About the Author…

My name is Dayna Bodensteiner.  I am a 49 year old widow and mother of three amazing girls.  My husband passed away 8 years ago, unexpectedly, from a heart attack.  That event turned my world upside down in a way that I think a diagnosis of cancer does.  I’ve spent the last 27 years working in the cancer field, first as a radiation therapist, then as a medical dosimetrist (planning the radiation treatments) and today as a product manager in the industry of creating radiation treatment planning software. 

In May of 2020, in the midst of the global Covid- pandemic, I had a girls evening with one of my dearest friends.  My random assigned college freshman roommate, 30 years later, is still a huge blessing in my life.  After an evening of wine and laughs, she stayed the night.  As we were falling asleep, we said our prayers out loud and together. Through some tears, we asked God for his guidance finding HIS purpose for our lives.  When I woke up that Sunday morning, I had been having a very vivid dream about this cancer journal.  I woke Karrie to tell her all about it, wanting to remember the details.  I then got out of bed, went to my office and wrote it all down.  The outline, the purpose and general details that had been so clear in my head.  When reality hit, I thought- “surely this already exists?”  So I did an internet search.  I found some journals, but none exactly like I had dreamt about.  I ordered every one I could find as part of my continued research. 

In the following months, I’ve told people about this dream and each time, I have tears.  I cannot explain why. Maybe it’s fear of tackling this, maybe its passion, but the underlying message to me from all those that I’ve trusted is “you need to do this!”  Since that dream, I’ve listened to several podcasts urging anyone listening, that if you have a purpose on your heart that you can’t shake, you need to listen.  Even if it’s already been done before, don’t be afraid to do it better.  Armed with these tools; the journals I’ve accumulated, my past experience with tragedy, and interviews with patients to understand how they coped, my goal is to create the very best journal I can. 

I’ve enlisted the help of my friend and long-time co-worker, Emily to help me bring this journal to life with graphic design.  Emily is a pastor’s wife and a mother of two, who is on her own journey to adopt two little boys from Haiti.  She also happens to be very artistically talented!  I know I need her help to bring this project to life and I am thrilled she has agreed to partner with me. 

I also enlisted the talent of local artist, Hope Christopherson, who using water colors, has hand painted images used throughout the book. Lastly, my long time friend and cancer survivor, Jeni Leberknight did the copy editing. Together we have created something we are all very proud of.

I am excited to have reached the point of publishing this journal. If you are a cancer patient holding this journal or navigating this site, I pray it is a useful tool for you in the coming months.