Once Paoola Sefair survived papillary thyroid cancer, she wanted to help others.  She learned from her own cancer journey that the journey includes an emotional piece that often goes unaddressed.  That’s when she co-founded My CareCrew, a support group featuring a free app that enables cancer patients, caregivers and their family and friends to craft a personalized care plan with an eye toward making the cancer journey’s emotional component go as smoothly as possible for all concerned.

On this episode of the @CancerInterviews podcast, Erin Gratsch tells host Bruce Morton how she twice survived breast cancer.  First, she was diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma In Situ.  Then, six years later, the diagnosis was HER2+ ER-Negative.  Her regimen of TCHP chemotherapy was grueling, but about two weeks after its completion, Erin began to feel normal again.

A marathon runner, Erin Gratsch of Cincinnati, Ohio, felt like she was in the best shape of her life in 2016.  At age 45, she went in for a mammogram, and was diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma In Situ, a cancer existing her milk ducts.  It was Stage Zero, but a very fast-growing type of breast cancer.

Erin opted to address this cancer with a unilateral mastectomy.  She chose to have her left breast removed, and do nipple sparing.  Her care team believed this procedure would cure her cancer.  And it did.  For about six years.  Then in July 2022, a second lump was found.

In 2022, Erin was going for a run and felt some chafing on her right breast, and on her left breast where she had had nipple sparing, she felt a lump.  Because of her mastectomy, she no longer qualified for mammograms, so her only screening was self breast exams.  Because Erin conducted self exams on a regular basis, she found the lump very early, it was Stage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma HER2+ ER-.

Erin’s care team decided to “throw the book” at this diagnosis.  They did TCHP chemotherapy, six rounds over four months, followed by surgery to remove the tumor, followed by 25 rounds of radiation treatment. 

For Erin, the chemotherapy experience was like that of many patients.  There was the fatigue, the hair loss, the nausea, and what she detested the most, that being metal-like taste of food. 

Erin Gratsch is a marathon runner, and when dealing with chemotherapy and radiation, she put her mental toughness utilized as a distance runner to work when facing her cancer journey.  She chose to take each day, make it a singular challenge and try to meet that challenge.

Eventually, Erin not only began to feel normal, but she up to resuming competitive running.  She could not run nearly as fast as she did before her diagnosis, but said it still felt great to sign up for a race and cross the finish line.

Erin Gratsch says she feels extremely blessed and even after the cancer, she says she is the happiest she has ever been. 

Additional Resources:

Support Group:

Move Beyond Surviving: https://www.movebeyondsurviving.org

Asa Newell shares how he survived testicular cancer on this episode of the Cancer Interviews podcast with host Bruce Morton, using Bleomycin, Etoposide and Cisplatin chemotherapy treatments, otherwise known as BEP chemotherapy regimen.

By way of advice, Asa Newell says if one is diagnosed with testicular cancer, they should be positive and stay positive through the journey, and don’t quit, even after one has reached survivorship.

In a most unusual way, Brenda Farris of Yuma, Arizona learned she had breast cancer.  She went to Palm Springs, California to visit a friend’s breast cancer clinic.  The clinic had a thermography machine, a relatively new device in 2005.  Brenda thought she would give it a try. 

She said one strips from the waist up and when the device is activated, it acts like a powerful air conditioner.  The parts of the body that remain warmer will show up in the thermogram.  Brenda wasn’t anticipating any problems, but when the clinic’s surgeon entered the room, he had an ashen look on his face and told Brenda she had breast cancer.

While at the surgeon’s office, Brenda also underwent an ultrasound, and the surgeon said before any surgery could be done, she needed to undergo a mammogram, which revealed not one but two masses.  Knowing how large the masses were, Brenda felt her only option was to have the cancer removed.  So, she underwent a left side mastectomy with reconstructive surgery.

Brenda Farris said the physical part of her recovery was tough, but the emotional piece was even tougher.  She felt like she had lost a part of her identity, but she would have to live with the results of this surgery for the rest of her life.  Brenda adds that today, there are other non-surgical options for those with her diagnosis, and she urges to thoroughly research all their options. 

As a post-surgery option, chemotherapy was considered and rejected.  That’s because chemo works on fast-growing cancers and Brenda’s was a slow-growing cancer. 

She began to feel close to normal after about ten weeks.  At that time, Brenda thought not only about herself, but about how she could be a source of encouragement for other women diagnosed with breast cancer. 

While her path trended in a positive direction, incredibly, six years later, Brenda noticed a lump in the area of her first diagnosis, between her left breast and her armpit  As the lump grew, Brenda thought the reconstructive bag that was part of her reconstructive surgery had been tweaked.  It didn’t bother her, which is why she didn’t act on it right away.  It evolved into a red mark sticking out of her body. 

