A member of the Maxwell Leadership Executive Program, a Corporate Facilitator, and a Certified DISC Consultant, Diana Fritz is dedicated to empowering individuals and organizations through open, engaging, and values-driven leadership. Her mission is to create a meaningful impact and ensure every person she encounters feels valued.

Beyond her professional achievements, Diana is a devoted wife, mother, and committed volunteer. She thrives on sharing insights about leadership, resilience, and navigating challenges with authenticity.

In this deeply moving episode, Diana shares her remarkable 12-year cancer journey — one that began unexpectedly with what seemed like a minor eye irritation and evolved into a powerful story of faith, resilience, and purpose. Diagnosed with a rare form of cancer affecting her eye and sinuses, Deanna’s path included multiple surgeries, radiation, immunotherapy, and ultimately the loss of her eye. Yet through it all, she chose gratitude over grief, focusing on what she could control and finding meaning in every challenge.

A single mom at the time of her diagnosis, Deanna learned to accept help from others — a lesson that transformed her both personally and professionally. Her authenticity and strength as a leader grew as she realized that true resilience isn’t about never falling, but about getting back up again and choosing to see the good. She shares how her grandmother’s optimism, her faith, and her background in basketball shaped her mental toughness, teaching her to respond to life’s setbacks with grace and courage.

Deanna also talks about her book, Ultimately Imperfect, Uniquely Qualified, which weaves her cancer story with reflections, lessons, and applications for anyone facing adversity. Through her transparency and compassion, she invites readers to find purpose in their pain and to support others through theirs.

In this conversation, Deanna reminds us that even in the hardest seasons, we still have the freedom to choose how we respond — to be a victim or a victor. Her advice for anyone facing a cancer journey is powerful: focus on the parts of your wellness you can control — your physical, mental, relational, and spiritual health. Because, as she says, cancer doesn’t define us — it can refine us.

Her Book:

Uniquely Imperfect. Uniquely Qualified

Links:

https://grituiuq.com/

www.linkedin.com/in/diana-fritz-b032064

https://www.facebook.com/diana.kline.395

The Cancer Liberation Project is sponsored by thekarlfeldtcenter.com