Connie Pombo

  Motivational speaker, breast cancer survivor, and author, Connie Pombo delivers a message of joy, hope and courage.

Her life changed drastically on March 21, 1996 when she heard the words, "you have breast cancer." Facing her own mortality, at the age of 40, was the greatest gift she ever received. Since that time, she has been inspiring audiences throughout the country with her hallmark speech, "Living the Passionate Life," in which she shares how you can transform your "tragedy, pain and loss into a life of unspeakable joy, purpose and passion." Connie shares how you can change setbacks into passionate new beginnings!

She is a member of the National Cancer Survivors Day Speakers Bureau,,an organization that provides listings of cancer survivor speakers to over 3,500 groups and institutes throughout the United States, and she is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the National Speaker's Association. Connie is the author of Trading Ashes for Roses and contributing author to 28 books, including: The Ultimate Mom (HCI); Chicken Soup for the Coffee-Lover's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Runner's Soul and Love is a Verb. Look for her upcoming book: "Coffee Lover's Devotions to Go." Connie is a finalist for the upcoming book, Chicken Soup book, Say Goodbye to Stress. She is available for keynotes on "Living a Stress-Free Life" after May 22, 2012.

Audiences describe Connie as vibrant, humorous, and authentic. "She is an animated storyteller...moving you from laughter one moment and tears the next." Her topics are diverse, but all draw the listener to deeper levels of understanding and passion. With 20 years' experience in health information management and her expertise as a CLASS Certified Personality Trainer (CPT), Connie shares with healthcare professionals, cancer survivors, and caregivers the importance of understanding the emotional aspects of cancer. Connie used humor to get through the painful side effects of treatment and found that "laughter is the best medicine." Connie balances all her presentations with knowledge, humor, and sparkling anecdotes to make her presentations memorable and informative.

Connie is a presenter for therapeutic writing workshops, including the Weekend of Hope in Stowe, Vermont where she first found her passion for writing and developed Baskets Full of Hope, an internet gift basket company for cancer survivors and their caregivers. Connie is ava ilable to speak at conferences and seminars, healthcare and oncology groups, fundraising events, college and university campuses, church groups, and writing conferences.

Most recently, Connie was the honoree of the "Celebration of Life Award" by the Eileen Stein Jacoby Fund and Fox Chase Cancer Center to research the hereditary and non-hereditary aspects of breast cancer.

Connie's story of "Making a Difference" was recently featured in Breast Cancer Wellness Magazine. The story of Connie's incredible cancer journey titled, "Living Passionately" is featured in COPING magazine and her most recent article “Ten Ways to Support Someone with Cancer" is found in the July/August issue of Coping Magazine. Read more about Connie's story of survival in "Ever Seen Style" magazine's featured article titled "Heart Strings.” Connie story of inspiration can be found on the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation's website, in which she shares how her greatest pain became her greatest passion.

If you would like more information on booking Connie for your next event, please refer to the contact page on this website. If you know someone going through the cancer journey and you don't know what to say or how to help, order Connie's book Trading Ashes for Roses: From Pain to Passion for helpful insights on walking a loved one through the cancer journey. The Kindle version is now available as well. 

Connie has now combined her most popular keynotes and seminars into a one-day cancer retreat. If your group or organization is interested in booking Connie, please refer to the "cancer retreat" section on this website. A portion of the proceeds from every speaking engagement, will go to the breast cancer charity of your choice!