By Christine Hansen | November 25, 2025
"I didn't survive cancer.
I wrote a book during it."
Today, I'm ringing the bell. My final radiation treatment is complete.
And in 17 days, my book releases.
This is the story of how we got here.
The Timeline
March 2025: Routine mammogram. Early detection saves lives - get your screenings.
April: My worst fear became a possibility.
May: Breast cancer. Left breast. Heart chakra.
June: First surgery.
July: Second surgery. Just when I was getting stronger - AGAIN.
August: Third surgery. I couldn't catch my breath.
September: A major project I'd been counting on was suddenly cancelled. Devastating financially and emotionally. Just when I thought I could finally breathe, another blow.
October-November: Radiation. Every single day.
November 25, 2025: Today. Final treatment. I'm ringing the bell. 🔔
December 6: One more surgery. Skin cancer on my nose. Visible. I can't hide it. I'm honestly scared about this one.
December 12: Six days later - my book releases.
What Nobody Tells You About Treatment
Here's what nobody tells you about cancer treatment: it doesn't knock you down once. It knocks you down over and over and over.
Just when you think you're getting your strength back, there's another surgery. Another test. Another setback. Another devastating blow.
And through it all, life doesn't pause. Bills still come. Projects still fall through. The world keeps spinning while you're trying to survive.
The Journey Back to What Held Me
This journey forced me BACK to the daily practices I'd abandoned.
The rituals. The crystals.
The sacred practices that had always held me.
I'd let life pull me away from my foundation - the spiritual practices that Spirit Trading Company was built on. The meditations to start my day. The daily journaling. The vision boards. The practices that keep me anchored.Â
And breast cancer? Left breast? Heart chakra?
It cracked my heart wide open.
Old heartbreaks I thought I'd healed started surfacing. Heartaches I'd buried for years came up during treatment. And I realized: this cancer wasn't just healing my body. It was clearing out everything my heart had been holding for YEARS.
This wasn't just physical healing. It was soul-level clearing.
Focusing Not on What Was Happening,
But What Was to Come
I needed to focus my mind NOT on what was happening to me, but on what was calling me forward.
REBIRTH when I couldn't see past the diagnosis.
I lit candles. I held Rose Quartz on my heart chakra. I spoke intentions of renewal when everything in me felt like it was dying. The REBIRTH practice reminded me that even in the darkest soil, seeds are preparing to break through.
STRENGTH between surgeries.
I worked with Carnelian and Red Jasper. I spoke affirmations of power when I felt powerless. I created rituals around reclaiming my body as sacred temple, not battlefield. The STRENGTH practice taught me that true power isn't avoiding the fall - it's rising every single time.
PROTECTION before radiation.
I surrounded myself with Black Tourmaline and Obsidian. I burned protective herbs. I created energetic boundaries when my physical boundaries were being violated daily by treatment. The PROTECTION practice showed me that I could hold space for healing without absorbing every ounce of fear and pain.
GRATITUDE on the hardest days.
I found things to be grateful for even in the fire. The GRATITUDE practice wasn't toxic positivity - it was acknowledging that even in the worst moments, there was still beauty. Still love. Still life wanting to be lived.
Writing It All Down
I started writing them down. All 36 of them.
12 Sacred Practices.
The foundational rituals that carried me through - REBIRTH, STRENGTH, PROTECTION, GRATITUDE, and eight more that became my lifeline.
12 Crystal Empowerments.
Working with the stones that have been used for healing for thousands of years. Not as magic cure, but as sacred tools for focusing intention and energy.
12 Botanical Essences.
The plants that have held humanity through every challenge we've ever faced. Rosemary for remembering who we are. Lavender for soothing the nervous system. Sage for clearing what no longer serves.
I didn't write these practices because I planned to write a book.
I wrote them because these sacred tools and practices were keeping me FOCUSED on the REBIRTH to come.
They were keeping me focused on healing.
And I needed to document what was actually working.
I'm Not Sharing This for Pity
I'm not sharing this story for pity or sympathy.
I'm sharing it because cancer clarified my PURPOSE.
I'm reminding US of OUR Indomitable Spirit.
That unbreakable essence inside each of us that refuses to be diminished by circumstances. That rises. That transforms. That alchemizes pain into purpose.
This book isn't just for someone on a cancer journey.
It's for anyone facing life's challenges.
Loss. Heartbreak. Financial devastation. Uncertainty. Divorce. Career collapse. Identity crisis. Grief. Whatever is breaking you open right now.
These practices work because they're ancient. They work because they're simple. They work because they don't require you to be anything other than human.
You don't need special tools. You don't need to be "spiritual enough." You don't need to have it all figured out.
You just need to be willing to show up for yourself, one practice at a time.
The book is organized around the four seasons, with three practices in each season (one main practice, one crystal empowerment, one botanical essence).
You can start anywhere. March with BLOSSOM. July with VISION. October with PROTECTION. Wherever you are in your journey, there's a practice waiting to meet you there.
But I'm starting January 1, 2026 with Rebirth, again.
After the hardest year of my life, I'm using my own book to rebuild.
To rise.
To remember who I am beneath all the fear and pain.
And I'm inviting you to start with me.
Coming Back Stronger
I am coming back stronger than ever.
Not because cancer made me stronger. I reject that narrative.
But because I CHOSE to use every tool I had to rise.
I CHOSE to focus on rebirth instead of the alternative.
I CHOSE empowerment over limitation.
I CHOSE celebration over dwelling in the darkness.
That's what this book teaches. That's what these practices do.
They don't erase the pain. They don't make it "all happen for a reason."
They give you tools to RISE while you're still in the fire.
What's Calling You Forward?
So I ask you: What's calling you forward?
What's the dream you've been too scared to chase?
What's the life you've been too exhausted to build?
What's the version of yourself you've been too broken to become?
Join me. Let's RISE together.
Pre-orders open December 1st.
Book releases December 12th.
I can't wait to share these practices with you. 💗🔥
One More Thing
Get your mammograms. Don't skip your screenings. My cancer was caught early because I showed up for that routine appointment. I'm one of the lucky ones.
Early detection saves lives. Please don't skip yours.
About Christine Hansen
Christine Hansen is the Chief Executive Dreamweaver of Spirit Trading Company and author of Seasons of Spirit: Sacred Empowerment Practices to Ignite Your Indomitable Spirit.She lives in the Hudson Valley, New York, where she creates hand-poured candles, curates crystals, grows botanicals at Spirit Farm, and brings joy to events with Bluebelle the Spirit Truck. This is her first book.
Connect: @spirittradingcompany | spirittradingcompany.com
Pre-order link coming December 1st
