166: Beth Lehman survived liver cancer | cirrhosis | heptacellular carcinoma | y-90 | hepatic encephalopathy | ascites
Release Date: 02/20/2026
172: Cindy Koerner survived breast cancer | epirubicin | zoladex | cyclophosphamide | estradiol
Cancer Interviews
In 2018, for Cindy Koerner, pain in her right breast led to a diagnosis of Stage 3A breast cancer. She was put on a three-pronged, high-dosage chemotherapy regimen of epirubicin, nab-paclitataxel and cyclophosphamide. The cyclophosphamide compromised her immune system, resulting in fatigue and fever. The chemo regimen shut down her ovaries, but when they became active about a year later, Cindy was told if they remained active, the possibility of a relapse would increase, so she opted to have them removed. These days, Cindy believes her health is at approximately 80...
info_outline
171: Hope Nightingale survived osteosarcoma | neoadjuvant chemotherapy | cisplatin | doxorubicin
Cancer Interviews
At age four, Hope Nightingale complained of severe pain in her legs. At first, her parents thought she was just being a hypochondriac. That changed when she fell off her scooter and broke the distal femur in her left leg. The following year, 2011, this led to a diagnosis of Stage II osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. After a regimen of neoadjuvant chemotherapy featuring cisplatin and doxorubicin, Hope underwent a surgical procedure, a vascularized fibula transplant. Her left femur was removed, and her right fibula was inserted in its place. Confined to a...
info_outline
170: Jess survived myxopapillary ependymoma | pregabalin | duloxetine | spinal cord stimulator | lower lumbar
Cancer Interviews
When Jess began to feel pain in her right leg in 2020, she thought it was sciatica. When extreme pain radiated to her lower back, a physical therapist thought she had a bulging disc. However, her condition worsened, she went in for an MRI, and it revealed a tumor originally thought to be on her spinal cord. Further tests indicated the tumor was inside her spinal cord and a diagnosis of myxopapillary ependymoma, a rare cancer. The tumor was surgically removed, but her post-treatment life was very difficult. There were prolonged instances in which she could not move...
info_outline
169: Adam Deans survived osteosarcoma | bone cancer | distal femur | prosthetic leg
Cancer Interviews
Adam Deans was an athletic teenager and had aspirations of becoming a professional athlete. However, all that changed when he fell down a flight of stairs at school. At first, doctors thought Adam had dislocated his left knee, but upon getting further medical attention, tests showed he had cancer, known as osteosarcoma in his distal femur. Doctors recommended chemotherapy, but when that was ineffective, the leg was amputated in 2005. In 2008, a friend introduced Adam to wheelchair basketball. Still with his athletic prowess, he learned the sport quickly and became...
info_outline
168: Kevin Donaghy twice survived skin cancer | immunotherapy | pembroluzimab | metastatic melanoma
Cancer Interviews
What began as a harmless looking spot on Kevin Donaghy’s forearm turned into a pair of diagnoses of skin cancer. The first was Stage II in 2018, but 18 months later, it returned and was diagnosed Stage IV metastatic melanoma BRAF+. The urologist said Kevin, an IT specialist from Melrose, Scotland, may have six months to live unless he underwent a newly-approved immunotherapy known as pembroluzimab. That was in 2020, and Kevin is still with us. The immunotherapy triggered a bout of ulcerative colitis, which left him bedridden for six months, but Kevin says his health...
info_outline
167: Bob Schreiber survived bladder cancer | Cystoscopy | BCG | Ileal Conduit | Replacement Bladder | Neobladder
Cancer Interviews
Blood detected in Bob Schreiber’s urine led to a diagnosis of Stage IV bladder cancer. This came after a cystoscopy, in which a tube is inserted into his urethra, taking a picture of the bladder. Twice without success, Bob hoped BCG treatment would address the cancer by instilling a set of chemicals inside the bladder to strengthen the immune system. As a result, he had to get his bladder removed. It was replaced with a neobladder, which was made from his small intestine. His recovery took close to a year, he has to deal with incontinence at night, but would his...
info_outline
166: Beth Lehman survived liver cancer | cirrhosis | heptacellular carcinoma | y-90 | hepatic encephalopathy | ascites
Cancer Interviews
Beth Lehman went through a tumultuous year in 2020. Thanks to heavy drinking, she was diagnosed with cirrhosis, then basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, followed by hepatocellular carcinoma, a form of liver cancer. She underwent radioactive embolization in order to get a liver transplant. Beth said the two-hour operation wasn’t so tough, but the after-effects were difficult, including nausea and vomiting. Then she experienced a procedure to get rid of the skin cancer on her right temple. She says between her physical and emotional recovery, she...
