Talking With Cancer

Katie gets a tattoo, but not out of choice. She is prepping for her radiotherapy treatment. She explains what’s involved and shares her recent goings-on as she is starting to feel more energised at last. She’s been back on the Peloton and is trying a new form of movement; Gyrotonic.  This week’s Voice with Cancer is from Louisa who discovered the power of the breath after her cancer diagnosis in 2...

Having read her brilliant book Change Your Mind, Heal Your Body and having done her inspiring course, Cleansing the Chakras; Katie was thrilled to talk to healer and writer Anna Parkinson. They discussed what it means to self heal, why illnesses come along, what stories we tell ourselves and how to learn a new language around self compassion and perspectives. Anna talks so openly and honestly abou...

Katie reflects on how much medication she is taking nowadays and the dichotomy of dealing with their side effects. But overall she is focused on embracing the drugs and remains in awe of their effectiveness. She had a much-needed break away with her husband Dinc, and there she realised how much fear she is holding in her body. And she is determined to let this fear go and continue to move forward....

Katie had the pleasure of chatting with Dr Anisha Patel, aka doctorsgetcancertoo. They discussed why it’s so common for people to disregard symptoms, they talked about how anxiety and panic attacks can often occur whilst dealing with cancer and also the after-effects of coming through the other side. Anisha’s book “Everything you hoped you’d never need to know about bowel cancer” is both personal...

Katie chats solo this week, after a few months' hiatus. She is finally feeling more herself, and enthused to start the pod again. She opens up about some of the low points she’s experienced recently, adapting to the new treatment, and handling side effects and she is trying to take a different perspective on her illness and outlook.  This week we hear from Nell Bhadresha about how her cancer diagn...

Katie shares her current situation as she’s about to start her new treatment Lenvatinib. And she reflects back on season 3, and all the amazing guests she’s had on the series. She is grateful to each of them for chatting to her, so openly and feels proud of the body of work she has created. Thanks goes out to the Voices with Cancer, who’ve shared their cancer story too. Watch this space for season...

Katie chats to an old client, the brilliant and inspiring comedian and host of Channel 4’s The Last Leg Adam Hills MBE. He is incredibly honest about his father’s double cancer diagnosis, and he talks about how he used "positive denial" to manage the situation better. Adam went on to write Clown Heart, all about how he handled his father’s journey with cancer and, through that show, connected with...

Mary Oladele is the founder and CEO of Cancer Education UK. Mary saw a real opportunity to educate and help the BAMER community whilst training as a therapeutic radiographer. She is helping to de-mystify stigmas around cancer, which are specific to individuals and communities from a BAMER background. Her charity is encouraging those people to get screened and go to their doctor earlier when showin...

Everyone is going to die. Katie chats to Emma, who works as a death doula, and shares how she decided to make this her career, what sort of clients she works with, how we talk about death in the western world and who can think about having a death doula (the answer is everybody).  Talking With Cancer For all enquiries or to get in touch: hello@talkingwithcancer.com  To follow Katie’s journey on In...

Katie is feeling like one of the family at the ICR. She was thrilled to speak to another one of their fascinating researchers, Professor Trevor Graham who has moved his lab over from Bart’s, looking at the evolution of cancer genes. He shares his knowledge around how cancer genes evolve and how and why they can become drug resistant. He also shared why he’s so interested in bowel cancer.  Talking...

Talking about grief can be difficult, but Rebecca Soffer has absolutely nailed it. So much so she wrote a book about it. The Modern Loss handbook is a brilliant approach to handling grief. A genius idea. Katie and Rebecca had an awesome chat on the subject and realised that in many ways they are both out in the world talking about difficult subjects, making it accessible, relatable and even funny....

Katie reached out to David, after reading his post on the ROS1 Facebook group, he had been on a targeted treatment for 10 years and wanted to share his anniversary with the group.  Talking With Cancer For all enquiries or to get in touch: hello@talkingwithcancer.com  To follow Katie’s journey on Instagram, go to @talking_withcancer  Artwork & logo design by Emily Juniper. Illustrations by Amy Brow...

Adam and Katie have been Instagram friends ever since the podcast launched back in May 2022. Katie was so thrilled to get his message out of the blue, as a result of him having found the pod. They finally get to speak, and he shares his thyroid cancer story, how he tackles his mental health, what it’s like navigating the healthcare system in France and how it feels for a man going through this. Ta...

