The Lighthouse Podcast

Tiffany and Richard Everett join Chris and Christy for a conversation about their son Israel's diagnosis of mixed phenotype acute leukemia, which is a really rare form of leukemia. They talk about the challenges of Israel having a rare form of childhood cancer along with autism. They share how Israel knew something was wrong and pushed them to get to the ER, and how quickly his diagnosis came once...

In this special bonus episode of The Lighthouse Podcast, Richard and Tiffany Everett share what it was like to attend a Lighthouse retreat for the first time. They speak with humor and vulnerability as they reflect on the progression each of them experienced as the week went on—from their initial hesitancy to even going on the trip... to being "all in" in just a short time... to not wanting to lea...

Adam and Trish Dalton join The Lighthouse Podcas t to share their daughter Autumn's story of being diagnosed with a rare form of pediatric leukemia, starting with her symptoms and quick diagnosis. They share the challenge that came with receiving the news of the genetic makeup of her cancer and how that made the treatment even harder. They explain the option they had to enroll her in a clinical tr...

Chris and Christy welcomed Jason and Kaeley Gubler to the podcast to share about their daughter Zoie's story. They explain the symptoms that led to her diagnosis of lymphoma, and the early days of adjusting to their "new normal" with two young kids at home and one in the hospital. They reminisce on the unique challenges the mass in Zoie's chest caused with getting a port placed, and how her older...

Mica Loewy, a Social Worker in the pediatric oncology department at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, sat down with Chris and Christy to share about the work she does to help patients and their families through such a challenging time. Mica explains the role a Social Worker plays on the medical team for the patient and family—providing support and referring to resources particular&n...

Matt and Yolanda Gamel, parents of five children, sat down with Chris and Christy to share the story of their daughter Dani's journey through childhood cancer. They talk about Dani's diagnosis of ALL at the age of 13, and how Yolanda had to push for the lab work that would bring about the diagnosis. They explain how each of their children had a different reaction to Dani's diagnosis, and how the h...

Jonah, now age 6, was diagnosed with B-cell ALL at only two years old. His parents Liza and Josh Forbes sat down with Christy and Chris to share Jonah's story, beginning with his initial symptoms and diagnosis. They discuss how it felt to hear first that he had the "good" kind of cancer, only to find out he had a genetic mutation that changed his diagnosis to high risk. Liza shares the shock of fi...

Hallie Barnard—at 13 years old, the youngest guest on The Lighthouse Podcast so far—and her mom join Chris and Christy to share Hallie's health journey, starting with an incredibly rare bone marrow disease called Diamond-Blackfan anemia. After being diagnosed with this disease at just 15 months old, she waited for nine years to find a match for her bone marrow. She had a successful transplant, but...

Chris and Christy welcome back James Ludemann, Patient Teaching Coordinator and Fertility Preservation Nurse at CHOA, to the podcast, this time to share about the issue of fertility preservation when it comes to pediatric cancer. James starts out by defining fertility and infertility, just as he would in his conversations with patients and their families to make sure everyone is on the same page....

Young adult Brendan Zurica joins The Lighthouse Podcast to share his journey battling diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He shares about his first diagnosis and treatment right before his senior year of high school, and then facing relapse twice several years later. He includes details of his treatment and the timeline of it all, as well as the toll it all took on his mental health. Brenda...

On the final episode of season 3 of The Lighthouse Podcast , Chris and Christy's spouses, Jan and Eric, join the show to talk about marriage and parenting. They talk about something they planned to do in 2021—and actually got to do! They share things they did right and wrong in parenting, such as spending time one-on-one with each kid. They share what they did—or wish they did—to sustain and fuel...

On this week's episode of The Lighthouse Podcast, Annie and Randall Patterson share the story of their son Eli's journey from the very beginning—including their struggles with fertility and their surprise to find out Annie was expecting. They share the details of his diagnosis, as well as the surprise when his out-patient treatment plan turned into in-patient for much of his treatment. They talk a...

