Mara Mussoni, the first certified Cancer Coach in Italy, is a teacher, a disseminator, and a writer with a specific mission: to improve the lives of people facing illness. After overcoming cancer twice and understanding the importance of care not only at the physical level but also at the mental and emotional levels, Mara decided to embark on a training path focused on personal growth.
By attending training courses in America and Europe, she chose to change her life, realizing her greatest aspiration: to become a Cancer Coach capable of helping those facing the experience of illness transform suffering into an opportunity for growth. To achieve this, Mara has created a practical and effective action method that includes exercises, study sessions, work on beliefs, analysis of redundant mechanisms, and dysfunctional dynamics of those facing a particularly complex and delicate period of life.
Through the Cancer Coaching Method, Mara provides concrete support to hundreds of people. After witnessing incredible results in those she assists, the creator of the method decided to transmit her knowledge to as many professionals as possible, committing to achieving a radical paradigm shift in the way oncological disease is still considered and experienced today.
With the Master's in Cancer Coaching at Levels I and II, Mara Mussoni trains dozens of helping relationship professionals each year, including caregivers, psychologists, pharmacists, nurses, and anyone who wants to learn how to effectively manage those facing illness.
Author of "Cancer. The Starting Line for Your Rebirth," Verdechiaro Editions 2018, "Oncological Coaching. Take the Path to Your Healing" 2022, "Become the Help You Would Like to Have" 2023.
Mara Mussoni, Cancer Coach
Mara, can you tell us what drove you to achieve all this and the purpose of cancer coaching for those directly and indirectly involved with the disease? Is it only for those with a cancer diagnosis, or is it also for everyone who is alongside, such as professionals or caregivers?
When I received my first cancer diagnosis, a non-Hodgkin lymphoma, at the age of 18, I was truly a young girl. I had never heard of the disease, let alone cancer, especially 30 years ago when there was much more misinformation. The oncologist told me that in 70% of cases, I would die and that survival was only possible in 30% of cases. These words were a cold shower, immediately plunging me into the fear of death, anxiety, and anger towards the world, life, and others. This state of mind accompanied me for almost ten years. I felt different, a victim of injustice, and believed I didn't deserve all that suffering. I didn't know how to get out of it, and around me, I had only professionals and people who didn't understand me, saying things like "you're strong," "you'll see, it will pass." After some time, everyone acted as if I had never had anything, while the thought of cancer was constant and devastating for me.
Then came the turning point when I attended a personal growth course. From there, I never stopped to look for everything that could contribute to my holistic healing, starting from personal growth, alternative medicine and spiritual practices, until I became the first Cancer Coach in Italy and Europe.
In my transformation journey, I understood many things, but three in particular:
That those experiencing illness need a clear and concrete method, integrating science, spirituality and alternative healing modalities, broken down into small steps, to immediately move away from suffering and frustration, which risk becoming a comfortable habit legitimized by the situation.
That alone, it's challenging to make transformative leaps to let go of all those self-sabotaging dynamics that have contributed to making us unwell.
That the people around us play a fundamental role in the healing and growth journey, and based on the words they say, the attitude they have, and whether they encourage the person to take responsibility for doing something, the effectiveness of therapies and the course of their life in the years to come also depend on it.
Therefore, cancer coaching aims to empower those facing illness, transform suffering into mental, emotional, and spiritual growth, and provide the right strategies to finally take care of themselves and their well-being. By giving the approach, communication, and change strategies to all professionals and caregivers, it means creating a world where illness is no longer passively experienced but approached proactively towards one's life and human growth. So, cancer coaching is for everyone.
Could you explain more concretely how a cancer coaching journey unfolds for those facing illness?
The method I created, which i called the "Change Cancer Program," lasts for six weeks and takes the person on a journey of self-exploration from the first to the last session.
It starts by giving meaning to what has happened, seeking an interpretation that can activate the person towards change. As long as people continue to think that illness is unjust and a tragedy, they cannot extract the deeper and existential lessons that the disease itself gives each of us. When it is discovered that illness can bring inner wisdom and an opportunity to change life for the better, despite and thanks to what happened, everything changes. The person accepts what happened, becomes grateful, and learns along the way to know themselves better and manage anxiety and stress.
Then there are concrete tools to understand one's own dysfunctional mechanisms and beliefs, transform them immediately with small daily actions, and increase their self-esteem and perceived self-worth so that they begin to make more conscious decisions focused on their well-being.
