Everything Cancer

Writing down your priorities and goals can help you have more effective discussions with your healthcare providers, family members, your crew.

Journal and discuss what is keeping you from doing what is important to you.

• Writing down your priorities and goals can help you have more effective discussions with healthcare providers, family members, caregivers, and loved ones.
• Communication with your crew and providers gets them in your corner. 
• Social interactions, such as attending work, book clubs, other interactions can provide a sense of normalcy and  social support through the cancer journey.
• Priorities can change as life circumstances change. Be okay with being dynamic in your priorities.
• Journaling can be a helpful tool for organizing and documenting your priorities, goals, and talking points for discussions.

Slower

Support the show

Thank you for listening. We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode. We want to hear from you: what topics you would like to have discussed or a guest you would like to see featured in future episodes. This show is here for you. Email us at [email protected]

The information on this podcast is not intended to be used for medical advice. For any health care concerns you have please consult with your healthcare team. The staff at Everything Cancer podcast will not be answering health individual health care concern questions.

Consider giving your support for ongoing content and interviews for this podcast through our Patreon Page for Everything Cancer or the Everything Cancer website.

Our sponsor: H2Ocean - makers of quality sea-salt products for over 20 years!
www.H2Ocean.com
www.Chemo-Mouth.com
Sea Salt Healing Rinse
https://h2ocean.com/oral-care/

Here is the link for the acclaimed cancer self-advocacy guide by Jill Squire, host of Everything Cancer Podcast
"Cancer Journey Guide and Journals: Empowerment in Diagno...

Slower

Support the show

Thank you for listening. We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode. We want to hear from you: what topics you would like to have discussed or a guest you would like to see featured in future episodes. This show is here for you. Email us at [email protected]

The information on this podcast is not intended to be used for medical advice. For any health care concerns you have please consult with your healthcare team. The staff at Everything Cancer podcast will not be answering health individual health care concern questions.

Consider giving your support for ongoing content and interviews for this podcast through our Patreon Page for Everything Cancer or the Everything Cancer website.

Our sponsor: H2Ocean - makers of quality sea-salt products for over 20 years!
www.H2Ocean.com
www.Chemo-Mouth.com
Sea Salt Healing Rinse
https://h2ocean.com/oral-care/

Here is the link for the acclaimed cancer self-advocacy guide by Jill Squire, host of Everything Cancer Podcast
"Cancer Journey Guide and Journals: Empowerment in Diagno...

Empower yourself with a strong pillar of self-advocacy on the cancer journey – through simple tracking…

There are a lot of moving pieces in the cancer journey. Do yourself a favor and take stress off of your shoulders by jotting down things that impact your journey.

Use your phone, a notebook, a binder, or Cancer Journey Guide and Journals: Empowerment in Diagnosis, Treatment, and Beyond – on Amazon, any medium to keep track of:

Questions for your doctor and their answers

Symptoms -anything that feels different

• Research shows the benefits of tracking symptoms are: 
  -  potential for better outcomes
  -  increased satisfaction with your healthcare team
  -  more prompt and optimal management of symptoms

Lab Values

Tumor Markers
 
Important conversations with:

• Providers
• Loved ones
• Health insurance representatives
• HR/Leave administrator 

Your next steps

Your thoughts on decisions

Trust issues with a provider

What is important to you at any given time

 Financial assistance received from organizations

Gifts of time, meals, or tasks

Gifts

Thank you for being part of the Everything Cancer Podcast community.

Support the show

Thank you for listening. We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode. We want to hear from you: what topics you would like to have discussed or a guest you would like to see featured in future episodes. This show is here for you. Email us at [email protected]

The information on this podcast is not intended to be used for medical advice. For any health care concerns you have please consult with your healthcare team. The staff at Everything Cancer podcast will not be answering health individual health care concern questions.

Consider giving your support for ongoing content and interviews for this podcast through our Patreon Page for Everything Cancer or the Everything Cancer website.

Our sponsor: H2Ocean - makers of quality sea-salt products for over 20 years!
www.H2Ocean.com
www.Chemo-Mouth.com
Sea Salt Healing Rinse
https://h2ocean.com/oral-care/

Here is the link for the acclaimed cancer self-advocacy guide by Jill Squire, host of Everything Cancer Podcast
"Cancer Journey Guide and Journals: Empowerment in Diagno...

