w/Jenni Tooley

Hosted by Jenni Tooley

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Jun 2026

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About the show

Welcome to w/Jenni Tooley, an Audio Diary! I’m Jenni Tooley, a former actress and filmmaker turned writer and storyteller, sharing the truth about healing, survival, and the strange, often unexpected beauty that shows up in the middle of it all. From cancer diagnosis to recovery, from reinvention to rest, from breakdowns to quiet rebuilds—nothing here is polished or prescriptive. It's just me with my iphone wherever I'm at, doing whatever I'm doing- both literally and figuratively! If you’re navigating change, loss, healing, or just the slow unraveling of who you thought you were… you’re not alone. Come as you are. Stay as long as you need. And always remember that you are loved. www.jennitooley.com

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60 recent

June 4, 202623 min

CC S5.E9: Trauma, Tight Asses & Pelvic Floor Therapy

Today I’m diving into what happened at a visit with my pelvic floor therapist so this episode might make you a little uncomfortable. But I promise that this episode is vulnerable, practical, weirdly educational, and occasionally very funny.Cancer Chronicles S5.E9: Trauma, Tight Asses & Pelvic Floor TherapyThis episode was recorded on February 1, six months after my ileostomy closure surgery, and explores what recovery actually looks like after chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, bowel reconstruction, and reconnecting an entire digestive system.More Specifically:* what pelvic floor therapy actually is and what happens during an exam* how LARS surgery scar tissue can affect bowel function* how surviving trauma — physical, emotional, spiritual, historical — can leave the body in a constant state of bracing* convincing your body that it’s safe again* why my anus apparently refuses to relax* the deeply humbling experience of celebrating a successful poopIf you’re going through cancer recovery, chronic illness, pelvic floor issues, trauma recovery, post-surgical healing, or simply trying to reconnect with your body after a hard season, I hope this helps you feel less alone. If you know someone who could benefit from this podcast, please share it:)Love ya lots!Jenni Get full access to w/Jenni Tooley at www.jennitooley.com/subscribe

May 28, 202613 min

CC S5.E8: Cancer Treatment Aftercare, Spiritual Immunity & Healing Buttholes

We’re still catching up on podcast episodes- this one was recorded back in January. Things have changed a bit since then, but life is still surreal. Many thanks to those who have supported the cast, mrJames who contributed the new Season 5 branding, and to Linda who heeded the call and sent me a bidet attachment! Support is still needed and appreciated:)venmo: @jenni-tooley zelle/paypal: jennitooley@gmail www.jennitooley.comYou all rock! Now on with the show…Cancer Chronicles S5:Ep8 Treatment Aftercare, Spiritual Immunity & Healing ButtholesAfter rectal cancer treatment, there are a lot of strange little things that become part of everyday life. Some are scary. Some are annoying. Some are unexpectedly funny. And some involve conversations with medical professionals where you ask for “skincare tips” and they mistakenly think that these tips are for your face.There’s also a quiet thread running underneath this episode about recovery after active treatment — the strange emotional space where the emergency is technically over, but your body and nervous system are still trying to figure out what happened.The Breakdown* sensitive skin and skincare for your butt* recovery realities nobody talks about like long-term radiation damage, fecal incontinence and IBS* the unexpected emotional joy of a bidet attachment* rebuilding an aftercare team* protecting both my physical and spiritual immune systems* pulling inward for a while* allowing myself to simply exist without hiding my scarsIf you’re navigating cancer recovery, chronic illness, burnout, nervous system exhaustion, or just trying to feel human again after a hard season… this one’s for you.Love ya lots.Jenni Get full access to w/Jenni Tooley at www.jennitooley.com/subscribe

May 21, 202629 min

My body still remembers

Cancer Chronicles: Survivorship is a real-time audio journal of the lived experience after cancer treatment, where healing doesn’t follow a timeline and the body continues to speak long after medical care ends.In this episode, I reflect on survivorship as something embodied rather than conceptual. I share about the unexpected return of physical echoes from treatment, including moments from hospital stays that still live in the nervous system and body memory.One memory in particular — repeated IV attempts, blown veins, and alarm machines triggered by movement — opens into a larger reflection on how the body holds onto experiences long after they seem “over.”This is a conversation about what lingers, what resurfaces, and what it means to rebuild trust with a body that has been through a lot.Season 5: Survivorship is unfolding in real time.If you want to support me and this ongoing work, you can do so via Substack membership at www.jennitooley.com or direct support (Venmo @jenni-tooley, PayPal/Zelle: jennitooley@gmail.com).Thank you- you are loved. Jenni Get full access to w/Jenni Tooley at www.jennitooley.com/subscribe

May 14, 202627 min

Survivorship, Pelvic Floor Therapy, and getting to know my body...again.

