Your Stories: Conquering Cancer

It started—as these stories so often do—with fatigue. At first, Jace Yawnick simply chalked it up to a busy life and a job requiring frequent travel. But then he noticed something: There were times the fatigue kicked in when he hadn’t just gotten off a plane or done anything else particularly strenuous. “Intuitively,” Jace says, “something within me just knew something wasn’t right.”  Then came the coughing and the back pain. It would be months—and more than one misdiagnosis—before doctors found the problem: Hodgkin lymphoma. As he processed the news of his diagnosis, Jace realized something: Facing cancer was not something he wanted to do by himself.    And so, when he started to chronicle his cancer experience online, he was simply looking for catharsis and camaraderie. He got both—along with a community of 700,000-plus followers who’ve followed his entire journey in hopes of seeing the moment he fulfilled a cherished goal: to ring the bell and declare himself cancer-free. In this episode, Jace talks to Your Stories host Dr. Mark Lewis about what it’s like to share your cancer journey with thousands of people, the importance of advocating for yourself, and the role of community when it comes to conquering cancer. 

 The first cancer diagnosis was scary enough.   “I feel like Hollywood actually gets this moment pretty darn right,” Emma says, recalling the day—not long before her 18th birthday—that she learned she had cancer. “The world around you kind of slows down, you get tunnel vision, maybe a little dizzy. The only thing you can really hear is your breathing and your heart rate.”    Eventually—following multiple rounds of chemotherapy—Emma was declared cancer-free. But then came the second diagnosis.    “The key difference between the first and second time is that the first time, you have fear of the unknown. You don't know what's coming for you, and you don’t know what you don’t know,” Emma says. This time, however, she knew all too well. “I did know what was coming for me. I know what I'm going to be facing. And I would argue that that is almost worse. But, if you're gonna relapse, there's only one positive: You know how to do it better this time.”   In this episode of Your Stories, Emma joins her oncologist, Conquer Cancer-funded researcher Dr. Molly Taylor, for a candid discussion about resilience, recovery, and what helped her make a major comeback after facing cancer twice.

Whether you find it on social media, via search engine, or on a popular news website, it often seems like medical misinformation is everywhere, including in the cancer space.   Maybe it’s the claim that sugar causes cancer to spread faster. Maybe it’s someone saying that people with dark skin don’t get skin cancer. Or maybe it’s the conspiracy theory that drug companies and government agencies are withholding the cure for cancer so they can continue to profit from expensive oncology care.   These are just a few examples of purported cancer facts you might encounter online—and none of them are true.  From misinterpreted oncology research to race-related stigmas and myths, the spread of cancer-related misinformation runs rampant, taking an increasing toll on global health and often hampering our efforts at early detection and prevention. In one 2022 study, researchers found harmful misinformation in approximately 32.5 percent of the cancer-related English-language publications they analyzed.  “Unfortunately, what we're frequently seeing in online networks is that the worst-quality information actually receives more engagement than the high-quality information,” says one of the study’s lead authors, Dr. Stacy Loeb, a Conquer Cancer recipient whose spent years researching the consequences of misinformation for patient health. “The structure of online networks can lead to much more rapid and widespread misinformation than we ever would have seen in the past.”  In this episode of Your Stories, Dr. Loeb joins ASCO’s Sybil Green to discuss the rise of misinformation online, its impact on the cancer landscape, and how people across the cancer community can help to turn the tide. 

While his teenage classmates were getting ready for school, then-13-year-old Sean Swarner was watching the water rise in the shower, his hair clogging the drain. His first cancer diagnosis—and the subsequent treatment regimen—took an immense toll on his self-image and well-being. That morning in the shower, he remembers, all of the fear and despair overcame him: Sean collapsed to his knees, tears and tap water streaming down his face. “I remember looking at myself in the mirror,” he recalls, “and I couldn’t even recognize who was looking back.” After a year of treatment, Sean reached remission. But then, two years later—during a follow-up with his oncologist—Sean and his parents received shocking news. His doctor had found a second cancer: an Askin sarcoma, a rare and aggressive tumor in his chest that eventually left him with only one functioning lung. Worse still, Sean’s chances of survival appeared slim. In the years to follow, Sean became the first cancer survivor to summit Mount Everest, before eventually completing each of the world’s Seven Summits (the highest mountains on each of the seven continents). That includes three attempts on Mount Denali, the tallest mountain in North America and one of the world’s most dangerous—ultimately reaching the summit in 2017. “In my mind,” Sean recalls, “I kind of jokingly thought to myself, ‘If this fool who’s had two cancers and has one lung can climb to the top of the world, that might inspire some people.’” In this episode of Your Stories, Sean joins host Dr. Mark Lewis to discuss how conquering cancer shaped his life and set him on a course to complete some of the world’s most prized adventuring achievements. He also talks candidly about the motivations behind these achievements and his hope that others will look at his accomplishments and take away a simple message: If a guy with one lung can do it, so can you.

For patients with cancer, the holiday season can be particularly difficult: How is anyone supposed to prioritize self-care and recovery at a time when much of the world is going on about the joys of giving? As a breast cancer survivor and a career fashion and beauty publicist, Melissa Berry is all too familiar with that challenge, along with the massive toll cancer can have on a person’s self-image. Enter Cancer Fashionista, a platform she’s built to help patients and survivors navigate cancer without sacrificing their self-confidence, self-worth, and self-empowerment. In this episode of Your Stories, Melissa shares her story—including how she turned her cancer journey into a brand and a platform that reaches thousands of patients and survivors every day.