"Having cancer is like being thrown out of a plane into Russia and not speaking Russian."

Jen Helm, a cancer survivor, was diagnosed with breast cancer at 36.  Her kids at the time were 5, 3, and 15 months old. Can you imagine what was going through her head?

Her plastic surgeon coined her as "high maintenance" for asking hundreds of questions. After treatment, they say "see you in 3 months." That feels like an eternity. 

Jen felt lost, alone, overwhelmed, and living in fear. She made it her mission to  help women in their 20s who are diagnosed with cancer at 23, 24, 25 years old - some of them right off the bat with metastatic disease: all their dreams, their career, & their family hopes go off the rails -  it's a lot.

Jill sits down with Jen, on this episode of the Everything Cancer Podcast, to chat about Jen's shruggles, eye-opening realities of overcoming cancer for women, how to listen and pay attention to your body, and how to find support groups designed to help you.

It's extremely lonely to have cancer; you don't have to go through it alone.

Young Women’s Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation https://ywbcaf.org/

*Note: Please excuse the occasional echo in this episode - it is an early recording and we upgraded the equipment soon after :)

Support the show

Thank you for listening. We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode. We want to hear from you: what topics you would like to have discussed or a guest you would like to see featured in future episodes. This show is here for you. Email us at [email protected]

The information on this podcast is not intended to be used for medical advice. For any health care concerns you have please consult with your healthcare team. The staff at Everything Cancer podcast will not be answering health individual health care concern questions.

Consider giving your support for ongoing content and interviews for this podcast through our Patreon Page for Everything Cancer or the Everything Cancer website.

Our sponsor: H2Ocean - makers of quality sea-salt products for over 20 years!
www.H2Ocean.com
www.Chemo-Mouth.com
Sea Salt Healing Rinse
https://h2ocean.com/oral-care/

Here is the link for the acclaimed cancer self-advocacy guide by Jill Squire, host of Everything Cancer Podcast
"Cancer Journey Guide and Journals: Empowerment in Diagno...

An Interview with Michelle Kirschner, CRNP: Survivorship and Supportive Care Leader
In this episode, Michelle and Jill discuss:

• How the Cancer Survivor Provider Network (CSPN) came to be
• The need to serve survivors well
• The resources, learning opportunities, and networking provided by CSPN
• What is the National Coalition of Cancer Survivorship
• Survivorship starts the day of diagnosis
• Survivorship often includes the grief of giving up the vision of what your life was
• The acute and extended phases of survivorship
• Practice self-advocacy
• Get your crew together and leverage their talents to take stress off you
• The power of supportive organizations
• The benefits of pre-hab and rehab
• An onco-generalist is a person who understands all the elements of supportive care
• Have your cancer team kill cancer – they are the experts; and your supportive care team deal with the quality of life issues, where they are the experts 
• The social worker, dietitian, physical therapist, exercise specialist, and sexual health specialist can all be members of your supportive care team – the experts in supportive care
• Journaling for a purpose
• Help your cancer or supportive care provider understand your experience with journaling
• The helpfulness of phrasing your concerns in a knowledgeable way (obtain your information from credible sources) 
• Your journaled information gives your care team something to work with 
• Journaling helps you share with your providers what your life looks like outside of those 15-minute office visits
• Journaling helps you understand how your body and symptoms change over time – you are not static
• Understanding and dealing with cognitive changes after cancer treatment
• Create your supportive care plan from the day of diagnosis, knowing what you can do at every step to be more successful with lifestyle medicine: nutrition, optimizing sleep, exercise
• Your supportive care plan helps you have a better quality of life
• A knowledgeable, supportive care team can unravel the complex issues of survivorship

Support the show

Thank you for listening. We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode. We want to hear from you: what topics you would like to have discussed or a guest you would like to see featured in future episodes. This show is here for you. Email us at [email protected]

The information on this podcast is not intended to be used for medical advice. For any health care concerns you have please consult with your healthcare team. The staff at Everything Cancer podcast will not be answering health individual health care concern questions.

Consider giving your support for ongoing content and interviews for this podcast through our Patreon Page for Everything Cancer or the Everything Cancer website.

