In our Saya Woman series, we speak to extraordinary women who share their experiences, insights and advice on life, business and everything in between. This year, we're recording the series and sitting down in person to create space for these amazing women and their stories. We hope they inspire you as much as they inspire us.
For our Saya Woman Series #17, we sat down with Cassie Miller, founder of She Believe. She Believe is a movement designed to inspire women to realise the infinite possibilities of their lives and to live beyond fear, doubts, and insecurities. Born from Cassie's own journey of a life-altering cancer diagnosis, She Believe celebrates Cassie's fierce devotion to life and her courage to find strength alongside cancer. We knew Cassie’s story was one that needed to be heard - one of radical resilience, presence, and the beauty of choosing life even in its most uncertain moments.
In this deeply moving conversation, Cassie shares the moment everything changed, her evolving relationship with fear, and how she's using her second chance at life to hold space for other women to reconnect with themselves.
Episode one: Cassie’s Story
Can you share a little about your journey - when you first received your diagnosis and what those early moments felt like for you?
“The journey started two years ago, though it feels like yesterday. My life up until that point felt incredibly blessed - I was healthy, had beautiful children, the love of my life, close family, amazing friends. I never imagined anything could shake that.
It all changed on April 11th, 2023. I had this big pain advantage that landed me at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital. I assumed it was a burst ovarian cyst or something minor. But over the next two months, I went through tests, scans, and follow-ups, until I found myself in my GP’s office. He had tears in his eyes and said, “I don’t know how to tell you this... It’s endocrine cancer. And it’s everywhere.”
I remember watching him speak, but not hearing anything. My body went into shock. I looked over at Aaron, my rock, and saw him crying with his head in his hands. That’s when I knew how serious it was. But I couldn’t cry. I felt completely numb. I walked out of the room and the world looked exactly the same, but everything in it felt unrecognisable.
It wasn’t until I called my mum from the car that the tsunami of emotion hit. The fear, the grief, the heartbreak - it all came flooding in. The months that followed were some of the darkest of my life. I felt frozen, broken, terrified, and so alone. I didn’t talk about it for a long time because saying it out loud made it too real. I thought things like this didn’t happen to people like me.
As a young mum of three, it just felt impossible. I’d hear stories of people getting sick on the news or through friends of friends, but you never expect it to happen in your own circle - and certainly not to yourself. But the truth is, none of us are bulletproof. Mortality is very real, and I had to face it head-on.”
Over time, your mission became about more than just survival. What did that "more" turn out to be for you?
“For the first six months after my diagnosis, I was in a very dark place. I was angry, jealous, resentful. I’d watch other mums doing daycare drop-offs or people shopping at Woolies, and I’d think, “You get to just live your life without thinking about death.”
I was so envious of their innocence. I used to live with rose-coloured glasses on - death wasn’t something I considered. And suddenly, it was front and centre. I’d wake up and go to bed every day thinking about my own mortality. I felt like I’d lost my innocence, and that grief was enormous.
But then I had a moment. I don’t even remember what triggered it, but I suddenly realised - no one is guaranteed tomorrow. None of us know how long we have. I’m just hyper-aware of something that’s true for all of us. That shift changed everything. I stopped focusing on survival and started living.
I could either focus on being broken, or I could break open and let the light in. I stopped saying “one day” and started asking “why not now?” I leaned into presence. I started noticing sunlight through the trees, cuddles with my kids, the way Aaron looks at me when I laugh. Healing became about awakening - not fixing, not curing, but expanding. Remembering who I was before I forgot.
Since that shift, my life has been filled with more - more joy, more presence, more love. More softness, more stillness. I feel like I’ve experienced more in the last two years than most people do in a lifetime. And now, I want other women to know that they don’t need a diagnosis to start living fully. You don’t need to hit rock bottom to begin again. That’s what She Believe is all about - calling in your becoming without needing trauma as your catalyst.
I sometimes think, as strange as it sounds, I’m grateful it happened now. If I got this diagnosis at 80, I might look back and realise I never truly lived. I was on autopilot. Numb. Being everything for everyone else. But now - now I see the magic inside me and all around me. And that’s everything.”
