Episode 12

Brandon Phillips: From Childhood Cancer to Supporting Families Through Polo

Published on: 6th August, 2025

At 14, Brandon Phillips was a healthy kid with a passion for sports. Then one day he noticed his leg was swollen. Within 24 hours, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and the outlook wasn't positive. In this episode, Brandon shares what it was like to face a life-threatening diagnosis, fight through months of brutal chemotherapy, and go on to become a professional polo player, as well as a devoted advocate for families battling childhood cancer.

"Pressure’s nothing until you’re sitting in a room waiting for doctors to come in to tell you are you gonna live or not.”

Hear Brandon talk about:

  • The moment he realized something was wrong with his leg
  • His swift cancer diagnosis and grueling treatment
  • How mental strength and his athlete’s mindset helped him beat the odds
  • Why he didn’t want to talk about cancer for years
  • Founding Polo for Life to support families with a child fighting cancer

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Polo for Life – Brandon’s nonprofit supporting families affected by childhood cancer
  • Kids Cancer Foundation – Florida-based nonprofit supporting children and families fighting cancer, and one of Polo for Life’s beneficiary organizations
  • Pediatric Oncology Support Team (POST) – Services and counseling for families of children with cancer in South Florida, and one of Polo for Life’s beneficiary organizations
  • Miami Cancer Institute – One of Polo for Life’s partner hospitals and beneficiary organizations

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About the Podcast

Tell Me What It's Like
Everyday people, uncommon experiences
What’s it like to set a world record? To invent a new product? To survive an extremely rare illness?

On Tell Me What It’s Like, host Stacy Raine sits down with people who’ve lived through powerful and uncommon experiences. Each conversation explores how it happened, why it matters, and what it truly felt like to live through it.

About your host

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Stacy Raine

I was 16 when I conducted my first interview. I was a nervous high school kid assigned to interview a WWII veteran. It was an incredibly emotional conversation, and an experience I still think about to this day. I didn’t know it then, but that moment would shape everything that followed.

As a nonprofit communicator and podcast producer, I’ve spent my career thinking about the stories we all have to share. Tell Me What It’s Like unearths the backstory to the small and large moments that changed everything.

One of my biggest beliefs is that sharing stories connects us – as long as we're willing to listen.