Not Your Grandma‘s Cancer Show

Jesse, Farman and Meera join Tatum to share how their sense of time has been impacted by their cancer diagnoses. All three of our guests are living with an incurable cancer diagnosis and they discuss with Tatum how they live now, including how they cope with the pressure to make the most of their time - whether that means keeping busy or chilling out with their cat and watching Eastenders.

Benisha and Poornima chat with Tatum about their cancer diagnoses, feminist fathers, younger brothers' weddings and being single.  They share what it's like to have doctors who understand, as well as as situations which could have been better.  Benisha and Poornima met in a Shine Break Out Programme and they share what it's like to be able to talk to other people who 'get it'.

What do you do when your BFF disappears? Or your other friends ghost you? If you've found that some of your friendships haven't lived up to the hype, you're not alone. In this episode, we look how and why this can happen, as well as ways of coping.

In this bonus episode, Tatum talks to Christopher, Maddie and Amber who are all living with cancer long-term. Christopher was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia at 40. He watched and waited over a decade to start treatment. Maddie has had cancer for 8 years, after being diagnosed with a rare sarcoma at 18, while Amber, 21, is living with chronic myeloid leukaemia and will be coming off treatment in January 2025.

In this podcast, all of them reflect on the mental and physical stamina they've needed to live with a diagnosis few people understand. 

In this episode, we dive into the feelings that numbers and stats can bring up when you're diagnosed with cancer, and talk about how we can put them into context. Tatum speaks to Laragh, who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at 24 after being told that the chance of having cancer was 'negligible'. She also speaks to Ceinwen, Shine's Co-CEO, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2010 and thought that the universe owed her some good luck after her diagnosis.

Tatum's final guest is Krishnan Bhaskaran, a statistical epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Krishnan talks about working with numbers and stats, and how he managed when his wife was diagnosed with cancer. He also gives tips on how to understand scientific studies and what to look for if you're trying to find good data on your diagnosis and treatment. 

This month we're looking at gender identity and cancer. Whether you're non-binary, trans or questioning, Tatum and our guests are here for you, and they're looking at what it feels like when cancer care is set up to affirm a gender that isn't yours. Matt and Angie tell their stories of cancer and treatment, how they coped with assumptions about what surgeries and drugs they should take, and how they've recovered a sense of self along the way. 

This episode looks at the mental health impact of cancer. Not feeling like yourself? Unable to "get back to normal"? You're not alone - and you're not losing it. Cancer is particularly tough for younger adults and in this episode Tatum speaks to three great guests:

- David talks about how he coped after his diagnosis, including scheduling in "crying time".

- Dr. Harriet Forbes talks about her research on the long-term impact mental health impact of cancer.

- Clare, Shine's Programme Delivery Manager, talks about her diagnosis, Shine's programmes, and how people within the Shine community have managed their mental health through cancer. 

Many people find that they feel different in their bodies after cancer - you might have lost trust in your body, or feel like your body has turned against you.

In this podcast, Tatum talks to Claudia Knowles, a Research Assistant in the Heathcote Lab / working with Dr Lauren Heathcote looking at the mind-body connection in people who have had cancer. They talk about interoception - they way that we understand our internal bodily signals - and how bodily signals can affect emotions. Claudia talks about how to foster a more helpful mindset after a cancer diagnosis.

The podcast ends with a short relaxation and breathwork session. 

Claudia is currently carrying out some research on 'interoception'. If you've been diagnosed with breast cancer, you can participate here:bit.ly/MyBodySurvey

Most of us are used to talking to healthcare professionals about our cancer but we don't usually talk to them about *their* cancer.  In this podcast, we hear about what it's like to go from being the person giving a diagnosis to being the one who receives it. 

When your initial cancer treatment is over, your friends and family might think you're fine - but we know you can be left with many lasting effects and emotions. In this episode, Tatum talks to Matt who was diagnosed with a brain tumour at 17, and Roisin who was treated for osteosarcoma of the jaw after a diagnosis at 28. They talk how they managed treatment and the aftermath over the long term.

Roisin has also shared more details of her treatment and recovery on our website here.