She went to a plastic surgeon in Yuma.  He looked at it and immediately sought a biopsy, which showed that the cancer had returned to the area of the first diagnosis, but right on top of her ribcage.  There was concern that it might have metastasized into her ribs or her lungs.  Multiple tests followed, MRIs, CT scans and PET scans.  The good news was that in six years, the scan had not spread anywhere else and that it was operable.

It also turned to be good news that during those six years, Brenda had led a healthy lifestyle where diet, exercise and sleep are concerned.  She believes that because of her healthy lifestyle, it played a major role I her second cancer diagnosis being limited to one area. 

It was depressing after her second surgery, but she felt she had overcome cancer once and she could do it again.

By way of advice, Brenda Farris is convinced that just as a healthy lifestyle with respect to diet, exercise and sleep helped her, it can help anyone diagnosed with cancer. 

Additional Resources:

Kickin’ Cancer: www.kicking-cancer.org

In 2005, Anne Shimabukuro of Potomac, Maryland, a healthy mother of mom, began to feel a sharp pain in her left side after a meal.  At the time she didn’t have a primary care physician, so she made an appointment with her gynecologist.  She didn’t think Anne’s problem was anything gynecological, but had a sonogram machine at her office, so then and there, she conducted a sonogram.  She thought something she on her pancreas might be a cyst on her pancreas or pancreatitis, so the doctor suggested Anne go to a gastroenterologist.

With the gastroenterologist, a few more scans were performed, a CT scan and an MRI.  Each time they saw something on Anne’s pancreas.  Finally, the doctor ordered a biopsy.  What became the possibility of a tumor began to concern Anne.  The day after the biopsy, Anne received a call from a nurse at the hospital, who said the doctor would like to see her in person.  Anne and her husband met at the hospital, where Anne was told by the doctor that the biopsy had revealed a malignant tumor, which he called an adenocarcinoma.

Just before Christmas 2005, Anne underwent the surgery, and was able to come home on Christmas Day. 

Anne had enjoyed excellent health prior to her diagnosis, but the pain in her side, the nausea and the limping drove home the point something was wrong, which made being proactive about addressing the tumor an easy call.  Her decision was made easier by her confidence in the specialist who treated her. 

Anne Shimabukuro said the toughest part of her journey was recovering from the surgery, and the post-op abdominal pain.  Once back home, she did a lot of resting and was away from work for a week.  After a few weeks, though, she said began to feel physically normal. 

About six weeks after the surgery, Anne began to undergo a chemotherapy regimen that lasted about three months.  Each Friday she had to go in for about an hour.  After that, she began radiation treatment.  It was presented as a choice, but she thought her care team recommended radiation, she should go through with it.  The radiation treatment lasted five weeks.

With the chemo, Anne experienced fatigue.  With the radiation, she found the regimen relatively easy.  Each visit to the hospital lasted about one minute.  She suffered a bit of nausea, but it wasn’t too bad.

Anne said during her chemotherapy regimen, she was on a medication called gemcitabine, which around 2005 was considered the standard of care.  While she took gemcitabine by itself, Anne says today it is generally part of a cocktail. 

Anne thought her treatment was over, but her urologist said Anne should go on a regimen of an oral form of chemotherapy.  She took one pill in the morning and one at night, for about two and a half years.  At that time, the doctor said she should stop taking the pill because they had no data as to the safety of taking this pill for this long.  Meanwhile, she was still going in for periodic CT scans. 

Anne Shimabukuro says a big part of her recovery was her successful effort to come as close as she could to her pre-diagnosis life.  That, early detection, and a positive attitude made her journey as smooth as possible.

Additional Resources:

Support Group: Pancreatic Cancer Action Network https://www.pancan.org

When “things were not working the way hey had always worked,” at age 67, Derrill Holly sought medical attention.  A doctor visit revealed a high Gleason score, and Derrill’s primary care physician sent Derrill to an oncologist.  A subsequent biopsy confirmed he had Stage 4 prostate cancer.  

However, he said choosing a prostatectomy instead the less-invasive brachytherapy was an easy call.  Derrill says had he gone with radiation treatment or chemotherapy, there was always the possibility that not all the cancer would be removed and that it could spread to lymph nodes.  He thought that a prostatectomy gave him the best chance of returning to an active lifestyle. 

The procedure was done in one night, but because of COVID, his wife could not be with him in the hospital.  After the surgery, a catheter was inserted and he went home the next day, only to return the following day to have the catheter removed.  This began his recovery phase, which was a slow process, accompanied by the realization that where urination and sexual function are concerned, he would never be the same.  The toughest part of that phase, he says, was re-learning bladder control.  Getting back to sexual normalcy was difficult as well, what he considered a “trial and error process.”

