Cancer Connections

Healing is both a scientific and a spiritual journey, states Kelly Noonan Gores. She's the writer, director, and producer of "Heal," a documentary feature about the mind-body connection and the body's innate ability to heal. In this wide-ranging discussion, we touch on a lot of the topics covered in previous episodes of Cancer Connection, including cases of exceptional healing (see episode 2 with Dr. Jeffrey Rediger) and the rewards that come from acknowledging our mortality (see episode 3 with Dr. BJ Miller). We also talk about the interconnectedness of science and spirituality; how our thoughts, beliefs, and emotions have a huge impact on our overall health and our ability to recover from illness and injury.

You can learn more about "Heal" at the film's website, or check out Kelly Noonan Gores' book of the same title.

HEAL (official website)

"Heal: Discover Your Unlimited Potential and Awaken the Powerful Healer Within" (book)

"The HEAL Podcast" features interviews with scientists, healthcare experts, spiritual leaders, and individuals with remarkable healing stories that prove almost anything is possible when it comes to healing.

About Clearity

Cancer Connections is produced by Clearity, which provides free support and services to people impacted by ovarian cancer. You can learn more about Clearity and the topics we've discussed today by visiting clearity.org. Or, feel free to email us your questions or comments at [email protected]. Thanks!

Welcome to "Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll," a multi-part series where we talk with experts about three topics that often do not get discussed during treatment.

In this final installment of the series, we talk to surgeon, musician, and author Dr. Nimesh Nagarsheth about the role music can play in a patient's journey. Dr. Nagarsheth is the author of "Music and Cancer: A Prescription for Healing," and since 2008 has performed in the band N.E.D. (no evidence of disease) as part of an ongoing campaign to raise awareness of oncological cancers. He's also the director of the Dizzy Gillespie Memorial Fund at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in New Jersey.

Dr. Nagarsheth shares his perspective on how music may act as a foundation to help patients make their way through treatment and their overall cancer experience, whether or not they are already musicians or music-lovers.

More on Dr. Nimesh Nagarsheth:

• "Music and Cancer: A Prescription for Healing" (Amazon)
• "No Evidence of Disease" (documentary about the band N.E.D.)
  • Website: https://www.nedthemovie.com/band
  • Trailer: https://vimeo.com/107275052

For more information on the role of music in treatment:

• American Music Therapy Association
  https://www.musictherapy.org/
• Association for Music and Imagery
  https://ami-bonnymethod.org/find-a-practitioner

About Clearity

Cancer Connections is produced by Clearity, which provides free support and services to people impacted by ovarian cancer. You can learn more about Clearity and the topics we've discussed today by visiting clearity.org. Or, feel free to email us your questions or comments at [email protected]. Thanks!

This episode is Part 2 of our two-part conversation about the use of two drugs in a person's cancer journey which may be considered alternative to many people, cannabis and psilocybin. In this second episode we focus on psilocybin by talking to Mark Geyer, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neurosciences Emeritus at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), who directs the Neuropsychopharmacology Unit of the VISN 22 Veterans Administration Mental Illness Research, Clinical, and Education Center.

For four decades, his group has had continuous funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to study the behavioral effects of psychedelics and entactogens. At UCSD, he is a founding member of the Consortium for Translational Research in Neuropsychopharmacology (CTRIN) and Translational Research in Psychophysiology, Exploration, and Cognition (TRIPEC) groups.

As Dr. Geyer makes clear during our interview, the decision to use psilocybin should only be made with the professional guidance of medical experts; this is not a DIY treatment method.


About Clearity

Cancer Connections is produced by Clearity, which provides free support and services to people impacted by ovarian cancer. You can learn more about Clearity and the topics we've discussed today by visiting clearity.org. Or, feel free to email us your questions or comments at [email protected]. Thanks!

This episode is Part 1 of our two-part conversation about the use of two drugs in a person's cancer journey which may be considered alternative to many people, cannabis and psilocybin. In this first episode we focus on cannabis by talking to Dr. Carey Clark, PhD, RN, and Chair of the Medical Cannabis Certificate Program at the Pacific College of Health and Science in San Diego. Dr. Clark is also the former president of the American Cannabis Nurses Association, and an expert on the many ways in which medical cannabis, synthetic THC, and CBD oil can be valuable medical tools.

