Talaya Dendy: From Cancer Survivor to Cancer Doula
Talaya Dendy transformed her cancer diagnosis into a mission to support others. Now a 2025 Bush Fellow and 14-year survivor, she offers culturally rooted, practical, and emotional guidance through her work as a cancer doula. Her journey is reshaping what healing can look like for people facing serious illness.
When diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011, Talaya Dendy says she had a great oncologist, health care team, and the support of family and friends. Still, she lacked the emotional support of someone who truly understood her journey. Now, as a 14-year cancer survivor and 2025 Bush Fellow, she uses her knowledge and experience to support others.
After her diagnosis, her journey began by asking herself why she wanted to live.
“I’m a giver. I love to help people,” she said. “It wasn’t going to be easy, but I knew that I wasn’t going to die.” Understanding what she was facing became key.
“You need to have a general understanding of what it is that you’re facing so that you can start to formulate questions that can help to inform your decisions,” she said.
In 2019, Dendy began her work as a cancer coach — although the word ‘coach’ never quite felt like the right fit. She found herself drawn to the word ‘doula,’ which typically refers to someone who supports a mother during childbirth.
“In its broadest, most general way of describing a doula, it’s someone who supports another person through a major life change or significant health-related experience,” she explained. “We need people to be by our side and walk us through this journey, whether it’s birth or whether it’s cancer.”
She now does this through her organization, On the Other Side.
Most clients find Dendy through a Google search. They begin by filling out a questionnaire about their diagnosis and whether treatment has begun. Next comes a 30-minute virtual meet-and-greet.
Most of her clients live in the U.S., but she has also worked with people in the United Kingdom. If a client lives within 40 to 50 miles of the Twin Cities, Dendy may accompany them to a doctor’s appointment for moral support upon request. However, most of her services are provided virtually.
“It’s more convenient, I’ve found, for people to just get on a Zoom call,” she said. “It’s one less appointment that they have to get dressed for or drive to.”
Her 2025 Bush Fellowship is helping her expand her leadership skills and deepen her approach. She plans to travel to a “blue zone,” areas of the world where people live exceptionally long, healthy lives.
“That could be due to community, due to their nutrition and diet, or due to their lack of hustle culture,” Dendy said. “I want to experience that for myself and bring insights back to my clients.”
She’s especially focused on how nutrition, rest and exercise impact healing. “We’re not really in environments that are conducive to those things,” she said. “Most people are working 50 to 60 hours per week. So, their meal is something that you put in a microwave.”
In addition to studying cancer prevention, she plans to pursue certification through the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching and enroll in leadership development courses.
Dendy is also working to break down barriers to access. Since insurance does not cover her services, it can be difficult for low-income clients to afford the support they need.
She noted that many people of color also remain distrustful of a health care system that has caused harm in both the past and present. “To meet this distrust, it’s important for people to see someone who looks like them,” she said. “I would love to see more Black people in the cancer space and in health and wellness in general.”
To that end, Dendy partners with local organizations committed to increasing community participation in clinical trials. “If Black and African American people are not represented in clinical trials, how do we know that those things are going to work for us?”
She believes clinical trials can be lifesaving and should be considered a standard part of cancer care.
“The Bush Fellowship is all about thinking big and investing in people and their leadership skills,” she said. “It gives us the flexibility to develop at our own capacity and lead effectively for the long term.”
Find out more about Talaya Dendy and On the Other Side at https://www.ontheotherside.life/.
Vickie Evans-Nash is a contributing writer for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. She welcomes reader responses at vnash@spokesman-recorder.com.