info_outline
165: Athena Porter survived cervical cancer | radical hysterectomy | endocervical adenocarcinoma | HPV+
Cancer Interviews
After close to a decade of abnormal pap smears, a Cone Biopsy indicated Athena Porter had cervical cancer. To make sure her diagnosis of endocervical adenocarcinoma didn’t spread, she opted for a radical hysterectomy. With the procedure, her cervix was not the only vital organ removed. A wife and mother to two daughters, Athena feels blessed that she can return to work on her Iowa farm. In 2012, she went in for an annual wellness exam. A pap smear indicated she was HPV+. Her doctor told Athena a worst-case scenario was cancer, but the virus would...
info_outline
164: Joshua Silva survived clear cell renal cell carcinoma | partial nephrectomy | appendectomy | kidney cancer
Cancer Interviews
Joshua Silva did not take lower back pains and gastrointestinal issues seriously until they worsened, forcing him to visit an emergency room. A CT scan revealed inflammation of his appendix, necessitating an appendectomy. A urologist said the scan also showed a problem in his left kidney, later diagnosed as clear cell renal cell carcinoma, a type of kidney cancer. Joshua underwent a partial nephrectomy knowing before the procedure he may lose the kidney. When he regained consciousness after the procedure, a nurse told him the kidney was spared. Post-treatment...
info_outline
163: Tessa Parry-Wingfield survived Ocular Melanoma | Eye Enucleation | Uveal Melanoma | Monocular Vision
Cancer Interviews
While jogging in 2023, Tessa Parry-Wingfield felt an unusual sensation in her left eye. It wasn’t painful but merited medical attention. She was seen by three doctors before learning she had ocular melanoma, a form of eye cancer. Because of the particulars of her diagnosis, she had to undergo an enucleation, the removal of her cancerous eye. With an acrylic implant taking the place of the cancerous eye, Tessa had an enormous amount of learning ahead of her, most notably what is known as monocular vision. Amazingly, Tessa has adjusted to...
info_outlineBeth Lehman went through a tumultuous year in 2020. Thanks to heavy drinking, she was diagnosed with cirrhosis, then basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, followed by hepatocellular carcinoma, a form of liver cancer. She underwent radioactive embolization in order to get a liver transplant. Beth said the two-hour operation wasn’t so tough, but the after-effects were difficult, including nausea and vomiting. Then she experienced a procedure to get rid of the skin cancer on her right temple. She says between her physical and emotional recovery, she advocates for cancer patients and is happier than ever.
Beth’s alcohol consumption had soared to four or five bottles of wine a day. In 2020, she began to have a buildup of fluid in her stomach, known as ascites. For a long time, she avoided consulting a doctor, suspecting a doctor would tell her to quit drinking; but when ascites asserted itself, she sought medical attention. She was diagnosed with cirrhosis. Upon further examination, five tumors were discovered in her liver, which led to a diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma, a form of liver cancer.
This diagnosis came after another diagnosis of basal cell carcinoma, but the skin cancer had to take back seat to the liver cancer.
Beth said her care team first had to determine whether the cancer had spread beyond her liver. Thankfully, it hadn’t. In order to complete a liver transplant, doctors wanted to execute radioactive embolization, in which radiation beads would be injected into her arteries through her wrist or groin and targeted at the tumors. However, for that to happen, the tumors had to be 2cm, but her largest tumor was 1.87cm. Incredibly, Beth’s care team told her to go home and let the tumors grow so they would be large enough for it to go through with the radioactive embolization.
Once the tumors grew, Beth went through the procedure, also known as Y-90. She had to go through the procedure a second time. Usually, a second procedure comes eight to twelve weeks after the first procedure. Beth’s second procedure came just four weeks later. She said she was awake during each procedure, each lasted about two hours, but the toughest part was post-treatment, as she had a great amount of radiation in her body, so much that upon returning home, she had to be sequestered from her husband and her pet cats.
Once she recovered from her liver transplant, she had her skin cancer treated. She said her doctors had to go seven layers deep to get all the cancer, but they did such an outstanding job that her incision is not visible.
Beth Lehman once had a lucrative IT position, but these days she works as an advocate for cancer patients, especially liver cancer patients and says she is happier than ever.
Additional Resources:
Support Groups:
The American Liver Foundation https://www.liverfoundation.org
Beth's Nonprofit, The Liver Circle https://www.thelivercircle.org
Beth’s Personal Page with Her Story: https://www.bethlehmanliver.com