Meet Your Health Heroes: Kelly Fletcher on Becoming a Mom at 17, Cancer Survivor at 22, Health Hero Today

What happens when life forces you to become your own best patient?

In this Meet Your Health Heroes segment, Ricky sits down with Kelly Fletcher: an adult geriatric acute care nurse practitioner and functional medicine certified practitioner based in Oregon, whose personal journey through cancer, early menopause, and motherhood at a young age became the foundation for the deeply compassionate practice she runs today.

Kelly shares how she went from writing prescriptions for everything to digging into the root cause of why her patients don't feel well and how that shift changed everything. You'll hear about the powerful transformations she's creating for her clients (including one that you won't forget), her weekly Zoom community calls, and the non-negotiables that keep her grounded and energized every single day.

This episode is for any practitioner who's ever felt like the system wasn't giving their clients or themselves, real answers. Kelly proves that your own hardships can become your greatest clinical superpower.

In this episode:

• How a cancer diagnosis at 22 set Kelly on a path toward functional medicine
• Why Kelly believes community is just as healing as any supplement or protocol
• The mindset shift that fuels her fire every day
• Her non-negotiable daily habits (hint: Oregon sunshine plays a big role)
• Where to find Kelly if you or someone you love is struggling with hormonal health

Connect with Kelly: 

CascadeVitalityCenter.com 

Instagram & Facebook: @CascadeVitalityCenter

Get my book The Fulfilled Practitioner for FREE: www.rbrar.com/tfpbook

Follow me on instagram: @fulfilledpractitioner

Follow me on Facebook: @drrickybrar

Set up a strategy call with me here: Schedule Here

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 1:34

Welcome back to the Fulfilled Practitioner Podcast. Today we're doing our very special Meet Your Health Heroes segment. And I have somebody here today who's become one of my favorite people. Her hard work, her dedication, her consistency has been an absolute inspiration to watch. This segment, as a recap, it's to spotlight practitioners who are not just creating impact, but they're doing it with fulfillment, purpose, and authenticity. I've had the pleasure of meeting some of the most brilliant minds in the space and people who are truly changing the world. And I want to make sure that they don't stay a best kept secret much longer. So today I have the wonderful Kelly. Hey Kelly, how's it going? Good morning. How are you? I'm doing well. I'm excited for this. Uh, how are you feeling?

SPEAKER_01 2:16

I am feeling wonderful. It's not raining in Oregon. The sun's gonna shine.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Oh, wow. We actually have uh snow here for the last couple of days north of the border. So it's been a cold one. Uh-oh. Yeah. But we we uh we stay busy during this time, so that's uh always good news. Uh before we jump into the interview, I'd love to let you give you an opportunity to tell the listeners who are you and and what do you do?

SPEAKER_01 2:41

So I'm Kelly Fletcher. I'm an adult geriatric acute care nurse practitioner and functional medicine certified practitioner. Um, I got certified in 2024. So my goal is to help women in midlife reclaim their energy, metabolism, gut health, and hormone balance using uh the root cause and advanced testing, you know, to help them figure out why they don't feel the best they could be.

SPEAKER_00 3:10

Amazing. And I know you're working with a population that absolutely needs this. And I know it's often a big change. So you started off nurse practitioner and then into functional medicine. What really drew you into the functional medicine world?

SPEAKER_01 3:24

So at 22, I was diagnosed with cervical and ovarian cancer. And so that put me in early menopause. Then with the early menopause symptoms and the weight gain, everything that was going wrong, even though my lab said I was normal, I wasn't. I felt like crap all the time. So I also had a son that was born with Hurler syndrome. And so that really pulled me into the holistic functional medicine realm. That way I was diving deep into trying to figure out what I could only better my life, but help my son um live the best life that he could have at the time.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Wow, I didn't know that about you. Oh my goodness. That's uh that's quite the start. So you really learned through your own experience. And uh I can now tell where that drive comes from and that fire comes from uh from you as well. So it's not just a personal story, but one of someone who you love more than anything. So uh I know that's I could see where the heart and the warmth comes from as well. Uh and what who do you love working with most? Like what would be an ideal person for you to work with?