Leslie and Eric Bartel joined The Lighthouse Podcast to talk about their daughter AG's battle against osteosarcoma, from which she is now in remission. They share her diagnosis story, which came about due to a perceived sports injury, and turned out to be a rare bone cancer in her left humerus. The Bartels detail the many decisions they had to make with this type of diagnosis, and how they tr...

Dr. Naadira Upshaw, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and Pediatric Psychologist at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta in the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, joins Chris and Christy again on the podcast. In this important conversation, she shares about the role that psychology plays in survivorship. She talks about the challenges that survivors face, s...

On this episode of The Lighthouse Podcast , Chris and Christy are joined in-person by Emily and Jonathan Settle, parents to four-year-old Lucy, who passed away in 2020 after an aggressive spinal cord tumor metastasized throughout her central nervous system. The Settles share how Lucy was diagnosed within a week of showing major symptoms and quickly became unable to walk or even...

Chris and Christy sat down to talk with Chase Kelly, mom to Theo and Anna, who shares the story of Theo's battle against an optic nerve glioma brain tumor. Diagnosed at age six, Theo's tumor was inoperable and required high doses of chemo that made him incredibly sick. Chase reminisces about the uncertainty in those early days—how unprepared they were for the treatment, and how guarded Theo's heal...

This week on The Lighthouse Podcast , Chris and Christy are joined by Dr. Naadira Upshaw, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and Pediatric Psychologist at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta in the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. Dr. Upshaw works with a team whose role is helping kids cope with the day-to-day stress of pediatric cancer. Dr. Ups...

Dr. Jordan Marchak provides clinical mental health care to patients and families, but she also conducts behavioral science research to guide best clinical practices to help patients. On this podcast, she shares with Chris and Christy how the care that survivors are receiving today is all based on research—evidence-based guidelines exist because researchers partner with childhood can...

Melissa Schink, a Senior Research Nurse for Developmental Therapies, joins The Lighthouse Podcast this week. Melissa is based out of Egleston at CHOA, and her campus is mostly focused on developmental therapies for solid tumors, as well as some leukemia and lymphoma patients. She shares her own personal journey to this role, which has her following patients from the very beginning of the clinical...

Chris and Christy invite Scott and Tess Rider to the podcast this week to share their family's story of battling childhood cancer in their daughter Sofia for nearly eight years. They talk about the early stages of her diagnosis and treatment and the problems they had with communication from the medical staff with their daughter's particular type of brain cancer. They share their decision...

Licensed professional counselor Rachel Menzoian is back on the podcast, this time talking about self-care as a single parent when your child is going through childhood cancer. Rachel defines self-care and discusses the challenges to prioritize self-care as a single parent—especially a single parent who has a child with cancer. Rachel shares practical, easy steps single par...

Sarah Carlin joins Chris and Christy this week on the podcast to talk about developmental therapeutics, and the role she plays in her job as Clinical Nurse Coordinator in Solid Tumor and MIBG Therapy at CHOA. Sarah describes the path she took in her career to land where she is now, in a dual-role on both the solid tumor team as intake coordinator, and her role in coordinating MIBG therap...

Rachel Menzoian is a licensed professional counselor whose practice focuses on divorce recovery, co-parenting, and difficult marriages. She joins Chris and Christy this week on the podcast to talk about co-parenting. Rachel shares from her own personal experience as a co-parent, as well as her training and expertise as a professional counselor. She covers some of the biggest struggl...

Chris and Christy sit down with Kate Glasscox this week on the podcast to talk about an area of research and treatment that is lesser known in the world of pediatric cancer. Kate is a clinical nurse coordinator of developmental therapeutics in the department of oncology at CHOA. She starts out by sharing her career path that moved her from environmental law to nursing. She...

This is a special week on the podcast, as Chris sat down with Christy's firstborn, Max, to talk about what it was like growing up with a sibling who has childhood cancer. Max shares candidly about his experience as the big brother of Carter, who was diagnosed with ALL at six years old. Max was eight years old, and he shares how his age and development played a role in how he interpreted what was h...