C-Sessions…with Randall Broad

Randall Broad welcomes Trevor Maxwell, founder of Man Up to Cancer.

Man Up to Cancer inspires men to connect and avoid isolation during our cancer journeys.

Founded in 2020 by stage IV colon cancer survivor Trevor Maxwell, Man Up to Cancer is a digital content company and online community. We offer a podcast, website, social media channels, and an insanely engaged Facebook group called The Howling Place.

When faced with cancer, women tend to “reach out,” and men tend to “check out.” This tendency toward isolation leads men down the path toward mental health problems, strained relationships, and poor medical outcomes. It’s time for a new path.

We are changing what it means to “Man Up” in the face of cancer. It’s not just about being tough. It means having the courage to accept help, and knowing we are smarter and stronger as a pack than we are as lone wolves. https://www.manuptocancer.com/

host Randall Broad welcomes Jennifer Tamman, member of the ‘Healthy Living Revolution’ to his show.

Anyone who has heard the words, “you have cancer,” learn very quickly and know all too well, we are what we eat. This week’s C-Sessions is focused on healthy living. Healthy living used to be easy. We would eat food from the garden, drink from the hose, and play until the sun went down. Somewhere along the line, living a healthy lifestyle became complicated…and our guest this week is on a mission to bring healthy in our lives back!

Jennifer will guest on the program as she continues her work to help those around her learn more about this extremely important aspect of living an extraordinary life.

What is the Healthy Living Revolution? They are a massive movement of people on a mission to inspire others to take ownership of their own health journey. They provide resources to support you in your community and provide events that encourage and educate you on your way to living a healthier life. They share a simple way to flood your body with fruits, vegetables, berries, and health minded diets to jump-start your life, shed the unhealthy habits that are not serving you, and establish new ones.

Aubrey Kelly is the founder and CEO of Rabble Health, which is one of the startup companies associated with Cancer Hacker Labs. myRabble, an app launching in Q1, is designed to help cancer patients and their caregivers manage through a cancer diagnosis with greater clarity, connection, and choice.

Cancer patients and their caregivers experience many breakdowns in our health system: they are overwhelmed as they confront their mortality and struggle to access and navigate complex, constantly changing treatment options across an uncoordinated healthcare system. CancerHacker Learning Lab accelerates patient-led solutions to these cancer care problems by organizing conversations with carefully selected advisors on their most urgent issues.

On this C-Sessions with your host Randall Broad as he interviews Erika Hanson Brown and Brad Power about their co-founded CancerHacker Learning Lab.

Brad Power, a process innovation consultant and lymphoma survivor, and Erika Hanson Brown, a community organizer and colorectal cancer survivor, will share how they created and co-founded CancerHacker Learning Lab with Hive Networks, a provider of health learning network services.

Brad Power is a process innovation consultant, focused on reengineering cancer treatment, particularly by empowering cancer patients, caregivers, and startups. He is co-founder and head hacker at CancerHacker Learning Lab, an accelerator for patient-led solutions to cancer care problems; founder of Reengineering Cancer Treatment; and founding member and chairman of MyCancerDB.

Erika Hanson Brown is the “Founding Mayor” of COLONTOWN, an online community dedicated to improving the lives of people with colorectal cancer. Brown is also CEO and co-founder of PALTOWN, the non-profit organization that oversees COLONTOWN.

As an 18-year survivor of stage III colon cancer, Brown is known for her high energy, fearlessness, networking skills, humor, and loving heart. She believes patients should be well informed and an active voice in decisions about their care, as partners with their doctors.

Motivated by this core belief, Brown founded COLONTOWN in 2011. The goal, empowering patients and caregivers to share information and seek the best treatments available. Several doctors told her the endeavor was ridiculous. Yet Brown persisted! These days, oncologists refer to COLONTOWN as, “The Patient Powerhouse.” Structured in private groups on Facebook, the group has more than 5,000 active “residents” from countries around the world. Through advocacy and relationships with medical professionals, COLONTOWN members are advancing the fields of colorectal cancer research and clinical practice.

