SARC Talk Rise to Face The Sun: The Patient Experience

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The SARC Talk Patient Experience podcast highlights adolescents and young adults with sarcoma. Hosted by Daphne Edgren, Rise to Face the Sun shares real stories of diagnosis, treatment, survivorship, and identity. Guests reflect on what helped them through the hardest moments and what they want others facing sarcoma to know. Whether newly diagnosed or years into survivorship, listeners are reminded they are not alone. For more information about SARC, please visit www.sarctrials.org.

Episodes

  1. 10h ago

    McKenna Avery

    Most cancer journeys take unexpected turns, and for McKenna Avery, they led to a discovery that changed everything: a rare sarcoma that nearly went unnoticed. Her story is a powerful testament to intuition, personalized care, and how unconventional healing practices can complement traditional treatment to create a truly holistic approach. If you're facing a life-altering diagnosis or seeking new ways to empower your health, this episode will open your eyes to possibilities you may never have considered. McKenna's remarkable journey begins with a mysterious leg swelling and blood clots, which eventually reveal a stage 3 synovial sarcoma — a diagnosis that struck her at just 23. She shares her raw, firsthand experience of navigating delay, misdiagnosis, and the emotional rollercoaster of fighting for expert care. Her story uncovers the importance of seeking specialized treatment alongside embracing integrative approaches, from proton radiation therapy to meditation, EMDR, and even paranormal encounters.

    49 min

  2. May 29

    Sabina Ghebremedhin

    This episode brings Sabina Ghebremedhin into conversation about her daughter, Natasha Allen, the creator and advocate behind who shook the sarcoma community with her unmatched radiance. Across five years of experiencing synovial sarcoma, Natasha built an extraordinary community of more than 220,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram with work that was funny, candid, and refused the tired scripts handed to young people with cancer. She was a founding member of the Sarcoma Foundation of America's Adolescent and Young Adult Committee, the inaugural guest on its Sarcoma Stories podcast, and helped design a mentorship program for young patients that launched in her name after her death. Now, her mother is here with us to continue spreading her light. In this conversation, Sabina speaks as Natasha's mother and primary caregiver about the diagnostic delays so common for young adults with rare cancers, the texture of caregiving across years of treatment, and what it means to carry her daughter's work forward. She talks about the research fund established in Natasha's name, “Natasha Allen Research Fund,” about Natasha being honored at CancerCon 2026 (the conference where she had been scheduled to give the opening keynote the morning she passed away,) and the messages that continue to arrive daily from followers whose lives Natasha touched. What comes through this episode is a mother actively carrying her daughter's light by keeping Natasha's voice present in the rooms she helped build and pushing the conversation about rare cancers and AYA patients further than it has yet been pushed. Get ready to be moved by the kind of love that lives beyond death. May Natasha rest in power: November 21, 1996 – August 22, 2025.

    48 min

  3. May 29

    Eli Galloway

    Most cancers can feel like a death sentence — unless you're Eli Galloway. Facing synovial sarcoma for the second time, Eli shares an intimate journey from misdiagnosis to recurrence, navigating a rare disease with strength, humor, and unwavering hope. His story uncovers the hidden realities of living with cancer young and the relentless work of staying ahead of disease in an era of new therapies. In this candid conversation, Eli breaks down how the disease first snuck up on him, why early symptoms are nearly invisible, and what it takes to face a cancer most people have never heard of. He walks through the realities of chemotherapy, the decision to amputate, and the mental work of rebuilding after losing a leg. We also dig into his experience with engineered T-cell therapy and how he stays steady in the face of uncertainty. You'll hear how rare cancers can hide behind small bumps and easily dismissed symptoms, the emotional terrain of recurrence, and what's kept Eli grounded: community, online support, and a fighting spirit that has carried him through. Eli is a construction worker at Tesla's Gigafactory, a sarcoma survivor, and an advocate for cancer awareness. His story highlights the urgent need for more research, better treatments, and a community that lifts each other up in the face of the unimaginable. Get ready to be inspired by resilience, innovation, and the unbreakable human spirit.

    41 min
  • 3 Episodes

About

The SARC Talk Patient Experience podcast highlights adolescents and young adults with sarcoma. Hosted by Daphne Edgren, Rise to Face the Sun shares real stories of diagnosis, treatment, survivorship, and identity. Guests reflect on what helped them through the hardest moments and what they want others facing sarcoma to know. Whether newly diagnosed or years into survivorship, listeners are reminded they are not alone. For more information about SARC, please visit www.sarctrials.org.

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