The Blood Cancer Experience

In this podcast episode, two guests will discuss cancer-related fatigue: Rachelle Ramsay, Registered Nurse with her certification in oncology, works at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary, on the outpatient systemic treatment unit. CLL survivor Kent Parlee recently celebrated 36 years of marriage to his wife and best friend Cheryl. They have three children – Sean and his wife Kathleen and their...

Michele Rosko and her husband, Randy, were married in 2003. Randy was diagnosed with biphenotypic leukemia in the Fall of 2013. The road to recovery for Randy has had many twists and turns –ruptured gall bladder, C. difficile, perforated bowel and a bone marrow transplant with an anonymous donor. Six years post transplant, Randy continues to struggle with graft versus host disease. Randy’s remissi...

Halfway through her master's degree abroad, Rachele Chaar was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma and had to put school on hold as she moved back home to start treatment. After achieving remission status following two years of treatment, Rachele was ready to go back to school and finish her degree. Despite the challenging journey back into an academic setting, she found ways to navigate thos...

Join Paula Vanni, Market Vice President, CIBC, as she talks about finances and cancer. Paula has worked for CIBC for 25 years in a variety of positions including as a Director in CIBC’s financial advice office. She holds a degree in Women’s Studies and Sociology from the University of Western Ontario and a Masters in Business Administration from Dalhousie University.

Hart Searle had a 35-year career in Canada’s oil and gas industry, the majority of it in a wide range of senior corporate communications roles, including employee communications, media, government and indigenous relations, and community contributions. Hart is a non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivor and has been actively involved with the LLSC since 2011, primarily as a First Connection volunteer.

Meghan MacMillan, Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Adolescent and Young Adult Program at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, talks about fertility and cancer in young adults. More and fertility and blood cancer at: https://www.bloodcancers.ca/sites/default/files/2021-11/LLS1161-F-FS-Fertility-Facts-E01.pdf

Marell Tomeh was first diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in April 2013 at age 19. Following the two-year Dana Farber Protocol, Marell was in remission for three years before relapsing in September 2018 at age 24. After an eventful and complicated journey to remission, Marell was finally able to receive a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor in April 2019 at age 25.

Barry Yhard is a Lymphoma survivor currently employed with the Canadian Forces Health Services Group. He is certified by the Surgeon General as a mental health educator. Barry served for 33 years as an active member of the military but was injured in 2009 and in 2010 diagnosed with PTSD. Barry went on to pursue further education in mental health and became qualified as a Master Trainer in the spec...

Tiffany Woodworth was on a working holiday in New Zealand when she started feeling sick; she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. She shares her story of receiving a cancer diagnosis as a young adult, and the supports that she received during her experience.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common acute leukemia affecting adults. In this episode, Dr. Florian Kuchenbauer explains the basics of diagnosis, treatment, side effects, and research.  Dr. Florian Kuchenbauer, MD, PhD, is a Clinical Scientist at the Leukemia/BMT program of BC and Terry Fox lab of BC Cancer and Associate Professor in Medicine at UBC. llscanada.org/podcasts

Michael was preparing to move with his wife to Ottawa when he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) after a routine doctor's visit. In this podcast, he shares his story from diagnosis to remission. llscanada.org/podcasts

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell therapy, or CAR T-Cell therapy, is an immunotherapy that modifies your own cells to detect and kill cancer cells. In this podcast, Dr. David Szwajcer explains the basics.  Dr. Szwajcer is a staff physician working at CancerCare Manitoba and the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg. He is the director of the Manitoba blood and marrow transplant program. His clini...

Eric was working in IT and sales when he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia 14 years ago. He underwent several different treatment options, and now gives his time to supporting people who are newly diagnosed with CLL. llscanada.org/podcasts