‘Cancer has a way of saying you can do whatever the hell you want’

Kirsten Johnson shows what it’s like to run two businesses — as a personal chef and doula — while single parenting and recovering from cancer. “It’s no fucking joke.”

“Being a cancer patient / self-employed / single mom is no fucking joke.”

You can count on Kirsten Johnson to tell it like it is. You can also count on her to work through major jumbles by taking life one breath at a time. At almost 42, she’s gone through her fair share of challenges, and the pandemic hasn’t exactly helped. As an entrepreneur running two businesses in Royal Oak, Michigan — as a personal chef and as a doula — the bulk of her work was put on hold until recently.

Kirsten launched Fresh Chef Detroit in 2011. “A lot of chefs don’t like to cook vegetarian or food for restricted diets because it’s more labor intensive,” she says. “But most of my clients come to me because they have an issue they need help with or are trying to eat healthier, and I’m happy to help.” Photo by Monica Breen.

Kirsten cooks just about everything under the sun for Fresh Chef Detroit, the business she’s run for nine years. Her specialty is vegetarian, vegan, and food for restricted diets.

Kirsten was diagnosed with Stage 3B inflammatory breast cancer in 2016 and officially finished active treatment in January 2018. It was then that she launched her…