Tag Archives: cancer

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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Catherine McDonough: Cancer is My Biggest Yoga Pose

April 25, 2017Podcastbreast cancer, breast self exam, cancer, chemotherapy, downsizing, health, lumpectomy, meditation, mindfulness, nurse practitioner, psychological freedom, radiation, UCLA Breast Center, yogaDianeMcDaniel

Receiving a diagnosis of cancer is a shock, even to medical professionals who are well aware that cancer can happen to anyone. How does one cope with and respond to the changes in self-perception that occur when cancer intervenes?

Today, I speak with Catherine McDonough, yoga teacher and nurse practitioner, who in 2017 was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. We explore Catherine’s use of yoga and meditation as complementary practices to traditional oncology protocols. Catherine talks about her coping strategy of simplifying and becoming more mindful, less external. She also explores how this dreaded diagnosis has given her a measure of psychological freedom that has promoted her to lighten her attachment to things and leave a smaller footprint in her wake.

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Kris Ellenberg: Wellness is a Balancing Act

April 18, 2017Podcastacupuncture, alternative treatments, breast cancer, cancer, chemotherapy, Chinese herbs, community, Gyrotonics, hypnotherapy, Judaism, lymphatic massage, lymphedema, mastectomy, meditation, radiation, wellness, yogaDianeMcDaniel

Finding wellness during and after cancer treatment can be challenging. Given the physical and emotional rigors of treatment and its aftermath, how can one develop and nurture a state of wellness that encompasses the mind, body, and spirit?

In this episode I talk with Kris Ellenberg, who in 2011 was diagnosed with Stage 2B breast cancer. We explore Kris’s strategies for finding wellness during and after her cancer treatment. Kris talks about developing a practice around wellness that supplemented her medical treatments for cancer with less conventional approaches such as Gyrotonics, yoga, lymphatic massage, acupuncture, Chinese herbs, meditation, and hypnotherapy. We also discuss the roles that community and social support, spiritual practice, and simply taking care of one’s self play in the active pursuit of wellness.

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Rory Green: Developing an Ongoing Gratitude Practice

April 11, 2017Podcastbreast cancer, cancer, family history, genetics, gratitude, hope, mindfulnessDianeMcDaniel

Receiving a cancer diagnosis can make you feel like you’ve been plucked out of your familiar existence and dropped onto an unfamiliar planet. How does one cope with this altered life circumstance when faced with a terrain that is not only unfamiliar but also deeply frightening and threatening to one’s very existence?

In today’s episode of Real Cancer, I talk with Rory Green, psychotherapist and writing coach, who in 2015 was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer. We explore Rory’s strategies for navigating feelings of fear and anxiety, her newfound appreciation for the mundane details of everyday life, and the gratitude practice she has maintained as a result of her diagnosis and treatment. We conclude with a discussion of the counsel that Rory has shared with others who are newly diagnosed with cancer or other life altering situations.

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Diane McDaniel: Cancer is a Reality Check

April 4, 2017Podcastcancer, community, death, family, ovarian cancer, supportDianeMcDaniel

A cancer diagnosis can be a terrifying experience, as it brings the person receiving the diagnosis, as well as his or her family and friends, face to face with the possibility of death. For many, a cancer diagnosis is the first close up experience in thinking seriously about the end of life.

While cancer treatment can extend life, it is often rigorous, painful, alienating, demoralizing, tedious, and frustrating. Enduring treatment can be an exercise in finding dark comedy. Even when treatment works, the experience can have lasting complicated effects. The phase after treatment can also be the beginning of unexpected and unwelcome periods of heightened vulnerability.

A cancer diagnosis and its treatment is often a transformative experience in the physical, emotional, social, and psychological aspects of the lives of everyone it touches.

In today’s episode, we turn the tables on interviewer and interviewee. Real Cancer host Diane McDaniel is interviewed by Rory Green, with whom she sat through weekly chemotherapy sessions, regarding her experience with ovarian cancer, its treatment, and the period of regular checkups after treatment concluded. We also talk about the impetus for the Real Cancer podcast and Diane’s hope that it will provide community and insight for people who are living with cancer, in one way or another.

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Liz Ganem: Support of Family and Friends

March 28, 2017Podcastbreast cancer, cancerDianeMcDaniel

Family and friends can be your most vital supporters when you’re diagnosed with cancer and going through treatment, but your relationships with loved ones can also be strained by this stressful experience. Just when you most need their unstinting support, your loved ones are also dealing with the extreme uncertainty created by a cancer diagnoses, and this may make it hard to provide the support that is needed. The fear experienced by everybody affected by a cancer diagnoses can strengthen some bonds and fray others.

What happens when treatment undertaken in an attempt to extend your life ends up making you feel alienated from your community? How do you deal with the loss of pleasure and connection to the feeling of well-being that makes life worth living?

In today’s episode, I talk with Liz Ganem, writer and middle school teacher. Liz was treated twice—in 2006, when she was pregnant with her son, and again in 2013—for two different for breast cancers. Together we explore our experiences with support from family and friends, as well as the challenges of being in social situations during this time. We conclude with a discussion of some of the strategies that helped us to navigate this tricky time.

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