Derrill Holly said among options for his future were pumps and injection, but he was not interested in either one.  However, two years after his prostatectomy, he decided to get an implant in his penis.

He says right after he got the implant, urinary function returned to normal.  This, he said, was a tremendous relief after two years of pads, and knowing a sneeze or a cough or a laugh could result in his urinating. 

Regarding sexual function, the implant is meant to return one to their functionality level, pre-diagnosis and his implant did just that.

After the catheter was removed, Derrill needed to visit his doctor once every three months.  Then eventually, his schedule became once every six months.  Each visit includes some tests, and Derrill admits the night before each visit would be a bit tense because he was worried he could learn the cancer had come back.  But with each visit, his numbers were fine, he could exhale, go have lunch with his family and everything was fine.  When Derrill reaches the five-year mark after his procedure, then his visits will become once a year.  Without a prostate, he knows he isn’t producing the hormones the way he once did and cancer is not spreading to his lymph nodes.  The combination of that and his numbers remaining steady, he says, put him “in a good place.”

Meanwhile, Derrill Holly quotes the support group zerocancer.org, which claims black men are twice as likely as white men to be diagnosed with prostate cancer.  He says one big reason for this statistic is that many black men are hesitant to undergo a digital rectal exam, which he says is the first step in determining everything related to one’s prostate is working okay.  Derrill would like to see insurance coverage expanded so that blood tests are covered, meaning all men can find out the status of their prostate via blood work should they have an aversion to the more invasive digital rectal exam.

Additional Resources:

Support Group: zerocancer.org  https://www.zerocancer.org.

Support Group: Fans for the Cure  https://fansforthecure.org

Patty Pittala tells the @CancerInterviews podcast her cancer journey began with symptoms not usually associated with cancer.  In 2017, she would get a cold and would last abnormally long.  Then she would get a debilitating skin rash.  For the rash, she went to a dermatologist and was given large dosages of prednisone and methotrexate.  The rash went away, but Patty found herself constantly fatigued.  A chest biopsy revealed signs of what looked like some sort of lymphoma, which weeks later was diagnosed as B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.  Treated with a chemotherapy regimen spearheaded by the drug cytoxin, Patty achieved survivorship, has returned to a healthy lifestyle and has taken up kayaking.

It was bad enough that Patty Pittala of Westford, Vermont was feeling fatigued, but tests showed she had a blood clot that ran from her neck to her left hand.  Next up were x-rays that showed a major mass in her left lung.  That led to the biopsy, after which Patty was told she had lymphoma, doctors could immediately identify the type of lymphoma, but they did rule out lung cancer.

At first, Patty Pittala was again put on prednisone because it had shown to be effective against masses like the one in Patty’s left lung.  Once the diagnosis of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma was made, she needed to wait seven weeks before going on chemotherapy. 

Patty’s regimen began with rituxan.  Then she was given a three-chemical cocktail in a pouch hooked up to a pump, which was attached to her port.  When the bag was empty, it was refilled, a routine that went Monday through Friday.  Then on Fridays she was given an infusion of a chemical called cytoxan, to which she said she had the worst reaction.  Patty said she felt like her glands and joints were inflamed from the bottom of her ribcage to the top of her cheekbones.  As awful as this was, Patty Pittala said with each additional treatment, she could feel results, and that made it easier for her to deal with her physical pain on a mental and emotional basis. 

Eventually, Patty reached survivorship, and was thrilled, but she approached each step of the journey with hope and confidence.

In terms of advice, Patty says to anyone diagnosed with cancer, don’t be afraid to ask questions, and don’t be afraid to seek more knowledge about your diagnosed, because with knowledge, fear has “nowhere to go.”

Additional Resources:

Vermont Cancer Support Network: https://[email protected]

An often-overlooked phase of the cancer journey is what takes place after achieving survivorship.  On this episode of the @CancerInterviews podcast, Tom Tressler tells us about the challenges of a cancer journey’s post-treatment phase, with some manifestations including PTSD.  This is what led to his co-founding the support group, Move Beyond Surviving.

Tom says the concept of Move Beyond Surviving began in 2017 with a breast surgical oncologist in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, Dr. Kelly McLean.  Like Tom, Dr. McLean is very outdoorsy and she came to realize there is a substantial benefit of getting out into nature for people in general, but especially for cancer patients, during treatment and after treatment.  Dr. McLean especially noticed this with some her patients.  She noticed many of them, after treatment, were just existing and not thriving.  When she took some of these patients hiking and backpacking, she saw the results with the patients were life-changing.  Dr. McLean was told by some that what she was doing could be converted into a nonprofit, but realized that as a surgeon, she didn’t have the time to get such a venture off the ground, and run it.  That’s when she connected with Tom Tressler.

