The Lighthouse Podcast

Peyton Gully joins Chris and Christy on the podcast this week to share her personal journey with childhood cancer. Now a junior in college, Peyton was diagnosed as a sophomore in high school at the age of 15 with mixed phenotype acute leukemia. As an active cross-country runner and lacrosse player, Peyton describes noticing her performance slowing down leading up to her diagnosis. When a month-lon...

Chris and Christy kick off September, Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, with this important conversation. Christy shares from her experience as the mother of a childhood cancer survivor, explaining why September is so important. Then she and Chris explain the many experiences and types of support that Lighthouse Family Retreat provides. They explain what a week at one of Lighthouse's seaside...

In this second episode of a two-part conversation with Joe and Alana Phillips, Chris and Christy talk with the couple about all of the updates in their daughter Tillery's cancer journey. They share what has been different this time around, after having been off treatment for three and a half years, including the shock of hearing the news that the mass had grown, and the frustration of having to fi...

Joe and Alana Phillips were generous to talk with us on two separate occasions, as their daughter's cancer journey took a big twist soon after recording the first podcast. In this initial conversation, Chris and Christy talk with the parents of Luke and Tillery about Tillery's initial diagnosis at 15 months old with a brain tumor. They describe the early months of her life when they noticed her mi...

Last week on the podcast, Chris and Christy spoke with Kayla Funk, a childhood cancer survivor, and on this episode, they chat with Kayla's siblings. Morgan and Andrew, who were teenagers when their sister was diagnosed, describe the early days of Kayla's cancer journey and what it was like to be on the other side of a sibling's diagnosis. Andrew shares the difficult emotions he experienced, espec...

Kayla Funk was 18 years old and ready to launch into her young adult life when she started developing strange health symptoms while serving on a mission trip in Kenya. She was soon diagnosed with neuroblastoma, which is typically diagnosed in children under five. On this podcast, she shares with Chris and Christy about the struggle of being ready to be an adult while being thrust back into a world...

In our inaugural episode of season 3, Aria Randolph, a friend of Lighthouse and homeschool educator, shares her journey to making the choice to homeschool, even as someone who enjoyed her own public school experience. She explains the two main "whys" her family has chosen this path, and the importance for each family to figure out their own "whys" when it comes to their education choices. Chr...

Chris and Christy pick back up on the subject of life after treatment this week. Christy shares the journey she and her son Carter have been on since he was diagnosed with ALL at age six, and specifically, the things she wishes people knew about the post-treatment phase. She explains the daily toll that treatment takes on the family, and the adjustment it takes to having it all come to a stop...

This week on T he Lighthouse Podcast, Chris and Christy are covering a topic that's often overlooked when it comes to childhood cancer: the off-treatment journey. They speak with Dr. Karen Effinger, who is the medical director of survivorship at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at CHOA. The survivor clinic sees oncology and bone marrow transplant patients who have completed th...

Josh and Kayla Boyer attended a Lighthouse retreat in 2018 with their family, including their daughter Lydia who was battling stage 4 medulloblastoma. Chris and Christy sat down with the couple to hear their story, including Lydia's initial diagnosis, which—as is the case for so many families—was hard-earned. Lydia's symptoms began in April 2016, starting in subtle ways, but getting...

Chris and Christy spoke with Becca Johnson, a Child Life Specialist on the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at CHOA, where she has worked with both in-patient and out-patient care for seven years. Becca explains why a child might need a bone marrow transplant, and how she helps children and families throughout the lengthy process. She also details the entire process from pre-transplant through the...

On this week's episode of The Lighthouse Podcast , Chris and Christy have an informative discussion with Dr. Brock, Director of Supportive Care at a local children's hospital in Atlanta. Dr. Brock explains what supportive care is and how the main mission of supportive, or palliative, care is to help kids who have a serious illness like cancer—and their families—live as well as possible. Suppo...

Chris and Christy enjoyed sitting down with a longtime friend of Lighthouse, pediatric oncology nurse Jaime Newton. Jaime served on Lighthouse summer staff several years ago—a summer that confirmed her decision in early childhood to pursue this career path after seeing the nurses care for her brother's best friend while he was being treated for leukemia. Jaime describes a day in the life of a...

