CURE Talks Cancer

After being diagnosed with grey zone lymphoma – a very rare type of cancer – Jenna Benn Shersher was isolated due to her compromised immune system. However, it didn’t take long for thousands to join her on her journey when a video of her doing the twist in the ICU went viral. Following her experience, she founded Twist Out Cancer, an organization that provides psychosocial support to individuals touched by cancer through creative arts programming. It pairs those touched by cancer with an artist, who creates a unique piece of artwork that reflects on their individual journey with cancer, through its Brushes with Cancer program. “It's all about storytelling and empowering people with their story so that they feel comfortable moving forward and also educating the public in the process,” Shersher said. In this week’s episode, we spoke with her about her journey with cancer, as well as why organizations like Twist Out Cancer can help those affected by a cancer diagnosis – whether it be a patient, survivor or loved one. For more information, visit twistoutcancer.org.

In less than 48 hours, Nancy Cohen was given news that would change the rest of her life: She went to the doctor thinking (and hoping) she had pneumonia, but instead received a lung cancer diagnosis.  Cohen, a non-smoker, says she was also exercising more regularly to lose weight and did not see her diagnosis coming. “I was literally in the best shape of my life. So I was just in disbelief,” she adds. “(After receiving my diagnosis), I joked with my friends and family that it's the special kind (of lung cancer) that white women who never smoke get, which unfortunately is becoming more and more prevalent.” With this, Cohen plans to share her lung cancer journey with fellow patients and their caregivers at the CUREÒPatient-Focused Sessions at the New York Lung Cancers SymposiumÒ on Nov. 9, serving as the keynote speaker for the event.  In this episode, we spoke with Cohen to discuss her “new normal” with lung cancer and what she hopes others take away from her keynote lecture. 
For more information on the CURE Patient-Focused Sessions at the New York Lung Cancers Symposium, visit www.curetoday.com/events.

In this week’s episode of the “Cure Talks Cancer” podcast, we spoke with Joan DelFattore, Ph.D., about how she overcame the physician bias she encountered during her cancer treatment. 

DelFattore may not have a spouse or children, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have the fighting spirit of a pack of wolves. Over a long career in academia, she’s built deep, meaningful connections with extended family members, friends and colleagues. They were the ones she tapped to support her following the cancer surgery that saved her life.  But when DelFattore needed follow up chemotherapy, she ran into a roadblock when her oncologist found out that despite her robust network of non-familial connections, she didn’t have a spouse or children to care for her. 

Was this implicit bias or was it best practice on the physician’s part? Was this happening to other patients or was this an anomaly? DelFattore pored through scientific studies to find out and she answers those questions in her new essay Death By Stereotype? Cancer Treatment in Unmarried Patients. 

In this week’s episode of the “Cure Talks Cancer” podcast, we spoke with Benjamin Breyer, M.D., about a phenomenon that’s raising big questions, big concerns and big money across the cancer landscape: crowdfunding.

As cancer progresses and financial alternatives grow fewer, many diagnosed patients in the US are turning to online crowdfunding to soften the financial blow and make ends meet. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s Internal Medicine issue paints a stark portrait: since the popular crowdfunding platform GoFundMe.com launched in May of 2010, patients, advocates and caregivers have piloted more than 37,000 fundraising campaigns specifically geared toward overcoming cancer’s monetary challenges.  For Breyer, an associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco’s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the lead author of the study, mapping and understanding the crowdfunding phenomenon is an important step in the journey toward increasing advocacy for reduced healthcare costs. “I became really interested in hearing some of these people’s stories,” Breyer said in an interview with CURE. “The more we read their narratives and understood what they were going through, it really stood out to us that for a lot of people, getting care for cancer can be financially devastating.”

For this month’s CURE Talks Cancer Podcast: Nursing Edition, we’re diving in to an important – but unfortunate – reality in the world of healthcare: workplace violence. We’ll hear from Christine Pontus, MS, RN, COHN-S/CCM, of the Massachusetts Nurses Association about how the changing healthcare system may be leading to more violence against nurses and other practitioners. We discuss the warning signs that patients or caregivers present before becoming violent, as well as steps that institutions, policy makers, and nurses themselves can take to prevent abuse from happening.

For more on violence in nursing: https://www.oncnursingnews.com/web-exclusives/violence-against-nurses-a-major-issue-in-healthcare

Many have grown up in the sun without ever really thinking of the long-term, and at the time unknown, consequences from such exposure - namely skin cancer. Ron Manilof, someone who grew up on the Long Island beaches, was diagnosed with skin cancer in his 30’s - a disease that has recurred multiple times over the following 30 years of his life. Most recently, in October 2018, while recuperating from a skin graft that he had received only weeks earlier as treatment for yet another skin cancer, Ron realized his condition was more serious: Tumors had nearly covered the top of his head, had raised and were painful to the touch. Just one month later, he was diagnosed with advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.  Ron found hope in learning that less invasive treatment options were available to himand now. Wants people like him, who have experienced multiple skin cancers, to investigate all forms of treatment available because there may be alternatives. His biggest piece of advice for others: Listen to your mother about skin cancer prevention!

After years of expensive and emotionally taxing screenings, finding a lump and learning more about her family risk for cancer, Kristen Carbone underwent a preventative mastectomy followed by silicone implant reconstruction. Years later, following a common issue associated with her surgery, Kristen realized she wasn’t alone in her experiences and wanted to broaden the scope of breast cancer navigation. This week, we spoke with Kristen about her family history with cancer and also how her experience led to her founding Brilliantly – a site for women who are seeking community and believe they can feel whole after an experience with breast cancer. For more information, visit brilliantly.co.

After a car accident, and experiencing what he thought was a stroke, Matt Newman was diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of 39 – an experience he found strength and courage in. With a wife and three children at home, as well as a cancer partner in his father-in-law facing his own pancreatic cancer diagnosis, Matt immediately went into fight mode. He utilized fitness and exercise to get through his craniotomy recovery, and went on to write “Starting At The Finish Line,” which tells his personal story. “I’ve earned my legacy and cancer had nothing to do with it,” he says.

With no symptoms besides a lump in his neck, Jason Mendelsohn was devastated to discover he was being diagnosed with stage 4 HPV-related throat cancer at the age of 44. Determined to raise awareness about these types of cancers, as well as their vaccines, screening and treatments, Jason created a website called SupermanHPV.comand recently joined a congressional briefing to help others understand the elimination of HPV-related cancer is within reach.

Oncology nurses can make the world of a difference when it comes to patient care, and it is crucial that they work together with other memebers of the treatment team to ensure the best outcomes, according to Sally Werner, MSHA, BSN, RN, senior vice president, affiliate relations at Cancer Support Community. In this month’s episode, Werner – an oncology nurse by trade – discusses how nurses can be the best advocates for their patients, how to navigate life in the era of “Dr. Google,” and more.