Our sponsor: H2Ocean - makers of quality sea-salt products for over 20 years!
www.H2Ocean.com
www.Chemo-Mouth.com
Sea Salt Healing Rinse
https://h2ocean.com/oral-care/

Here is the link for the acclaimed cancer self-advocacy guide by Jill Squire, host of Everything Cancer Podcast
"Cancer Journey Guide and Journals: Empowerment in Diagno...

Salma Harfouche, A colorful and intrepid heart cancer survivor, is a branding expert (as in marketing, not cows), and cow lover (as in friends and hamburgers) also loves puns as much as you do.

"If they dig you, they're totally open to having that conversation, and they're probably gonna appreciate it, honestly." Can you relate?

Join Everything Cancer to be part of the conversation with Salma (Sal) Harfouche. 

Sal dishes on:

• The frustration with knowing something was wrong and not being diagnosed
• Facing mortality
• Survivor guilt when others did not make it
• Body image changes, dealing with scars (external and heartfelt)
• How therapy and shared experiences make a difference
• Dating after cancer
• Being upfront with potential romantic interests about being  a survivor and the accompanying issues (such as infertility) before the first date
• Pain with sex after cancer
• The side-by-side lanes of blessings and survivorship issues, and dynamic switching of lanes, wrenching herself back into the blessings lane
• How Sal came to love having cows put their head in her lap (she does not whisper to them that she loves burgers). 

Support the show

Thank you for listening. We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode. We want to hear from you: what topics you would like to have discussed or a guest you would like to see featured in future episodes. This show is here for you. Email us at [email protected]

The information on this podcast is not intended to be used for medical advice. For any health care concerns you have please consult with your healthcare team. The staff at Everything Cancer podcast will not be answering health individual health care concern questions.

Consider giving your support for ongoing content and interviews for this podcast through our Patreon Page for Everything Cancer or the Everything Cancer website.

Our sponsor: H2Ocean - makers of quality sea-salt products for over 20 years!
www.H2Ocean.com
www.Chemo-Mouth.com
Sea Salt Healing Rinse
https://h2ocean.com/oral-care/

Here is the link for the acclaimed cancer self-advocacy guide by Jill Squire, host of Everything Cancer Podcast
"Cancer Journey Guide and Journals: Empowerment in Diagno...

Abby, a medical physicist with a degree in nuclear engineering, decided to skip the nuclear submarine and join the fight against cancer with her medical physics graduate degree.  She explains her behind-the-scenes role in radiation oncology and explains how radiation therapy works. 

The episode delves into the detailed treatment planning process (that's why it takes so long!), including the use of CT scans, the collaboration between radiation oncologists, dosimetrists, and physicists to outline treatment targets and protect normal tissue. 

Abby shares the importance of patients speaking up during the planning process, to ensure their position is adjusted for comfort - as they will need to lie still for some time during treatment.  The importance of and why prompt symptom reporting is explained in this conversation.  

She clues us into the critical importance of quality assurance measures to ensure the safety and accuracy of radiation delivery.  Abby highlights advancements in radiation therapy, and addresses common misconceptions about treatment. She highlights the roles of all the knowledgeable, caring experts in Radiation Oncology – the “cellar dwellers”. 

Support the show

Thank you for listening. We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode. We want to hear from you: what topics you would like to have discussed or a guest you would like to see featured in future episodes. This show is here for you. Email us at [email protected]

The information on this podcast is not intended to be used for medical advice. For any health care concerns you have please consult with your healthcare team. The staff at Everything Cancer podcast will not be answering health individual health care concern questions.

Consider giving your support for ongoing content and interviews for this podcast through our Patreon Page for Everything Cancer or the Everything Cancer website.

Our sponsor: H2Ocean - makers of quality sea-salt products for over 20 years!
www.H2Ocean.com
www.Chemo-Mouth.com
Sea Salt Healing Rinse
https://h2ocean.com/oral-care/

Here is the link for the acclaimed cancer self-advocacy guide by Jill Squire, host of Everything Cancer Podcast
"Cancer Journey Guide and Journals: Empowerment in Diagno...