SPEAKER_01 4:36

So I enjoy working with women of all ages, but I mainly focus on the perimenopausal, menopausal woman. So age 30 to you know, 50, 55. Because we don't know a lot about menopause and perimenopause. You know, growing up, things aren't talked about. And even though our grandparents and great-grandparents went through the same thing, nobody really talked about the hot flashes and why our body did what it did. So I want to just reach out and tell women of all ages that there's reasons and we just need to figure out why.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

And it's so funny when you actually like reflect on, I guess not funny, that's probably the wrong word. We can laugh about it now, but not if you're the one experiencing it. But many people chalk up these symptoms to old age, right? It's just such a scapegoat answer. And right when you do that right away, the responsibility is no longer on you, and you're just like gonna chalk it up to just circumstance or chance. So this is very important. And I think the education you're doing to teach people this is so vitally important because they absolutely have no idea. Uh, I know in recent weeks we've uh had the chance to discuss some of the transformations you're creating as well. Do you want to highlight a recent transformation that you had with somebody?

SPEAKER_01 5:50

Oh my gosh, yes. So I'm working with this amazing couple. Uh, the husband has type 1 diabetes and has felt like crap the majority of his life. And then a his wife had bariatric surgery, has gone through uh perimenopause, just has talked to so many different providers and not got the help that she's needed. We're talking somebody that hasn't even had a bowel movement for every 10 days. I mean, can you imagine going to the bathroom every 10 days? I can't. So starting them on this program, even though it's only been a short amount of time, every day is a win. And again, yesterday she's texting me and saying, oh my gosh, these things are happening. I cannot believe that my body's actually releasing, you know, stool for the first time. And when she texted me, she says, even though it's small amounts, she went three times yesterday alone and she just couldn't fathom how good she was feeling. And so that is just amazing, the work that we're doing.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

Oh my goodness. And it's really uh like I feel a lot of the listeners and when you hear a story like this, if you're not going through that issue, sometimes it's hard to visualize and empathize. But when you say somebody's not going to the bathroom for 10 days, I think we could all agree how how uncomfortable that would be. And not just how uncomfortable it would be, but what is the domino effect? What's the second order and third order consequences from there? So if this is somebody who hasn't been going to the bathroom for who knows how many years, like just you removing that quote unquote clog and getting them going again, that's going to lead to so many positive benefits going forward. So I'm so glad she found you. We almost need to nickname you like the the colon rescuer or something along those slides. That's amazing. And yeah, Kelly has just been updating me with uh these types of transformations with people she works with. And uh I love that you also give very simple solutions, but then you can get more complex if it's needed as well. So that's totally amazing. Uh, in terms of the reason you're on the podcast today, it's called the fulfilled practitioner. So, a question I ask all practitioners is what does being a fulfilled practitioner mean to you?

SPEAKER_01 8:08

I think what it means to me is the fact that even though I didn't recognize myself anymore, and I was able to take all of my education, all my schooling, and learn to be more holistic and help my own system to watch these people transform that didn't even recognize themselves and thought there was no help out there, feel alive again. It's just it's amazing, you know. I don't lie to you and it's not a quick fix overnight. And of course, it's not going to be a band-aid fix, but you know, these are people that are actually taking the journey with me, putting their trust in me, and just to get text messages and say, oh my gosh, these small wins are amazing. It's just that just touches my heart.

SPEAKER_00 9:01

No, your heart's in the right place, and that's what I've admired about you. And uh it's interesting because a lot of us, we um we we as practitioners often find it hard to even like accept those wins or accept a pat on the back. It's it's something that we don't do. So it's very important for you to like feel that warmth and that connection you've built and you've allowed these people to co-create these transformations. So that's that's my definition or part of my definition of fulfillment as well. So I'm totally in line with you there. It's there's nothing else like it playing that role in somebody's life. I know you have gone through a personal evolution in your practice as well, in terms of being a nurse practitioner and then slowly switching over and now doing more holistic functional medicine type care. Along the way, was there any sort of like change in your definition of success, or was there any hard lesson you learned that kind of stands out to you?

SPEAKER_01 9:52

Well, you know, early in my career, I thought it was all about credentials, the knowledge, checking that box saying, I'm the smartest person in the room, even though I knew I wasn't. But, you know, seeing the people that I'm helping wake up with energy and more clarity and peace, that to me is success. I just again, it's heartwarming. And you know, the more people I can help, the better.

SPEAKER_00 10:21

Yeah. You you have the skills to do so. So it's uh it would be a great disservice to the world if you weren't able to shine there. So no, I I completely understand where you're coming from there. Uh I know with everything changing, has your practice changed over the years? The way that you practice, the way that you work with people, has that changed over the years?

