You, Me and the Big C: Putting the can in cancer

The #youmebigc team look at the way cancer storylines are told in soaps and take a trip to television's most famous cobbles – Coronation Street.

Debs, Lauren and Steve speak to the two actors involved in one of the biggest soap stories of the year – Katie McGlynn and Rob Mallard, who play Sinead and Daniel Osbourne.

We speak to Corrie legend Sally Dynevor, who plays Sally Metcalfe, formerly Webster and Seddon and tells us how she was diagnosed with breast cancer in real-life, just days after her character was diagnosed in the soap.

Plus, we're joined by Corrie story producer Lindsay Williams and Pete Wallroth from Mummy's Star, a charity dedicated to women and their families affected by cancer during pregnancy, who worked as an adviser on Sinead and Daniel's storyline.

Alex Jackson, who was diagnosed with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, shares her experience and frustrations of looking for more treatment options. Richard Johnson, a oncoplastic breast surgeon, who Rachael went to see for a second opinion, gives us his views. And Dr Rebecca Leon is back to provide a GP's perspective on the subject.

They all join Deborah James, Lauren Mahon and Steve Bland as they discuss the process and fears around asking for a second medical opinion.

Please get in touch with us by using the #youmebigc across all forms of social media.

Rebecca Leon, a cancer education lead, works with the Christie in Manchester and is a practicing GP in the North West of England. Dr Rebecca joins Deborah James, Lauren Mahon and Steve Bland to discuss primary care. Everyone’s cancer journey is different but we all start in same place... at the primary care stage.

Please get in touch with us by using the #youmebigc across all forms of social media.

Deborah, Lauren and Steve are back for a new series. They start by talking about dating with cancer and the impact it can have on relationships.

They speak to listeners of #youmebigc to find out what their experiences of dating with cancer have been - good, bad and life-changing.

This episode is dedicated to our special friends (and previous guests on the pod) Jack Morgan and Tierney Kinsella.

To mark a year on from Rachael Bland’s death her husband Steve Bland introduces a collection of moments from the pod, some previously unheard clips and one of her final ever appearances on BBC 5 live with Deborah James and Lauren Mahon.

Please get in touch with us by using the #youmebigc across all forms of social media.

BBC newsreader Kate Williams and Jack Morgan join Deborah James, Lauren Mahon and Steve Bland to talk about the challenges they’ve both faced after being diagnosed with rare cancers.

Plus Dr Paul Huang, a team leader in molecular and systems oncology from the Institute of Cancer Research, answers their questions and explains some of the difficulties when researching into uncommon cancers.

You can get in touch by using #YouMeBigC across all forms of social media.

Lauren, Deborah and Steve answer more of your questions on cancer (and anything else you wanted to ask them) in the second of this special two part podcast.

Thank you to everyone who posted a question using #YouMeBigC across all forms of social media.

Lauren, Deborah and Steve answer your questions on cancer (and anything else you wanted to ask them) in this special two part podcast.

Thank you to everyone who posted a question using #YouMeBigC across all forms of social media.

Head of features for ITV’s Lorraine, Helen Addis, talks about taking a break from work after finding out she had breast cancer and launched a campaign as a result. She also reveals how important a role Deborah played in her finding out she had cancer. Lorraine Kelly joins us to discuss the impact it's had on the production team.

Former England Cricket captain Andrew Strauss, who stepped down as the ECB's director of cricket after his wife Ruth was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer, has an in depth conversation about how the illness and death of his wife affected the family.

Actor Larry Lamb, TV's Bill Turnbull and many others at the Marsden March speak to Deborah, Steve and (eventually) Lauren about the cancer charities and reasons they're walking.

The team also catch up with Vicki and Woody Woodhall, their two sons, Alex and George, to get the latest update on their million pound target.