This episode begins on New Year’s Day 2026, in the middle of ongoing recovery from cancer treatment. Survivorship is not a label. It’s a lived process that begins at diagnosis and keeps unfolding.The body does not follow calendars. It follows capacity. For me, survivorship is a space that doesn’t end when treatment ends, but continues with digestive issues, fatigue, physical therapy, nervous system regulation, and the daily negotiation with what my body can actually do.This season, my only real guide is simple: my healing comes first. Too bad it took cancer to remind me of that:)Until next time- you are loved. If this work resonates with you, please support its continuation by becoming a paid subscriber at www.jennitooley.com or by sending direct support via Venmo (@jenni-tooley), PayPal, or Zelle (jennitooley@gmail.com). Every bit of support helps sustain this work while I recover and continue creating from inside the process. Get full access to w/Jenni Tooley at www.jennitooley.com/subscribe

May 7, 20267 min

NYE, Oncology Centers, & Pelvic Floors

Hi darlin!This one is coming at ya from my car in the Oncology Center parking lot on NYE day. It was my first day of post-treatment physical therapy- a pelvic floor therapy intake no less. Talk about anxiety! Let’s jump right in,,,shall we?Love ya lots!JenniBe w/Jenni Tooley wherever, whenever, and however she is by becoming a free or paid subscriber at www.jennitooley.com. You can also keep her in gas money and copays via venmo @jenni-tooley or paypal/zelle: jennitooley@gmail.com Get full access to w/Jenni Tooley at www.jennitooley.com/subscribe

April 30, 202621 min

Same Event, Different Body

This week’s episode starts with church bells ringing outside my car window- let’s enjoy them for a moment, shall we?Now on to the meat of it!I was invited to participate in the Lavender & Lore event again this year. It got me thinking about the last time I was there—right in the middle of radiation and chemo. I showed up exhausted, overheated, and not very clear about where I even was in my body.And yet… something really beautiful came out of that day.In this episode I’m reflecting on:✨ what it was like showing up to Lavender & Lore last year in the middle of treatment✨ the unexpected gifts that came from it—including a dog park community that ended up helping me more than I ever expected✨ what I lost during cancer treatment (and what I’ve let stay lost)✨ what it means when an opportunity comes around again✨ preparing for events when your bowels might have other plans (yes, we’re going there again)✨ and why “my healing comes first” is still the compass I’m followingSometimes the real abundance doesn’t show up the way we expect. Sometimes it comes sideways—through community, connection, or someone offering to walk your dog.Love ya lots!JenniYou can support the podcast as well as well as my livelihood by becoming a paid subscriber at www.jennitooley.com or making a donation via venmo@jenni-tooley Get full access to w/Jenni Tooley at www.jennitooley.com/subscribe

April 23, 202626 min

S5:Ep2 My First Post-Cancer CT Scan

Hey there! Today we’re going to be doing a Cancer Chronicles episode… unless I get completely derailed, which could happen. Seriously, this is the third attempt at recording this episode.The first time I was interrupted by my dog.The second time I was interrupted by my bowels.This is a story that I really don’t want to tell. But I keep hearing it in my head… and every time I tell it to someone close to me, they laugh. So here we go!Welcome to Episode 2This episode is about my first surveillance CT scan after cancer treatment wearing a body that doesn’t have a rhythm yet. Two months out from an ileostomy closure and I still don’t know when I’m going to go to the bathroom, what it’s going to be like, or how long I’m going to be in there.The CT scan required an hour drive while fasting, and an iodine contrast. Let’s just say, my body went bonkers resulting in two Walmart bathroom stops and so much time spent on the toilet that I realized that Walmart has its own radio station.We also get into:* the difference between worry, anxiety, and concern* what it means to listen to your body (or not listen to your body)* and how healing doesn’t always look the way you think it willSometimes survivorship looks like just trying to make it home and being kind to yourself when your body has other plans.This s**t happens.Like… it literally happens.Lova ya!JenniNo sponsors or a big machine behind this—just me. So, if you want to help keep the truth flowing, send a little digital love my way via venmo @jenni-tooley, zelle/paypal using jennitooley@gmail.com, or become a freaking awesome subscriber at www.jennitooley.com Get full access to w/Jenni Tooley at www.jennitooley.com/subscribe

