Libsyn Directory

170: Jess survived myxopapillary ependymoma | pregabalin | duloxetine | spinal cord stimulator | lower lumbar

Release Date: 03/24/2026

189: Steve Harrision survived lung cancer | carboplatin | pleural fusion | pemetrexed | bronchoscopy

Cancer Interviews

When Steve Harrison experienced fatigue, back soreness and shoulder pain in 2024, he attributed it to his “getting old.” He was in his early fifties. But when he began to have difficulty breathing, he sought medical attention. Because Steve also had asthma, his doctor had COPD, she prescribed an inhaler. That did little to no good. He saw another doctor who ran a variety of tests, which found pleural fusion. After a bronchoscopy and a biopsy, he was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. In addition to chemotherapy, the oncologist prescribed a TKI...

188: Stuart Hopgood survived prostate cancer | needle-point biopsy |Trelstar | Erieada | TURP Surgery

Cancer Interviews

Prior to his 2025 prostate cancer diagnosis, Stuart Hopgood experienced no symptoms. But a visit to his general practitioner included blood work, which revealed a PSA of 74.2! Stuart was referred to a urologist, who called for a needle-point biopsy. The biopsy not only showed Stuart that he had Stage IV prostate cancer, but that it had metastasized to his pelvic area, a rib and his clavicle. He put on Trelstar, a form of hormonal therapy, six weeks of radiation therapy and Erieada, a form of oral chemotherapy. While Stuart will never be cured, this regimen...

Cancer Interviews

In 2015, Andrew Allers was hit and fell while competing in a soccer match. He immediately sought medical attention. and a CT scan revealed a baseball-sized tumor on one of his kidneys, which led to a diagnosis of Stage III renal cell carcinoma, or, kidney cancer. A radical open-assisted nephrectomy removed the entire cancerous kidney. Andrew thought he was in the clear, but in 2019, he was diagnosed with Stage IV kidney cancer. Not only that, but the cancer had spread to his bones and his brain. However, all of the above was successfully treated with an...

186: Dominique Bieger survived breast cancer | letrozole | aromatase inhibitor | sentinel node | necrosis

Cancer Interviews

In 2024, Dominique Bieger knew something was wrong when she felt a tickling, biting sensation in her left breast. After a series of mammograms, an echogram, an ultrasound and a vacuum assisted biopsy, she learned she had invasive ductal carcinoma, or breast cancer. She would have to get a quadrant of the cancerous breast surgically removed. Dominique was happy to learn she could avoid chemotherapy, instead for hormonal treatment, featuring letrozole, an aromatase inhibitor. The letrozole left her hands, her feet and joints in severe pain. She went off the...

Cancer Interviews

For David Peters, what began as medical attention to address an enlarged prostate in 2022 became a diagnosis of Stage 4B prostate cancer. Prior to his undergoing a Rezum procedure, a pre-op workup a PSA level of 19. However, nobody at the hospital bothered to check the PSA level before performing the procedure, which placed David at great risk. Not long after that came his diagnosis. David’s care team recommended lifelong androgen deprivation therapy. He checked out the side effects and didn’t want to go that route. David instead opted for a three-week...

184: Tina Calderone-Roth survived ovarian cancer | bilateral oophorectomy | avastin | ascites | lynparza

Cancer Interviews

In May 2022, Tina Calderone-Roth felt terrible. She was experiencing fatigue, shortness of breath and nausea. She also gained close to 15 pounds in three days. Nurses she knew suggested she go to the emergency department. Two paracentesis procedures resulted in the removal of 6.5 liters of fluid. Doctors initially noticed a large abdominal mass, but further tests indicated ovarian masses of 7cm and 10cm. Tests also showed Tina had the BRCA-2 gene mutation. She opted to, all at once, undergo a hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy. A week after the...

183: Bethany Smith has survived lymphoma and thyroid cancer | bleomycin | vinblastine | levothyroxine

Cancer Interviews

Bethany Smith is a fighter. Almost immediately after surviving Hodgkin lymphoma, she was diagnosed with metastatic follicular thyroid cancer. In addition to having her thyroid removed, she also underwent total hip replacement. All this while raising three small children. Treatment of her lymphoma included a chemotherapy regimen of adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine and dacarbzin. Her treatment for thyroid cancer featured radioactive iodine. Bethany credits oxygen therapy for helping her to become free of thyroid cancer and these maintains her health with...