What are some common challenges that people facing cancer may encounter, and how does Cancer Coaching address these challenges through your coaching programs? One of the biggest challenges is managing the fear of dying and the constant thought that something terrible will happen.
In my Coaching program, there are targeted exercises to redirect attention to the present, gain confidence in one's body, which many have felt betrayed, and learn how to communicate with oneself in an effective and functional way. Inner dialogue plays a fundamental role, and self-awareness and self-discovery allow individuals to transform those behaviors that were already present and did not make the person feel in harmony, one step at a time.
Another challenge is managing the anxiety of recurrence and check-ups. Oncology patients remain in follow-up for life, creating obvious anxiety and repeated stress from exams and results. I have them do a specific exercise to use while undergoing a CT scan or MRI, allowing them to change their perception of time and leave the hospital with a different face. And not only, of course, the method is full of concrete tools and precise writing exercises to let thoughts and emotions flow.
What are the mistakes that many professionals make when interacting with those facing illness?
Often, professionals listen little to the needs of the patient, who, in turn, feels not understood. In other cases, when there is much empathy, the patient is listened to too much, fueling a dynamic of complaint and discomfort. The disease gives reasons to complain, and people revel in it. The professional must learn to create a balance within themselves to manage the relationship effectively and lead the person to take action. There are commonplace phrases like "think positive," "everything will be fine," "you are strong, it will pass," which are repeated too easily for not knowing what to say, creating even more anxiety and frustration for those experiencing it. An attempt is made to downplay, but the effect obtained is the opposite. Moreover, professionals in the caregiving relationship need to learn to ask questions that open scenarios, create doubts, feed awareness, and make the person an active part of their journey. I teach this to my students during the Master in Cancer Coaching, all with the created method that brings a real transformation to the professional themselves. I deeply believe that one cannot truly help if they do not first learn to help themselves.
What are the future projects of Cancer Coaching? Are there upcoming developments, services, or expansions that your clients and the public can expect?
There is a beautiful news in the works, and it will be the Master in Cancer Coaching for caregivers and professionals in English, precisely to bring the method to as many people as possible worldwide. The master has already helped hundreds of professionals in Italy become the help you would want to have at the most delicate moment of your life, and so the time has come to bring it outside.
Tell us about your greatest professional success so far.
My greatest success is having turned the most traumatic experience of my life into a service and a contribution to the world, and I am profoundly proud of that. Furthermore, having managed to manifest what my soul has come to experience in this life is truly a privilege and an enormous satisfaction.
If you could change one thing in your industry, what would you change and why?
I would change the mindset and the distrust that people have in themselves and towards approaches different from those always used. The belief that cancer is too difficult to "defeat" and therefore, for this reason, doing nothing that dignifies life, despite and with the disease. I believe that no one can have a crystal ball and predict the future, but one certainty is that when an illness like cancer arrives, a change is needed, and that change will inevitably bring cascading benefits to the day, relationships, and life of those who live it and those who are by their side.
Tell us about a crucial moment in your life that has brought you to where you are today.
A crucial moment was when I realized that the environment I was in, the relationships I had around me were not for my evolution and healing. Therefore, if I wanted to heal and feel better, I had to change my environment, relationships, and behaviors within myself. I believe that this literally saved my life.
In conclusion, would you like to share something about yourself and your private life?
Certainly, I have been divorced for 10 years. After my second cancer diagnosis, I decided to leave my ex-husband, whom I was no longer in love with. I have two twin daughters, 18 years old, who pursued their passion and are Italian football players in Italian teams. I have a dog, "Giotto," whom I love and who takes care of me every day with his presence. In my free time, I love to dance, travel, meditate, read, and meet interesting people with whom to exchange ideas and visions on how to make this world a better place to live. In essence, I have a very simple life because my work is my mission and what nourishes my soul, which dances every day at hearing the words of people who achieve results thanks to me.
Could you share a success story or a testimony from a client who has benefited from Cancer Coaching services?
One among many: Laura with brain cancer, who felt doomed, with no way out, and stopped buying shoes because she said it wasn't worth it since she would die. After 5 sessions, she got up from the couch, where she used to spend entire days in depression, and started walking every morning, writing, and planning a future with her grandchildren. You can find the interview on my YouTube channel.
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