Chris and Christy welcome Stephanie Fee back to the podcast—this time sharing her journey as a single mom on the childhood cancer journey. After going through her own divorce while her son was on treatment, Steph became extremely passionate about helping single moms navigate the journey of childhood cancer. She speaks of the strength these women have as they juggle all that childhood cancer involv...

Child Life Specialist Lindsay Carrick joins Chris and Christy on The Lighthouse Podcast again this week, taking a deeper dive into an important topic when it comes to childhood cancer: communication. How do you talk to a child about their cancer diagnosis? Lindsay walks us through the steps she takes as a CLS, from working with the parents, to making the tough conversations age- and developmentall...

Christy kicks off the first part of this two-part interview with Child Life Specialist Lindsay Carrick by declaring herself Child Life's biggest fan, and as the conversation between Chris, Christy, and Lindsay continues, it's easy to see why. Child Life Specialists wear many hats, but their main goal is to be a supportive presence for patients and their families while in the hospital or clinic. Li...

Today we sit down with Roger & Angie Howie. Their daughter Faith was diagnosed at 4 years old with Leukemia (ALL). They talk through their initial reaction to the news of the diagnosis and the struggles they experienced after getting the news, including misunderstanding with other family members. Now 12 years later, the Howies are active in the childhood cancer community supporting other famil...

Bojana Pencheva is a genetic counselor with a local children's hospital in Atlanta, and she sat down with Chris and Christy to talk about a fairly recent development in the world of childhood cancer: cancer predisposition programs. Bojana explains what genetic counseling is and how it can help certain patients and their families to help them reduce their increased cancer risk. She goes on to expla...

Stephanie Fee returns to talk about Creed and losing her son to childhood cancer. She shares her experience in hopes that it helps families walking through a similar situation. She gives an overview of what it was like for her in the early days and what has helped her cope. She talks about the importance of keeping Creed’s memory alive and gives advice to friends of those who may know someone whos...

Chris & Christy sit down with Stephanie Fee for Part One of the story of her son Creed. Creed was born prematurely and from the moment Stephanie brought him home, until his passing, he was in and out of hospitals and on medication. For five years of his life, Stephanie was searching for answers as to what was causing him to be ill frequently only to find out he had Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MD...

Today Chris & Christy sit down with the Wamsley family. Matt & Lindsey’s daughter Addie was suddenly diagnosed with ALL after struggling with what they thought was an ear infection. The week prior to her diagnosis, a new Phase 3 Trial had just opened up at St Jude’s. The Wamsley’s go into detail about joining this out of state trial, the goal of the trial, and the support they received fro...

In this episode, we sit down with Tenise Newburg from Camp Sunshine. She opens by talking about her personal experience with camp as both a camper and then as a volunteer. She discusses the current programing at Camp Sunshine, what the value of camp is for an individual and for families, and the ways your family can get involved. Tenise digs a little deeper into what she considers one of the most...

Today Chris & Christy sit down with Whitney Crosser to talk through her son’s childhood cancer journey. She first discussed when she realized something wasn't quite right with her son’s health after he spiked multiple fevers. After Wyatt’s diagnosis of Stage 4 High Risk Neuroblastoma, Whitney decided to take her son to Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York for treatment. In this episode, she di...

As we kick off Season Two of The Lighthouse Podcast, Chris & Christy sit down with Mary Kate Snider, VP of Mission Delivery with Make a Wish Georgia. She starts by explaining the requirements for a family to receive a Make a Wish journey and the mission behind Make a Wish. In a world of Childhood Cancer where the child doesn’t get many choices, Mary Kate talks about how a main focus of Make a...

On the final podcast of 2020, co-hosts Christy Richards and Chris Woodruff reflect upon the year that was. They talk about the good things that happened, things they appreciate in spite of the difficulties and some lessons they learned along the way. Chris and Christie then turn their attention to 2021. They discuss the value of being intentional and aligning priorities as we anticipate the new ye...