Mental Health - The Bloodline with Blood Cancer United Podcast

What happens when a resilience expert becomes the caregiver? When a loved one is diagnosed with blood cancer, you’re suddenly balancing fear, advocacy, and everyday life all at once. 

In this episode, we sit down with Karen Reivich, PhD, a resilience expert, caregiver, and wife of a lymphoma survivor. Karen opens up about the reality of supporting her husband through treatment and a clinical trial, sharing invaluable lessons on managing uncertainty, accepting help, and caring for yourself while caring for someone you love.

Mentioned on this episode: 

Additional Blood Cancer United Support Resources: 

The post Navigating Challenges as They Come: Resilience for Caregivers first appeared on The Bloodline with Blood Cancer United Podcast.

When a child is diagnosed with cancer, parents are suddenly expected to manage medications, appointments, treatment decisions, family life, and overwhelming emotions, often all at once.

In this episode, we speak with Laura DeKraker Lang-Ree, pediatric cancer parent, advocate, and author of The Cancer Parent’s Handbook, about the practical guidance she wishes every family received from day one. Laura shares powerful insights from her family’s journey after her three-year-old daughter was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). She offers actionable guidance on child advocacy, trusting parental instincts, engaging siblings, and maintaining normalcy during treatment. Additionally, Laura explores strategies for helping children thrive post-treatment, providing crucial hope and support for families facing some of their hardest days.

Mentioned on this episode: 

Additional Blood Cancer United Support Resources: 

The post A Parent’s Guide to Childhood Cancer: Support, Advocacy, and Hope first appeared on The Bloodline with Blood Cancer United Podcast.

Recorded onsite at CancerCon®, a young adult cancer conference presented by Stupid Cancer®, we talk about what resilience really means after a cancer diagnosis, and why it’s not about always being “strong.”

 Join us alongside Sam Brotkin, PhD, a clinical psychologist at Bull City Behavioral Health and Chelsea Kaye, LCSW, an Information Specialist at Blood Cancer United. In this episode, we share compassionate, practical strategies for building lifelong resilience. Learn how to manage expectations, find trusted support, and give yourself grace exactly where you are today.

Although this discussion comes from a young adult cancer conference, the insights shared are relevant across all ages and experiences.

Mentioned on this episode: 

Additional Blood Cancer United Support Resources: 

Episode supported by Merck & Co., Inc.

The post The Bloodline Live!: Redefining Resilience first appeared on The Bloodline with Blood Cancer United Podcast.

In this episode, we sit down with Ann Grace MacMullan, Director of Integrative Wellness at the International Waldenstrӧm’s Macroglobulinemia Foundation (IWMF), to explore how wellness can become a powerful part of life after a cancer diagnosis. Ann Grace shares practical, calming techniques, including breathing exercises, “Bee’s Breath”, and guided meditation, that you can do anywhere to reduce stress and feel more grounded. We’ll also dive into what integrative wellness really means, why it matters for blood cancer patients, and how concepts like the “self-care sandwich” can help you start and end your day with intention.

Mentioned on this episode: 

Additional Blood Cancer United Support Resources: 

Episode supported by Merck & Co., Inc.

The post Hope Meets Healing: Simple Practices for Stress Relief first appeared on The Bloodline with Blood Cancer United Podcast.

In this episode, we speak with Dianne Callahan, four-time cancer survivor, best-selling author, speaker, and patient advocate. Dianne shares her experiences with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and breast cancer, stem cell transplant, and survivorship while highlighting the importance of advocacy, joy, and intention in life after diagnosis. From her work with fundraising campaigns to legislative advocacy on Capitol Hill, Dianne offers inspiring insights on resilience, hope, and the power of living intentionally.

Mentioned on this episode: 

Additional LLS Support Resources: 

Supported by Genentech, A Member of the Roche Group.

The post Joy, Hope, and Healing Beyond a Cancer Diagnosis first appeared on The Bloodline with Blood Cancer United Podcast.

In this episode, we speak with Dianne Callahan, four-time cancer survivor, best-selling author, speaker, and patient advocate. Dianne shares her experiences with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and breast cancer, stem cell transplant, and survivorship while highlighting the importance of advocacy, joy, and intention in life after diagnosis. From her work with fundraising campaigns to legislative advocacy on Capitol Hill, Dianne offers inspiring insights on resilience, hope, and the power of living intentionally.

Mentioned on this episode: 

Additional LLS Support Resources: 

Supported by Genentech, A Member of the Roche Group.

The post Joy, Hope, and Healing Beyond a Cancer Diagnosis first appeared on The Bloodline with LLS.

The cancer experience isn’t just physical—it’s deeply emotional.

Join us for this special episode recorded onsite while filming our SHARE Project video series, exploring emotional well-being in cancer survivorship. Listen in as four blood cancer survivors share how their diagnoses impacted their mental health and what helped them cope. Key Opinion Leader, psychotherapist Julie Larson, LCSW, then joins us to discuss signs of emotional distress, the role of therapy, and how resilience and support can shape the healing journey.

Mentioned on this episode: 

Additional LLS Support Resources: 

The post LIVE! At SHARE: Emotional Wellness in Survivorship first appeared on The Bloodline with Blood Cancer United Podcast.

Exercise, or simply moving the body, can be an important part of cancer recovery, both physically and emotionally. In this episode, Dr. Shernan Holtan of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and blood cancer survivors, Paul Rothweiler and Joe Grey, share about a clinical trial they developed to introduce a personalized strength training program to patients and caregivers.

Dr. Holtan highlights the benefits of strength training for all patients, while Paul and Joe share how exercise has aided their physical and emotional recovery during and after their treatments. For patients and survivors who may be fearful or nervous about starting an exercise program, this episode is for you!

Mentioned on this episode: 

Additional LLS Support Resources: 

Support for this episode is provided by Genentech, a member of the Roche Group.

The post Exercise and Cancer: Celebration That You CAN first appeared on The Bloodline with Blood Cancer United Podcast.

For patients with chronic blood cancers, such as Waldenström Macroglobulinemia (WM), quality of life is a main priority. Physical and emotional side effects of the disease or treatment may present several challenges for patients and caregivers.  

In this episode, we were onsite at the International Waldenström‘s Macroglobulinemia Foundation’s 2024 IWMF Educational Forum in Renton, WA.  Elissa met with experts who discussed how integrative oncology, wellness, mental health, and peripheral neuropathy affects WM patients and their caregivers.

While this episode focuses on WM, the topics discussed are relevant to all types of cancer. We encourage you to listen and learn! 

Mentioned on this episode: 

Additional LLS Support Resources: 

The post LIVE! At IWMF: Living with Waldenström Macroglobulinemia first appeared on The Bloodline with Blood Cancer United Podcast.

Join us on a heartfelt journey woven by support and education, as we speak to Teresa Altemeyer, who was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2009. In this episode, Teresa shares her experience with CLL from diagnosis through long-term survivorship. On the advice of her doctor, she went out to live her life, and found herself supporting other blood cancer patients and survivors in doing the same. Despite her own physical and mental health struggles with this disease, she shares beautiful advice learned along the way.

Mentioned on this episode: 

Additional LLS Support Resources: 

Support for this episode provided by: AbbVie Inc.; BeiGene USA, Inc.; Genentech, Inc. & Biogen.

The post Live Your Life: Navigating Mental Health and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) first appeared on The Bloodline with Blood Cancer United Podcast.