The Game On Glio Podcast Shannon Traphagen (S.M. Traphagen)

"It's hard when someone puts an expiration date on you," said Nick Adamski, glioblastoma thriver and one of our guests for episode 2 of Season 3.
Nick, with the support of his wife Diane (ABC7 Chicago News Journalist), has been beating the odds against glioblastoma since December 2020. Walking through this rare cancer is not pretty, nor is it for the faint of heart. When Nick and Diane sat down with us, he didn't hold back; painting a picture of just how hard this journey has been and the obstacles he's had to overcome.
A previous firefighter, it's an indication of the kind of man Nick is--a fighter! But, it's not just his own inner strength that is helping him win against glioblastoma (GBM), it's the love he and his wife Diane share that transcends this disease.
And, that's what this episode is all about--LOVE! Diane and Nick also share education on Methylation Profiling and how it has saved Nick's life. 
 
*Our theme this season is "Advocate and Navigate" and this episode does just that!
Listen to episode 2 now!
 
Season Sponsor 
GT Medical Technologies & GammaTile Therapy
 
episode sponsors
Highmark BlueCross BlueShield of WNY
MimiVax LLC

In this first episode of Season 3, we sit down with Dr.'s Elad Levy and Ken Snyder of UB Neurosurgery/Buffalo General Hospital and Gates Vascular Institute/Jacobs School of Medicine. They give us rare insight into the work they do, the cutting edge technology being used (including GammaTile Therapy now being offered) and even the emotional toll this field can take.
This season we are going to learn--together. "Navigate and Advocate" is a theme you will hear a lot during season 3 of The Game On Glio Podcast. And, it starts with episode 1. We all have moments we feel outnumbered. But we are not alone, and if this show gives you anything--it's that!
 
Season 3 Premier Sponsor:
GammaTile Therapy
 
Episode sponsor:
Highmark BlueCross BlueShield of WNY

Our guest today, Marie Alessi, is a celebrated author of the book "Loving Life After Loss" and podcast host of Upspiral Grief. Marie unexpectedly lost her husband and father to their two boys in 2018 to a sudden brain aneurysm. Using her own tools and strong intuition, she created a path back happiness and now shares that with others across the globe.
In our last episode of Season 2, Marie and I tackle the myths and peel back the many layers of grief and loss, and how to ignite happiness again. Don't miss out on this stirring episode! 
Subscribe to our podbean channel, to our website at thegameongliopodcast.com, and to our Instagram channel @gameongliopodcast to get the latest news, stories you won't hear on the show, AND a sneak peak into Season 3!!!
 
Season 2 Sponsor:
GammaTile Therapy

"I (insert name here) take you (insert name here) to be my lawfully wedded husband/wife. To have and to hold from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish until death parts us."
Sound familiar? When we say those vows, we say them theoretically. As if we know that this is what we truly vow, it's what we mean, but we never expect to have to uphold some of them so soon. Being a spousal caregiver is so nuanced, so delicate. It's a tightrope that no one else can understand. For those who are blessed enough to have that dream marriage; a love that redefines what soulmate truly means, the task of being a caregiver is the most heart-wrenching and difficult task you will ever be given in this life.
Our guest today, Andrea Tom, knows this kind of caregiving as well. Like me, she became a caregiver to her husband in her 40's when he was diagnosed with Glioblastoma five years ago. She shares her experience; she reflects on what it honestly means to be a spousal caregiver and how she has "soldiered" on. She finds new meaning and has redefined what being a widow and a woman in her 50's looks like.
 
Season Sponsor
GammaTile Therapy

    It's hard enough being a parent (at least from everything I witness and see). So, what do you do when you suddenly become a widow, grieving the loss of your spouse while also trying to help your grieving child?
Whether the loss is a caregiver, a parent, or even a sibling, a child that experiences loss is going to experience grief differently than we as adults do. Young children may not even understand what death means, or that people who have died won’t be coming back. So, how do we wrap our arms around these tender souls while also still trying to cope with our own grief?
In this episode we speak to Sara Deren, Founder and CEO of Experience Camps. Experience Camps is a national non-profit that gives grieving children experiences that change their lives forever.
 
Season Sponsor:
 
GammaTile
 

    The themes around Episode 9 will have us all reflecting a bit more this holiday season. You wouldn’t know it from the title, but we talk a lot about the act of forgiveness–what it takes to forgive. Not just in forgiving others, but forgiving ourselves.
The title, “Cancer isn’t a sniper shot, it’s a grenade,” is a loaded title. In my conversation with our guest, Dr. Randy D’Amico, he expresses how cancer isn’t a single shot, it isn’t a sniper that has one bullseye–it’s a grenade that scatters everywhere and impacts everyone around you. And I thought that was very powerful, because cancer doesn’t just impact the patient, it impacts all those connected to the patient. It has a ripple effect, and everyone is forced to find a way to deal with the aftermath of the diagnosis of their loved one or friend. This is where forgiveness plays its part.
This episode is full of insight, clarity, forgiveness, love, and fight. 
 
From all of us at The Game On Glio Podcast, have a wonderful, gratitude filled Thanksgiving.
 
Season Sponsor:
GammaTile Therapy
 
Episode Sponsor:
MimiVax LLC