SPEAKER_01 10:40

Absolutely. I went from writing prescriptions for everything to now I'm digging more into why is it that you're gaining the weight? Yes, it might be your thyroid, but let's look at why. And hearing the feedback is just amazing because now I'm just not writing prescriptions for people. I'm digging deeper. And you know, I I just never thought I'd be the person to walk away from the traditional, oh, let's just write a script for it. To now let's dive into the root cause of why. Because now it's just like, oh my gosh, there are more reasons than just okay, your labs are fine, you don't need or do need this, you know.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

Yeah, it the best analogy that comes to mind, and I I kind of learned that early in my career as well, is we we kind of look uh and we kind of find what we're looking for, right? So if you have a flash right now and you were in pitch darkness everywhere, if you shined it in front of you, you would have light in front of you. So if you're looking over there, you're gonna kind of see what's over there. What you've done over time in your career is you've not only made a bigger flashlight so it shines more, but you're kind of taking this like 360 uh view everywhere and bringing in different modalities along the way. So I know it's a completely different way, but it's one of those that once you start practicing this way, you never go back because you're like, this is this is where we start to get real information that we can action on. So I absolutely love that. And one thing I truly admire about you, Kelly, is you're a very quick learner. So if I talk to you about something on a Monday, like usually by Tuesday, you already know it inside out. I think there's been a few examples of this and just the the speed at which you learn. And uh one thing that I almost want to know for like my own personal, like, how's Kelly doing this? Is uh how do you continue learning and and staying inspired without burning out or tiring out?

SPEAKER_01 12:34

Oh my gosh, it's with great mentors like you. I mean, I try to absorb as much as I can, like a sponge, and sometimes I don't get it, you know, in a few hours and it's constantly going back and forth, but I do do my best. I I love what I do, and I feel like if you love what you do, you can just keep going. And this is what I want my practice to be. This is me helping others and just loving life.

SPEAKER_00 13:06

Absolutely. There's a word that I feel would encompass that. And the one that comes to mind, and it's a word I've reflected on over the years, it's alignment. And uh, I find that uh when we're misaligned, it feels like an uphill battle. It feels like you're rolling a boulder up a hill. But when you get alignment to like you, you said something very important that you're like, I love this, right? This is work that I love to do. Uh well, you're aligned there, right? So uh it's really interesting. It all comes down to alignment and identity. A healthy person is going to find it easy to do the things that keep one healthy, whereas an unfit person is going to find it very difficult to adopt healthy habits, right? So I love that you have that alignment. You you truly practice what you preach. And I'd love to just pick at the mindset piece a little bit because this is what I love doing and my uh biggest area of interest. And like I mentioned at the start of the podcast, that I see a fire in you that I see in other practitioners, but it's a rarity. It's it's very rare that I see that fire in people. Uh, and hopefully it comes on and they're able to create it. But like, was there a mind shift mindset shift that created that breakthrough for you over time?

SPEAKER_01 14:11

You know, when I just step back and look at my own story and all the walls that I kept hitting along the way. I mean, 22 and going through menopause was such a hard time. Nobody understood, you know, especially when you're married and your your spouse is going, what is wrong with you? You're only 22. You shouldn't be going through all these hormonal changes and doing all this weird stuff to doctors saying you're normal. I mean, this is it it nearly broke me. And I went through a big depression at the time because nobody understood what I was going through. So now being at a point where I can help others and explain, look, you know, again, this isn't going to happen overnight. But it it this is what I do. This is where we start. And that's my biggest breakthrough I can take from this is looking at my own self and bringing it forward and helping others.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

You have a very strong why. I truly see that. And uh I can only imagine, right? Like we can only, uh, there's a great book. One of my favorite books I quoted often is uh The Gap in the Gain. And um, we can only compare looking backwards, right? So when we look backwards, we can see how far we've come. Whereas like often most of us are lost in the gap, which is like comparing ourselves to some future ideal version of us. So if you take a look at Kelly at 22 to now, you could see the gain. You could see how much you've grown and why each of those experiences shifted you and shaped you. And that's why um I love working with you, Kelly, is you you just you you have the right intentions, you have uh a pure heart, and and you're truly looking to make an impact on these people. And it shows that almost every client you work with, they they are raving about you right after, right? So uh that's amazing. I really want to highlight that and and make sure that you don't stay a best kept secret much longer. Uh, I know your practice has shifted a lot, especially since we've met. I'd love to know how are you bringing community or or group healing or anything that's more community-based into your practice?

SPEAKER_01 16:13

So I've reached out, I'm a member of like the Chamber of Commerce, so getting involved in the different groups. I do online group meets on Zoom every Wednesday. And the people that are involved in my programs, we sit there, we meet, we talk, you know, we I try not to go down the whole rabbit hole, but answer questions. So they get me every Wednesday, and it it shows that that little interaction and bringing community in and knowing they're not alone helps because at the time I felt like I was alone and I hated it. And like I said, when I was in that depression mode and nobody understood me, I could have used something like this. So I am so happy that I could offer this.

