Cancer ABCs From Surviving To Thriving - How to Thrive with Cancer
31 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 6 ratingsOUR MISSION
To facilitate tangible improvements in the lives of people who have been affected by cancer(s), by providing them and their loved ones the necessary survival tools, education, support and advocacy so that they can become responsible for and take an active role in their own medical care and wellbeing.
OUR GOAL
Our goal is to teach all people affected by cancer, including those with multiple cancers and/or rare cancers, to become CANCER THRIVERS.
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Episodes
NBA Basketball Superstar Grant Hill Discusses Racial Disparities in Prostate Cancer
June 09, 2022 13:00 - 27 minutes - 19.2 MBNBA superstar Grant Hill, also an Atlanta Hawks co-owner, and African American health advocate, has teamed up with Dendreon to combat the prostate cancer racial disparities experienced by African American men. He discusses, along with Cancer ABCs CEO Joel Nowak, how men, particularly African American men, can combat the disparities. They focus on how a man can develop their own playbook to beat prostate cancer, what role a man should play with his doctor and the importance of becoming ...
Node Positive Prostate Cancer – Treatment and Survival
March 21, 2022 13:00 - 2 minutes - 1.86 MBOverall survival and cancer-specific survival for those with node-positive prostate cancer treated with surgery lived longer than those who elected radiation treatment. Men diagnosed with node positive prostate cancer need to decide if they want to include a targeted treatment to their prostate gland along with a systemic treatment like hormonal therapy. Most men who elect to include a targeted therapy will choose between either surgery or radiation. A retrospective observational stud...
Methotrexate and the COVID Vaccine -WARNING
August 29, 2021 12:00 - 6 minutes - 4.28 MBhttps://ard.bmj.com/content/early/2021/08/22/annrheumdis-2021-220597 As per the link above, individuals taking the drug methotrexate experience an up to 62% reduced rate of an immunological response when given a mRNA Covid-19 vaccination like to Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. This finding suggests that patients on methotrexate may need alternate vaccination strategies such as additional doses of vaccine, dose modification of methotrexate or even a temporary discontinuation of this drug. In...
Methotrexate and the COVID Vaccine -WARNING
August 29, 2021 12:00 - 6 minutes - 4.28 MBhttps://ard.bmj.com/content/early/2021/08/22/annrheumdis-2021-220597 As per the link above, individuals taking the drug methotrexate experience an up to 62% reduced rate of an immunological response when given a mRNA Covid-19 vaccination like to Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. This finding suggests that patients on methotrexate may need alternate vaccination strategies such as additional doses of vaccine, dose modification of methotrexate or even a temporary discontinuation of this drug. In...
A Special Message for Someone Diagnosed with Cancer
August 24, 2021 17:00 - 7 minutes - 5.48 MBWhen you are first diagnosed with cancer, when the doctor says to you have cancer, you are likely to have many different responses. Among these first possible responses are fear, apprehension, disbelief, sadness, anger, dread, or even denial. Any and all of these reactions are reasonable and normal. The question is how do you chose to deal with these feelings? Everyone's cancer is different and how we as individuals deal with our cancer is also different. However, developing a specific m...
New Orleans Music Producer Shane Norris Diagnosed with Prostate Cancer During Covid Shares His Journey with HIFU Treatment
June 22, 2021 19:00 - 26 minutes - 18.4 MBJoel Nowak and Shane Norris discuss his unusual Covid Pandemic Journey with a new prostate cancer diagnosis. Shane, a well-respected music producer and gig worker, joined with other New Orleans artists to raise funds for out-of-work musicians. As he began to create a fund raising vehicle he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Shane shares the experience he had navigating the Covid pandemic as he searched for the prostate cancer treatment that he felt best suited his needs. With financi...
New Orleans Music Producer Shane Norris Diagnosed with Prostate Cancer During Covid Shares His Journey with HIFU Treatment
June 22, 2021 19:00 - 26 minutes - 18.4 MBJoel Nowak and Shane Norris discuss his unusual Covid Pandemic Journey with a new prostate cancer diagnosis. Shane, a well-respected music producer and gig worker, joined with other New Orleans artists to raise funds for out-of-work musicians. As he began to create a fund raising vehicle he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Shane shares the experience he had navigating the Covid pandemic as he searched for the prostate cancer treatment that he felt best suited his needs. With financi...
