Episode 98 - Carried Through Cancer: Finding Joy, Faith, and God’s Nearness in the Hard with Kim Harms

Date: February 10, 2026

Podcast Show Notes: Interview with Kim Harms

 

Story Highlights:

In this deeply moving episode of The Women Behind the Words, Debbie Dufek sits down with author and two time breast cancer survivor Kim Harms for an honest conversation about faith, suffering, and the quiet strength required to keep going when life feels unbearable.

Kim shares her personal journey of being diagnosed with breast cancer at age 40, followed by a second diagnosis seven years later, despite being considered low risk and faithfully following long term treatment. She walks listeners through the physical and emotional realities of mastectomies, reconstruction, chemotherapy, radiation, and ongoing infusions, offering a candid look at both the hardship and the grace she experienced along the way.

During her second battle with cancer, Kim and her family faced another devastating trial when her 20 year old son became critically ill. After months of unanswered questions and decline, he was eventually diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. Kim reflects on how motherhood reshaped her focus during this season, to the point that she once forgot she had chemotherapy scheduled the following day because her heart and attention were entirely on her son. It was a year that stretched her faith in ways she never expected.

Throughout the conversation, Kim shares how God met her in suffering not by quickly removing it, but by faithfully walking with her through it. She talks about choosing daily gratitude, journaling prayers of both lament and thanksgiving, and learning to live fully in the present instead of wishing the hard season away. Scripture, particularly the Psalms of Lament, became a lifeline for Kim, giving her language for pain, trust, and hope all at once.

Kim also shares powerful stories of God’s provision through friendships formed during cancer that became unexpected lifelines. She explains how God used her writing to bring healing to others even while she herself was still healing. Out of these experiences came her book Carried Through Cancer, a 70 day devotional filled with stories from cancer fighters, survivors, and caregivers that highlight how God meets His people in the hardest moments.

After more than a decade walking through cancer, Kim reflects on how her faith has deepened and her voice has grown bolder. She speaks openly about stacking memories of God’s faithfulness, trusting Jesus with her life, and embracing her calling to share hope with others. This episode is a powerful reminder that even in fear, frailty, and suffering, God is near and as long as we have breath, we still have an assignment.

 

Key Takeaways:
• God is near in suffering. Kim’s story reminds us that God does not abandon us in hard seasons. He meets us in them and walks closely with us through fear, uncertainty, and pain.
• Joy can exist alongside grief. Joy is not the absence of hardship but the presence of Jesus. Even in ongoing trials, we can choose gratitude and experience moments of joy.
• Lament is part of faith, not a lack of it. The Psalms of Lament gave Kim language to cry out honestly to God while still choosing trust.
• Hard seasons change us, but they do not disqualify us. Cancer reshaped Kim’s life, but it also deepened her faith, clarified her calling, and strengthened her voice.
• God uses our stories to bring hope to others. Through writing and sharing the stories of fellow cancer fighters and survivors, Kim discovered that God can bring purpose through pain.
• As long as we have breath, we have an assignment. God is still at work, even when life feels uncertain or broken.

 

About Our Guest:
Kim Harms is a two time breast cancer survivor and the author of Carried Through Cancer: 70 Days of Spiritual Strength from Cancer Fighters, Survivors and Caregivers and Life Reconstructed: Navigating the World of Mastectomies and Breast Reconstruction. She holds a degree in English from Iowa State University and brings more than twenty years of professional writing experience across a wide range of publications.

Kim has been married to her husband Corey for nearly three decades. They live in central Iowa with their three sons and one English Springer Spaniel who believes he is the fourth child.

 

Book Highlight:
Carried Through Cancer: 70 Days of Spiritual Strength from Cancer Fighters, Survivors and Caregivers was born out of Kim’s own journey through diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. Rather than offering quick answers or polished platitudes, this devotional creates space for honesty, fear, hope, and faith.

Through seventy daily readings, readers encounter real stories from women who have walked the cancer road as fighters, survivors, and caregivers. Each devotion highlights where God met them in moments of exhaustion, uncertainty, grief, and quiet courage. Kim weaves Scripture, reflection, and lived experience together to remind readers that they are not alone and that God is present in exam rooms, hospital beds, quiet showers, and sleepless nights.

This book offers companionship, spiritual encouragement, and gentle strength for anyone navigating cancer or loving someone who is.

 

Connect with Kim:
Website: https://kimharms.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimharmsauthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimHarmsAuthor