Talaya Dendy

Multimedia Artist / Advocate

BIOGRAPHY

Talaya Dendy, BCPA, NBC-HWC, is a 15-year cancer thriver and a 2025 Bush Fellow whose work as a Cancer Doula serves as the blueprint for bridging the critical divide between the medical and emotional sides of cancer. She also combines her skills as a Board-Certified Patient Advocate and Health & Wellness Coach to support individuals across the cancer continuum while specializing in the transition to the post-treatment phase. Talaya provides the holistic, whole-person support essential for navigating the isolation and "gumbo of emotions" that persist from diagnosis to long after active treatment. Through her podcast, Navigating Cancer TOGETHER, and her recognition as a Cancer Health 25 Patient Advocate, she demonstrates how the cancer journey can be transformed from a state of crisis to a path of intentional healing, growth, and purpose.

Rooted in St. Paul, Talaya is a proud graduate of Highland Park High School and Metropolitan State University, where she earned a self-directed B.A. in Science and Mathematics. Her creative disciplines live at the intersection of storytelling, healing, and community, expressed through journaling, podcasting, and facilitation. She is the creator of Healing Pen & A Mic©, a journaling and podcast workshop that offers a sanctuary for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers to work through life's most significant transitions through writing and the power of their own voice. Most recently, she was a featured presenter at the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center's Annual Survivorship Conference.

What motivates Talaya is very personal. Cancer did not just change her health, it changed her life's direction, her purpose, and her understanding of what it means to truly show up for someone. She creates because healing deserves a creative outlet. She serves the community because she knows firsthand what it feels like to face something enormous and feel alone in it. In Progress resonates with Talaya because it is a space that champions voices, removes barriers, and believes that art and community belong together. She looks forward to bringing the Healing Pen & A Mic© back home to St. Paul, and to the people who need it most.

Links