This episode focuses on making treatment decisions when you or your loved one has been diagnosed with an advanced cancer. There are a lot of issues that a person has to navigate - financial concerns, legal documents, communicating with the care team, and the emotions that come with caring for a loved one with an advanced cancer diagnosis. With us today is hospice and palliative medicine physician Dr. BJ Miller.

Over the last decade, the number of treatment options for patients with advanced cancers has greatly expanded. In this episode, we look at treatments currently available to patients diagnosed with advanced or metastatic bladder cancer and discuss ways to cope with this difficult diagnosis. Our guests are Dr. Daniel Geynisman and Monica Scanlan, BSN, RN, both of Fox Chase Cancer Center at Temple Health, and Rachel Saks, MSS, LSW, OSW-C, Senior Director, Education at the Cancer Support Community.

Grief can be complicated and confusing. Coping with the feelings that follow a loss can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be something from which we run away. In this episode, we sit down with Susan Ash Lee, Vice President, Clinical Services at CSC. Susan offers a compassionate exploration of this subject and insight into how we can help ourselves and our loved ones in the face of grief.

This episode is part of our special series “Young and Diagnosed” which focuses on the unique challenges and experiences of young adults facing a cancer diagnosis. Jacqueline Smith and Evan Ruggiero are living proof of just how quickly and randomly life can change. As they’ll tell you, their new paths are in many ways more rewarding than anything they could have imagined--or might have chosen--before their lives took an unthinkable detour. “Young and Diagnosed” is brought to you by Genentech.

“Cancer always catches people by surprise and will always be someone else’s problem...we are all terrified that one day, the someone else will be us.” Those are the words of oncologist and caregiver John Marshall in the new book Off Our Chests, a memoir he has co-authored with his wife Liza who was diagnosed with stage 3 triple negative breast cancer in 2006. Now 16 years past this life changing experience, Liza and John call their story “a candid tour through the world of cancer.” Honest and unafraid to be vulnerable, the Marshalls share in this episode what it’s like for a doctor to learn humility as a caregiver and a woman to face many levels of loss with courage and grace.

In this episode, we take a close look at advanced non-melanoma skin cancer. With advances in detection, diagnosis and treatments for both melanoma and non-melanoma, these cancers are being discovered at earlier stages and treated with a much more personalized approach. With us today to talk specifically about advanced non-melanoma skin care are two experts in the field: Dr. Gregory Biedermann and Dr. Christos Papageorgiou.

Have you ever wondered why you may have had to wait for your insurance to authorize your medicine or procedure or why you may have not be able to get the medication first recommended by your doctor? Chances are that you may never have heard the term utilization management practices (UM) before, but it can impact the recommendations made by your health care team and what your insurance plan will cover. In this episode, we take an in-depth look at how UM plays out in everyday life, how these practices can increase health disparities and how you can advocate for yourself and your loved ones. Our guest is Phylicia L. Woods, Executive Director of the Cancer Support Community’s Cancer Policy Institute.

Thanks to advances in research and several new treatments, people diagnosed with multiple myeloma are living better and longer than ever before. The disease is treatable and can be managed like any other chronic condition. Today, we’re going to talk about the knowledge and tools that can help manage the physical, emotional and practical impact of living with multiple myeloma. Our guests are Dr. Sikander Ailawadhi and Jan Miller, a licensed professional counselor.

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, doctors and other healthcare providers were being tested by a number of stressors that impacted their emotional well-being and, by extension, patient care. Thankfully, with the help of our guests, Joseph Stern, MD and Dan Shapiro, PhD, the situation is changing. This episode focuses on the challenges faced by the doctors who care for us and new approaches and programs helping address the burnout that they experience.

Our special series “Young and Diagnosed” focuses on the unique challenges and experiences of young adults facing a cancer diagnosis. In this episode, we meet Suleika Jaouad and Jonathan Sommers. Suleika is the author of the NY Times bestseller Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted and Jonathan is a filmmaker who serves on SWOG Cancer Research Network’s Digital Engagement Committee. “Young and Diagnosed” is brought to you by Genentech.

For many Black men, barbershops are a safe place to engage with their community and have meaningful conversations about issues that affect their lives. In this episode, we talk to Dr. Joseph Ravenell and David Brown about their work to improve health outcomes for Black men by connecting with them at barbershops.

The events of 2020 and their aftermath will likely be studied for decades to come. The murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the national outcry that followed, the Covid-related attacks and hate crimes directed at Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people of color… these overlapping and intersecting events have shed a blazing light on the inequities in our society, including those in our health care system, and caused us to look at health equity in a new way. This episode focuses on disparities in our health care system in general and cancer care in particular. Our guests are Dr. Carol L. Brown of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Dr. Christopher King of Georgetown University.

There are many forms of skin cancer, some better known than others. In this episode of our special series Spotlight on Skin Cancer, we are going to take a look at two forms of advanced skin cancer: advanced basal and squamous cell skin cancers. Joining us for this conversation are Dr. Robert Ferris and Dr. Emily Smith.

This episode of our special series Spotlight on Coronavirus takes a close look at the vaccines that will help combat the COVID-19 pandemic- how they work, the approval process with the FDA, and importantly, what it all means for cancer patients and their caregivers. Our guests are: Dr. Kathleen Dooling, a Chief Medical Officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Dr. Elizabeth Robilotti, the Associate Medical Epidemiologist at Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases and an Attending Physician with the Infectious Disease Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; and Dr. Michael Ybarra, a board-certified emergency physician and vice president of medical affairs and strategic alliances at PhRMA.

This episode takes a close look at the different aspects of treating and living with laryngeal cancer, or cancer of the larynx, which impacts the voice box. While it’s true that much will change, there is also a lot to be hopeful about. Our guests are Dr. Michael Moore, speech pathologist Kristen Beadle and cancer survivor Terry O’Brien.

Chances are that you may never had heard of Utilization Management unless you’re in the industry, but you have probably heard of or experienced “prior authorization” and maybe even “Fail First.” Guest Elizabeth Franklin helps us understand what Utilization Management is, what are some of its common practices and techniques, and how it’s been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We also look at the upcoming open enrollment period and the items that patients should look for when searching for a plan that is best for them.

While the word mesothelioma may be familiar from various advertisements, most people will likely have never met someone diagnosed with this rare cancer. In this episode, we will discuss symptoms, diagnosis and treatments, including new approaches. Our guest to help us better understand this cancer is Dr. Rupesh Kotecha from Miami Cancer Institute.

Remarkable progress has been made in the last few years improving treatment options and survival for women living with ovarian cancer. Joining us to get us up to speed on the most up to date information is Dr. Nita Lee.

This episode is part of our special series, Looking at Leukemias, and we will be taking a close look at Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). Improved treatment options for CML led to what is now one of the most controllable long-term cancers. While it requires daily medication and monitoring, with proper treatment, it can be managed. Join us as we take a close look at this leukemia and discuss how to live your best life with a chronic cancer. Our guests are Dr. Kendra Sweet from the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida and Diane Krupnick, who has been living with CML for over 5 years.

In this instalment of our special series Spotlight on Coronavirus, we focus on the emotions and feelings that cancer patients and caregivers might experience as they cope with the impact of the spread of coronavirus. Many cancer patients and caregivers are reporting feeling alone, anxious, and fearful of the future. Our guests help put context to our feelings and share strategies to help us cope. We are joined by Jamie Aten, a disaster expert who was faced with his own personal disaster when he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer at the age of 35 and Susan Ash-Lee, Vice President of Clinical Services for the Cancer Support Community.