Connie Pombo

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Connie's life changed drastically on March 21, 1996 when she heard the words, "you have 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"  

With 15 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. As a popular sanguine personality, 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 available to speak at conferences and seminars, healthcare and oncology groups, fundraising events, college and university campuses, church groups, and writing conferences. 

She 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 for cancer survivors and their caregivers.

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.

Connie is the author of Trading Ashes for Roses: From Pain to Passion and contributing to author to eight books, including Living the Serenity Prayer, by Adams Media (2007), Chicken Soup for the Coffee Lover’s Soul by HCI (2007), and the One Year Life Verse by Tyndale House Publishers (2007). 

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 2007 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.

Connie 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.

If you would like more information on booking Connie for your next event, please refer to the contact page. And 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. A portion of the proceeds from each book will go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.