Tom had no history with cancer.  He thought that once one diagnosed with breast cancer completed a mastectomy that in short order, their life went back to normal.  Tom quickly learned that, for many cancer patients, that is not the case.

Tom Tressler found out that many treated for cancer, upon survivorship, feel betrayed by their own body.  They hold their breath, they look over their shoulder, spending almost all their time in fear of the cancer returning.  Tom said that many clinicians feel that what these patients experienced is much like PTSD, or in some instances, it is in fact, PTSD.

Tom says that when gets into nature and engages in exercise, one reconnects with their body and soul, a move that can lower cholesterol.

Move Beyond Surviving connects with people in the Cincinnati area, but its message is available to a global audience on its website.

Additional Resources:

Move Beyond Survivng: https://www.movebeyondsurviving.org

In today’s @CancerInterviews podcast, Stephanie Smith tells host Bruce Morton how she survived breast cancer.  She was pregnant when she discovered a lump on her breast.  This led to a biopsy, which revealed a 4cm tumor.  After a difficult chemotherapy regimen, Stephanie achieved survivorship.  Her energy level is decreased, but otherwise, she says her health is very close to what it was before her diagnosis.

Stephanie Smith of Montpelier, Vermont was the one who discovered what turned out to be a diagnosis of breast cancer.  She was pregnant with a son and only a few weeks from having him.  As a result, she was regularly seeing an OB/GYN, who after checking Stephanie out, ordered an ultrasound, then sent Stephanie to a surgeon to get a biopsy.

Because Stephanie was 36 weeks pregnant, and 29 years old, the surgeon did not want to do the biopsy.  He didn’t want the biopsy to hitting a milk duct, suggesting the procedure wait until Stephanie was done breast feeding.  However, Stephanie insisted on the biopsy, as the tumor was already 4cm.  The biopsy resulted in her breast cancer diagnosis.  The very next day, she went right back to work.

Before surgery to remove the tumor, Stephanie Smith opted to go on chemotherapy.  She went on four rounds every other week, then went on a second set of four rounds with a different cocktail. It was an aggressive regimen, but because she was young, doctors wanted to hit the cancer as hard as possible. 

Stephanie suffered from the same cognitive issues as many do on chemotherapy, all this while pregnant.  After she gave birth, she credits her son and caring for him as being helpful in the remainder of her treatment, which at this point included radiation treatment.

In addition to friends and family, she was helped out by the Vermont Cancer Support Network.  It connected her with survivors also going through cancer.  She especially appreciates VCSN connecting her with cancer survivors who were in her age group.

As for her current health, Stephanie admits there are changes that come with getting older and with having a baby.  As a result, her ability to cardio decreased, but she says for the most part, she can physically do what she did before her diagnosis.

Additional Resources:

Support Group: Vermont Cancer Support Network

https://[email protected]

On this episode of the @CancerInterviews podcast, Curtis Snyder tells host Bruce Morton how he survived colon cancer.  Although he waited weeks to seek medical attention, he still achieved early detection, which led to survivorship, a journey that averted chemotherapy and a colostomy bag.

In the fall of 2020, Curtis, of Boulder, Colorado, noticed blood in his stool.  His primary care physician said Curtis should see a gastroenterologist.  An appointment was set for February 2021, an appointment that would include a colonoscopy.  As he came out of sedation, the doctor said that Curtis had cancer.  Because the cancer was located in the lower part of the colon, it was almost rectum cancer instead of colon cancer.  This explained the blood-related symptoms.  Curtis was told if the cancer was higher up in the colon, the colon could have absorbed the blood, there would not have been the symptoms, and for a critical length of time, Curtis could have unwittingly walked around with cancer, resulting in a lethal diagnosis.

It was in April 2021 that Curtis underwent surgery, and doctors were confident all the cancer was removed. In fact, it was three days after the procedure that Curtis was told there was no evidence of cancer.  He was told he was part of one percent of those diagnosed with colon cancer, who en route to survivorship did not have to have a colostomy bag, and did not have to go through radiation treatment and/or chemotherapy. 

By way of advice, Curtis Snyder says when your doctor suggests you get a colonoscopy, to get one.  He says in terms of screening, the colonoscopy is the “gold standard,” as opposed to the at-home tests.  He also says if you think you have some unusual symptoms, such as bloody stool, to seek medical attention, instead of waiting six to eight weeks, like he did. 

Curtis Snyder says he doesn’t work out as much as he used to, but that is more of a life choice than a cancer choice.  He has made some dietary changes, naming decreasing his intake of red meat and increasing his consumption of fiber.  Going forward, Curtis chooses to use food as medicine.