On this edition of C-Sessions with your host, Randall Broad, Randy interviews Andy Peet, Telehealth Program Manager along with Dr. Jennie Crews, M.D., Medical Director, both with Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. C-Session will air Wednesday, November 18th at 4 p.m.

Telehealth has accelerated heavily since the COVID 19 Pandemic. And SCCA has expanded Telehealth services significantly in the past year. Please join in and learn about the latest breakthrough and benefits of communication via phone and Zoom with treatment providers.

Dr. Crews is Medical Director for the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Network, Administrative and Medical Director for SCCA Community Sites and a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington. Her clinical focus is Survivorship.

She received her B.S. in Biology with highest honors from UNC- Chapel Hill and completed her MD and oncology fellowship at Duke University. She earned a Master in Medical Management from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Crews was President of the Association of Community Cancer Centers from 2016-2017 and is Editor-in-Chief of ACCC’s Oncology Issues. She is a reviewer for the ASCO-SEP and has Co-Chaired the ASCO Practice Guidelines Implementation Network. She is the current President of the Washington State Medical Oncology Society.

Andy Peet is excited to be working at the intersection of technology and healthcare as the Telehealth Program Manager at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Prior to joining the telehealth team, he was the Manager of Medical Staff Services and Access in the Medical Director’s Office of SCCA. A seasoned healthcare operations, project, and people manager, Mr. Peet has served in various operational and technical roles at SightLife, the largest global health NGO focused on eliminating corneal blindness, and as a Project Manager in the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Mr. Peet serves on the board of Cancer Lifeline, an outstanding nonprofit providing supportive care services to cancer patients and caregivers, and is a member of the Advisory Committee of Seattle Repertory Theater. He has served as a reviewer for the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship, the Jessica L Peet Scholarship, and the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. He has also served terms on the board of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Seattle, Seattle Musical Theater, and Team Up for Nonprofits.

He holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Seattle University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Pacific Lutheran University.

On this edition of C-Sessions with your host, Randall Broad he interviews Erika Hanson Brown, CEO of PALTOWN.

Here are a few areas in which Paltown aims to make a difference:

Activism, Learning, Curing = Empower each patient’s experience for the benefit of self and other patients

Access to a large network of colon cancer patients / caregivers with expertise and database of the treatments and outcomes with thousands of colorectal patients

Initial focus on colorectal and eventually other cancers

Erika Hanson Brown is the “Founding Mayor” of COLONTOWN, an online community dedicated to improving the lives of people with colorectal cancer. Brown is also CEO and co-founder of PALTOWN, the non-profit organization that oversees COLONTOWN.

As an 18 -voice year survivor of stage III colon cancer, Brown is known for her high energy, fearlessness, networking skills, humor, and loving heart. She believes patients should be well informed and an active voice in decisions about their care, as partners with their doctors.

Motivated by this core belief, Brown founded COLONTOWN in 2011. The goal, empowering patients and caregivers to share information and seek the best treatments available. Several doctors told her the endeavor was ridiculous. Yet Brown persisted! These days, oncologists refer to COLONTOWN as, “The Patient Powerhouse.” Structured in private groups on Facebook, the group has more than 5,000 active “residents” from countries around the world. Through advocacy and relationships with medical professionals, COLONTOWN members are advancing the fields of colorectal cancer research and clinical practice.

In addition to her roles with COLONTOWN and PALTOWN, Brown serves on the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Colon Cancer Task Force, and is a CRC Dream Team member for Stand Up to Cancer. Brown celebrated 17 years of “dancing with NED” (no evidence of disease) on Women’s Equality Day, Aug. 26, 2020.

On this edition of C-Sessions, your host, Randall Broad interviews C. Anthony “Tony” Blau, M.D. and Founder/CEO of All4Cure.

Here are a few areas in which All4Cure aims to make a difference:

Sharing, Learning, Curing = Learning from each patient’s experience for the benefit of all other patients.

