146: Guy Nakoa survived Stage IV breast cancer | mastectomy | ibrance | letrozole | radiation treatment
Release Date: 06/07/2025
152: erin bloodworth exercise oncologist | fitness assessment | individualized exercise program | lymphedema | neuropathy
Cancer Interviews
A clinical exercise physiologist by trade, Erin Bloodworth sought a career change and became an exercise oncologist. This enabled her to take her expertise and apply it to helping cancer patients, which she does through Northwestern Medicine Living Well. Erin says whether a patient is going through cancer treatment or is post-treatment, she puts the patient through an individualized exercise program. She assesses the patient's health with tests tied to their ability to grip objects and go from a sitting position to a standing position and...
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151: Stewart Greenfield survived stage IV bladder cancer | cisplatin | gemcidibine | novolumab | immunotherapy
Cancer Interviews
For Stewart Greenfield, the third time was the charm. After checking pictures of his bladder in 2016, two doctors told him he didn’t have long to live; a third doctor told him he had Stage IV metastatic bladder cancer, but insisted he needed to be treated. The cancer had burned a hole in his bladder and attacked lymph nodes from his groin to his neck. Treatment included a chemotherapy cocktail of cisplatin and gemcidibine, plus qualifying for an immunotherapy, novolumab. It was a smashing success. Stewart says his urinary function is normal and he is able to...
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150: Noelle Gatlin survived Stage II pancreatic cancer | Whipple procedure | pancreatic duodenectomy
Cancer Interviews
Noelle Gatlin had to endure a lengthy, multi-step process, but she survived Stage II pancreatic cancer. A visit to an emergency department revealed a mass near her pancreas. She was transferred to a hospital, where a second CT scan resulted in her diagnosis. Her care team placed a duodenal stent in Noelle, then a bile duct stent. She next underwent a 12-infusion chemotherapy regimen with folfirinox. Then she was ready for a Whipple procedure, a pancreatic duodenectomy, which was a success. Noelle says because she took care of herself before,...
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149: Laurie Adami survived follicular non-Hodgkin Lymphoma | Yescarta CAR-T Therapy | Bexxar | Gazvya
Cancer Interviews
Laurie Adami seemed to have it all. She was the president of her company, at age 40, she had just had a son and still found time to lead an active lifestyle. However, in 2003, her health took a turn for the worse. She felt a lump in her abdomen, experienced frequent, lengthy sinus infections and chronic fatigue. All this led to a diagnosis of Stage IV Follicular Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. After six unsuccessful treatment regimens, she achieved complete remission on the seventh try, completing a battle that ran twelve years. When Laurie initially brought her...
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148: Nicole Scott Is A Kidney Cancer Caregiver | Partial Nephrectomy | Caregiver Burnout | Hernia
Cancer Interviews
Nicole Scott and her husband, Keith, worked at the same Ohio hospital. When Keith noticed abdominal pain in his left side, he thought it was muscle-related because of the physical nature of his job. The pain radiated to his groin, then what had been random occurrences of the pain became more frequent. Nicole urged Keith to seek urgent care. An emergency room doctor called for a CT scan, thinking Keith had at worst, a hernia. However, the CT scan revealed a mass on Keith’s kidney. An MRI and partial nephrectomy resulted in a diagnosis of papillary renal...
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147: Helinka Carr survived bowel cancer | ileostomy bag | pelvic radiation disease | colonoscopy
Cancer Interviews
When Helinka Carr experienced limited rectal bleeding, because it was limited, she never thought her problem could rise to the level of cancer. She also thought the bleeding might be diverticulitis, which had been suffered by members of her family. However, at the urging of her doctor, she underwent blood tests and a colonoscopy. The latter revealed that she had bowel cancer. Thanks to two surgical procedures, she achieved survivorship but has to wear an ileostomy bag. She tires easily, but had the energy to start a line of ostomy lingerie for bag-wearing women...
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146: Guy Nakoa survived Stage IV breast cancer | mastectomy | ibrance | letrozole | radiation treatment
Cancer Interviews
Guy Nakoa has survived two diagnoses of Stage IV breast cancer. He initially felt a lump in his breast while showering in 2000. Because it wasn’t causing him and because he didn’t think could not get a type of cancer associated with women, I went more than a decade before he chose to have the lump checked out. In 2014, he sought medical attention, he was diagnosed and in 2016, he had the lump removed; but in 2020, the cancer returned. He was hoping it could be removed with chemotherapy and radiation treatment, but over his initial objection, he...