Katie first met Carolyn at Maggie’s Royal Free, she was taking the chair exercise class that was talked about in season one. Now, months on Katie regularly does Nordic Walking with Carolyn. They discuss why exercise & staying fit is so important for cancer patients, pre or post-diagnosis. And they discuss Carolyn’s book “Get Your Oomph Back”. Talking With Cancer For all enquiries or to get in touc...

Garo Armen founded Agenus Bio in 1994, with a mission to help cure cancer using immunotherapy science. The successful biotech is now living up to that mission, and continues to do innovative work in the field of cancer treatment. It was a privilege to chat with Garo, learn about his personal experience of caring for his mother whilst she had breast cancer during a very different time as well as un...

This episode is a long time coming. Katie and Katie, two very best of friends, talk about how it feels going through Katie’s cancer diagnosis. Watching from the sidelines, how to be there, when to step in and when to step back. Being with the tough times and also laughing through life together. Talking With Cancer For all enquiries or to get in touch: hello@talkingwithcancer.com  To follow Katie’s...

Dr. Alexander Lyon of the Royal Brompton Hospital is Katie’s guest this week. He is her personal cardiologist, and he explains how & why certain cancer treatments affect the heart. On matters of the heart, Katie gets a lot off her chest this week as well, sharing ideas around self-advocacy and how practitioners, as well as patients, could alleviate certain frustrations. Talking With Cancer For all...

Katie talks to yoga for cancer teacher Vicky Fox about her experience as a teacher. Why she chose that specific teaching style, and how she likes to think of her approach as collaborative? Katie also reflects on her current integrative approach to treatment and receives good news & bad news from her oncologist. Talking With Cancer For all enquiries or to get in touch: hello@talkingwithcancer.com ...

Katie and Carly Moosah debate the pros and cons of social media when living with cancer. And why it’s a struggle to accept the title   “influencer.” Katie talks about her own experiences of using social media in the cancer community and the mixed feelings that it brings up for her personally. Talking With Cancer For all enquiries or to get in touch: hello@talkingwithcancer.com  To follow Katie’s j...

What a lovely chat with a lovely friend, my friend “the guru,” Deborah Berryman. She shares her daily practice, mindset, and life lessons, all stirred up into a delicious cosmic soup. And Katie remembers that there’s a lot we don’t know in life. Talking With Cancer For all enquiries or to get in touch: hello@talkingwithcancer.com  To follow Katie’s journey on Instagram, go to @talking_withcancer ...

Katie chats to a very clever man! Dr. Paul Huang from the Institute of Cancer Research about all things related to rare cancer, gene mutations, and targeted therapy. And despite her ongoing treatment plan, Katie remains hopeful about what the future has in store. Talking With Cancer For all enquiries or to get in touch: hello@talkingwithcancer.com  To follow Katie’s journey on Instagram, go to @ta...

Katie and Clair reflect back on the past few months and realise that meaning has been revealed in many different forms. Life after surgery has given Katie a whole new appreciation of life. And maybe her new body could be even better than the old one. Time will tell.  Talking With Cancer For all enquiries or to get in touch: hello@talkingwithcancer.com  To follow Katie’s journey on Instagram, go to...

An update from Katie on her scan, and we hear some voice notes she made while in isolation having radioactive iodine treatment. Then Katie turns the spotlight on to Clair to find out how she’s been throughout this period as we wish her a very heartfelt farewell from the series. Talking With Cancer For all enquiries or to get in touch: hello@talkingwithcancer.com  To follow Katie’s journey on Insta...

This week Katie interviews Naava Carman, who was her “fertility detective” last year when going through IVF. She discusses the role of the thyroid and natural killer cells in fertility. Find out more about Naava Carman: Website Instagram Talking With Cancer For all enquiries or to get in touch: hello@talkingwithcancer.com  To follow Katie’s journey on Instagram, go to @talking_withcancer  Artwork...

Katie is finally feeling herself again. A walk in the rain reminds her of where she was only a few weeks ago. And she’s so grateful just to be outside, whatever the weather. She chats to Robyn Volkers, Centre Head at Maggie’s Royal Free. Clair ponders the goodness, compassion, and free support charity’s like Maggie’s provide. Talking With Cancer For all enquiries or to get in touch: hello@talkingw...