SPEAKER_00 17:03

Absolutely. And it's interesting because in this post-pandemic world, I feel like even though the lockdowns are over and all of that is over, um, I feel like people are more lonely than ever. And especially if you're on a health journey, it is a dark, lonely road a lot of the time. So I'm so glad you're creating that space where people can come together and you can meet them where you are, which is the most important thing you could do for someone is meet them where they are. So that is totally epic. And I love that you're connecting people. So health goes way beyond just uh nutrition changes and a supplement here or there. There's a whole deeper layer to it. I love that you're breaking it down. Do you see any kind of trends in healthcare right now that are just changing the way that we operate? And are you keeping up with that at all in any way?

SPEAKER_01 17:47

Absolutely. I mean, like I said, back in the day I was so driven by the medical part of it. You know, if science didn't say XYZ, then this probably wasn't happening. And now looking back and looking at different modalities, what can acupuncture do for us? What can I v therapy do for us? And just conjunction with looking at our science-based and adding to it. Reading journals, I do that, you know, every week. Um there's something new coming out, especially about functional medicine, because it's relatively new in the realm. I'm not so much holistic health, but just the word functional medicine to me, you know, just seems to be around just for a few years. And just the information that you get and the feedback is just amazing. So I'm constantly learning how I can help my clients.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

Absolutely. It's it's a big umbrella term. So I find uh like you could go to 10 different people who do functional medicine and they're you're gonna get 10 different results, 10 different approaches a lot of times. And that's the difficulty on the patient and client side of things to want to like sift through all that and find the right person for them. But I love that you're taking individual components, blending them all together and looking from different vantage points. So that's what can help co-create amazing results. That's uh amazing to hear. I'd love to ask you kind of a curveball question here, is uh like just like I'm learning a lot of your story today. I didn't know uh that you went through that at 22 years old, and that shaped kind of the trajectory you've been on today. What was like teenage Kelly and like young adult Kelly like? What what type of person was she? What was she kind of interested in?

SPEAKER_01 19:34

The teenage Kelly was a rubble. She was kind of a heliot.

SPEAKER_00 19:40

Oh, I gotta hear more.

SPEAKER_01 19:43

So, you know, um, I ended up getting pregnant at 16. Um, I was the one that 0.1% that birth control just did not work on. And so had my first child at 17, and God blessed me in that way. I had four wonderful children, and so from 16 to 22, um, it was a whirlwind because again, I mean, birth control is supposed to be effective. And my husband at the time would joke around that I was fertile myrtle and I would tease him how potent he was. So it was kind of, you know, you're learning how to navigate parenthood and try to come out of your teenage years. And then after your last child is born, I get this card in the mail that says, Happy birthday. It's time for your you know, six-week follow-up. And then you get told that you have cervical cancer, and then they do more tests, and you find out you have a variant cancer. It's like, what the heck is going on? So there was a plan. There, you know, God has a way of showing up in your life and slowing you down and making you see things the way he wants you to see them. And you know, I did the parenthood. Now my grandma was six and thriving. So, you know, I love what I do.

SPEAKER_00 21:10

Oh, that's uh I again I'm learning so much about you. I'm like just shocked because I I didn't know these details. So that's uh that's you being forced at such a young age to wear so many different hats and take on so many different versions of yourself and roles. Like I can kind of see now what's created Kelly and why she's so well-rounded and knows so much across the board and can help and support. Like your empathy is 10 out of 10, your compassion is 10 out of 10, your knowledge is 10 out of 10. So if I was making a Kelly video game character, these attributes now I'm starting to see where they come from. So uh that's uh amazing journey. And I love uh I could sense the gratitude along the journey that that you have as well. So it really shows in the video. So I'm uh I'm hoping that the audience can sense that as well. So going into uh like what you're doing on a day-to-day basis, and I I always like to see how do practitioners remain fulfilled? Well, how do they keep their energy up while juggling everything that we have to do in a practice as well? So, are there any daily habits that you have, any non-negotiables that keep you grounded and clear?

