Tag Archives: advocacy

Cynthia Lim: A Sorrow That’s Always There

January 30, 2018Podcastacquired brain injury, advocacy, anoxic brain injury, brain injury, cardiac arrest, career, caregiver, caregiving, Cynthia Lim, husband, LAUSD, Los Angeles Unified School District, loss, memoir, My Writing Life, retirement, Santa Monica College, son, Wherever You Are, workDianeMcDaniel

Cynthia Lim is author of the forthcoming memoir, Wherever You Are, which chronicles her journey after her husband suffered a cardiac arrest, resulting in brain injury. Cynthia talks about the challenges she faced to help her husband achieve a good quality of life, her determination to maintain normalcy for their sons, and what she misses from her relationship with her husband prior to his disability. She also talks about how writing has helped her to understand her experience and also how painful it was to re-read her journals as she wrote her memoir.

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Jodi Newson: Nurturing Bonds of Caring and Support

August 22, 2017Podcastaccountant, advocacy, advocate, cancer, care, chemotherapy, dietitian, evidence-based, family, food, nutrition, nutritionist, oncology nutrition, radiation, team, ulcerative colitisDianeMcDaniel

Jodi Newson is a registered dietitian in oncology nutrition who works with cancer patients. Jodi talks about the central role that food plays in maintaining our social bonds and how side effects of cancer treatment can disrupt our most cherished ways of showing care. She also talks about being drawn to meaningful work in which she has a positive impact in the lives of her patients and their families and explains how her role often extends beyond nutrition. Jodi also reflects on how she has personally benefitted from the life lessons she has learned while helping others.

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Evan Handler: Surviving Cancer and Living With Trauma

May 2, 2017Podcastactor, acute myeloid leukemia, advocacy, advocate, anger, author, bone marrow transplant, Broadway, Californication, cancer, Evan Handler, Neil Simon, New England Journal of Medicine, patient care, recurrence, Sex and the City, survivorship, television, theatre, traumaDianeMcDaniel

Today, I speak with Evan Handler, actor, author, and advocate for cancer patient care. Best known for his roles in Sex and the City and Californification, Evan was diagnosed with and underwent treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in 1985, when he was 24 years old. After a two-year remission, Evan had a cancer recurrence. He received a bone marrow transplant in 1988, which he credits for saving his life. Evan wrote about his experience in the book, Time on Fire: My Comedy of Terrors, which originated, in more condensed form, as an off-Broadway one-man show.

In this episode we talk about Evan’s encounter with cancer, which has with faded with time but remains the defining event of his life. Evan shares what he learned from his own experience of navigating a bewildering, often inaccessible world of medical information as well as a medical system and procedures that seemed centered on priorities other than patient care. He also talks about his motivation for undergoing harsh treatment for cancer when his odds of survival were very low.

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