As Dr. Clark makes clear during our interview, the decision to use medical cannabis should only be made with the professional guidance of medical experts; this is not a DIY treatment method. If you want to learn more about this subject, here are two resources she recommends:

Project CBD
https://www.projectcbd.org

National Cancer Institute
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/patient/cannabis-pdq



About Clearity

Cancer Connections is produced by Clearity, which provides free support and services to people impacted by ovarian cancer. You can learn more about Clearity and the topics we've discussed today by visiting clearity.org. Or, feel free to email us your questions or comments at [email protected]. Thanks!

Welcome to "Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll," a multi-part series where we talk with experts about three topics that often do not get discussed during treatment.

This episode is Part 2 of our two-part conversation about sex after cancer. We talk to Leslie Heron, a nurse and a nurse practitioner with over 37 years of direct patient care experience. Leslie is board certified in family practice, and as a nurse coach, she works with individuals as well as community and professional groups on issues of cancer survivorship. She's also the cofounder of The Green Labyrinth, a retreat for family & professional caregivers addressing grief, loss, and burnout.

Leslie's perspective and guidance on the topic of sex and cancer takes into account a range of diagnoses and ages. She provides practical and encouraging advice people will benefit from wherever they are in their cancer experience or in the cancer experience of someone they love.

About Clearity

Cancer Connections is produced by Clearity, which provides free support and services to people impacted by ovarian cancer. You can learn more about Clearity and the topics we've discussed today by visiting clearity.org. Or, feel free to email us your questions or comments at [email protected]. Thanks!

Welcome to "Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll," a multi-part series where we talk with experts about three topics that often do not get discussed during treatment.

To begin with, we're talking about sex and sexuality after cancer, which our participants tell us are very important topics for them but that they struggle to discuss with others. We’re dedicating two episodes to approach the subject of Sex and Cancer with two thought leaders who share their experience and the guidance they’ve given their patients.  

In Part 1, we chat with Dr. Saketh R. Guntupalli, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Colorado, and the coauthor of "Sex and Cancer: Intimacy, Romance, and Love after Diagnosis and Treatment." Dr. Guntupalli offers his experience and perspective as a physician who realized that his patients were in need of support and answers as they sought to establish a new normal in their sex lives after cancer.

Dr. Guntupalli's book

"Sex and Cancer: Intimacy, Romance, and Love after Diagnosis and Treatment"


About Clearity

Cancer Connections is produced by Clearity, which provides free support and services to people impacted by ovarian cancer. You can learn more about Clearity and the topics we've discussed today by visiting clearity.org. Or, feel free to email us your questions or comments at [email protected]. Thanks!

Clinical trials are critical for advancing more effective treatment options for cancer, and participating in a clinical trial can be one of the most impactful steps a patient can take in the course of their treatment. That's why the team at Clearity works to educate women diagnosed with ovarian cancer about clinical trial availability, enrollment, and participation.

Fortunately, many others share this commitment and partner with us to help spread the word and demystify the world of clinical trials. Our friends at Teckro (https://teckro.com) are doing more than demystifying. They're transforming the way clinical trials are conducted to make participation more streamlined and realize outcomes more quickly.

Recently, Clearity's Scientific Director, Dr. Deb Zajchowski, talked with Teckro on their podcast series, "Totally Clinical," about promising treatments for ovarian cancer and why the science and research makes her hopeful for the future. With their kind permission, we're sharing this episode of "Totally Clinical" with our own audience. We hope that you enjoy it and come away with more information about clinical trials, and more hope.

For more information about clinical trials for ovarian cancer, visit clearity.org/clinical-trials.


About Clearity

Cancer Connections is produced by Clearity, which provides free support and services to people impacted by ovarian cancer. You can learn more about Clearity and the topics we've discussed today by visiting clearity.org. Or, feel free to email us your questions or comments at [email protected]. Thanks!

