Cancer for Breakfast

Amy’s survived her surgery much to her charming anesthesiologist’s surprise. Stef’s onto a new treatment regimen, and so far it’s NOT a tough pill to swallow. In letters we’ve hit the gold mine…( or maybe we just mined it?): when a listener is feeling cornered by the calendar, we’re once again asking, where is the comfort in NEAD? In RATS we ponder if it’s nature, nurture or maybe a sweet syn...

New Year, new health insurance? Amy’s finally getting that free boob job people are always talking about, but does she even want it? And hey—you know what else has no co-pay? Your letters! We want to hear about your insurance woes. In hair news, Stef’s contemplating wigs while Amy’s reunited with her long lost barber. An e-mail tease named Chad offers up his list of ways to support folks with MBC,...

Did you catch the NPR article about us? Cancer people, that is. Or…one cancer person, whose life was—get this—changed by cancer. Amy’s also noticing that the Health section of the newspaper is…well, extremely healthy. Those of us with uninspirational stories would like some media representation, if you don’t mind! A listener—ahem, our new best friend—says it’s hard to mask as a muggle when all you...

Ring ring! It’s Stef on line 2. Treatment line, that is. Sorry to leave you on hold, but we’re finally picking this thing back up. Speaking of being backed up, you may wish we’d stayed gone when Stef explains what happens when your digestive system clocks out early. Someone get this massage hating woman a massage already. Lately Amy’s been trying to side-step some side-effects, but “Not on my watc...

Ding dong, The Juice is (still) dead! Of cancer! But speaking of juice: how do steroids work? Afterschool specials didn’t prepare us for this. A letter asks how to find a cancer bestie when you’re a queer 40-something cancer person. Have we mentioned lately that we have a Facebook group? If you need a pal, we have some excellent candidates. Is an over sharing Cancer Kathy justified in feeling so b...

Scans abound in Cancerland. What’s up with Stef? (Is a question many ask unrelated to cancer, but this time it’s relevant!) Then, is Diet Coke the new menthol cigarette? Let’s ask Amy’s nurse. That blasted jerk Glioblastoma has a new foe, as does melanoma. How do we know? Three little birds told us! In Letters, a listener asks what’s up with Olivia Munn’s confusing cancer characterization. Can Lum...

Extra! Extra! Stef’s coming out of the Emetophobia closet—just as Amy’s out of the bathroom holding the dreaded bowl. In even more disgusting news, we’re telling you about the Portland pathologist whose benign results are anything but. Grab your barf bags for this news report. (Note: the count is now up to 12 patients.) Then, Letters hurls us into the guilt, recurrence fear, and uncertainty of sur...

Alert! Alert! This is NOT a test of the emergency cancer broadcast system. Tumour has it that the worst club with the best members has a new recruit from across the pond and we’re having a chin wag about it. The gals share differing opinions on keeping an illness under royal wraps, but we can all agree that nobody’s hiring Kate’s PR team. What do other cancer commoners think about all this? Well,...

It’s time for another Second Opinion! This one features friend of the podcast Flora, a metastatic PNET patient with an unexpected new living situation. First, hear the real deal about PNETs (Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor). She’ll tell us just how this wacky cancer functions, where you’ve heard of it, and why it’s an insidious foe. Then, put the mirrors on the ceiling and pop some pink champagne...

Here’s the (sacred) dirt! Stef’s got a scan update, and it’s hard to node what to think! Is it cancer—or just a socially starved coworker? The trials and tribulations never end! Amy’s had a (don’t worry) breast biopsy (it’s not what it sounds like) and boy is this room dimly lit. Perhaps she needs an EMBER to light things up. In RATS, cancer cells in space grow at the figurative speed of light. He...

Close Your Bones In the final chapter of our ongoing financial roller coaster, a hero arrives—in a white coat, not a cape. It’s a bird, it’s a plane…actually, is that Air Force One?! Then, a letter from a rectal cancer survivor whose fertility didn’t make it. How do we honor that grief and explore closure (literally)? Stef outs herself as a full moon hippie (we knew it, didn’t we, listeners?) and...

The Downward Spiral  The cycle continues! Spin™️ Teachers — They’re Just Like Us! and Amy’s wheels are spinning. Stef’s got a twinge of doubt about how her upcoming scan will pan out, but two things are for sure: bills are high and morale is low going into this one. The gals remember a few fallen friends whose losses are looming large. Luckily, a letter writer brings us her ritual to combat s...

Ryze and shine, it’s ya gals and we’re talking scans, soccer, and sucralose. Maybe it’s a rant, but for real: when food is sneaky about taste or ingredients, it just makes us mad. Stef’s heading off to the Lobular Breast Cancer Symposium as a patient advocate. Will she see Dr. Otto Metzger and offer him a jar of her famous canned pears? Can he call Fred Hutch about her medical debt? Only time will...

