Cancer Perspective with Sarah, DNP

Most everyone on their cancer journey will experience some degree of nutritional hurdles which could not be more serious an issue to resolve. As we emphasize head, neck, and esophageal cancer awareness this month, we bring back Jeanna Rich, RD to discuss a host of topics involving nutrition related to this zone of our anatomy. Jeanna packs this episode with ways to overcome taste changes, saliva changes, appetite loss, and so much more.

In our final April Cancer Awareness topic, we give a brief introduction to testicular cancers. We breakdown its two main subcategories, risk factors, fertility concerns, and more.

While the concept of pain and cancer tend to go hand in hand, it is important to distinguish that pain should not be accepted as the norm throughout the cancer journey. Today we briefly touch on one of the broader topics on everyone's mind, including when to expect pain, how your team manages pain, and more. 

April is Head & Neck cancers awareness month (also may be known as "oral caners"), esophageal cancer awareness month, and testicular (testicle) cancer awareness month. In this episode we join both esophageal and the whole scope of head and neck cancers due to their similarities in the cells where they arise and certain signs and symptoms.

Jeanna Rich, RD joins us today to discuss how to manage gut health during diagnosis and treatment. We talk about the difference in how to treat the digestive tract when it is unwell (cancer diagnosis) versus when we are trying to prevent disease. We get intimate with the discussion of poop and how to manage diarrhea and constipation.

Rounding out our March Cancer Awareness, in this episode we offer a brief introduction to Kidney Cancers. Kidney cancer can affect the kidneys and are named after the specific cells in the kidney that are diseased and can have one of many different names, usually divided into two main categories; renal cell carcinoma and non-renal cell.

Continuing our March Cancer Awareness, this episode focuses on Multiple Myeloma. Multiple myeloma is different in that it is not a solid tumor type of cancer. This is the first blood cancer that we discuss.

March cancer awareness are Colon Cancer, Rectal Cancer (together those two are often combined and called "colorectal" cancer), Anal Cancer, Kidney Cancer, and Multiple Myeloma. This episode focuses on the colorectal and anal. Although anal cancer is fairly rare, according to the American Cancer Society statistics, colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and women in the US.

While cancer care is rightfully centered around the patient, every individual involved adds additional layers of complexity to an already tough situation. We discuss how to communicate with friends experiencing cancer, being designated as a patient's spokesperson, communicating with the care team as one of potentially many loved ones already involved, and more.

Clinical trials may offer an opportunity for newer drugs or newer combinations of drugs to treat cancer. Progress in cancer care has come a long way thanks these options that move Science forward