Understanding the Importance of Radiopharmaceutical Scans and Why They Might Not Be Available for Us When We Need Them
April 22, 2021 22:00 - 12 minutes - 8.73 MBRadiopharmaceutical scans (PETS) are a vital tool in our fight against cancer. These special PET scans allow us to make earlier cancer diagnoses while a cancer is still contained in the original organ. With an earlier diagnosis, treatments can still stop the cancer before it is able to move to other parts of the body, or become metastatic. These special scans also are our best tools to evaluate whether our treatments are working, or if we have developed resistance to the treatments. ...
Survival with Provenge - Real World Data Along with A Peek Into the Future of Treatment
December 21, 2020 17:00 - 25 minutes - 17.8 MBJoel T Nowak from Cancer ABCs discusses with Dr. Rana McKay, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California in San Diego, her recently published article that analysizes real world data that demonstrates that Provenge (sipuleucel-T), an immune therapy for castrate resistant metastatic prostate cancer (mCRPC), can reduce the risk of death over and above the newer hormone treatments that have been FDA approved . Dr, McKay evaluated a large medic...
Survival with Provenge - Real World Data Along with a Peak Into the Future of Treatment
December 21, 2020 17:00 - 25 minutes - 17.8 MBJoel T Nowak from Cancer ABCs discusses with Dr. Rana McKay, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California in San Diego, her recently published article that analysizes real world data that demonstrates that Provenge (sipuleucel-T), an immune therapy for castrate resistant metastatic prostate cancer (CRMPC), can reduce the risk of death over and above the newer hormone treatments that have been FDA approved . Dr, McKay evaluated a large medic...
Is ADT Hormone Therapy Necessary When You Take Abiraterone Acetate aka Zytiga?
October 15, 2020 21:00 - 6 minutes - 4.78 MBOne of the most common question men with prostate cancer ask us at Cancer ABCs is if they can stop their hormone therapy (ADT) when they go on a second generation hormone treatment like abiraterone (Zytiga). A recent analysis of the SPARE Trial points us in the direction that it might be possible to halt ADT when you are taking Zytiga. SPARE was a small trial which needs to be replicated by a larger trial before we can gain confidence in this conclusion. SPARE did not evaluate what, if a...
Dealing with Salvage Radiation Side Effects for Prostate Cancer- One Mans Extraordinary Journey
July 28, 2020 19:00 - 27 minutes - 18.8 MBMen who have a local prostate cancer recurrence, or their PSA starts increasing, after having prostate cancer surgery (a radical prostatectomy), the treatment of choice is considered salvage radiotherapy (SRT). In the post prostatectomy setting, SRT may impose significant risks and complications. Potential complications or side effects can include incontinence, bladder neck contracture, bladder and bowel symptoms, needing secondary procedures, as well as secondary malignancies. Radiation sh...
Dealing with Salvage Radiation Side Effects for Prostate Cancer- One Mans Extraordinary Journey
July 28, 2020 19:00 - 27 minutes - 18.8 MBMen who have a local prostate cancer recurrence, or their PSA starts increasing, after having prostate cancer surgery (a radical prostatectomy), the treatment of choice is considered salvage radiotherapy (SRT). In the post prostatectomy setting, SRT may impose significant risks and complications. Potential complications or side effects can include incontinence, bladder neck contracture, bladder and bowel symptoms, needing secondary procedures, as well as secondary malignancies. Radiation sh...
Protect Yourself - Know the Limits of the Genetic Privacy Laws
July 15, 2020 18:00 - 5 minutes - 3.89 MBGenetic testing plays a major role in identifying an individual's risk for developing cancer as well as the management of many different cancers, including prostate cancer. It's important that we patients know the limits of a key federal privacy law that is supposed to protect us when we do have a genetic test. In June, 2020, there was a new set of recommendations on the use of genetic testing published by the International Philadelphia Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference that strongly e...
Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials- The Continued Lack of Racial Diversity and the Iron Man Registry's Attempt to Reverse this Trend
July 06, 2020 13:00 - 42 minutes - 29.5 MBWritten Transcript at https://www.cancerabcs.org/transcript-racial-disparities-in-prostate-cancer-clinical-trials Joel T Nowak interviews Emily Rencsok, an MD/PhD student at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. They discuss the findings of a recent publication which she was the first author that analyzed 59 prostate cancer clinical trials based in North America and Europe. Overall, Rencsok and colleagues looked at 72 global phase 3 and 4 prevention, screening, and treatment cli...