What’s the recommended jail time for therapists who unexpectedly quit on their patients? Asking for Stef, who is in the dumps about being dumped. We hear from listeners about their therapy experiences good and bad (and we mean bad….). Is cancer the answer? Obviously not, but maybe slime is. Speaking of bad experiences, having cancer while fat might just take the cake. In letters, we get an update...

Are you kitting? Stef is off to the YMCA with her locker full of accoutrements, and Amy’s off the sauce and full of fast ideas. Letters ask why cancer muggles are always lionizing squeaky clean marathon runners, and we ask back: why are centenarians celebrated for their daily dram of whiskey or pack of smokes while carcinomies are assumed to be sinning lushes?  Finally, our pests remain uncontroll...

It’s a-me, Mario… wait no. It’s just us, Stef and Amy. While recovering from surgery—Stef’s on a side quest! Her new video game pastime is helping her heal in more ways than one. Another character (Amy) shares listener letters that cover everything from a Molly Shannon cancer flick review to more of that relatable scanxiety. Then, a diagnosing doc’s perplexing recommendation to a listener’s Italia...

When fate (or 23 and Me) intervenes at the eleventh hour, do you open your heart to new experiences or continue searching for an AirBnB to pass away in? It’s the premiere of Second Opinion: our conversations with the cancer people, experts and innovators that excite us. Up first: Holly Raines. A talented photographer, a cool mom, and a woman with end stage cervical cancer, Holly tells Stef about t...

Stef’s back from the YSC Summit and Amy has a giggle at the expense of Laughter Yoga. Fun in public really gets Stef’s goat. Then, what’s the deal with longevity? Perhaps the Seventh Day Adventists can spill the beans…or at least share them? Next, it’s our *privilege* to read a letter from a listener that holds a mirror up to cancer spaces and asks why we’re all so eager to get back to our old bod...

The cat’s out of the bag and the co-host is in another state (we miss you, Amy!!), but we’re making it work with some pals old and new. If you can believe it, we nabbed Thriver Writer, survivor and recent divorcée (keep reading; it’s relevant) Meghan McCallum! Joining us too: producer, co-survivor and husband extraordinaire Nathan McGehee. The convo? Relationships of all flavors, with some live le...

We’re on assignment, in the field, and coming to you LIVE…actually, RECORDED from the Young Survival Coalition Summit 2023! Charlotte, North Carolina aka The Queen City is swarming with breast cancer royalty! But wait just a ding dang minute: who’s that on the mic?  To livestream the episode we’re recording at the summit, go HERE at 11am EST on Sunday Feb 19. https://summit.youngsurvival.org/sched...

Knock Knock, who’s there? Intrusive thoughts, and they’re living rent free. Amy’s brain won’t let her break up with breast cancer no matter how many private yoga sessions or massages she has in one day. Time to sublet her space in Cancerland! In letters, the gals read a helpful note from a longtime pal of the podcast who wants to make sure we’re giving religious listeners a fair shake. You can tak...

It’s an update! We‘ve got episodes in the can and an explanation for our absence. Don’t worry, everything’s stable in cancer land! But Stef’s sudden indigestion? There’s an explanation for that, too. Young Survivors, assemble! The Summit is straight ahead, and we’re strapping on our gear. 2023, you’re a formidable opponent already. Meet us at the YSC Summit! https://summit.youngsurvival.org/ Hoste...

Call the paps! Today we’ve got a smear campaign and it’s all about the CervicalCheck scandal. Our leading lady is whistleblower Vicky Phelan. A criminally incompetent lab in Texas and a negligent cover up that’s costing lives? Salt in the wound, indeed. And speaking of cancer scams (our Favre-ite kind of gossip), is sodium the cure-all or just another one of Stefano’s snake oils? Listener letters...

It’s baaaack…by popular demand! The very jewel of our franchise that drops but once a year, it’s the creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky Escape from October! This time, we’ve escaped so thoroughly that it’s practically December! Gather ‘round: it’s time for one whole episode with no evidence of disease . This year we waste no time chilling you to the bone. Is that grandma giving you a jingle from...

Fetch your earbuds! It’s time for a new episode of the pupcast—woof, we mean PODcast. But really, our dogs are barkin’ and for once that isn’t a euphemism for med-induced foot pain. No, we’re talking a beautiful Mitzvah, here! Then, Amy gets a wicked case of stage fright as she MyChart dives into some scan results that send her into a panic with nary a disco in sight, while Stef recaps her wedding...