Hit publish and it would have been, it would have been, uh, you would have got a fantastic response. Like you didn't need to do much on that front.
[00:17:47] Devin Bramhall: so you're not dead yet, and it's the most lighthearted way of saying you're not dead yet.
[00:17:53] Devin Bramhall: Well, you know what, though, Nick? Like, this is the thing is, cancer survivors really like to laugh, and they take a lot less seriously because of what they've gone through, and so we're just dying for people to be funny. Like, it's we're not, like It's, it's a funny thing how, like I went to this, I think I said this at the beginning with the cancer retreat with all these other cancer survivors and they've now become my like cancer mommies.
[00:18:22] Devin Bramhall: I love them so much. And we laughed that whole weekend. Like we were just like, we were making cancer jokes for like, you know what I mean? Like talking about like how bad the diarrhea is and how you're like throw up all the time. Like we are cackling because when I tell you afterwards, you're like. Nothing. Nothing matters. Like, nothing. And when I say nothing, I mean like, 95 percent of the things that we all walk around thinking matter. And it's like, No. Like, your family matters. You matter. Like, don't be a
[00:19:03] Devin Bramhall: dick.
[00:19:03] Nick Bennett: Markeing doesn't matter.
[00:19:04] Devin Bramhall: No.
[00:19:05] Nick Bennett: G
[00:19:05] Devin Bramhall: So f***ing stupid. It's so stupid. This is the dumbest because you want to know why? Quite literally. Nothing has changed. I was like, I'm doing some work with a client right now. And I was like, I actually like went into their, um, email thing to like help tweak something or whatever. And I was like, Oh, so these are the same. Everything about email is the fucking same. Like nothing, all this like hype and all this talk, nothing is any different.
[00:19:40] Devin Bramhall: Everything is fundamentally works the exact same way as it did before. Plus. There's AI now.
[00:19:46] Nick Bennett: You know, I've been saying this, the phrase from whose line, whose line is it anyway, keeps coming back to me more and more. Everything's made up and the points don't matter. I've been like, I have found myself saying this to more and more people, especially on LinkedIn.
[00:20:04] Nick Bennett: People are like, I don't know what to write on it. Everything's made up and the points don't matter. Like this is bullshit. Like none of it matters. It really doesn't. I think this was the whole point of why I wanted to have this conversation with you, which was, It feels like it's just really touchy subject and I think to a lot of people probably is and in the moment it probably is really hard to wrap your head around what is going on and it's hard to look and say you know this time next year I'm gonna be on a podcast talking about this and laughing about it and like I'm not dead but like it's just it's a it's just weird and that's why I felt like this conversation had to happen because I'm sure that there's like you had mentioned to me you're like I tell a lot of people privately and I feel like there's a lot of people that dance around it.
[00:20:49] Devin Bramhall: Yeah.
[00:20:49] Nick Bennett: cause they're not, they're not trying to be rude. Like they're trying to be nice and respectful, but you're like, I don't mind telling it, but it's like, it's just, it's just, there's just like a weirdness about the entire. About the entire thing that people don't necessarily know how to act or how to, and like, do I, do I not touch at all?
[00:21:08] Nick Bennett: And then we became friends and I was like, all right, yeah. Like we can definitely go there.
[00:21:11] Devin Bramhall: And three weeks after my last, I think it was three weeks after I finished chemo, maybe it was a month, I landed a consulting gig. And I like went out and plucked it out of the universe. I was like, I walked away and I was like, damn right.
[00:21:31] Devin Bramhall: I'm not dead.
[00:21:33] Nick Bennett: still fucking got it.
[00:21:36] Devin Bramhall: Yeah. And I had a lot of energy weirdly. Um, after I was finished for about, I think until about June or July of this year. And then I got the worst Chronic fatigue. I've ever, I didn't even know what chronic fatigue was until this happened. And I was like, I thought all these things were wrong with me. And it turns out my body was perfectly healthy and fine.
[00:22:01] Devin Bramhall: It's just like, chemo takes five years to get out of your system. So then I went through this like huge emotional rollercoaster of like, you know, I'm a doer. That's how I start. Like, that's how I survive mentally. Physically is like, I can get myself out of anything. Cause I'm more capable than. 95 percent of the world, right?
