“Turn that pain into purpose”: Exploring grief and cancer with Gigi Marino

“Grief changes you,” said Gigi Marino, a clinical nurse operations manager at the Bozeman Health Cancer Center. She spoke on April 14 at the “Resilience and Cancer: The Complexities of Grief” event, hosted by the Cancer Support Community at MSU (CSCU). 

Although it operates independently from Cancer Support Community Montana (CSCM), CSCU collaborates with CSCM to reach students impacted by cancer. 

CSCM is one of 40 CSC affiliates nationwide. It has 16 resource centers located across Montana, according to the CSCM website, where it provides support and education for people affected by cancer by offering stress management sessions, exercise activities, social events and more.

“Resilience and Cancer” was one of these collaborative efforts, held in the Strand Union Building. The keynote speaker was Marino, who has been a trustee at CSCM since 2024. During her speech, she discussed ways to deal with grief, specifically pertaining to cancer. 

“My grief journey started when I was a kid, when my stepdad had throat cancer,” Marino said. “We have to embrace — literally — the suck, because it is dark and it is hard, but we don’t have to do it alone. When I was eight or nine, I did my first tracheostomy suctioning.”

Marino explained that one outlet she uses to deal with grief is running. “The miles I’ve done has been me doing the work I needed to do to find purpose — to be able to turn that pain into purpose,” Marino said.

Marino said that her work at CSCM allows her to share coping strategies with other people. One such strategy involves harnessing your breath. “You have to breathe backwards, and it's going to be five, four, three, two one and go,” she said. 

On Tuesday, graphic design student Marren Russell was present at the event. She was diagnosed with cancer at 14. Although she has been in remission for five years, she shared that she is still processing the grief surrounding her fight with cancer.

She expressed that while in treatment, she found ways to cope. “Acknowledge that this is your reality, and acknowledge the stupid things that go well,” she said. “Like, I used to make slushies in my hospital room. Really, just letting yourself be sad — because being upset isn’t really socially acceptable after a certain period of time.”

“We are stronger than cancer as a community,” Marino said. After the event, she spoke individually with students, giving hugs and advice to attendees as they shared their experiences. 

CSCU President Brandon Cabaniss explained that while he does not have a personal 

connection to cancer, the opportunity to connect with survivors has been really special to him. “I know that this community has my back if anything like this ever happens to me,” he said.

“Our goal is to connect MSU students impacted by cancer through volunteering and advocacy events as well as community organizing,” Cabaniss said. 

To get connected with CSCU, join the GroupMe at  https://groupme.com/join_group/95887764/UctzJKiP.

For more information on CSCM, visit https://cancersupportmontana.org/.