SPEAKER_01 22:14

Absolutely. Every day I sit right when I wake up, I give myself 15 to 20 minutes of gratitude, meditation, just being and being thankful for what I have. I never thought I was gonna be this person, but now that I'm doing it every day, that is a non-negotiable because that is my piece and that's what gets me through the day. I journal. I I do yoga, you know, um, I also have rheumatoid arthritis, which was a secondary infection, to my cancer. And so yoga to me is very important to help me keep fluid and moving, hydration. In Oregon, we get a lot of rain. So when there's sunny days, I'm outside. And in fact, yesterday, Carly, my mini Aussie, and I decided to go for a hike. And, you know, just soaking up that sunshine wherever you can get it. I just I can't go without it.

SPEAKER_00 23:20

Amazing, amazing. I was going to ask you like, is there one non negotiable part of your practice that that you like just have to keep in there? What would that be the sunlight, or would it be something else?

SPEAKER_01 23:29

It's the sunlight. I mean, I've got Have the sunlight. I uh do some locums work. So I work nights, and so flipping back from days to nights, I've got to have the sunshine. Whether it's a sunlamp or me going physically outside, I've got to have sunshine.

SPEAKER_00 23:49

Absolutely. And I think uh one thing that we have to note is like you you also instill this in everybody you work with as well. You talk about circadian rhythm and the importance of it as well. And I feel it's probably the least talked about thing because we're we're still in this, like, okay, here's some nutrition, here's some lifestyle advice. And it's like go to bed on time and uh try to like exercise a little bit. And this is across the board, not just natural health, like across the board. People are telling you just move more, eat better food, like very general advice. But I think when we start talking about sunlight, circadian rhythm, it's a whole different ballgame and probably something that's running the show way more than people think. So I love that you're doing that on your day-to-day uh flow and in your habits and routines. So that's so, so powerful. So I'd love to also make you go back a little bit. So it looks like you you were pushed into responsibility at a very, very young age. Like I go back to 16-year-old Ricky, and I'm like, like that guy was not responsible for anything. He was like just lazy, having fun. Like he was he was being a kid, he was probably behaving like a 10-year-old at 16. Uh, so if you could go back and give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

SPEAKER_01 25:00

It would be take things day by day. Don't be so hard on yourself because things will come and go and the hardships will go. But just be easy on yourself.

SPEAKER_00 25:14

Absolutely. We're our own worst enemy, right? Myself included. We're we're our most harsh critic. And I think uh if you bring that grace and love in, it's gonna it's gonna take you very far. So I I love that. Um what's what's next for you? What what's what's lighting you up right now?

SPEAKER_01 25:30

Right now it's I'm growing roots in Oregon, and it's kind of slow because you know, you don't know all the community and you're trying to get your message out. So it's just you know, taking time, meeting people, getting out there, interacting in community events, and so far, so good. You know, every day I take one bite out of my little elephant and see the win and take it as uh, you know, that I've hit my goal for the day, no matter how small it is.

SPEAKER_00 26:03

Amazing, amazing. And I I love the the eat the elephant, right? It's just go one bite at a time. Let's move forward. And yeah, if you're a listener and you're in Oregon, please get in touch with Kelly and connect because we need more collaboration than ever before. Uh, and uh, where can people go to learn more about you, Kelly?

SPEAKER_01 26:20

Sure, they can go to CascadeVitalityCenter.com or on Facebook, Instagram under Cascade Vitality, and reach out. I'd love to talk with you.

SPEAKER_00 26:32

Amazing, amazing. And Kelly's always creating amazing content, and uh, she's such a a resource for you if you're on this journey, and especially if you're a female who has gone through any sort of hormone imbalance or uh going up to menopause or anything like that. This could be a very powerful resource that you have. And somebody who's extremely knowledgeable with a background on the medical side and now uh with the functional medicine side blended in. So you're you're kind of uh, I was gonna call you a Swiss Army knife, but a Swiss Army knife is interesting because it does a lot, but it doesn't really excel at anything. You are like like a high precision Swiss Army knife across the board. Thank you. So, yes, if you're uh if you're uh wanting to check out Kelly, I'll also add her contact information to the show notes uh as well. But uh Kelly, any any parting words, anything you want to leave our listeners with?

SPEAKER_01 27:19

You know, you're not alone and you're not broken. Reach out. I can connect you to people if I'm not the person that can help you. Um, I'd just love to hear your story and to get to know you better. So thank you. I appreciate the time.

SPEAKER_00 27:35

Absolutely. That was fun. And uh I now I know more about you. I'm sure I'll have a billion follow up questions for you in our future meetings. But uh I I know you're gonna you're gonna have a huge impact on the world, and you already are, and I know you're gonna impact more and more people. So thank you today, Gelly.

SPEAKER_01 27:50

Thank you. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 27:52

Take care.

SPEAKER_01 27:53

Bye bye.