CURE Talks Cancer

Evan Ruggiero, who grew up tap dancing, was in college when he faced one of his biggest hurdles yet – a diagnosis of osteosarcoma that eventually led to a leg amputation. When he received this news, doctors told him of all the aspects of life he would eventually be able to re-learn and participate in: walking, running, driving, swimming and so on. But one of Evan’s biggest goals was to tap dance again.

In this week’s episode of CURE Talks Cancer, we sit down with Evan and hear about his journey and the path he took to get back on stage.

Dating back to 1860 in Poland, three sisters’ journeys with the BRCA mutation isn’t exactly the claim to fame they were hoping for.

Kathryn (Winn) Buckley, Bridget (Winn) Stillwell and Maureen (Winn) Boesen’s family was one of eight studied at Creighton University in the 1980s, and at one point, the most significant history of breast and ovarian cancer ever documented in the United States.

As they prepare for their book, titled “Nipples Optional,” to come out next year, the sisters sat down with CURE Talks Cancer to walk us through their family health history. They also discussed how the BRCA mutation has affected their lives and how they’ve talked about their family health history with their children.

In 2012, former NFL head coach Chuck Pagano started to feel fatigued – a feeling most would associate with the long two-a-days of any given football preseason – but it was when unexplained bruises started to appear that he visited with the team’s medical staff and was eventually diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Since, he looks back on his journey and feels there was a reason he faced a cancer diagnosis – something he says is way bigger than football.

This week, we spoke with Chuck about his cancer journey, and why speaking with patients, advocates and health care professionals at CURE Magazine’s first-ever CLL Heroes event was so important to him.

Writeup: Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be terrifying–Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton knows that firsthand. However, after the shock wears off, it’s possible to use cancer as a motivation to do better in the world. That’s what Scott Hamilton did by starting the Scott Hamilton CARES foundation, which is dedicated to improving the future of cancer care.

In this week’s episode, we spoke with Hamilton about his personal bouts with testicular cancer and a brain tumor, as well as losing his mother to breast cancer. The former professional ice skater also touches upon why he wanted to be involved in CURE’s 2018 MPN Heroes event.

Following their own journey with breast cancer, a mother-daughter duo has set out to help other families navigate the difficulties associated with a cancer diagnosis.

In this week’s episode of CURE Talks Cancer, we spoke with two-time breast cancer survivor Kimberly Jewett and her daughter, Kalli, about their experiences, and how they’ve used their journey to help other families during this difficult time. 

The advocacy duo offers advice for both parents and children dealing with a cancer diagnosis, and discusses a new app, called the Magic Tree, to help during these challenging times.

This week on the CURE Talks Cancer podcast, we spoke with Andy Steinfeldt, who looks at cancer “as a motivation rather than a destination." After taking up running at age 63, Andy was diagnosed with prostate cancer a few years later in 2013. But he didn’t let it slow him down.

Since his initial diagnosis, Andy has faced a host of other health challenges – as well as a recurrence he just finished radiation treatment for. But despite all this, Andy has completed two full marathons, earned numerous medals in the Senior Games, takes classes at a local college and has even taken up singing to prove that anything is possible – even with cancer.

For this week’s CURE Talks Cancer podcast, we’re continuing on the theme of Family Caregivers Month. We spoke with Peg Myrick, a colon cancer survivor and former cancer caregiver, as well as Martha Raymond, the founder and CEO of the Raymond Foundation.

The two women talk about the ins and outs of caregiving, including some of the aspects that they weren’t expecting when first taking on the role. They also give practical advice for caregivers, and discuss some resources that care providers can turn to.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, and every moment is a gift, no matter what that moment looks like, says Jill Kelly, wife of Pro Football Hall of Fame Quarterback Jim Kelly.

Jill is very familiar with the caregiver role – first helping her son Hunter, who was diagnosed with a fatal nervous system disease in 1997, and now with her husband, who was diagnosed with his third bout with head and neck cancer earlier this year.

In conjunction with National Family Caregivers Month, we spoke with Jilly Kelly about her husband’s journey with cancer, and how she copes as a caregiver through her family, journaling and her faith.

To hear more, visit curetoday.com.

People always hear about the research being done in laboratories and academic centers. But now, with the click of a button, patients can pave the way for lung cancer research, too.

To help kick off Lung Cancer Awareness Month, we spoke with Sandra Shaw – director of the lung cancer patient registry at The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) – as she explains what the registry is and why it is important for patients to participate.

For more information, visit lungcancerfoundation.org.

Known as one of the New York Giants rushing leaders in franchise history, Tiki Barber knows the trials and tribulations of battle both on and off the football field.

In late 1996, Tiki’s mother Geraldine was diagnosed with bilateral invasive ductal carcinoma while he and his brother, Ronde, were both highly successful members of the University of Virginia football team. His mother is now a 22-year survivor, and since, Tiki has become deeply involved in the cancer community.

On Nov. 8, Tiki will deliver the keynote address at the 36th Annual Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium, held in New York City, to share his mother’s journey with breast cancer and the impact it had on his life.