Episode two: Transformation & Perspective
Was there a moment during your journey (during treatment or recovery) where you felt a real shift in your perspective on life or how you wanted to live going forward?
“There’s a quote I love: “We all have two lives. The second starts when we realise we only have one.” That second life began for me in a very specific moment.
About four months into my diagnosis, things weren’t looking great. I got a call from Sunshine Coast Radiology about an urgent PET scan I didn’t even know was booked. I called my oncologist straight away. That’s when he told me my case had been referred to the MDT board - a team of eight doctors, and they wanted to rule out grade three neuroendocrine tumours. Grade three is… not good. It’s months to live.
The scan was scheduled for a Friday, which meant I had to wait the entire weekend for results. Those 72 hours were the darkest of my life. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, I cried non-stop. I remember telling Aaron that we needed to call his brother, who’s a videographer, to start filming messages from me for the kids, videos they could watch every year after I was gone.
One night, mid-panic attack, I called my mum. She tried to ground me with her voice: “Cassie, in this moment, you are safe. We’ll deal with what comes, but right now, just breathe.” I clutched my crystal and told myself, I just have to get through this moment.
When the call finally came through on Monday morning, I found out it wasn’t grade three. I got my second chance. I will never forget the relief and the gratitude. I felt like I was born again. Everything changed in that moment, the way I show up in the world, the things I value, how deeply I feel everything. I stopped saying “I have to” and started saying “I get to.” I get to fold the washing. I get to take my children to school. I get to live.
That shift moved me from surviving to living. It cracked me open, and I began to see fear not as something to run from, but as something to work with. Fear, I now believe, is a message. It means something we care about is at risk. And for me, that’s life. It’s the chance to watch my children grow up. It’s sacred. I decided then that fear would no longer shackle me – it would propel me.”
You talk so beautifully about slowing down, creating spaciousness, and trusting life more deeply. What does that actually look like in your everyday life now?
“Slowing down isn’t always about doing less, it’s about being more present. I still have to show up for life. I have three kids. I work. I’m healing. I’m navigating friendships and all the responsibilities of daily life. But now, I honour my energy more than ever. I’ve become deeply intuitive about where I spend it.
I used to operate from obligation. Now, I’m either a full body yes or a clear no. I’m no longer entertaining ‘shoulds’ to me, that word is loaded with shame and expectation. If it’s not serving me or lighting me up, I let it go.
Presence for me looks like creating space for the people I love and the things that set my soul on fire and being unapologetic about that. It’s about trusting life, and trusting myself. I'm learning to let go of autopilot and to stop putting off joy. So many of us tell ourselves: next month, next year, I’ll slow down. But what if we don’t get that time?
My hope is that people realise this before life forces them to. That they choose to become, instead of waiting. That they create space now, not someday. And that they recognise the magic already within and around them.”
You mentioned fear – and how it's become a powerful teacher. What’s your relationship to fear now?
“Fear used to paralyse me. Now, I walk with it. I see it as a signal that something matters to me. I no longer aim to be fearless, I aim to fear less.
Most of the time, we avoid the things we care about because fear convinces us it’s unsafe. But what if we reframed fear as a signpost pointing us toward our deepest growth?
These days, when I feel fear rise, I try to get out of my head and into my heart and do the damn thing. Whether it’s saying yes to a new opportunity or having a difficult conversation, I let fear fuel me instead of freeze me.”
Episode Three: Dare to Live
Tell us about Dare to Live - what it is, what inspired you to create it, and who you hope it speaks to.
“Dare to Live came about in the most organic way - as so many She Believe experiences have. I was invited to speak at an event in Brisbane alongside my mum, who is a certified Dare to Lead facilitator trained by Dr. Brené Brown. She brings such powerful research around courage, and I bring the lived experience of fear and choosing bravery. My brother, a breathwork facilitator, joined us, and together we created a one-day event for 85 women. It was my first time speaking publicly. I was petrified, raw and completely vulnerable, but something profound happened in that room. The energy was electric. I knew we couldn’t leave it there.
