Conversations about Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer for men over 60. One man in nine will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. This episode is about how one man learned to battle, and learn to live with this cancer.

When John was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer he was told the average lifespan for someone in his age and condition was 5.3 years. We talk about what its like to live with a calendar that runs out on September 18, 2021. John finds it is freeing. We talk about living in two worlds, the world of hope and the world of harsh reality. By living in both, he makes thoughtful decisions with an optimistic attitude. He lives in 30 day increments between scans knowing that every day is valuable. But he remains hopeful to see his grandson’s wedding. By embracing these two worlds of reality and hope, he lives each day to its fullest.

John also discusses the practical family planning that needs to occur when dealing with a disease like prostate cancer. The process of handing over financial planning to his partner. He talks about having the important conversations with his children and grandchildren about his mortality. He also talks about the tension that sometimes arises within the family when members disagree on treatment……..the competing tension of length of life and quality of life.

John discusses the importance of getting a digital exam in addition to a PSA test. With 20/20 hindsight he sees the digital exam as something that could have helped his situation dramatically. As his cancer progressed he needed to get a second opinion and explore additional therapies. His treatments include chemotherapy, hormone, and cyber-knife radiation treatment. The benefit of the cyber-knife treatment is to increase radiation dosage on the tumor while simultaneously reducing radiation on non-tumor tissue.

The chemotherapy and cyber-knife have been effective in pushing back the cancer. John is currently enjoying a full life and living every day to its fullest.

Today Shea and I talk with Cindy about cervical cancer.  Cindy's is a story of perseverance, hope, and inspiration. A story of being a young mother of 2 children newly diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of 42. 

Cindy discusses her treatments of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. She discusses the multiple relapses of her cancer. And the discusses how she came up with a novel therapy that combined Avastin with chemotherapy that worked against her cancer. She has been cancer free for 11 years now.

Topic is this episode include:

Cindy talks about finding  joy in the midst of difficult treatments through meditation. Towards the end of this episode she describes a mysterious experience during meditation that is the title of this episode. Wait for that....it will give you goosebumps.

Shea and Rick discuss the period right after treatment known as "Surveillance". 

This is a unique chapter of the cancer journey that lasts for many years. Surveillance is the process of monitoring your body to see if there is any cancer activity. This is usually done with a combination of blood tests and imaging that is re-checked every couple months. 

Shea and Rick discuss the pre-scan anxiety (Scanxiety) that is a persistent component of this part if the cancer experience. They discuss techniques they used to successfully manage the scanxiety. They also discuss the loneliness that often accompanies surveillance, When their friends perceive cancer is over when treatment is over and everything is "normal". But for the cancer patient it is not over. Making plans can often be difficult during this period.

Surveillance also accompanies the process of normalization. Treatment is over so people often return back to work. There is an awkwardness involved in the normalization process . They discuss the power of the word "cancer", and how to normalize the cancer patient returning to the "normal" world.

This is a great episode that explores an important part of the cancer experience that is often overlooked. 

Rick was diagnosed with a rare presentation of testes cancer. There was no source tumor in either testes.

Because this was a rare presentation of the disease the doctors wanted to be aggressive in treatment. The initial treatment plan was 4 cycles of BEP chemotherapy. Followed by radiation therapy and surgery. As there was no obvious source tumor the initial surgery plan was to remove both testes.

Rick sought a second opinion. This second opinion resulted in a less aggressive treatment plan that would provide for an improves survivorship experience while still eliminating the cancer.

This episode covers the chemo experience. The physical and psychological difficulties with a therapy like chemo.

We also cover the importance and the challenges of getting a second opinion. And even third opinion.

We cover the importance of having an advocate for your care. 

We also discuss making it to the end of your treatments. 

We hope you find this episode interesting and worthwhile.

Mucinous Ovarian Cancer is a rare type of ovarian cancer. Shea and I discuss the process of getting diagnosed with this rare cancer. 

We explore the challenges of figuring out a treatment plan, especially with a rare cancer. 

We discuss the importance and difficulties in getting second opinions. We also discuss the unique problems with ovarian cancer such as saving eggs and preparations for future parenthood. 

Our first episode of Conversations about Cancer. 

My name is Rick. I am a survivor of seminoma, a type of testicular cancer. I had a rare presentation of testicular cancer where there was no source tumor in either testes. This happens in less than 1% of testes cancer patients. Because this presentation was rare, I needed to do some work to get the right care. This journey helped me understand how difficult it is sometimes to navigate cancer treatments. I have been a survivor for over 20 years and have helped many people deal with the difficulties of a disease like cancer.  

I have partnered with Shea. Shea is a survivor of mucinous ovarian cancer. Shea's cancer is also a rare cancer. She needed to see 7 doctors before deciding upon the right path.

In this episode we discuss what we hope to accomplish with this podcast. It will be an intimate conversation that explores the real challenges a cancer patient might face. If you or someone you know is facing this disease, we hope this podcast can provide some help.

We do not give medical advice. Instead, we cover our experiences in dealing with this disease and reveal the hard learned lessons from our experience.