Cancer, Casually: Audra DiPadova Wilford

Most parents reading this can only imagine the devastating anguish that comes with discovering your child has cancer. This week’s guest, Audra DiPadova Wilford, is the powerful mom of Max, a powerful boy who at just 8-years-old was diagnosed with brain cancer. Inspired to make a difference, together, the two created MaxLove Project — a testament of maximum love, endurance, and survivorship. Early on in Max’s diagnosis, one of his doctors told Audra, “Get a notebook, you are your child’s best advocate, so step up.” And she did. And then she did it for other kids, too. You’ve heard us speak about food as healing on this podcast many times before. But what about when your child is stuck on the cancer ward and being served hospital food that is far from organic, nutrient dense produce? It’s crazy to think that, in these places dedicated to recovery, institutions are still so behind in using clean food as a frontline of healing. Seeing this problem firsthand, Audra took it upon herself to begin teaching cooking classes to kids in hospitals which focused on whole foods and less-processed nutrition. Additionally, with MaxLove’s “Be Super Action Plan” the Project aims to show that even if we are eating well, good nutrition can easily be thrown off by a negative mindset, stress levels, and poor sleep, so they have coordinated clever (and fun) ways to help in these different avenues as well.Audra believes that individuality and customization for each child are key, and MaxLove Project wants to help everyone. This episode is a must-listen to any parent who has ever had a child diagnosed with cancer. Truly inspiring, it’s a story of how one mother turned a life-altering diagnosis to an inspiring project geared to help children -- and their parents -- all around the world.Listen on iTunes or Spotify.[soundcloud id='632417067' height='false']