Column: Radio host who beat cancer walks the talk and talks the walk

More than a year ago, radio Mighty 1090 AM sports talk personality Linda Welby revealed her breast cancer diagnosis. As she went through surgery, followed by chemotherapy, for her aggressive Stage 3 cancer, she continued to occasionally join discussions on the “Scott & BR” radio show from home.

One of her goals was to get healthy enough to take part in the Susan G. Komen breast cancer walk on Nov. 4, 2018, one day after her last chemo treatment.

She achieved that goal, walking a 1-mile loop in Balboa Park with her #Lindastrong team organized by her co-workers. They raised more than $20,000 for Komen San Diego’s research and outreach efforts.

Jump forward one year: Welby recently invited Facebook friends to join her in the Nov. 3, 2019, cancer walk: “I would love to cross that finish line healthy and surrounded by people like you who bothered to reach out in one form or another during one of my darkest times,” she posted.

The 54-year-old mother of two once again achieved her goal, finishing the Komen 5k with her support team, now called “Great Friends.” This time, she participated as a survivor, not a cancer patient. She also had another role. Komen San Diego asked her to be its 2019 Race for the Cure Honorary Breast Cancer Survivor and address participants before the event.

“I was blown away, so honored. Of course, I said yes,” she says.

Last fall, Welby had vowed to return to her radio job early in the new year, and she did. But in April, the station, facing lease and financial problems, ceased operating. The “Scott & BR Show” transformed into a YouTube podcast. Welby still takes a seat at the table once a week, but she misses live radio and would like to return.

Meanwhile, she is developing her own YouTube channel to pass on cancer experts’ advice and debunk myths. The idea grew out of her own online search for information when she was sick.

“My goal is to have quick interviews with experts on everything from ‘cold capping,’ to drug side effects, to what radiation will do to you and how to prepare.”

During her chemo infusions, she wore a helmet of icy material (chemo cold cap therapy) to chill her scalp and protect hair follicles. Her hair thinned, but she didn’t lose it, which helped preserve her sense of well-being.

Welby since has learned that icing your hands and feet during chemo helps guard against nerve damage that can lead to neuropathy.

She hopes to have her YouTube channel operational soon. Meanwhile, she’s speaking out about cancer on her “Lindamwelby” accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

As dreadful as her health scare was, Welby admits, “It changed me for the better in that I learned a number of things along the way.” It also put a chink in her “be tough” armor.

“Accepting help was hard for me to do,” she says, but that changed after she was knocked down by cancer. “Great friends. That’s how you get through it. ... I opened the door a little bit, and they kicked the door down. ... My kids (Ava and Quincy) were amazing, and my husband was the best ever. I could see how hard it was on him.” Her husband, Austin Bunn, heads Mission Home Mortgage.

Welby’s best advice? “Be gentle to yourself. We women try to fight so hard and are known as warriors, but your body needs to rest, your mind to rest.”

Winning voice: Encinitas church singer Kat Hammock continues her journey on “The Voice.” She survived Monday’s knockout round against a Blake Shelton teammate and heads into the final round before the live TV competition in which viewers vote.

The judges praised Hammock for her unique sound and style. The La Costa Canyon High School grad postponed starting college to compete on the show.

“I am so thankful for my family and for all of their prayers and love,” she posted on Facebook after Monday’s vocal duel. “I am ALSO thankful for the amazing friends I’ve met on the show and the INCREDIBLE support from the show’s viewers...”

During a pre-broadcast interview with Hammock, who sings regularly at the St. James Catholic Church in Solana Beach, she confided that she always has her Miraculous Medal of the Virgin Mary with her when she performs. Perhaps that explains why Gwen Stefani likened her voice to “an angel.”

Fateful inscription: Kudos to photographer Jim Grant, whose camera lens focused on a story-within-a-story following the beaching of a sailboat near Ocean Beach pier last week.

The young man piloting the grounded sloop was arrested by law enforcement on suspicion of sailing under the influence, but removing the boat posed a tougher challenge. After attempts failed to pull the vessel back to sea, a heavy equipment crew was summoned to remove it. As the excavator hoisted the craft, it ripped apart.

Grant snapped a photo of a man standing in the wreckage holding up one of the boat’s orange life preservers. Hand written on the side in black ink were the words: “Lot-A-Fun.” Not.