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145: Sheila Romanski twice survived breast cancer | autologous stem cell transplant | lumpectomy | diep flap
Cancer Interviews
Sheila Romanski is with us today after overcoming two diagnoses of breast cancer and the removal of a tumor in her left shoulder thanks to an autologous stem cell transplant. She tells the @CancerInterviews podcast her initial of Stage 1A breast cancer in 1996 came after her doctor suggested a routine mammogram at age 36 when at the time mammograms were not performed on women that young. Radiation treatment successfully addressed that diagnosis, but the following year, the cancer had metastasized to her shoulder. That brought on the stem cell transplant, plus chemotherapy and...
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144: Daniel Garza, Anal Cancer Survivor – Laguna Beach, California, USA
Cancer Interviews
In 2015, Daniel Garza experienced bloating and difficulty completing a bowel movement. A subsequent digital rectal exam revealed a mass on his sphincter, which led to a diagnosis of anal cancer. A surgical procedure got rid of the cancer, but it also resulted in his losing half of his sphincter and the temporary presence of a fistula, a tear which was like a second anus. He underwent a chemotherapy regimen of 5-fluorouracil, followed by radiation treatment, but another major challenge awaited Daniel, as he had to wear an ostomy bag, which he does to this day. He deals...
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143: Rick Upchurch survived chronic myelogenous leukemia | oral chemotherapy | blood cancer | tasigna | nilotinib
Cancer Interviews
Former NFL star Rick Upchurch seemed to be in good health, but in 2010, he began to experience night sweats, fatigue and aches and pains. He saw his doctor, who ordered blood work. The test results revealed his white blood cell count was very high, and his general practitioner gave him the address of another doctor to see. Rick and his wife were shocked to learn the doctor they had been told to see was an oncologist. That doctor called for a bone marrow biopsy, which confirmed Rick had chronic myelogenous leukemia, a rare form of blood cancer that is tied to a genetic...
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Guy Nakoa has survived two diagnoses of Stage IV breast cancer. He initially felt a lump in his breast while showering in 2000. Because it wasn’t causing him and because he didn’t think could not get a type of cancer associated with women, I went more than a decade before he chose to have the lump checked out. In 2014, he sought medical attention, he was diagnosed and in 2016, he had the lump removed; but in 2020, the cancer returned. He was hoping it could be removed with chemotherapy and radiation treatment, but over his initial objection, he agreed to a mastectomy of his left breast in 2024. For the rest of his life, he will need to be on two medications, ibrance and letrozole. Guy says from time to time he experiences fatigue but is very happy to be alive.
Guy Nakoa is from Wailuku on the island of Maui in Hawaii, but he has worked all over the world as a chef. He was on a job in Alaska in 2000, when while taking a shower, he was shocked to feel a lump in his left breast. Guy didn’t tell anyone about it because it wasn’t causing him any pain, and he felt too embarrassed to admit he may have a type of cancer that is generally associated with women.
He finally decided to have the lump examined in 2014. His doctor didn’t seem to think there was anything cancerous and told Guy not to worry about it. Guy was misdiagnosed and he believes that, like he was, his doctor might have had difficulty connecting the lump with cancer because Guy is male. Guy went to another doctor, and in 2016, he underwent a biopsy, which revealed he had breast cancer.
Guy Nakoa had the lump removed in 2016. He underwent a chemotherapy regimen in 2017 and again in 2018. He says he lost his sense of taste, his anxiety level went “through the roof” and he had a tough time getting to sleep.
The surgery was a success, but in 2020, the cancer returned. Guy wanted to again treat it with chemotherapy and radiation, but his doctor urged him to get the breast removed. Guy eventually relented and the mastectomy took place in 2024.
Guy says these days, he can do just about anything he could do before he first felt the lump, but fatigue sometimes sets in, in a way it didn’t prior to his diagnosis. By way of advice, he is quite adamant that, regardless of what seems irregular, if you notice something, anything abnormal about your health, to immediately seek medical attention.
Additional Resources:
Support Groups:
The Male Breast Cancer Global Alliance https://www.mbcglobalalliance.org
Man Up To Cancer https://www.manuptocancer.org
HIS Breast Cancer Awareness https://www.hisbreastcancer.org