WE Have Cancer Lee Silverstein

My buddy, Tim McDonald, joins me to share his story of dealing with stage 4 colon cancer and is journey to find a liver donor.
Please help spread Tim's message by sharing this link: http://timsliver.com/
Follow Tim here:
On Twitter: twitter.com/tamcdonald
On Instagram: instagram.com/timamcdonald 
On LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timamcdonald

Michael Riehle joins Lee to discuss his journey with colorectal cancer, the challenges of living NES (No Evidence of Disease) and the value of the Man Up to Cancer; The Howling Place Facebook group.

Lee provides an update on his treatment and shares exciting news. He discusses researching your treatment options and how to make treatment at a long distance facility a reality.

Welcome to episode #188, the final episode of the WE Have Cancer podcast.

On this episode of WE Have Cancer, motivational speaker and endurance athlete David Richman shares with Lee how cancer first touched his life through his late sister, June. To honor her legacy, David has completed countless races in search of connection, emotion, and perspective. Guest Biography: David Richman is an, author, entrepreneur, speaker, consultant and philanthropist. But before any of that, he was a brother to June. In 2007 June was battling her final stages of brain cancer, and David was ready to run beside her during Relay for Life. June passed away just days before the race, but David still went and ran. His experience at that race sparked a new passion in him for endurance sports for a cause. In the last decade, he has completed over 50 triathlons, over 50 runs longer than marathon length, and most recently, he biked 4,700 miles cycling across the country to interview participants for his new book exploring the emotional side of cancer, Cycle of Lives.
Table of Contents:David's Story Begins with June
David's sister June received news that she had serious brain cancer in her forties, and that it was most likely terminal. Her diagnosis changed everything. She was the impetus to David's project and nonprofit work, and remains his constant inspiration. 
What Would June Think of David's Work?
June said the thing that sucked the most about her cancer was that she wouldn’t get to see her kids grow up. Through David's work, June is not forgotten, and her kids get to see her legacy continue to inspire connection. 
5000 Miles on a Bike, Searching for Answers
Inspired by June’s Relay for Life team in 2007 (called the June Buggies), David promised her he would run right alongside her. But June passed away just a few days before the race. Over time, David wanted to meet and interview all these people touched by cancer and bring them together. So he hopped on a bike and went city to city in a matter of six weeks.
There's So Much Hope
Lee asks, was the biggest surprise while working on Cycle of Lives? David says he went into the project thinking it would be dark and heavy all the time, but he was surprised and inspired to find how hopeful and wise so many people were along the way.
Seeking Connection Drives Everything
How did David learn to dig deep and lean into these meaningful (and often challenging) conversations? He says he loves “trying to figure the puzzle out” when interviewing people, and finds true joy in doing so.
“I was always on the outside looking in.”
In his book Cycle of Lives, he talks a bit about how up until his thirties he felt like he was never the main character of his own story. He wanted to get out of the shadows and capture stories that would spread light, emotion, and inspiration, just like June.
Why the Bike Ride, Instead of Picking Up the Phone?
Dave says, “I think we’re all connected by stories, and we’re connected by emotion.” To him it felt natural and obvious to jump on his bike and ride from city to city to string everything...

On this episode of WE Have Cancer, awareness advocate and ovarian cancer survivor Morgan Gaynor chats with Lee about cancer research, advocacy, and sharing her cancer journey online in a very public way.Guest Biography: After completing her MBA at Monmouth University at age 30, Morgan decided to look into freezing her eggs. That decision would ultimately lead to her ovarian cancer diagnosis and save her life. Immediately after her diagnosis with low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma, she began sharing her story online on her website, Morgan Beats Cancer. Now a year and a half after her last chemo session, she currently serves on the board of STAAR Ovarian Cancer Foundation, and advocates on the federal, state, and local levels on behalf of ovarian cancer patients for increased research funding.
Table of Contents:The Story Behind "Morgan Beats Cancer"
Morgan says naming her site was a big decision and conversation with family. It’s not just about beating cancer herself; Morgan says her goal is to beat ovarian cancer for everyone. 
Sharing Her Cancer Journey with the World
At the time of her diagnosis, Morgan was four months out from her MBA graduation where she studied Communications. Her whole life Morgan has been an eager philanthropist and volunteer, and now she’s taking all of her skills and passions into the cancer world via her website and advocacy work.
Diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer Pre-Menopause
She first posted on Facebook about her ovarian cancer diagnosis, and how it wasn’t common for a woman in her early thirties to be diagnosed with it. She wanted to raise awareness that cancer can happen at any age. Morgan says, “If you’re born with ovaries, you’re at risk for ovarian cancer.”
From Freezing Eggs to Finding Ovarian Cancer
After watching friends struggle with fertility in their twenties and thirties, Morgan decided she wanted to have her eggs frozen at age 30. At Morgan’s first ultrasound with the fertility specialist, they noticed several large lumps in Morgan’s pelvic area. A few weeks later, a surgeon confirmed the lumps were malignant, and she was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer.
Treatment Options for Ovarian Cancer
Morgan says surgery was definitely the recommended immediate course of action for her. She had a debulking surgery first to remove all visible signs of disease, and then went through six rounds of chemotherapy afterward. 
Life After Cancer Treatment
Morgan’s final chemo session was in February 2020. She now takes a daily estrogen blocker because her particular strain of cancer was hormone-driven. She says she feels great.
“My whole life is different now.”
Between cancer and the pandemic, Morgan says she’s home much more than she used to be. She still spends time volunteering in her community, and she’s doing a lot with the ovarian cancer community as well. She joined the board of STAAR Ovarian Cancer Foundation, and is an advocacy leader with OCRA (Ovarian Cancer Research...