Prostate Cancer Treatment in the COVID-19 Era
May 13, 2020 19:00 - 5 minutes - 3.89 MBWritten Transcript at: https://www.cancerabcs.org/transcript-pc-treatment-in-the-covid19-era Joel Nowak discusses how one doctor, Dr. Emmanuel Antonarakis from The Johns Hopkins Hospital has modified his prostate cancer treatments in the era of the coronavirus. Joel shares how Dr. Antonarakis has moved to using telemedicine when possible, the changes he has made for his patients on hormone therapy (ADT), and how he is using chemotherapy differently for those men who need it as well as how...
Understanding the Real Survival Advantages Provided By Provenge (Sipuleucel-T) for Men with Metastatic Prostate Cancer
September 16, 2019 17:00 - 42 minutes - 29.1 MBWritten Transcript at: https://www.cancerabcs.org/transcript-provengesurvivaladvantage Dr. Tim Richardson talks with Joel Nowak talk about the real survival advantages that the immunotherapy known as Provenge (sipuleucel-T) offers to men, especially men who get the therapy while their PSA is low (Schellhammer data) and men with an African-American background. Along the way, they also talk about what is immunotherapy, how it works, how Provenge is actually administered, its side effects a...
Prostate Cancer Surgical Incontinence Solutions
August 30, 2019 21:00 - 13 minutes - 9.34 MBWritten Transcript at: https://www.cancerabcs.org/transcript-urinary-incontinence-post-radical-prostatectomy-solutions Joel Nowak discusses why men who have a radical prostatectomy, or the surgical removal of their prostate gland to treat prostate cancer often suffer urinary incontinence. Urinary incontinence negatively affects a man's quality of life so it is important that men know about their options so they can discuss them with their urologists. Surgically induced urinary incontine...
Using the Oncotype DX Genomic Prostate Score to Decide if You Are A Candidate for Active Surveillance
July 19, 2019 20:00 - 21 minutes - 14.9 MBWritten Transcript at: https://www.cancerabcs.org/transcript-oncotype-prostate-sore-and-active-surveillance Mr. Anson Tharayanil, a Medical Science Liaison from Genomic Health rejoins Joel Nowak from Cancer ABCs to talk about another test for men diagnosed with low or favorable medium risk prostate cancer, the Oncotype DX Genomic Prostate Score. The test should be used along side the traditional measures we use like biopsy Gleason Grade and scans to help a man decide if he is a good candid...
Using The Genomic Health ARV-7 Test When You Are Taking Xtandi, Zytiga or Erleada
July 03, 2019 17:00 - 28 minutes - 19.8 MBWritten Transcript at: https://www.cancerabcs.org/transcript-using-the-genomic-health-arv-7-test-when-you-arev-aking-xtandi-zytiga-or-erleada In this podcast Anson Tharayanil, a Meical Science Liaison from Genomic Health, Inc. talks with Joel Nowak about their test, the Oncotype DX ARV-7 Nucleus Detect Test for men with castrate resistant metastatic prostate cancer. The test is used to determine if the second line hormone therapies like Xtandi, Zytiga and Erleada will be an effective tre...
Learning About Oligometastatic and Metastatic Prostate Cancer and How Cancer Metastasizes
May 23, 2019 16:00 - 40 minutes - 18.6 MBDr. Ken Pienta from The Johns Hopkins Hospital explains all about metastatic prostate Written Transcript at: https://www.cancerabcs.org/transcript-dr-ken-pienta-discusses-what-is-metastatic-prostate-cancercancer and how it spreads or metastasizes. He Includes in his discussion how prostate cancer is staged, how cancer migrates from the prostate gland to distant sites that can then develop into tumors. In this discussion He clarifies the difference between local invasion and metastatic d...
Learning About Oligometastatic and Metastatic Prostate Cancer and How Cancer Metastasizes
May 23, 2019 16:00 - 40 minutes - 18.6 MBDr. Ken Pienta from The Johns Hopkins Hospital explains all about metastatic prostate Written Transcript at: https://www.cancerabcs.org/transcript-dr-ken-pienta-discusses-what-is-metastatic-prostate-cancercancer and how it spreads or metastasizes. He Includes in his discussion how prostate cancer is staged, how cancer migrates from the prostate gland to distant sites that can then develop into tumors. In this discussion He clarifies the difference between local invasion and metastatic d...
Mark Hall's Metastatic Prostate Cancer Journey with Dr. Snuffy Meyers and Provenge (sipuleucel-T)
May 16, 2019 16:00 - 30 minutes - 14.2 MBWritten Transcript at: https://www.cancerabcs.org/transcript Mark Hall was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer with a PSA of 4,400 and a Gleason Score of 8. Despite these terrible numbers he has been thriving the last four years with an undetectable PSA and a fantastic quality of life! Mark shares his journey, where under the guidance of Dr. Charles (Snuffy) Meyers he went through a heavy regime of hormone therapy treatments as well as the immunotherapy Provenge (sipuleucel-T). M...