Support the show

Thank you for listening. We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode. We want to hear from you: what topics you would like to have discussed or a guest you would like to see featured in future episodes. This show is here for you. Email us at [email protected]

The information on this podcast is not intended to be used for medical advice. For any health care concerns you have please consult with your healthcare team. The staff at Everything Cancer podcast will not be answering health individual health care concern questions.

Consider giving your support for ongoing content and interviews for this podcast through our Patreon Page for Everything Cancer or the Everything Cancer website.

Our sponsor: H2Ocean - makers of quality sea-salt products for over 20 years!
www.H2Ocean.com
www.Chemo-Mouth.com
Sea Salt Healing Rinse
https://h2ocean.com/oral-care/

Here is the link for the acclaimed cancer self-advocacy guide by Jill Squire, host of Everything Cancer Podcast
"Cancer Journey Guide and Journals: Empowerment in Diagno...

In this podcast episode, Beth and Jason share their journey through Jason's diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer.  They review the 2nd opinion process toward the beginning of this episode. Toward the end of this episode, Jason and Beth go into the benefits of confidence in treatment decisions and shared decision-making with their oncologist having an expert 2nd opinion enables. 

Jason gives us a glimpse into the startling experience of cold sensitivity when inadvertently sipping iced tea after receiving his first infusion of the chemotherapy Oxaliplatin.

Beth and Jason talk about adapting treatment schedules for quality of life and the value of support from specialized cancer organizations. They highlight how maintaining normalcy, such as continuing to work and exercise, has been a coping mechanism for Jason. The couple also discusses the significance of advocating for oneself in the healthcare system, the impact of the diagnosis on their family dynamics, and their approach to making the most of their time together by prioritizing their relationship and experiences amidst the challenges of cancer treatment. 

For those watching this episode on YouTube, we get a glimpse of Beth’s book narration studio. 

Support the show

Thank you for listening. We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode. We want to hear from you: what topics you would like to have discussed or a guest you would like to see featured in future episodes. This show is here for you. Email us at [email protected]

The information on this podcast is not intended to be used for medical advice. For any health care concerns you have please consult with your healthcare team. The staff at Everything Cancer podcast will not be answering health individual health care concern questions.

Consider giving your support for ongoing content and interviews for this podcast through our Patreon Page for Everything Cancer or the Everything Cancer website.

Our sponsor: H2Ocean - makers of quality sea-salt products for over 20 years!
www.H2Ocean.com
www.Chemo-Mouth.com
Sea Salt Healing Rinse
https://h2ocean.com/oral-care/

Here is the link for the acclaimed cancer self-advocacy guide by Jill Squire, host of Everything Cancer Podcast
"Cancer Journey Guide and Journals: Empowerment in Diagno...

 This thought-provoking and inspiring podcast features Jeff Stewart, a metastatic gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma survivor, discussing his cancer journey, the impact of his diagnosis and facing his mortality, treatment experiences, and insights into living with cancer.  Jeff also talks about his book, "Living Inspiration from a Father with Cancer," which serves as a heartfelt letter to his children, sharing life lessons and his personal experiences.  The conversation covers the importance of understanding and participating in cancer treatments, the value of clinical trials, and the significance of accepting help and generosity from others.       

Here is a link to Jeff's phenomenal book, "Living: Inspiration from a father with cancer" https://www.amazon.com/Living-Inspiration-Father-Jeff-Stewart/dp/B0C48GS3R1/

Support the show

Thank you for listening. We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode. We want to hear from you: what topics you would like to have discussed or a guest you would like to see featured in future episodes. This show is here for you. Email us at [email protected]

The information on this podcast is not intended to be used for medical advice. For any health care concerns you have please consult with your healthcare team. The staff at Everything Cancer podcast will not be answering health individual health care concern questions.

Consider giving your support for ongoing content and interviews for this podcast through our Patreon Page for Everything Cancer or the Everything Cancer website.

Our sponsor: H2Ocean - makers of quality sea-salt products for over 20 years!
www.H2Ocean.com
www.Chemo-Mouth.com
Sea Salt Healing Rinse
https://h2ocean.com/oral-care/

Here is the link for the acclaimed cancer self-advocacy guide by Jill Squire, host of Everything Cancer Podcast
"Cancer Journey Guide and Journals: Empowerment in Diagno...