REAL with Diane McDaniel

Jonathan Cohen makes a lukewarm argument in favor of paying MDs out of pocket to be one's advocate. What he is really talking about is the need for every patient to have a trusted primary care physician by their side to navigate the course of any chronic illness. Perhaps an episode exploring the data that supports developing a relationship with a primary care physician in advance of illness as well throughout the course of a cancer diagnosis and beyond could be helpful. For example, it has been shown that people with cancer who visit their primary care doc within 6 weeks of their initial diagnosis have an improved outcome. This is a really good example of how the mindset of always wanting to go to "the best specialist" first can get you into trouble long-term. All of that said, I appreciate the provocative nature of this episode and the idea that there are advocacy alternatives for cancer patients in our broken system.

Real Cancer is a wonderful new podcast which provides a valuable and relatable roadmap for peeople living with cancer and others in their lives. Diane McDaniel is thoughtful and compassionate and talks to a variety of people, gathering together a multitude of perspectives on a common jounrey which is in fact unique to each person. Each podcast focuses on a real narrative and a personal perspective with threads to connect to and learn from. Cancer can be such a lonely jounrney and listening to this podcast is like sitting with an empathic friend each week.