How To Help A Person Diagnosed With Cancer
March 31, 2019 04:00 - 9 minutes - 4.38 MBHearing that someone you know or a loved one has been diagnosed with cancer is often scary. Not only are you concerned about their health, but many of us are not sure how to speak with them or offer them help. We want to reach out to them, but we don't know if we should talk about their cancer. We also don't know how we can help them. Joel T. Nowak, a five time Cancer Thriver offers some insights into how you can know how to talk to someone with cancer as well as how you can provide...
Remediating Hormone Therapy (ADT) Side Effects for Men with Prostate Cancer
March 13, 2019 04:00 - 42 minutes - 19.7 MBJoel T Nowak from Cancer ABCs along with oncology nurse Fran Fanning (co-owner of Heavenly Hash) participated in a prostate cancer patient conference sponsored by Prostate Cancer International. The conference was held in Ft. Meyers Florida in March of 2019. They offered a live presentation that described how hormone therapy worked, how it is achieved, its side effects as well as some "grassroots" methods used by men to control the side effects caused by ADT (hormone therapy). Fran's prese...
Being Diagnosed and Living with Male Breast Cancer - Michael Singer Shares His Story
August 10, 2018 04:00 - 1 hour - 29.2 MBJoel Nowak from Cancer ABCs interviews Michael Singer, a male breast cancer thriver. Michael, diagnosed at age 50, shares his journey and his advocacy as a man with breast cancer. Three years before learning that he had breast cancer his sister, with whom he lived, was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. She succumbed to the disease one year after receiving the diagnosis. So, when Michael learned about his diagnosis, he assumed that he too would live for only one year. Like many othe...
The Angiosarcoma Project
June 28, 2018 04:00 - 36 minutes - 16.6 MBJoel Nowak talks with Dr. Corrie Painter. who is an eight-year Cancer Thriver with Angiosarcoma, a very rare and lethal cancer of the interior of the blood vessels. Dr. Painter is a researcher with the Broad Institute of MIT and Dana Farber. She is instrumental in designing and executing the Broad’s research project, The Angiosarcoma Project as well as their Metastatic Breast and Metastatic Prostate Cancer Projects. Dr. Painter shares her heart wrenching story of being diagnosed with Ang...
The Angiosarcoma Project
June 28, 2018 04:00 - 36 minutes - 16.6 MBJoel Nowak talks with Dr. Corrie Painter. who is an eight-year Cancer Thriver with Angiosarcoma, a very rare and lethal cancer of the interior of the blood vessels. Dr. Painter is a researcher with the Broad Institute of MIT and Dana Farber. She is instrumental in designing and executing the Broad’s research project, The Angiosarcoma Project as well as their Metastatic Breast and Metastatic Prostate Cancer Projects. Dr. Painter shares her heart wrenching story of being diagnosed with Ang...
How a Drug Gets Developed and Tested
June 28, 2018 04:00 - 30 minutes - 13.9 MBJoel T Nowak interviews Dr. Maryanne Sadar, who has developed a novel drug target, an investigational treatment, that is a first in class hormone therapy operating on the N Terminal Domain of the androgen receptor. The investigational treatment, Epi-506, is being tested on men with advanced, metastatic prostate cancer. Dr. Sadar describes how the drug target was first identified then how it was tested in cell lines, then animals and now in humans. She also describes the process of having t...
How a Drug Gets Developed and Tested
June 28, 2018 04:00 - 30 minutes - 13.9 MBJoel T Nowak interviews Dr. Maryanne Sadar, who has developed a novel drug target, an investigational treatment, that is a first in class hormone therapy operating on the N Terminal Domain of the androgen receptor. The investigational treatment, Epi-506, is being tested on men with advanced, metastatic prostate cancer. Dr. Sadar describes how the drug target was first identified then how it was tested in cell lines, then animals and now in humans. She also describes the process of having t...
The Metastatic Prostate Cancer Project
June 27, 2018 04:00 - 26 minutes - 12 MBJoel Nowak interviews Dr. Eli Van Allen, a medical oncologist specializing in prostate cancer, from the Broad Institute, an MIT and Dana Farber collaboration and the Dana Farber Hospital about the Metastatic Prostate Cancer Project. The project is a research project created jointly with patients that are reaching out to men with metastatic prostate cancer and asking them to allow the Broad to have access to samples of blood, saliva, tissue (if there is any) and their medical records. Th...