Meet Barbie Cervoni | Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, Rare cancer advocate, and person living with rare disease.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Barbie Cervoni and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Barbie, what principle do you value most?
Authenticity is a value that matters to me. Not being afraid of sharing who you are, where you have been, and what path you took to get to where you need to be. As a Registered Dietitian and person living with chronic disease, I used to be afraid and embarrassed to share my truth. I wanted to find a reason for why I developed disease and for a long time I would blame myself. I didn’t sleep enough, I was too stressed, or ate the wrong foods as a kid. Then I gave myself grace. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t choose disease and I practice what I preach – I eat nutritiously, move my body, try to get good rest. Once I gave myself grace and accepted my truth, I realized that not being afraid to share who I am and my struggles, not only helped me to heal, but helped me help other people on a deeper more meaningful level. It made me more relatable, more human, more raw. I always counsel my patients to strive to become the healthiest version of themselves today. Our individual needs are extremely unique.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have been a Registered Dietitian for 15 years and a Diabetes Educator for over a decade. I have worked in private practices, large institutions, all while always holding my own private practice and doing consulting work. When my children were very little I knew I wanted to make my side hustle something permanent. I hated being far away from them (some practices I worked took me two hours to get to and two hours home) and I wanted to have more freedom and flexibility. That’s when I started freelancing as a nutrition and diabetes educator and health writer. I thoroughly enjoyed knowing that the information I was putting out into the world was credible. And that I was able to educate a larger audience and have an impact in people’s lives from the courtesy of my own home. It wasn’t easy. After seeing 10-15 patients per day in my out-patient hospital job, I would come home and be mom (my most favorite job). Once the kids were asleep, I’d work. Sometimes, I’d be up until 12 am. While other times, I would wake up at 4am to finish my work.

This schedule made me sick, literally. When my second son was only 6 months old, my rare cancer which I had first discovered finishing up my Master’s Degree at New York University had come back. During my first bout of cancer I was 25 years old. I had major surgery, but managed to attend my dietetic internship graduation one week later. After 5 weeks of radiation treatment, I was cancer free. I got married and become a dietitian and had two beautiful boys. Life was good, until it came back.

8 years later my cancer returned. Now, I had a family (2.5 year old, and 6 month old), plus multiple jobs, and a cancer recurrence that debilitated me. I lost weight rapid, had uncontrollable sweats, insomnia, muscle twitching, back pain, the works. I had to have another surgery and was hospitalized multiple times in the course of one month, yet I kept getting worse and worse. Despite having surgery to remove the cancer, no one could solve the mystery of my deteriorating health. That is when I transferred my care to Memorial Sloan Kettering and I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease called Morvan’s Syndromen(which was triggered by my rare cancer). It was crippling. I couldn’t see patients anymore. During one of my treatment sessions for my autoimmune disease my boss came to visit me and terminated my job at the hospital. I didn’t realize it at the time, but, whilst this is likely to be discriminatory, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Once I regained my strength, I continued to write and I vowed that I would continue to help people in the most impactful way on my terms. I remember writing articles on my living room floor on my stomach because I was so thin that it hurt to sit down.

Since my second bout with cancer, I have continued to build and share credible and reliable health content through my writing and as a Medical Review Board Member for Verywell Health. I am passionate about helping others make sustainable changes to their life to improve their health. I also wholeheartedly believe in the power of food as medicine. I’ve been using the power of nutrition to manage and treat my autoimmune disease for many years and have not had to have treatment for it 3.5 years.

When Covid emerged, I decided I wanted to take my passion for cooking and using food as medicine to the next level. In February of 2020 I embarked on my plant-based culinary certification. Once completed, I decided to launch Better Livin Nutrition, a place where I can help people on a more personal level become the healthiest version of themselves. Better Livin Nutrition is a virtual nutrition practice. I love empowering people in the kitchen – whether you are a mom looking to help feed your littles or an adult trying to manage a condition. It’s a joyous and fulfilling passion that I am blessed to call my job.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to dedicate a shoutout to my husband Domenic, who is the biggest supporter of my career and my health. He wrote a book about my cancer story, titled, from Tragedy to Triumph. He inspired me and pushed me to open my business Better Livin Nutrition. I would also like to shout out Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the organization where I would receive life-saving treatments. Dr. Gregory Riely and Aimee Rosales my oncologist and nurse who are the best tag team there is. Cycle for Survival, a movement to beat rare cancer. I will be participating in an event on 3/11 – it’s my decade ride. And last but most certainly not least, my two amazing children, Benjamin and Sebastian who bring me love and light each and every day.

Here are links to the book and our cycle for survival page youtube story about me.
http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/BadBs

Website: https://betterlivinnutrition.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterlivinnutrition/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbie-cervoni-ms-rd-cdn-cdces-8280765/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/barbierd?lang=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allaboutdiabetes/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSDCcrPdeh4