Kicking Cancer's Ass

What if most cancer isn’t about bad luck, but about inflammation you can control? Dr. Mary Ann Martin, endocrinologist turned “Dr. Hormone Hacker,” reveals how four lifestyle changes can slash your cancer risk by 78% naturally. In this conversation, she shares the shocking truth about why less than 10% of doctors order the one test that catches diabetes earliest, why your morning cortisol levels predict cancer risk, and how a Vietnamese mother conquered thyroid cancer with her whole family’s help. You’ll discover why alcohol is inflammatory (yes, even small amounts), why smoothies sabotage your health despite seeming virtuous, and how Dr. Martin’s journalism background taught her the lost art of actually listening to patients. She explains why most thyroid nodules aren’t cancer, how to advocate for proper numbing during biopsies, and why your lifestyle matters more than your DNA. This isn’t about perfection—it’s about stacking small changes that add up to massive protection. If you want practical strategies for taking control of your health, this conversation delivers.

What happens when cancer defines your family for 40 years—and you’re still finding reasons to laugh?

Richard Willmore was seven when his father’s cancer diagnosis turned their family from “the neighborhood hub where everyone hung out” into “the sad family getting dinners delivered.” Thirty-eight years later, his dad is still fighting, and Richard has become something of a “cancer whisperer”—someone who speaks the unspoken language of treatment centers.

In this conversation, Richard shares why he brought his cancer-fighting father to fourth-grade show-and-tell, how hospital art classes taught him that patients will coordinate chemo around what matters to them, and why telling a hospice patient “that sucks” created more healing than any positive platitude could.

You’ll discover how small daily rituals become anchors when medical chaos takes over, why 70% of cancer patients worry more about money than dying, and how Richard learned to find joy not despite the hardest chapters, but within them.

His 4:15 AM gym routine and black coffee rituals aren’t magic—they’re yours to control when everything else isn’t.

What if the way we’ve been treating metastatic cancer is completely backwards? Dr. Dawn Lemanne, an oncologist who’s revolutionizing treatment resistance, challenges everything standard oncology accepts as inevitable. After decades of failed large randomized trials, she’s proving that resistance can be reversed using evolutionary biology principles borrowed from agriculture.

“We can have two people with identical mutations and they may respond differently to the same treatment,” Dawn explains. Her game-changing approach: test the tumor directly against various drugs—including unexpected ones like metformin analogs—rather than following standard protocols. She’s reversed androgen deprivation therapy resistance by giving testosterone to prostate cancer patients, and uses mathematical oncology to predict when tumors will escape treatment.

The biggest mistake oncology makes? “Maximal and continuous treatment—that’s a recipe for resistance development.” Dawn’s patients track tumor dynamics in real-time using liquid biopsies, creating personalized treatment timing that prevents resistance before it happens. Her n-of-one approach puts patients in control, measuring everything from continuous glucose monitors to exercise intensity.

If you’ve been told resistance is inevitable, this conversation will change how you think about fighting back.

When a marathoner chose the cheapest health insurance because she “never planned to use it,” she had no idea cancer would teach her that the healthcare bureaucracy is the hardest race of all.

This runner’s journey from healthy athlete to cancer navigator reveals the shocking financial realities patients face: surprise $416 bills, geographic prescription restrictions, PT session limits despite multiple surgeries, and insurance systems designed to confuse rather than help. Her story illuminates the hidden costs and bureaucratic nightmares that catch even informed patients off guard.

But this isn’t just a story of obstacles—it’s a masterclass in resilience and strategic thinking. She learned to time surgeries to maximize insurance benefits, kept running half-marathons during chemo, and discovered that growing her own food became a powerful form of healing and hope.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

Her hard-won wisdom includes practical advice on: • Decoding insurance terminology before you need it • Fighting surprise medical bills and denied claims • When to seek second opinions from major cancer centers • Building support systems when you’re terrible at asking for help • Using case managers and patient advocates effectively

Host Joelle Kaufman, a 43-year breast cancer survivor and author of “Crushing the Cancer Curveball,” guides this conversation that every person—whether facing cancer or not—needs to hear. Because in America, healthcare financial literacy can literally be a matter of life and death.

This episode is for anyone who wants to understand how to navigate healthcare as an empowered patient, not a victim of the system.

What if your oncologist’s advice to “just take it easy” could actually harm your recovery? This episode challenges everything you think you know about cancer and exercise.

Dr. Jay Harness spent 35 years as a breast cancer surgeon before stumbling into research that made his jaw drop. The sports medicine journals were hiding decades of clinical trials proving that cancer patients who exercise have an 18% better survival rate right out the gate. Yet 86% of newly diagnosed patients aren’t exercising at all.

Here’s what builds your confidence to handle cancer’s curveballs: First, you don’t need to train for marathons—150 minutes of brisk walking weekly gives you the same survival boost as chemotherapy. Second, your body recovers faster when you’re moving, not resting on the couch. Third, the research is so solid that Australia made exercise standard cancer care.

Dr. Harness reveals why the medical community ignored this life-changing science and how you can advocate for movement-based recovery with your team. Plus, the CMS battle that could make exercise oncology covered nationwide.

Your cancer journey doesn’t require becoming a triathlete—it requires getting off the couch.

What if cancer didn’t have to stop your plans—what if you could weave travel into your treatment timeline instead?

Julie Bach lost both parents to cancer before age 55, then pivoted from her Harvard MBA track to create something revolutionary: a way for cancer patients to experience joy, relaxation, and normalcy through travel. After 20 years battling industry resistance, she’s transformed how resorts, spas, and travel advisors serve people facing cancer.

In this episode, you’ll discover why 95% of spas once turned cancer patients away and how to navigate that landscape today. Julie reveals the one critical thing every patient must tell their massage therapist, shares how to plan trips around treatment schedules (her client’s entire chemo timeline was built around a destination wedding), and explains why travel isn’t escapism—it’s living.

Whether you’re newly diagnosed, in treatment, or supporting someone who is, this conversation will shift how you think about integrating joy into the cancer journey. Because cancer has to fit into YOUR life, not the other way around.

Listen and learn how to kick cancer’s ass while keeping your dreams alive.

When your doctor says 3D mammograms are “perfect” for dense breasts, they’re wrong. Dangerously wrong.

Sheila Mikhail learned this the hard way when her bilateral breast cancer went undetected until she DEMANDED supplemental screening. Now she’s fighting for the Save More Tatas Act and the Find It Early Act because:

✓ 50% of women have dense breast tissue ✓ Up to 50% of tumors are missed in dense tissue ✓ Only 37 states mandate insurance coverage for supplemental screening

This isn’t just a women’s health issue—it’s a human issue. Listen to learn what screening YOU need and how to advocate for your life.

#BreastCancerAwareness #DenseBreasts #WomensHealth #CancerAdvocacy #SaveMoreTatasAct

Most people hear “stage 4 cancer” and assume it’s the end.
Cindee Nicole chose to make it a beginning.

In this raw, real, and unexpectedly uplifting episode, Joelle Kaufman sits down with Cindee—a mother of three, fierce traveler, soccer player, and self-declared badass—to talk about:

Her story is not just about surviving. It’s about choosing to live—loudly, boldly, and joyfully.
This is one you’ll want to replay, share, and carry with you.

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👩‍⚕️ Featuring Dr. Harriet Borofsky, Medical Director of Breast Imaging, Riverview and Bayshore Medical Centers, Hackensack Meridian Health 

🚨 Why You Must Listen:
If you have breasts—or love someone who does—this episode could save a life. Joelle sits down with Dr. Harriet Borofsky, a breast imaging pioneer, to cut through the confusion and tell you what your doctor might not about screening, breast density, and early detection. No fluff. Just facts and life-saving insights.

💥 Key Things You’ll Learn:
✅ Mammograms miss 20% of cancers—especially in women with dense breasts
✅ Breast density is genetic, common, and increases cancer risk
✅ You can and should be screened while pregnant or breastfeeding
✅ Most women with breast cancer have no family history
✅ New tools like AI & contrast-enhanced mammograms are changing the game
✅ What to ask your doctor about screening frequency, breast density, and risk
✅ What NOT to ignore: the real red flags that need urgent attention
✅ Why screening is not just for women over 50—and waiting could be deadly

🧬 Why It Matters:

👩‍⚕️ Meet Dr. Harriet Borofsky:
Dr. Borofsky is one of the most respected and progressive breast imaging experts in the country. With over 30 years of clinical experience, she founded and led a women’s health center in Northern California known for its early adoption of advanced screening technologies like 3D mammography, ultrasound, contrast-enhanced imaging, and AI.

She’s a fierce advocate for personalized screening—especially for women with dense breasts or genetic risk—and has helped shape local and national guidelines around breast health. More than that, she’s known for her deep compassion, having personally called thousands of patients with biopsy results—something most doctors delegate.

Joelle calls her “the doctor who changed my life”—and after hearing this episode, you’ll understand why.

🧠 Quick Tips to Take Action Today:

👩‍⚕️ About Dr. Harriet Borofsky:
30-year breast imaging specialist. Tech-forward thinker. Advocate for equity. The woman who built the center that found Joelle’s tumor—and changed her life.

🔗 Resources & Actions:

🎧 Tune In, Share, and Save Lives:
This episode is for daughters, partners, moms, uncles, dads—everyone. Share it. Bookmark it. Start the conversation.

“If you feel a lump—even with a normal mammogram—don’t ignore it. Period.”
– Dr. Harriet Borofsky

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Triple-negative breast cancer wasn’t on Ami Tully Lotka’s calendar—but neither was giving up. In this powerful episode, the seasoned entrepreneur and financial services consultant shares how she applied 25+ years of leadership to navigate one of life’s hardest curveballs.

Ami opens up about:

If you’ve been diagnosed, know someone who has, or simply need a dose of courage—this episode will lift you up.

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