Cancer Bites Founder Siobhan Shaw Transforms Stage Four Diagnosis into Advocacy Movement

Siobhan Shaw, founder of Cancer Bites and co-founder of Growing to Give, is channeling her stage four metastatic breast cancer diagnosis into a powerful advocacy movement that's changing how patients and caregivers discuss terminal illness. Diagnosed in June 2025 with six years to live, Shaw describes cancer as having "a good hold on me, spreading through my bones," including a frightening episode where her lung began filling with fluid as cancer ate through the pleura lining. After emergency treatment involving 16 weekly thoracenteses, she now manages her condition with chemo pills and estrogen blockers while maintaining daily walks and focusing on gratitude as "a muscle" that requires regular exercise.

Cancer Bites emerged from Shaw's personal need to "turn pain into power" and laugh through cancer's chaos. The initiative began spontaneously last September with a Facebook page that quickly evolved into a podcast and community movement for anyone affected by cancer who's "tired of the same sad soundtrack." The platform features candid conversations about treatment, identity, hope, and dark humor, creating what Shaw describes as "equal parts therapy session, comedy hour, and love letter to resilience." Listeners can access the podcast through the Growing to Give YouTube channel and join the community via the Cancer Bites Facebook page.

The initiative builds on Shaw's established work with Growing to Give, the nonprofit she co-founded that focuses on community food security through initiatives like the Phoenix Food Forest Initiative. While Growing to Give addresses physical nourishment through food forests and community gardens, Cancer Bites addresses emotional and psychological nourishment for those facing cancer. Shaw emphasizes that "living with stage four means there's no 'cure,' but there is life, laughter, and purpose," capturing the essence of her approach to combining serious advocacy with humor and humanity.

Cancer Bites is expanding into live conversations, collaborations, and bite-sized video series that mix storytelling with survivorship and advocacy. The platform will feature more guest voices from patients, caregivers, and medical professionals discussing what it means to live with cancer rather than just fight it. Supporters can get involved through the organization's volunteer and donation portal at GrowingtoGive.org or by joining the "Titty Committee" of helpers for social media, production, design, and merchandise. The organization is also seeking sponsors for community gardens, food forests, and a Cancer Bites gift bag campaign launching for the holiday season to deliver joy and support to breast cancer patients.

Shaw's partnership with John Kendall, a 23-year cancer survivor who serves as her cancer coach, demonstrates the power of shared experience in cancer advocacy. Their daily walking routine, which began with Shaw barely able to function after hospitalization, has become symbolic of the gradual progress possible even with terminal diagnoses. Shaw notes that her scans show improvement and her "energy shot off the charts the day I decided to create Cancer Bites," highlighting how advocacy work can provide purpose and vitality during cancer treatment. Through both Growing to Give and Cancer Bites, Shaw proves that communities can grow resilience alongside nourishment, whether through food forests or supportive conversations about life's toughest challenges.