100 episodes

It is our sincere hope that however cancer may be impacting you or your loved ones, that you will find the Cancer Interviews podcast and our interviews with amazing cancer survivors, caregivers, oncology professionals and others, helpful, informative and encouraging! Our guests share their stories with things like chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, stem cell transplants, bone marrow transplants, the emotional ups and downs of being a cancer patient, being a caregiver for a loved one fighting cancer, as well as cancer nutrition and allow them an opportunity to tell us about their life before, during and after their cancer journey. We do not provide medical advice on this podcast. Please remember, you are not alone and we invite you to be a part of our team, where together, everyone achieves more! We are sharing the journey together and we wish you the very best possible outcome, with your cancer journey!

Cancer Interviews Jim Foster

    • Health & Fitness

It is our sincere hope that however cancer may be impacting you or your loved ones, that you will find the Cancer Interviews podcast and our interviews with amazing cancer survivors, caregivers, oncology professionals and others, helpful, informative and encouraging! Our guests share their stories with things like chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, stem cell transplants, bone marrow transplants, the emotional ups and downs of being a cancer patient, being a caregiver for a loved one fighting cancer, as well as cancer nutrition and allow them an opportunity to tell us about their life before, during and after their cancer journey. We do not provide medical advice on this podcast. Please remember, you are not alone and we invite you to be a part of our team, where together, everyone achieves more! We are sharing the journey together and we wish you the very best possible outcome, with your cancer journey!

    Vicki Wolf, Survivor of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ and Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Breast Cancer

    Vicki Wolf, Survivor of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ and Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Breast Cancer

    Vicki Wolf was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 37.  Ductal Carcinoma in SITU was successfully addressed with a lumpectomy.  However, Vicki was diagnosed with the same type of cancer just two years later.  Again, a lumpectomy.  When Vicki was 47, she was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.  She survived that diagnosis but was again diagnosed with this type of breast when she was 58. That was in 2017.   Vicki survived, but not before undergoing a double mastectomy.  She now leads an active lifestyle and works as an advocate for men with breast cancer after her brother, Harvey Singer, was diagnosed.  They formed a non-profit, His Breast Cancer Awareness.

    • 36 min
    120: Melinda Bachini - Bile Duct Cancer Survivor - Billings, Montana, USA

    120: Melinda Bachini - Bile Duct Cancer Survivor - Billings, Montana, USA

    An ultrasound revealed a large mass in Melinda Bachini’s liver, and that led to a diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma, a form of bile duct cancer.  Doctors removed two thirds of her liver.  Unfortunately, her cancer returned three months.  Melinda was hoping to take part in a clinical trial, but when insurance wouldn’t cover a clinical trial, settled for a chemotherapy regimen.  When the chemo didn’t help but left her with a bunch of awful side effects, she decided to end the chemotherapy treatment and live as long as she could.  Then she and her husband found out about another opportunity for a clinical trial, pursued it, qualified for it.  The trial led to her achieving survivorship.

    • 25 min
    119: Kay Kays - 4x Pancreatic Cancer Survivor - Sun City, Arizona, USA

    119: Kay Kays - 4x Pancreatic Cancer Survivor - Sun City, Arizona, USA

    When Kay Kays was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 1994, she not only had few treatment options, but she had no way of knowing this would be the first of four such diagnoses; but she survived each one, the last in 2008, and is still going strong.  She is now able to do just about everything she could do prior to her initial diagnosis and continues the fight as a cancer research advocate.

    • 26 min
    118: Valerie David - Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and 2x Breast Cancer Survivor - New York, New York, USA

    118: Valerie David - Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and 2x Breast Cancer Survivor - New York, New York, USA

    Chest pains and severe fatigue drove Valerie David to seek medical attention, which led to a diagnosis of Stage 3B Cell Diffuse Large Cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  A chemotherapy regimen helped her achieve survivorship.  However, years later, she discovered a lump under her armpit.  After getting it checked out, she was diagnosed with Stage 2 Invasive Lobular Carcinoma, a form of breast cancer. Again, aided by a chemotherapy regimen, Valerie survived this diagnosis, but not long after that, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.  Despite the staging, Valerie was prescribed a less aggressive form of chemotherapy, and survived.  Inspired by her cancer journey, she written and starred in an award-winning one-woman play, “The Pink Hulk,” seen through the United States and in Europe.

