CURE Talks Cancer

In this episode of the “CURE Talks Cancer” podcast, we spoke with a gynecologic cancer expert about how her sister’s journey with ovarian cancer provided her with a different perspective that would lead to raising awareness for others. 

This week on the “CURE® Talks Cancer” podcast, we spoke with Evofem Biosciences founder and CEO Saundra Pelletier about what it was like to go through the shock of receiving a cancer diagnosis while also navigating a career, and explaining how her product, which is now FDA-approved, can help patients with cancer and survivors improve their sexual quality of life.

This week on the “CURE® Talks Cancer” podcast, we spoke with someone who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia 11 years ago. We discussed how her life changed as a result of her treatment and why she now lives life to the fullest.

In this episode of the “CURE® Talks Cancer” podcast, we spoke with a patient who was blindsided by her stage 3 ovarian cancer diagnosis several years ago. We talk about how she spent months going from specialist to specialist before finally receiving her diagnosis, and why she dedicates much of her time to advocating for others.  

Lorelei Colbert and her military husband were preparing for a move to a base in Japan when a routine physical exam would eventually lead to a surprising diagnosis of grade 3 triple-negative breast cancer.

As a military spouse, Colbert said, the physical was to simply “check the box” that would indicate she didn’t need specialized care when the couple arrived at the new base thousands of miles away. During her exam, she asked the physician about birth control. After the physician – an OBGYN – looked at Colbert’s medical chart, the physician said she’d do a PAP smear but that a breast exam was not needed. However, the nurse who was in the room at the time questioned that decision. At that time, Colbert felt there was a reason the nurse was there and asked for her breasts to be examined. 

The physician found a lump and after further tests, Colbert received her diagnosis in September. Since then, she has received several rounds of dose-dense chemotherapy. After coming to the realization that the chemotherapy journey was going to knock her down, she started the Chemo to Kindness Challenge to help lift her spirits while undergoing treatment and honor the nurse who, Colbert says, saved her life.

“The idea was to inspire others to do acts of kindness and tell me about it (and) lift me up by paying it forward to others,” she said in an interview with CURE®. “This is a really dark time in my life. What makes me the happiest; it's not going to be a gift. It's going to be knowing that you did something good in the world.”

To learn more about the Chemo to Kindness Challenge, and to share your act of kindness, visit loreleicolbert.com. 

This week on the “CURE® Talks Cancer” podcast, we spoke with Martha Raymond, of The Raymond Foundation, about how providers can ensure patient safety to increase trial enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what she and her colleagues are doing to provide better trial access to all patients with cancer. 

In this episode of the “CURE Talks Cancer” podcast, we spoke with Jeffrey Wittig, who has undergone 41 surgeries and physically debilitating treatments during his more than 15-year journey with several cases of skin cancer. We discussed his cancer journey, and why, as he starts a new treatment after his most prior therapy failed, he’s focused on quality rather than quantity of life. 

Despite having different lung cancer journeys, two patients and a caregiver found similar hope in support. Ron Simmons is a two-time cancer survivor who was first diagnosed with stage 1 colorectal cancer in 2013. When routine bloodwork led him to visit a pulmonologist in January of 2017, he was diagnosed with what was thought to be a collapsed lung. The following December, Ron fell ill and further chest scans led to his stage 3 non-small cell lung cancer diagnosis. Through his experience, he is a firm believer in getting a second opinion. Heidi Nafman-Onda is a health educator and fitness trainer who always led a healthy lifestyle. Because of symptoms for an ovarian cyst, her physician ordered her to undergo a CT scan of her chest, abdomen and pelvis to rule out anything worrisome. It was then that they found a mass in her upper left lobe of her lung as well as malignant lymph nodes in the middle of her chest. Despite having no symptoms for lung cancer, Heidi was diagnosed with stage 3a adenocarcinoma and her pulmonologist told her to get her affairs in order.  She and her husband, Pierre, were in complete shock, as Heidi said she started to feel hopeless. Shortly thereafter, Heidi also underwent further scans to see if she had any metastases. Her scans showed no signs that the disease had spread and, in turn, she began to feel the pendulum of emotions swing toward hope. In this week’s episode, we spoke with Ron, Heidi and Pierre about their experiences, feelings of hope and the value of a second opinion.

In this episode of the “CURE Talks Cancer” podcast, we spoke with Mark Hoffman, a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), about his diagnosis and treatment journey. Mark Hoffman, 53, a tech salesman in San Diego, started to experience swollen lymph nodes that weren’t going away. He finally sought a specialist who did a lymph node biopsy, determining Mark had CLL. Mark has a 17p deletion in addition to other high-risk genetic markers. At first, he was under watch and wait for his disease, but his white blood cell count peaked at 90,000 (the normal range is 4,500 to 11,000 per microliter). Luckily, in 2017, Mark began a clinical trial combining Imbruvica (ibrutinib) with Venclexta (venetoclax).

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a blood cancer that starts in the bone marrow, accounts for almost 20,000 new cases of cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. It is one of the most common types of leukemias in adults; however, the disease comprises only about 1% of all cancers. There are a variety of treatment options available for patients with AML, with more clinical trials evaluating new therapies in the pipeline. In this episode of the “CURE talks Cancer” podcast, we spoke with Dr. Dan Pollyea, from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, about these treatment options.