Caitlin Murray has mastered turning life’s setbacks into something that brings joy to the 1.5 million people around the world who follow her Instagram page. When her 3-year-old son, Calum, was diagnosed with leukemia in 2016, Caitlin and her family’s lives were quickly filled with doctor visits, grueling treatments, and endless uncertainty. Soon after Calum’s devastating diagnosis, Caitlin launched her blog, Big Time Adulting, to help keep her family informed and to cope with the challenges of parenting a child with cancer. However, Caitlin’s unique style of humor ultimately amassed an enormous audience. Today, with Calum in remission, Big Time Adulting serves as a multimedia outlet where Caitlin writes and shares about life, love, parenting, and the many ups and downs along the way. In this episode of the Your Stories podcast, Caitlin discusses how maintaining a sense of humor can be a powerful antidote to the unforeseen obstacles that life can bring. She also reflects on the impact of practicing gratitude, including why it matters to raise support for cancer research.

Every 14 seconds, someone is diagnosed with breast cancer, making it one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers in the world, second only to lung cancer, and the leading cause of cancer-related death among women globally. And, while a cancer diagnosis can be devastating for anyone of any age or gender, one group faces a particularly unique and complex set of challenges: young working mothers. It’s a reality that Irish patient Aisling O’Brien knows all too well. Aisling spent most of 2023 undergoing numerous rounds of treatment—including breast-conserving surgery right before the winter holidays—all while parenting three young children. “I'm slowly getting back to what is now my new normal,” says Aisling, now that she’s through treatment and cancer-free. “It's given me a lot of perspective. I don't sweat the small stuff. I don't get nervous about things anymore, because what's the worst that could happen?  It's shown me that I have a strength that I never knew I had.” It helped that Aisling had a medical oncologist who was there to support her and her family every step of the way: Dr. Michaela Higgins. A two-time Conquer Cancer grant recipient based at St. Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, Dr. Higgins has led numerous clinical trials for patients with breast cancer, helping to advance new treatments and cures. In this Your Stories episode, Aisling and Dr. Higgins join host Dr. Mark Lewis for a conversation about the many challenges that come with balancing motherhood and breast cancer, along with the promising future of breast cancer research and care.

Prom. Graduation. College. These are just a few rites of passage that high school seniors everywhere look forward to. But for Auburn, a devastating turn of events tilted her entire world off its axis and put all her senior year plans on hold. At just 18 years old, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. Instead of graduating with her classmates and going to senior prom, Auburn endured numerous rounds of lymphoma treatment, which is notorious for being incredibly taxing, especially for younger patients. Fortunately, one of Auburn’s providers, Dr. Raymond Mailhot, is uniquely qualified to help patients find the best and least traumatic course of care. A two-time Conquer Cancer-funded award recipient, Dr. Mailhot focuses on improving radiation oncology for younger patients in the U.S. and in Latin American countries. With his Conquer Cancer funding, he’s determined to improve radiation treatment options for pediatric patients—research that has helped inform his approach to Auburn’s care. In this Your Stories episode, Auburn and Dr. Mailhot have a heartfelt exchange about the many difficulties that cancer brings, especially for younger patients. Together, they reflect on Dr. Mailhot’s thoughtful approach to providing care for Auburn and the ways that Auburn has persevered to carve a promising path for her life.

Gabriele “Gabe” Grunewald was a professional distance runner and a relentless optimist. She competed in Big Ten Championship races, became an NCAA track and field All-American athlete, and finished 4th in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. Such accomplishments become even more impressive when you learn that—even as she racked up accolades and wins—Gabe also faced cancer numerous times. In 2009, Gabe was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer called adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC). Then, in 2010, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Despite these circumstances, Gabe persevered, continuing to train and run professionally. She also became a rare cancer advocate, launching the Brave Like Gabe Foundation to encourage other patients and survivors to embrace their own courage and chase their dreams. In June 2019, after a decade of living with ACC, Gabe passed away at her home in Minneapolis surrounded by loved ones—including her husband, Dr. Justin Grunewald. An ultra-marathon runner himself, Dr. Grunewald is also an internal medicine specialist and chair of the Brave Like Gabe Foundation’s Rare Cancer Research Working Group. He joins the Your Stories podcast to share more about Gabe’s story and legacy, along with the importance of supporting rare cancer research so that patients with these rare diseases have more hope for better outcomes.

Whether you’re relaxing on the beach, taking a hike in nature, or hitting your favorite water park, we’ve heard it time and time again: Excess sun exposure increases the risk of skin cancer, so protect your skin and apply your sunscreen. Of course, while some skin cancer risk factors are unavoidable, we all know there are proactive, preventive steps we can take—like applying sunscreen and limiting sun exposure—to decrease our risk. But what if you could do something that not only protects yourself from skin cancer, but also people around the world? Although numerous milestones have been made in skin cancer research and treatment, there remains significant room for improvement when it comes to treatment and care. Dr. Lynn Schuchter is director of the Tara Miller Melanoma Center at Penn Medicine and a former president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO, for short. Having dedicated her career to caring for patients with skin cancers, Dr. Schuchter knows all too well how much progress still needs to be made in the field of skin cancer research and care. Today, Dr. Schuchter joins the Your Stories podcast to talk about the importance of prevention, patient-centered care, and the past, present, and future of skin cancer research and treatment.