That’s how Dare to Live was born. We blended Dare to Lead with my lived experience, and it became something deeply sacred - a five-hour immersive experience where women are invited to reconnect with themselves. The day includes a breathwork and meditation session to help women drop into their bodies, followed by a nourishing lunch and a 2.5-hour workshop with my mum and me, where we unpack fear. What it is. How it’s showing up. What it’s holding them back from. And most importantly - how to reframe it as a catalyst for growth.
There’s a structure to the day, but the breakthroughs never happen in predictable ways. They come through a sentence, a breath, a realisation that you’re not alone. The whole experience is designed to give women permission - permission to feel, to reflect, to let themselves be seen. I’m not standing up there as someone who’s healed or fixed. I’m still walking through it. And I think that’s why the space resonates. It’s real. It’s honest. It’s alive.”
How does it feel, after everything you’ve walked through, to now be holding space for other women to reconnect with themselves?
“It’s deeply healing for me. Every time I receive a message from a woman who’s had a shift - even the tiniest glimmer - it reminds me that my pain has purpose. I remember hearing a Balinese healer say, “You have to taste the chilli before you can explain what it tastes like.” That’s what this feels like. I’m living it - and now I get to offer what I’ve learned.
My greatest fear has always been missing out on my kids’ lives. I want to be here. I want to see them grow up and cheer them on through every season. But in addition to that, I now know that part of my purpose is to help other women. If sharing my story can open even the smallest door for someone else - then I’m living the kind of life I want to live. One with nothing left on the table.
When I first created She Believe, I asked myself why. What’s the real reason I’m doing this? I went through a deep meditation process and what came through was this - when I take my final breath, I want peace to fill my heart knowing I lived a full, true, meaningful life. That I gave everything. And that’s what I want for every woman who crosses my path.”
You also use these events to raise funds for Neuroendocrine Cancer Australia - tell us more about that.
“Yes - I’m now a patient ambassador for Neuroendocrine Cancer Australia. At each event, we run a beautiful raffle to raise funds. The prizes are all connected to my healing journey - an angel reading, oracle cards from Pass Around the Smile, a TH7 voucher and more. Our last event raised $5,000 and every cent goes directly to the foundation.
Neuroendocrine cancer is still so under-recognised. It actually affects more people each year than ovarian cancer and leukaemia, yet it receives far less attention. It took me 2.5 months to be diagnosed - and that was considered quick. The symptoms are subtle and often dismissed as hormonal imbalances, stress or just “life.”
Neuroendocrine Cancer Australia is doing important work to raise awareness, support patients and equip medical professionals with the right tools. I’m honoured to support them and use Dare to Live as a vehicle for change.”
If people feel a calling to attend Dare to Live – what should they know?
“The next event is on Sunday, August 17th in Brisbane, and presale tickets are available now.
If your soul is craving something, but you don’t know exactly what - this might be it. Women often arrive unsure why they’re there. But by the end, it always becomes clear.
This isn’t just a workshop. It’s a sacred pause. A moment to reconnect with yourself, reflect on where you’ve been, and realign with where you want to go. You’ll laugh, cry, breathe, and feel more alive. I promise. If you feel moved to support, there’s a donation link in our bio. And if this story has touched you - maybe we’ll see you at the next Dare to Live event.
Watch the Full Interview
Win 2 x Tickets to Dare to Live
Cassie is hosting her next Dare to Live event in Brisbane on August 17. We’re giving away two tickets to this day of healing and reconnection - plus two Saya restorative rituals.
Head to our pinned Instagram post to enter.
Support NeuroEndocrine Cancer Australia
Cassie is a proud ambassador for NeuroEndocrine Cancer Australia. Her events raise vital awareness and funds for this often overlooked cancer. If you’d like to support, donate here. Even $10 can help support newly diagnosed patients, hospitals, and awareness programs across the country. If you’d like support Cass’s journey or learn more, follow Cassie over at @iamcassmiller 🖤
We are so grateful to Cassie for sharing her story with us. If you’re reading this, we hope it moved you as deeply as it moved us.