[00:22:18] Devin Bramhall: Um, and I was like, I can't get myself out of this. I am weak in a way that I cannot overcome. And that was fucking terrifying because I was like, how am I going to survive? And then that's really honestly how I live now is like, you get this, you get this few months right after where you're just like so happy and no, no one can touch it.
[00:22:43] Nick Bennett: You're so high on life because you're not dead and you're not on chemo anymore. Did you lose your hair? No.
[00:22:49] Devin Bramhall: Oh, sorry. I forgot to close that loop. So they ended up giving me the chemo. That didn't mean I lost my hair, so I was like, and it, that's why they had to take it to that forum of all the cancer doctors is like, they had to decide which course was gonna be the best co course to kill my cancer. One of them would've meant losing my hair.
[00:23:06] Devin Bramhall: One of them wouldn't. And so I got really
[00:23:09] Nick Bennett: That's like a nice little pro in the pro column. Got to keep your hair.
[00:23:13] Devin Bramhall: I think afterwards, I think the thing if I'm being totally honest, and I quite literally like, had this call with my mom last week. I was like, bawling my eyes out to her, and I was like, I, I feel like I'm gonna die, actually.
[00:23:33] Devin Bramhall: Like, anytime there's something like, that feels weird, I'm like, I have another cyst, the other ovary, like, I'm gonna, like, I think the circumstances are so random around the cancers I got and how like little cancer runs even in my family. Like I'm an anomaly and that makes me feel completely out of control and like everything is possible.
[00:23:58] Devin Bramhall: And every day that I have that feeling, I look at my life and I'm like, I don't care about this life at all. I don't really care about anything I've done. It's not like I made a bunch of other people rich. I didn't get rich. I live in a studio apartment. I don't want to live in a studio apartment. You know, like I started making the list and I was like fuck I gotta get to work. Only I'm really fucking tired now. And so it's this weird like you just go through so it's like I think the cool thing about that is like I can't give any fucks about Like my world right now i'm like Yeah, I'm just like, oh, this is stupid.
[00:24:49] Devin Bramhall: and the cool thing about that is I've never been better at like Knowing what my boundaries are and therefore being able to communicate them, right? And so it's like instead of it being Like it coming out when I was younger when I was like, ah, you know what I mean? It's like I can now say in clear plain human language Like what I want and don't want in a way that doesn't like hurt me You know, make everybody mad.
[00:25:16] Devin Bramhall: Although I still make people mad. But, um, yeah. And I'm like, I just don't care. Like there's so much, like a friend of mine recently was like saying something and I was like, these aren't problems. You don't, these are not problems. I have friends in my life with legitimate problems right now. That I'm like, holy fuck, that's a problem.
[00:25:37] Devin Bramhall: But I was like, if someone comes to me and they try to like lay their fucking bullshit on me, I was like, that's not a problem. Stop. And I'm just like, go talk to somebody else.
[00:25:45] Nick Bennett: Yeah,
[00:25:46] Devin Bramhall: I'm like, you better have a fucking problem if you're coming to me. And even still, I might tell you to go talk to somebody else because it's like, you just, you can't life is like, I just didn't realize how much of my life I'd wasted trying to prove to people that I was valuable and that I was like, worthy of all the, like, why did I feel that way?
[00:26:11] Devin Bramhall: You know? And so now I have my head screwed on just right.
[00:26:17] Nick Bennett: yeah, I think because we don't know better, like we're so like, especially our generation, we've been pre wired to just be like, work really hard, work a lot, do all this stuff, like hammer away and blah, blah, blah, and like buy a house, have some kids, live the American dream, do all this shit, and then one day something happens and then your whole life is put into perspective.
[00:26:46] Nick Bennett: Okay, so I'll share a story with you. So, um, around, so this actually, the exact same time last year, the exact same time last year, uh, October 26th, um, my mom was diagnosed, actually she wasn't even diagnosed that day, she was diagnosed earlier, but that was the day she had her surgery, um, she was, has a sacral chordoma, which is like the, I thought this cancer was rare, yours is 60 people in the world, like 300 people a year get this thing.
[00:27:16] Nick Bennett: So it's like super rare.
[00:27:17] Devin Bramhall: fucking rare.