April 16, 2026Episode 528 min

S5:Ep 1 Cancer Chronicles: Complete Response, Not Complete Recovery

Hi darlin! We’re finally back! It took me long enough! We’re here with Season 5 of the podcast! This podcast has had so many names that I’m not even going to throw one out there for you right now, but I will tell you that this season is about Cancer Survivorship. Because I am now a cancer survivor!This season is for anyone who has ever thought, “Shouldn’t I be better by now?” And for the people who love us, too. The ones who may not realize that the crisis can be over, but the recovery is still very much happening.Welcome to Episode 1In this episode, I talk about what it means to have a complete response to cancer treatment and still be very much in recovery. My bloodwork looks good. My scans look good. The cancer is gone. And yet I am still dealing with bowel issues, fatigue, fear, and the very real question of how exactly I am supposed to function like a normal person when my body clearly did not get that memo.I also talk about the support drop off that happens after treatment ends. During cancer, there is a team. There are specialists. There are grants. There is support. Then suddenly you are in survivorship, still dealing with the fallout, and a whole lot of people and systems seem to think you should be fine now.I’m not sharing this to be dramatic. I’m sharing it because people need to understand this part. Just because we are cancer-free does not mean we are back to normal.Here’s the quick lowdown:* what a complete response actually means after rectal cancer treatment* life after chemo, radiation, surgery, ileostomy, and ileostomy reversal* the reality of bowel dysfunction and urgency in post-treatment recovery* what happened when I literally could not trust my body in public* why survivorship after cancer can still be physically and emotionally hard* the gap between looking well and actually being well* Social Security disability and the impossible logic of proving you are not fully functional* why recovery needs a new support team, even after treatment endsLove you lots,JenniKeep the poop talk coming and the candid truth about living with cancer in the open by supporting me via Venmo @jenni-tooley, via paypal/zelle using jennitooley@gmail.com or becoming a subscriber here at www.jennitooley.com Get full access to w/Jenni Tooley at www.jennitooley.com/subscribe

March 3, 20263 min

Sit w/me

(Transcribed from the audio so you can read or listen or read and listen!)Hello, hello:)I just wanted to take a moment here —just a little pocket of quiet time.I know you’re rushing to get to the next thing,and yes, I am absolutely impeding your progress.I’m not going to apologize for that.Instead, I’m inviting you to just sit here with me.For a couple of minutes.No guided relaxation.No meditation.We’re not going to do anything.We’re just going to hang.Getting itchy yet?Yeah… I get that.It’s hard to sit still sometimes —especially when the world feels like it’s going crazyand Apple keeps changing the iOS on my phone.So many things to figure out.So many problems to solve.Mine. Yours. The world’s.…But maybe I don’t have to.Maybe you don’t have to either.What if — just for now —we didn’t fix a single thing?What if we just sat here and took three breaths?(pause for breath)Wow.You have no idea how many times I wanted to break that silence.But I didn’t.Were you breathing too?I’m glad I stayed quiet —because now, I actually feel different.The mechanics of that are real —it’s the nervous system,the stress response,the breath.I hear things differently now.I see things differently.I’m here.So —come back to this anytime you want.Sit with me. Hang with me.Maybe even make a habit out of it.See what happens.Do a little experiment.Know that you are loved.And until we breathe again…Just be. Get full access to w/Jenni Tooley at www.jennitooley.com/subscribe

February 16, 20260 min

My favorite kind of traffic jam

w/Jenni Tooley is a joy-supported venture. Share a smile. Become a member at www.jennitooley.com Or feed the geese via Venmo @jenni-tooley Get full access to w/Jenni Tooley at www.jennitooley.com/subscribe