Life (After Cancer‪)‬ Jenna Schnuer

After a long (long) delay, Life (After Cancer) is back. Today I talk about the reasons for the long silence (hello mental health!) and, oof, the impact of COVID-19 on my cancer survivor brain. 

On this episode, Jenna talks to Stacie Chevrier, who has been dealing with (and this is putting it very midly) a really s****y kind of cancer: neuroendocrine tumors (aka carcinoid tumors). Basically, there's no cure. There can be long periods of hanging out with NED (no evidence of disease) but the damn stuff usually comes back. Stacie, a Nashville-based freelance writer, has taken long walks (500 mile long) and gone upside-down over yoga since her diagnosis. (She also lost her beloved dog while dealing with all this crapola, but there's good news via Twitter--there's a new puppy in her life.)   
As of this episode, Life (After Cancer) is expanding. From here on in, anybody dealing with cancer should consider Life (After Cancer) their hangout. This isn't just about survivorship. It's about all of it--from the day of diagnosis onward. Got chronic cancer? We're here for you. Though cancer is really a million different diseases, there's no reason we shouldn't all hang out together. We all need to hang with people who get what we're going through, right? So, there you have it. 
 
Show notes:
Read Stacie Chevrier's blog.
Follow Stacie on Twitter.
For more information about neuroendecrine tumor, visit... 
Neuroendecrine Tumor Research Foundation
The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation
 
Want more time with me? I know! Who wouldn't? Chat me up on Twitter at @AfterCancerPod. Or join the Life (After Cancer) Facebook group.
 
Want to suggest--or volunteer--to be a guest on a future episode? Or just send questions or comments or ideas for future shows? Send me an email at jenna@life-aftercancer.com.
 
Episode music: Retrosoul by Bensound.
 

On this episode, Jenna of the Boob Cancer talks to John Taylor of the Ball Cancer (it's like a post-cancer Game of Thrones episode) about the one thing you really don't want your doctor to say when she's looking at your nuts, mental health issues, going back to school when you still have chemo brain, online support groups, marriage, children, scanxiety, and much more. Oh, and talking to your mom about your nuts. Yeah, things get real really fast when you're diagnosed with testicular cancer at age 29.  
 
Oh, first, a warm fuzzy moment: this episode's guest makes one thing very clear--no matter how the world is making you feel, there are a lot of good people out there. Johnny T is one of the most open and generous with his story people I've come across. He's also generous with his time, offering other cancer survivors and patients, and people grappling with mental health issues a word or 2,000 of support when they reach out on Twitter. In 25 years as a writer, I have interviewed a lot of people. I am frequently very grateful that regular people are willing to trust their words and stories with me. This interview with Johnny T just grabbed a spot high on that list of "damn, I am very lucky I got to talk to that one." 
 
Show notes: 
 
Enjoy your time with Johnny T? Go hang out with him on Twitter. Or on his blog, This is Johnny T.
 
For more information about testicular cancer, visit the Testicular Cancer Foundation website. And parents! Talk to your boys about their nuts. Testicular cancer most often rears its ugly little cells between the ages of 15 and 34. Encourage boys to know their nuts. Seriously. Stop blushing. Have the talk.
 
Want more time with me? I know! Who wouldn't? Chat me up on Twitter at @AfterCancerPod. Or join the Life (After Cancer) Facebook group.
 
Want to suggest--or volunteer--to be a guest on a future episode? Or just send questions or comments or ideas for future shows? Send me an email at jenna@life-aftercancer.com.
 
Episode music: Retrosoul by Bensound and Pat Dog by Blue Dot Sessions.

An interview with Carey Carpenter, who had a three-year-old and a 15-month-old when she was diagnosed with cancer. Jenna talks to Carey, the founder of the Anchorage Young Cancer Coalition (aka Cancer Club), about parenting during and after cancer, the how-tos (and why) of setting up your own cancer club, doing good things for other people, changing priorities, and much more. Fun fact about Carey's cancer: her baby found the lump (the little life saver)!
 
Episode music: Retrosoul by Bensound and Pat Dog by Blue Dot Sessions.
 

Jenna talks to writer Nicole Stellon O'Donnell, whose daughter was diagnosed with cancer at 8 years old, about parenting during and after cancer. The conversation wanders across plenty of territory, from being the anti-helicopter parent, the fetishization of cancer in society, being your child's "chemo butler," and, of course, dogs (in this case, a corgi). And the episode isn't just for cancer kid's caregivers, there's plenty to think about whether you're a parent or other kid-adjacent or cancer-adjacent person, a cancer patient, survivor, cancer civilan, caregiver, or friend. Or if you just want to listen in as two women talk about some of the big stuff--and tumble around (and laugh about) some of the odd and hard things people go through. 
 

Jenna talks to writer Ruth Pennebaker, who was diagnosed with cancer 22 years ago. The two met a decade or so ago in NYC. At the time, of course, Jenna had no idea that they would, one day, have cancer in common. Ruth talks about the ways survivorship changes over time, whether cancer changes you forever, the good and incredibly bad of counting other survivors as some of your closest friends, and badass survivor behavior.
 
But, first, a mild warning: there's a clicking noise on the tape. It's not super loud but it's there. I'm still working on getting rid of it and will upload a new version of the recording if I figure out the how-tos of de-clicking. Sorry about that. A mild slide down the learning curve of podcasting. Sigh. (Technology!)
 
Episode music: Please Listen Carefully by Jahzzar