[00:27:18] Nick Bennett: It's pretty rare,
[00:27:19] Devin Bramhall: it's an insanely rare thing, and it's like this crazy bone cancer that grows in your sacrum, right?
[00:27:24] Nick Bennett: So it's like October 26, she goes in for, A two stage surgery. The first surgery was like an eight hour surgery. The second surgery was a 16 hour surgery to like, to fix all of this stuff. And I share all that with you because that shit puts your life in a perspective.
[00:27:41] Nick Bennett: I was like, fuck marketing. Who cares about that? Like who cares about like posting to LinkedIn and, or doing whatever this stuff is like. All of a sudden, one day to the next, you go from, my tailbone hurts a little bit, to, you have the, one of the rarest cancers there is,
[00:28:00] Nick Bennett: to hear the end of this story
[00:28:01] Nick Bennett: mom is completely, my mom is an, is like an anomaly. She, they are literally like studying her because they're like, how is it possible that you're doing so well? There are people who have had this surgery years ago who are not doing as well as she's doing.
[00:28:16] Nick Bennett: this shit puts your life into perspective. It didn't even happen to me. Like it happens to your mom and you're like, Oh, like, like I got to get so, I'm so zoomed in on the thing that I'm trying to do, like this business I'm trying to build and all this other shit that I'm trying to do.
[00:28:32] Nick Bennett: And it takes one of these things to really rip you out of that. And I'm just like a bystander, right? Like it happens to someone I'm close to. And it's like, your situation happened to you.
[00:28:42] Devin Bramhall: when you have cancer and anyone, they're like, oh, you know, this thing, thing's going on, they're like, but it's not cancer. And I'm like, listen, you are allowed A, everyone's allowed to have their own space for the thing. That they're going through because everybody, everybody has their cancer. if it's something you've never gone through before, it feels like the biggest thing in your life.
[00:29:04] Devin Bramhall: So like, this is one thing that's been really important to me. The whole time is I'm like, I'm not the worst off person in the world. Like, yeah, this sucks, but like other people go through shit too.
[00:29:15] Nick Bennett: it puts your life into perspective in a crazy way. I was like, we have like a, our kid is like a year and a few months old.
[00:29:22] Nick Bennett: She like, I think she was either a few weeks pregnant before or after, it's hard to remember. Time blurs together. It's So it's like, there's like a lot of stuff going on. I'm trying to build this business, and then this rips you out of that hole, and you're like, Perspective, right? Like, don't lose sight of shit that matters.
[00:29:39] Nick Bennett: Like, call your fucking mom. Like, now I FaceTime my mom every day with my boys. I'm like, like, just like, even if it's a quick five minutes, FaceTime her five minutes, say what's up, he, he says hi, says hi to my dad, and it's like, cool, like, that little shit goes such a long way, because before you don't realize, like, how long you go without talking to people and doing stuff, it's like, it's like, oh, you look at us, oh shit, I haven't, like, I haven't talked to my mom in a couple of weeks.
[00:30:06] Nick Bennett: I mean, you're totally right. Like, I think every single time I had to go to the clinic, like my, um, cause you have to get blood drawn all the time.
[00:30:14] Devin Bramhall: Like you've got the chemo goes in through your veins. So like. My arms were like a mess. Like I looked like a meth addict. I was just like, cause they start to like get really traumatized.But every time you go in, the many times per month that you have to go in.
[00:30:31] Devin Bramhall: Not just for chemo, but for the follow up exams, all that stuff. You have to answer the question at least three times every time. Are you pregnant? Could you be pregnant? Every. Fucking. Time. You're 40 turning I guess I was I turned 41 this year. So I was 40 going into 41. And they're like, are you pregnant? Is there any way you could be pregnant? You have to fill it out on forms. Then you have to take pregnancy tests just to be sure. And I'm like, well, let me tell you something. My boyfriend, it turns out, isn't even in love with me. And I'm 40 turning 41, minus an ovary.
[00:31:26] Devin Bramhall: And I have cancer. So, being reminded of that every fucking day is not fun.
[00:31:39] Nick Bennett: that was something that I wanted at one time. And so it's like a tough surprise thing where like, not only was your time limited already, but now all of a sudden it's like being thrown in your face constantly. It's too late. It's too late. It's too late. And it's just like, it's, I mean, and it's like these little things that you're just like, You just get used to it, right?
