Your Stories: Conquering Cancer

Soon after recovering from Hodgkin lymphoma, Lisa Geller's cancer returned. Then another shocking diagnosis: endometrial cancer. In the latest Your Stories podcast, Lisa, a teacher, tells host Dr. Don Dizon what she learned when her treatments did not go as she or her doctors expected.

Why representation matters. Why pronouns matter. And why it matters more than ever for patients with cancer from the LGBTQ+ community to be counted and welcomed.   Scout, MA, PhD, executive director of the National LGBT Cancer Network, tells host Dr. Don Dizon why be believes erasing the implicit bias and stigma LGBT patients often face begins with doctors and allies asking the uncomfortable quest...

In the latest Your Stories podcast, Brenda Brody introduces you to fellow co-host Dr. Don Dizon. They talk mental health, sexual health, and the challenges facing LGBTQ+ patients that inspire Dr. Dizon's work to achieve equity in cancer care.

Childhood friends, both breast cancer survivors, relive the joy and fears of their experiences and share why patients shouldn't conquer cancer alone.

Steve Cooper tells Brenda Brody how helping other people who have been diagnosed with larynx cancer, he found the will to recover - physically and emotionally - from squamous cell carcinoma.

What did  Stacey White do after being diagnosed with breast cancer for the third time? She  got a new degree, changed careers, and  as she tells host and fellow survivor Brenda Brody,  refused to let the disease deter her dreams.  

In "Follow the Signs," Monique Robinson shares how trusting her instincts, her doctors, and the family supporting her guided her path as she survived breast cancer.  Host Brenda Brody, cancer survivor and advocate, talks to Monique about the challenges of enduring treatment, talking to children about a parents' diagnosis, and living with the fear of the cancer returning. 

Nancy and Alex Berry were shocked when their son, Jake, was diagnosed with testicular cancer during a sports physical. He was only 16. In this episode of Your Stories, the devoted parents discuss what it's like to watch your child compete against cancer and share how the experience changed their family forever.

Kimberly Irvine was used to taking care of the people she loved.  Conquering breast cancer – twice – forced the young mom to learn how to take care of herself in a whole new way. In a conversation with fellow philanthropist Riccardo Braglia, Kimberly shares how cancer changed her family and offers advice for patients who meet cancer in the prime of their lives.

International business leader Riccardo Braglia has experienced great loss from cancer. But the perspective he gained inspires what he gives to help patients everywhere. Riccardo shares his story with ASCO CEO Dr. Clifford Hudis.

In this episode of Your Stories, Dr. Applebaum shares the hopeful news about conquering childhood cancers with fellow oncologist Dr. Douglas Yee and gives doctors' orders for how all patients with cancer and their families can face every phase of a diagnosis with childlike hopes.

Judith and Alan Kaur know more than most of us about the science of long-lasting love. And they use their unique experiences in the cancer community to advance research. In this episode of Your Stories , the Kaurs reveal their non-traditional approach to marriage and medicine.

Doctor after doctor recommended a different treatment option to Marlene Portnoy's husband, Steve, after he was diagnosed with a desmoid tumor. Research on the subject seemed out of reach until Marlene met Dr. Mrinal Gounder. Dr. Gounder is an oncologist treating sarcoma patients, and his understanding of desmoid tumors provided the answers they needed. In this episode of Your Stories, Marlene and...

Life doesn't stop when devastating things happen. Six-time cancer survivor Brittany Sullivan and her husband, John, know this all too well. Brittany's first diagnosis came at age 3 and her most recent when she was 15 weeks pregnant. How do a husband and wife keep going when cancer lies in the shadows of their most joyous moments? The Sullivans rest in their faith, the miracles uncovered by modern...

A new house in the suburbs. A thriving business. A growing family. It was a charmed life for college sweethearts Robin and Dave Dubin until Dave was diagnosed with colon cancer at age 29. Cancer is part of Dave's family history. Will it be part of his family's future? The Dubins talk candidly about the decision to explore genetic testing for their sons and the anxiety that comes with having answer...

How does a patient find his voice? Dr. Mark Lewis was one week into his oncology fellowship training when he self-diagnosed his rare cancer. In this episode of Your Stories, Dr. Lewis shares with his friend and colleague, Dr. Jonathan Bleeker, how the many roles he's played as caregiver, doctor, and patient – help him navigate the cancer community.

Will I lose my hair? It's a question most people ask when they begin treatment for cancer. When Sue Paxman, a young mother of four, was in treatment decades ago, she was especially bothered when her hair fell out. Claire Paxman tells her brother Rich about the moment she stood in the bathroom with their late mother, holding the scissors to help her cut her long, curly hair. Their mother's experien...

College. Senior Year. A cancer diagnosis. Before graduation, a crash course: Cancer 101. The student and patient, Addison, quizzes her doctor, Jason Luke, on the life-saving thesis he drafted on using immunotherapy as part of her cancer treatment.

Dr. Lawrence Einhorn wanted to practice general medicine alongside the father he revered. Life interfered with that dream, but along the way, he discovered the cure for testicular cancer. In 1974, patients facing a disease with a then five-percent cure rate followed the lead of an ambitious but humble young scientist who had unwittingly concocted a miracle mix of chemotherapy.  Dr. Einhorn, a Conq...

When Dr. Nizar Tannir ran out of treatment options for patients with Renal Medullary Carcinoma (RMC), a rare kidney cancer, he left his private practice to research a cure. To take on this uncommon disease, he would need the brightest young researchers and a community of supporters whose commitment to new discoveries is as relentless as his. He found an ally in Conquer Cancer researcher Dr. Pavlos...

To help manage the stress of treating people with life-threatening diseases, doctors are trained to limit the emotions they invest in patients. As young oncologists, Dr. Rachna Shroff and Dr. Nina Shah followed professional protocol by the book. They kept patients at an arm's length, in fear of blurring what they felt was an important line between doctor and friend. That all changed when each of t...

Cancer, a love story? Dr. Enrique Soto de Celis "fell in love" with geriatric patients and married it with his other passion: oncology. He speaks to his wife and colleague Dr. Yanin Chavarri about how patients (and the research partner he would eventually wed) inspire his work.

A clinical trial prolonged Jane Coulbourne's life, allowing her to work tirelessly for others before she died of cancer. Jane was a fierce patient advocate and a champion of research whose legacy is still impacting the quality of care patients receive. In this episode of Your Stories, Jane's husband, Bill, talks to Jane's friend, Susan Braun, about how Jane used her illness to help others. He reca...

It's January. Are you among the many people resolved to change your diet in the new year? Dr. Neil Iyengar and Dr. Nadja Pinnavaia commit to promoting healthy lifestyles every day in their work to prevent cancer and keep it from returning in patients who have already conquered it. In this episode of Your Stories, they prescribe lifestyle changes influenced by their expertise in disease interventio...

Stuart Spigel wanted to be a forest ranger. His mother…well, she had other plans. Dr . Stuart Spigel would become Nashville's first oncologist. Though not the rustic wilderness he'd dreamed of exploring, cancer in the 1970's was an uncharted field. In a conversation with son and fellow oncologist, David Spigel, you'll hear candid insight into the ever-changing landscape of cancer care and how beco...