    • 34 min
    117: Joe Bullock survived Stage 3B Colorectal Cancer | Colonoscopy | Chemotherapy | Oxyplatin | Xeloda

    117: Joe Bullock survived Stage 3B Colorectal Cancer | Colonoscopy | Chemotherapy | Oxyplatin | Xeloda

    In today’s Cancer Interview podcast, Joe Bullock shares his story with host Bruce Morton, about how he survived Stage 3b colorectal cancer, a form of colon cancer, after first undergoing a colonoscopy due to irritable bowel syndrome which led to his
    diagnosis, followed by chemotherapy treatments including Oxyplatin and Xeloda. Joe now works with the Man Up to Cancer support group for men facing a cancer diagnosis.

    Joe Bullock had experienced symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in the past. As unpleasant as it was, he was familiar with having blood in his stool and addressed it with
    over-the-counter remedies. However, while dealing with the death of his parents and his reliance on over-the-counter medications, he was slow to seek medical attention. When
    he did, his doctor thought the problem was due to hemorrhoids. Because he was not yet 50 years old, he never thought he might have colon cancer; but when he turned 50, Joe’s doctor said it was time for a colonoscopy, as did his wife, who is a registered nurse.

    A colonoscopy revealed an 8cm tumor in his colon. Joe was relieved to learn the location of his tumor was such that the tumor could be removed without his needing a ostomy
    bag. Joe needed a procedure in which the tumor would be removed and the colon reattached. However, when that surgery took place, 40 lymph nodes were removed, and
    three of them were cancerous. That’s when Joe Bullock was diagnosed with Stage 3B colorectal cancer, and he was told he require a chemotherapy regimen. The regimen
    would include two medications, oxyplatin and xeloda.

    Joe Bullock’s wife, thanks to her expertise, was an outstanding source of support on the clinical side; but she had a tough time supporting the emotional side of Joe’s battle, Her challenges and his challenges dealing with chemotherapy made Joe depressed, but he soldiered on, following instructions and doing what he needed to do regarding the regimen. Nonetheless, at the recommendation of his oncologist, Joe started seeing a
    therapist.

    Joe says the toughest part of his oxyplatin regimen took place in the first ten days after his oxyplatin dosage. He felt was like pins and needles in throat, which limited what he could eat. In terms of beverages, he could not drink anything cold or anything that wasroom temperature. It had to be warm coffee or warm tea. Joe said oxyplatin “ruined my tastebuds.”

    As for the xeloda, it was ingested in pill form. Joe said it resulted in severe fatigue and cognitive issues, both commonly associated with chemotherapy.

    Eventually, Joe was thrilled to learn he had been declared “NED,” or No Evidence of Disease. With this news, Joe said he and his wife to removed doctor visits and chemo from their day-to-day lives and that for the first time in years, they could plan a vacation.

    However, did have to make periodic follow up visits, and he was surprised to find he missed the treatment regimen. He says when undergoing treatment, he felt like he was
    being proactive about his cancer; but without treatment, he worried about a reoccurance of cancer and was doing nothing about it.

    Joe is still NED, but there are aspects of his health he has learned to live with. He still has frozen foot syndrome and feels tingling in his fingers. Joe used to run, but cannot do that anymore.

    Joe Bullock is from Durham, North Carolina. He enjoys grilling and owning three pit bulls. In terms of work, he is the Chief Operating Officer of Man Up To Cancer, a support group that stays away from the clinical side, but prioritizes helping men with the often-overlooked mental health of a cancer journey. ‘Man Up’ has support groups that meet in-person and virtually, it has men’s retreats and offers numerous other services via its website, https://www.manuptocancer.org . Joe Bullock says a man diagnosed with cancer needs to be mentally tough, and Man Up To Cancer can help a man do that.

    Additional Reso

    • 30 min
    116: Amanda Ferraro - Acute Myeloid Leukemia Survivor - Manalapan, New Jersey, USA

    116: Amanda Ferraro - Acute Myeloid Leukemia Survivor - Manalapan, New Jersey, USA

    Thanks to a misdiagnosis, for two months Amanda Ferraro was walking around with acute myeloid leukemia and didn’t know it.  But after a return to the doctor’s office and subsequent bone marrow biopsy, Amanda was diagnosed.  After an aggressive regimen of induction chemotherapy, she went into remission; but six months later, the cancer returned.  Amanda underwent another bone marrow biopsy and was put on another chemo regimen.  She was told the only thing that could save her would be a stem cell transplant.  Miraculously, a donor was found, and the transplant was performed.  These days Amanda is a patient advocate and pushes for laws in the New Jersey Legislature that come to the aid of those diagnosed with cancer.

    • 35 min

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