Dana Cardinas loved podiatry, and she was damn good at it. But a surprise diagnosis of idiopathic ulnar neuropathy, followed by a shocking discovery of Stage 3C colon cancer, forced her to step away from the profession she adored.

In this episode, Dana opens up about how she handled early retirement, battled cancer, and found purpose again through helping others and launching a new business, 1 Stop Promotional Products. From laughing down clinic hallways to launching a neuropathy support group that’s changing lives in Colontown, Dana proves that purpose doesn't end with a job title.

If you’re a podiatrist, business owner, or just someone navigating life’s curveballs, this conversation is for you.

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Un-edited Transcript

Tyson E Franklin: [00:00:00 ] Hi, I am Tyson Franklin and welcome to this week's episode of the Podiatry Legends Podcast. The podcast designed to help you feel, see, and think differently about the Podiatry profession. With me today is an old friend, well...not that old.

We've only known each other for about 12 years. It is Dana Cardinas, and we met in 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee, at REM Jackson's top practices. But our friendship got bonded even more from about 2015 onwards, when we were at Dave Free's business Black Ops event, which people have heard that I go to on a regular basis.

So Dana, how you doing today?

Dana Cardinas: I'm so good. I'm so happy to be here, Tyson. Thank you. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited.

Tyson E Franklin: I knew you'd bring the energy and I should mention to people that Dana lives in Texas, so there is a slight accent.

Dana Cardinas: Yes, most definitely. And I apologize for my attire today. I literally just got out of the pool.

It's hot and it's summertime and it was pool time tonight, so, yes.

Tyson E Franklin: [00:01:00 ] So are you born and bred Texan?

Dana Cardinas: Yeah, I was born and raised in central Texas. Yes. On a ranch. 300 acre ranch?

Tyson E Franklin: I have seen photos of you driving tractors.

Dana Cardinas: Yes. Yeah. So most recently convinced my dad to teach me how to drive the bulldozer.

So finally was able to get on that machine after 50 something years.

Tyson E Franklin: He wouldn't let you drive it?

Dana Cardinas: No. He's very protective of that thing, so understandably he didn't want me to take it out any fences, but I did pretty good for my first go.

Tyson E Franklin: So what we're gonna be talking about today, I'm gonna tell give people a bit of a rundown.

We're gonna talk about what got you into Podiatry and also what got you out of Podiatry and what you're currently doing now, which I think is pretty cool. So yeah, let's go to that first question. Why Podiatry? How did you get into Podiatry in the first place?

Dana Cardinas: So I always, my entire life, since I was wee little, I wanted to be a doctor.

I didn't have a specific profession. I just knew I wanted to be a [00:02:00 ] doctor. But as I went through undergrad and spent time shadowing different professions I narrowed down things that I didn't wanna do. I knew I didn't wanna do certain things, and after I graduated from undergrad I needed, I just needed some time to figure out what was gonna be next.

While I was studying for my MCATs, getting ready to, try to get into med school. And I worked in a large Podiatry practice in Carrollton, Texas.

And I loved it. I absolutely loved it. And I started, just in their front office answering phones. I needed a job to pay bills, and I went from answering phones to being a medical assistant because I was very interested in what they were doing back there.

And at one point, one of the docs pulled me aside and said, Dana, you need to do [00:03:00 ] this for a living because you're diagnosing and treating my patients. And really, you should be paid for it if you're gonna do it. And I, and we had a long talk about it, and I really picked his brain about why he wanted to be a Podiatry.

Yeah. What did he get outta it? Why did he like it? And what was happening in Podiatry that I didn't see and what did I not know? I really wanted to know about it.

Tyson E Franklin: That's a really good question though that you asked because Yeah. I do think sometimes when people are choosing careers or even when they're in Podiatry now and they may have only been in for a couple of years and go, oh, I don't know if I should keep doing this.

They need to talk to people. Yeah. Even if they'd send an email and say, can we jump on a Zoom call with someone like myself, it's been in the profession for well over 30 years is reach out to those people and say, why are you, why did you stay in this profession for so long? When I feel like giving it away after two or three years.

Dana Cardinas: Right. And he and that is key, honestly for any profession. Honestly. I think it's reaching out to people in your [00:04:00 ] profession and asking them, if you're burned out, find out, what's the other person doing that They love it so much, that they can help you. But this practice had seven docs in it.

I talked to all of them and they all had such good things to say about the specialty. They loved it. And that from a doc that had been out for two years to, I wanna say, the one doc that started the group had been out for 30 something years. So at the time, so like they were in it, they loved it, they loved the business side of it, but they loved treating the patients.

Just the whole aspect of it. Yeah. So that's when