Access to an external network of expertise and a large database of the treatments and outcomes of hundreds and eventually tens of thousands of patients.

Democratizing access to expert level care irrespective of geographic barriers.

Initial focus on multiple myeloma, and eventually all cancer.

Tony founded All4Cure after 27-years as a Professor of Medicine/Hematology and physician scientist at the University of Washington (UW). His research has spanned hematopoiesis, gene therapy, stem cell biology, genomics and cancer, consistently focusing on bringing the very latest research advances to patients with heretofore incurable diseases. At UW, he founded the Center for Cancer Innovation, which brings together a distributed network of investigators to help patients with advanced cancer. Tony co-founded the UW Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine and chaired the Molecular and Cellular Hematology Study Section for the National Institutes of Health. He has authored more than 85 scientific publications. Diagnosed himself with myeloma in April 2015, Tony infuses All4Cure with an incredible sense of urgency to improve the prospects for cancer patients now and in the future.

On this edition of C-Sessions. . .with Randall Broad we welcome Washington State Congresswoman Suzan DelBene and Senior Policy Manager Lindsay Houff of National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS). Together, they explore vital topics affecting healthcare funding and protection for cancer patients.

On this C-Sessions with Randall Broad an interview with Dr. Jing Zeng, an Associate Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

There are congratulations in order to Dr. Jing Zeng, who officially became the SCCA Proton Therapy Center’s Medical Director on October 16, after serving as Associate Medical Director since 2019.

Like many, Dr. Zeng was drawn to health care because she wanted to help people. She studied at Duke University and completed her residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital focusing on radiation oncology. Although treating cancer is extremely challenging, Dr. Zeng knew it was her calling.

“It’s a privilege that my job is to help people in their time of dire need. Work doesn’t feel like work when you know what you’re doing is meaningful,” says Dr. Zeng.

As one of the first physicians to treat at the Center, Dr. Zeng initially specialized in lung cancer radiation. By 2014, she expanded her role to lead the genitourinary/prostate cancer program – at one time, treating nearly half of the Center’s prostate cancer patients.

Liszet is the Community Health Educator for Urban Populations for the Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium’s Office of Community Outreach & Engagement (OCOE). Originally from Arizona where she got her Bachelor of Science degree in Family Studies and Human Development from the University of Arizona, her personal experience led her to pursue a career assisting underserved populations and access to health care. She began her work at West Side Head Start serving the El Mirage, AZ community which is the same community she participated in as a child. In 2013, she moved to Seattle to obtain her Master’s in Social Work with a concentration in Health Policy and Advocacy. Liszet began her career at Fred Hutch in 2015 working as a bilingual Information Specialist at the nation’s only NCI Cancer Information Service, where she provided callers from all over the world up-to-date cancer information, clinical trial search, and local resources. Liszet continues her work in health disparities now in cancer prevention and survivorship as part of the Cancer Consortium’s OCOE. She’s had the honor of working with African American communities in clinical trial information sessions, working with the Mexican Consulate to provide Spanish Cancer information, and most recently recruiting for a monoclonal Anti-body study for COVID-19. Liszet hopes to expand her work in connecting with any underserved communities and working towards decreasing gaps in health care and cancer information resources.

Michael has spent 25 years in the medical industry bringing disruptive technology to the patients and systems that treat them. He’s worked both with national and international companies to bring the latest technology to the patient front line. Additionally, Michael has worked with large health systems; University of Washington, Kaiser, Stanford, and Providence from the commercial vendor side. Focused on breakthrough diagnostic test for breast and colorectal cancer, helping identifying patients in the care gap. Currently, Michael is with Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, a rare disease cancer company focusing on (GIST gastrointestinal stromal tumors).

C-Sessions is a fascinating healthcare-focused program designed to improve communication and collaboration between patients and their healthcare provider.

“The ultimate takeaway is to improve outcomes,” said Randy, adding, “We believe that education, transparency, and open dialogue are essential to providing quality healthcare throughout the patient journey and treatment process.”