Ever feel like someone else has taken over your brain? Ever wonder why sometimes you can be so focused and methodical and other times the complete opposite? The cancer experience can sometimes fell like a roller coaster with stress and uncertainty around each turn. Sometimes it’s hard to show up the way you’d like.

In this episode, Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D., Harvard-trained neuroanatomist and author of the best-selling memoir My Stroke of Insight, explains concepts from her most recent book, Whole Brain Living, including the four characters of the brain, how to recognize each one, and how summon them all when needed.  This practice of calling a “Brain Huddle” can be particularly beneficial during times of great stress and uncertainty, as with a cancer diagnosis.

Dr. Taylor’s extensive knowledge of the brain is rivaled only by her incredible compassion. We think this episode will leave you with a better understanding of what’s happening in your own brain, and inspire you to “hook into the love instead of the fear”. 

Learn more about Dr. Taylor at www.drjilltaylor.com.


About Clearity

Cancer Connections is produced by Clearity, which provides free support and services to people impacted by ovarian cancer. You can learn more about Clearity and the topics we've discussed today by visiting clearity.org. Or, feel free to email us your questions or comments at [email protected]. Thanks!

Cancer Connections introduces “The Cancer Roadmap, Part 2,” the second of two episodes exploring the shared experience many cancer patients have.

Understanding the Cancer Roadmap may help to normalize the feelings and emotions associated with a cancer diagnosis as well as help patients know what to expect. Many people describe the feeling of not knowing, of dealing with the mystery of cancer, as being such a difficult aspect of their diagnosis. The Cancer Roadmap may help shine some light on the mystery not just for those diagnosed with ovarian cancer but other cancer diagnoses as well.

For these episodes Clearity’s Executive Director, Hillary Theakston talks to Susan Hess, the Program Director of Clearity’s Steps Through OC program, which offers one-on-one, individualized psycho-social support to women living with ovarian cancer and their caregivers.  Susan talks about the need to develop support like Steps Through OC, and how we built the program.

Susan also developed Clearity's Phase Model, a unique framework that the ovarian cancer counselors use within STEPS to help provide the right support at the right time for women on the ovarian cancer journey. In this episode, Susan takes us through the rest of the model. 

• Phase 3: Transitioning to a New Normal
• Phase 4: Managing Uncertainty
  
  

Be sure to check out part one of our conversation in the previous episode if you haven't already, where Susan talks to us about the first two phases of the Phase Model of the cancer journey.


About Clearity

Cancer Connections is produced by Clearity, which provides free support and services to people impacted by ovarian cancer. You can learn more about Clearity and the topics we've discussed today by visiting clearity.org. Or, feel free to email us your questions or comments at [email protected]. Thanks!

Cancer Connections introduces “The Cancer Roadmap, Part 1,” the first of two episodes exploring the shared experience many cancer patients have.

Understanding the Cancer Roadmap may help to normalize the feelings and emotions associated with a cancer diagnosis as well as help patients know what to expect. Many people describe the feeling of not knowing, of dealing with the mystery of cancer, as being such a difficult aspect of their diagnosis. The Cancer Roadmap may help shine some light on the mystery not just for those diagnosed with ovarian cancer but other cancer diagnoses as well.

For these episodes Clearity’s Executive Director, Hillary Theakston talks to Susan Hess, the Program Director of Clearity’s Steps Through OC program, which offers one-on-one, individualized psycho-social support to women living with ovarian cancer and their caregivers.  Susan talks about the need to develop support like Steps Through OC, and how we built the program.

Susan also developed Clearity's Phase Model, a unique framework that the ovarian cancer counselors use within STEPS to help provide the right support at the right time for women on the ovarian cancer journey. In this first half of our conversation, Susan takes us through the first two phases of the model:

• Phase 1: The Crisis of Diagnosis
• Phase 2: Coping with Treatment

 Be sure to tune in for part two of our conversation in the coming weeks, where Susan talks to us about the other two phases of the Phase Model of the cancer journey.


About Clearity

Cancer Connections is produced by Clearity, which provides free support and services to people impacted by ovarian cancer. You can learn more about Clearity and the topics we've discussed today by visiting clearity.org. Or, feel free to email us your questions or comments at [email protected]. Thanks!