CURE Talks Cancer

Actress, director and ovarian cancer survivor Cobie Smulders – best known for her roles in How I Met Your Mother and The Avengers series – has partnered with TESARO to launch the national movement, Not on My Watch, to help empower the ovarian cancer community.

At the age of 25, Cobie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer after advocating for herself to get an ultrasound that led to her diagnosis. Now, recurrence-free more than 10 years later, she knows that the majority of women with ovarian cancer will see the disease return. So, she is working to educate women to let them know they no longer have to just "watch and wait."

Through the initiative, TESARO will donate $5 to ovarian cancer patient organizations every time Cobie’s public service announcement video is shared. To learn more or to share the video, visit https://www.notonmywatch.com/

Storytelling can help others feel empowered and encourages the narrative around hope for many.

Last month, Tesaro partnered with The Moth, an organization that promotes the art and craft of storytelling, to host a special event called “Our Way Forward: Stories that Illuminate the Ovarian Cancer Experience.”

In this episode of CURE Talks Cancer, we caught up with all three storytellers from the event who shared their experiences with recurrent ovarian cancer.

While most know her for her role on Bravo TV’s “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” some may not know that Camille Grammer’s tag line should actually include “below the belt cancer advocate.”

At the age of 43, and a third generation women in her family to be diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer, Camille was treated for stage 2 uterine cancer. Now in remission, Camille’s goal is to educate women about cancers “outside of the bra.”

In this week’s special edition of CURE Talks Cancer, we spoke with Camille about her journey with cancer, and her most recent work with the Foundation for Women’s Cancer during their annual race to help raise awareness for women’s cancers.

Eleven years ago, Stephanie Hosford received two pieces of life-changing news within the span of three days: she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer and she found out she was pregnant – all while going through an adoption process at the same time.

After a whirlwind of days, Stephanie discovered she could undergo treatment at City of Hope and still safely carry out her pregnancy. Today, Stephanie is happy, healthy and raising three children in California.

Following her experience, Stephanie wrote a book titled Bald, Fat and Crazy to help share her story with others, while adding in a little humor too. We spoke with her about the book and her advice for others going through their own whirlwind with cancer.

To read more, visit curetoday.com.

After receiving a breast cancer diagnosis and being unable to have reconstructive surgery, Barbara Demorest was devastated. Then she discovered an alternative to traditional breast prosthetics that not only made her feel whole again, but changed her life, too.

In this week’s episode of CURE Talks Cancer, we spoke with Demorest, the founder of KnittedKnockers.org, about how her cancer journey helped her create a sense of community for women with breast cancer all around the world with Knitted Knockers.

For more information, visit KnittedKnockers.org.

In 2010, history was made when a Congressional resolution was passed to declare the first-ever National Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Week and National Previvor Day to raise awareness about hereditary cancer. 

Millions of people carry an inherited mutation or have a family history of cancer but many don't know about their risk. National Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Week and Previvor Day aim to change that.

In this special edition of the CURE Talks Cancer, we spoke with president and CEO of My Gene Counsel, Ellen Matloff, and founder of Proactive Genes, Shannon Pulaski, to help kick off National Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Week and Previvor Day. In this episode you’ll hear about their resources and how each can help others learn more about their hereditary risk.

We’re wrapping up Childhood Cancer Awareness Month by talking to Micah Bernstein, a 7-year-old, three-time survivor of neuroblastoma, and his father, Jeff.

Micah and Jeff discussed their experiences with the disease, as well as Micah’s participation in clinical trials, being a “tester for the drugs,” as he put it. Now that Micah has no evidence of disease (NED), he hopes that he can inspire other children who face a cancer diagnosis, and one day hopes to become a doctor.

Head and neck cancer accounts for about 4 percent of all cancers in the United States, with more than 64 thousand people who have or will develop the disease this year.

In this week’s episode of CURE Talks Cancer, we spoke with Elizabeth Langdon, vice president of strategic communications and development at the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance, about how the organization helps to raise awareness for the prevention, early detection and research of head and neck cancer.

For more information, visit the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance's pageon curetoday.com.

For Colleen Johnson, running is more than just exercise. In fact, the 63-year-old endometrial cancer survivor recently completed a 100-mile ultramarathon to raise awareness for the disease. 

“I’m just a single person. I don’t have money. I don’t have political influence. What I do have is my running shoes,” she said during the interview.

Johnson also advocated for the establishment of National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines for the treatment of the disease. In this week’s episode, we talk with her about her experiences with cancer, what drove her to become a distance runner and why she is passionate about spreading the word about endometrial cancer.

As a young mother, Rose Gerber faced a HER2-positive breast cancer diagnosis at an early stage in life – and during a time where this disease had poorer outcomes. Despite this feat, Rose used her personal experience, in combination with her professional skillset, to help other patients with cancer through the Community Oncology Alliance Patient Advocacy Network (CPAN).

Since, Rose – who is the director of patient advocacy at CPAN – has met with legislators on Capitol Hill to discuss cancer policy issues and has also assisted in developing programs across the country.

In this week’s episode of CURE Talks Cancer, we speak with Rose about her experience with breast cancer, how she became an advocate and how her journey helped her to see beyond the cancer experience.

To learn more, visit the CPAN site on curetoday.com.