Cancer Interviews

It wasn’t easy, but Thomas Goode managed to survive Stage III multiple myeloma, a rare form of blood cancer that originates in bone marrow. When he first experienced pain in his left shoulder, it was misdiagnosed as bursitis. Then he underwent a stem cell transplant no less than three times, with his oldest brother donating the bone marrow for the final two procedures. Thomas has achieved Minimal Residual Disease status and says his physical health is roughly 70 percent of what it was, pre-diagnosis. In 2005, Thomas Goode was leading an active lifestyle. It...

181: Keri Darling survived follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma | bendamustine | rituximab | immunotherapy

Cancer Interviews

In March 2025, Keri Darling fell out of bed and hit her head. A trip to the doctor revealed a large mass on her pancreas. After a series of scans, Keri received a phone call at work from a nurse who told her she had cancer; not cancer of the pancreas, but a type of blood cancer, Stage IV follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma. She was put on a regimen of chemotherapy, bendamustine, followed by immunotherapy, rituximab. Keri has achieved survivorship, but each day deals with severe fatigue, which she believes is tied to her chemo regimen. She still goes in for bimonthly...

180: Alan Morton, Prostate Cancer Endurant - Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Cancer Interviews

Alan Morton experienced symptoms associated with prostate cancer, but it was some time before he sought medical attention. Dating back to his teens, he had had a subpar urine flow, but in his sixties, he began to see blood in his urine. He thought it might be a urinary tract infection, but when nothing had changed six months later, he contacted his doctor. After various scans, a digital rectal exam and a biopsy, Alan was told he had Stage 3B prostate cancer. It was later determined the cancer had metastasized to his pelvic and was re-diagnosed as Stage 4...

More Episodes

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 her legs, which brought her to tears not only from the pain, but the chilling thought of the rest of her being spent in bed or on the couch. Jess went through all sorts of medications from morphine to medical marijuana, but medical savior was a spinal cord stimulator. It has enabled her to maximize her movements with little or no pain.

In 2020, Jess led an active lifestyle. It included soccer and other activities with two young sons. But she started experiencing pain in her right leg. She thought it was sciatica but believed it would go away. When it didn’t, and pain radiated to her lower back, she saw a physical therapist, who thought Jess had a bulging disc. One night at home, Jess fell and said one of her sons looked her in the eye and told her she needed to see a doctor.

Jess underwent an MRI. It indicated she had a tumor on or near her spinal cord. Doctors were initially baffled because they could not pinpoint the tumor’s location, but additional tests showed the tumor was inside her spinal cord. A surgical procedure to remove the tumor was completed successfully. It was after the procedure when Jess was regaining consciousness in her hospital that she was informed she had Stage II myxopapillary ependymoma, a rare cancer. Ten days after surgery, Jess underwent a spinal tap at the location of the tumor to determine whether any tumor cells had been left behind. Thankfully, the results were clear and have remained clear ever since.

However, many challenges awaited Jess. There were instances in which she was immobilized, having to remain in bed. She felt pain from head to toe. Certain fabrics rubbing against caused pain. As did extreme temperatures or the wind. She was prescribed opioids, which she said did nothing to alleviate the pain. She was given morphine. Eventually doctors prescribed pregabalin and duloxetine, medications which were able to reduce the pain. Jess also tried medical marijuana, which reduced the pain.

The biggest development in her recovery was her working with a specialist in New Hampshire who performs spinal cord stimulator procedures. Jess completed a trial with a stimulator and when using it, much of her pain was gone and she regained much of her mobility.

Jess says her spinal cord will never be the same and neither will she, but she is grateful for the mobility she has. She adds that since October 2025, she has been sober from alcohol and cannabis.

Additional Resources:

Support Groups:

The CERN Foundation: https://www.cern-foundation.org

walk.talk.connect: https://walktalkconnect.org

Book:

ReConnected: Stories from Spinal Cord Tumor & Dawn Standera, available on Amazon

https://www.youtube.com/@reconnected-SCTtumorstories

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