Chemotional Rollercoaster

Was all of Glynn’s chemo and radiation worth it? Did it do the job? This episode is special - there’s nothing planned or scripted here. Glynn spoke to his oncologist about 90 minutes before this episode was recorded. He found out the results of the scan that looked inside and he lets us in on the truth of it all. This one’s a bit more raw…and a true piece of real life. It’s just two old friends, f...

Scanziety - What a beast! Going through the scanning machine and getting the results can be a scary process. Some struggle with the machine itself - It’s a bit of a tight squeeze. Finding out results, well…that’s also a sobering reality to sit in; is the news good or bad? The lead up in the weeks before the whole thing can also be a serious challenge to sit with the worry and ‘what ifs’. This epis...

Got someone in a crisis, and you don’t know how to help? Want to do something but you’re not sure what? This episode is for you.  Here is the rub: we can’t always fix the issue/diagnosis, that's up to the health professionals. But as friends, we can help our mates cope by making our care active, rather than passive. We can turn our 'thinking of you's' into actionable gestures. And we can get...

12 Rounds of Radiation, 6 Rounds of chemo, 8 months of treatment and 56 laxatives later, Glynn has finished cancer treatment. In this episode, he reflects on what he did well, some of his 'cancer stats', and what he’d do differently. And the most surprising thing? Glynn found treatment harder on his mind than on his body. While this won’t be true for everyone’s cancer journey, as a psychologist, G...

So you’ve told your kids about your cancer. Now what? Who else in their life do you tell? Can the kids tell their mates? Do their teachers need to know? What other info do the kids need to know? Glynn and Jaz share the ways their parenting approach had to shift at times. They discuss practical things they did to allow life to be as normal as possible whilst also protecting Glynn’s struggling immun...

You get cancer. How do you tell your kids? This is not a conversation that we typically learn in parenting courses.  In this episode, Glynn and Jaz open up their playbook. They talk through the things they considered in deciding when and how to have this conversation with their own children. Considerations like…Do they need to know? Is the conversation hurting them? What words to use? How blu...

Cancer often comes with pain in varying forms and this can be truly hard to deal with. Glynn had some nasty pain post-radiation that blindsided him, and he shares with us how this went (spoiler - not well!). He talks through the ways he didn't cope, and the ways he could have done things differently. ‘Go get your life’ is a theme on this show, but sometimes the idea of living life to some high, an...

How do you live a meaningful life when cancer overshadows everything? Do you just have to lie down and let the big C ruin it all? Glynn believes we often can still live lives with intent and meaning in them, amidst the pain, treatment, anxiety and unknowns. That’s what he is pushing for. He’s trying to go get his life.    In this episode we look at the notion of living a life direct...

Humans hate uncertainty! How do we sit with all the unknowns that come with a cancer diagnosis? What’s the disease? What will treatment be like? How long have I got? Will the disease come back? What is that random pain I have? Why is my nose itchy? The mental game of this is incredibly challenging, and something some people find equally as hard as the physical challenges.   In this episo...

Accepting cancer isn't easy. How do you accept something that hurts? Something that you don’t like and didn’t ask for? What does acceptance even mean? As we dive into the topic, Glynn admits to some of his misunderstandings and faulty assumptions about acceptance. We look at two different concepts of acceptance - as a stage one can be in, and the moment to moment acceptance of our emotional experi...

Found yourself not knowing what to say when someone has cancer? Us too! Is silence golden? Don’t wanna upset the vibe? Just come out and say what we think and feel? Should we check in again, or is that hounding? It can feel like a minefield. Now that Glynn is a man on the inside, he shares with us how he talks with others with cancer, and how he would like others to talk with him. It may not be si...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right?! This may not be the case if you’re in the midst of a cancer battle. How do we still wring some goodness out of this season if we are having challenging physical and/or emotional battles? Maybe you’re waiting for diagnosis, in treatment, or missing loved ones. Glynn shares three bits of wisdom about how he will be doing Christmas differently this ye...

Cancer, not in your body, so not your problem? Sadly, not when you’re the spouse. In this episode we hear from the very lovely Jaz, who is married to Glynn. We dive into what it is like to be on the sidelines, supporting, caring, and cheering him on.  In truth, cancer happens to individuals and it also happens to their families. It’s just that the paths through it look differently for each pe...

Episode four is a little early for a bonus episode, don’t you think? Well, you could say that, but there’s no rules! Rose was interested in talking through Glynn’s weird and wonderful career progression, and how it informs his current mindset. This is a career that has spanned four countries and has not followed a common trajectory for the average psychologist. Glynn’s career has seen him working...

Radiation, who knew it was tricky? Glynn sure didn’t. This episode looks at Glynn’s radiation experiences; how he took it cheaply and thought it was an easy process, only to find it was more difficult than he expected.  We look back at the radiation process, and how thinking about Wayne’s World helped Glynn get through. We discuss the process of making Glynn’s radiation mask and the challenge...

Diagnosed with cancer, eh? Yeah, it sucks. In this episode, we discuss how all this happened for Glynn. The process took some months, and was full of unknowns. We talk about ultrasounds, fine needle biopsies, CT scans, surgeries, and the day the surgeon drops the news on Glynn that he has cancer….whilst he has his four year old in the room. Yikes!  Perhaps more importantly, we discuss how thi...

Ever wondered what it’s like to have chemo? Maybe you are going through it right now, and want to hear someone else’s experience. In this episode, the very first Chemotional Rollercoaster episode ever, Glynn tells us all about it. He had chemotherapy just before hitting record. We first discuss who we are, Glynn and Rose. Glynn's a psychologist with cancer, and Rose is a producer for a national br...