[00:32:07] Devin Bramhall: Hospitals have to cover their ass constantly. And so all the tiny things that you're like, why do I have to do this? It's so they don't get sued. Because people are monsters, and like, if they get caught doing anything remotely imperfectly, they will get skewered financially for it.
[00:32:26] Nick Bennett: Alright, let's, let's, uh, let's end here. So, you are cancer free. you're in remission, is that how it, that's the
[00:32:38] Devin Bramhall: I didn't have cancer the last time, they didn't find any, no cancer came up in scans the last time I got checked, which was like a couple months ago. And my cancer markers were really good. So, like, Like, probably not. I just don't know what you're allowed to, like, I don't know what it's called. So I'm like, I don't know.
[00:32:57] Devin Bramhall: I think, probably not. Probably I don't have cancer. Oh.
[00:33:01] Nick Bennett: I don't have cancer. Okay. when did you not have cancer for the first time? Like when you were like, the chemo was done and they're like, they did the scan and they were like, you're good. When was that? Or was that the first like exhale you were able to take?
[00:33:19] Devin Bramhall: I never really took one. Cause it doesn't, that's the thing about cancer is like, it's not like the movies. It doesn't just like end one day. It takes like, They're like, the first scan, they're like, you don't have it right. Like things are starting to go down. Like your markers are still a little bit high, but like there aren't a downward trend.
[00:33:37] Devin Bramhall: And then you go the next time. They're like, great. They're down a little bit more. And it's just exactly what you said earlier. My last scan, they were kind of like. Edging me out the door. And that's when I was like, I think I'm fine now. Because like, when they start telling you to fuck off exactly what you said, you're like, Oh, cause like, when you go in, they're like, they get on you.
[00:33:58] Devin Bramhall: Like, they're like, we need to do this immediately. Like shit goes really fast once they find it. But once they're like, Actually, see you in six months. I'm like, yeah.
[00:34:10] Nick Bennett: We don't have time for, for you anymore. And you're like, that's what I wanted to
[00:34:14] Devin Bramhall: Oh, it is the best. It is the best. Because I spent a lot of time going back and forth. So like, it's, that's not really how it happens, but that's also fine. It's um, it's going to take me a while before like, I, um, it's going to be years. Cause like, I, to me, I could still get cancer in a year just based on like recent history. So like, you don't, it's not really about exhaling. It's just about. In that moment. Being like, this is great news right now. And then just kind of like living your life and not thinking about it.
[00:34:55] Devin Bramhall: Right. And I think that's the best thing you can do is like, you're like, if I don't, you know, I try not to think about it that much. And then that's like, that's the way you, that's the way you do it. And you just keep doing that and hoping that eventually something wildly amazing happens to you. Which,
[00:35:15] Nick Bennett: Like, I feel like you should play the scratchy lotteries. Cause
[00:35:19] Devin Bramhall: yeah.
[00:35:20] Nick Bennett: I mean, it seems like your odds are pretty good
[00:35:25] Devin Bramhall: Well, I didn't die. I literally am gonna write it. My next book is gonna be It's gonna have to say that. Like, I didn't die. Like,
[00:35:34] Nick Bennett: You should just post it to LinkedIn right now. Not dead
[00:35:37] Devin Bramhall: Yeah, not dead. That was it! Not dead yet!
[00:35:40] Nick Bennett: Not dead yet. Just post that to LinkedIn right now and see how you're going to go mega viral.
[00:35:45] Nick Bennett: 20 million views, 6, 000 shares, 500, 000 likes. Like,
[00:35:52] Devin Bramhall: Yeah. perfect place to end.
[00:35:56] Devin Bramhall: Go hug your kids. Go hug your wife and your kids. It's a lot. I know it is. It's a lot to listen to. So,
[00:36:03] Nick Bennett: Oh, I mean, yeah, it's a lot, but I think it's like it is also It is also like a it's a story of triumph Like, not dead not dead yet.
[00:36:17] Nick Bennett: And you can you're just do whatever the hell you want you writing a book You can go make yourself a bunch of money
[00:36:24] Devin Bramhall: I need to fucking get good at that.
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