174: John Walker Pattison survived hodgkin lymphoma and bladder cancer | vincristine | prednisolone | mitomycin | cystoscopy
Release Date: 05/12/2026
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...
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185: David Peters survived prostate cancer | rezum procedure | sacrum | colonics | cachexia | metformin
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...
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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...
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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...
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182: Thomas Goode survived multiple myeloma | doxil | plasmacytoma | engraftment | vorinostat | velcade
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...
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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...
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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...
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179: Shannon Miller survived germ cell ovarian cancer | BEP chemotherapy | laparotomy | neuropathy
Cancer Interviews
Shannon Miller won seven Olympic medals as a gymnast in 1992 and 1996. She did so against topflight competition, but years later, she faced a more formidable foe: a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Her tumor was successfully removed through a procedure called a Unilatera Salpingo-Oophorectomy, but two weeks after that, she learned it more malignant than originally thought. Aided by the mental toughness she exhibited as an elite athlete, Shannon went on a grueling, nine-week regimen of BEP chemotherapy and reached survivorship. In 2011, Shannon experienced bloating,...
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178: Dale Atkinson survived Stage IV esophageal cancer | palliative care | endoscopy | CAPOX | cold neuropathy
Cancer Interviews
Dale Atkinson Description In 2024, Dale Atkinson was diagnosed with Stage IV esophageal cancer. His diagnosis preceded by the death of his mother and was preceded by his partner being diagnosed with lung cancer. All this in the space of a few weeks. Dale was active in sports and consumed a healthy diet, but in 2019 began to suffer chronic acid reflux. His symptoms were repeatedly treated as acid reflux, but it wasn’t until 2024 that he underwent an endoscopy, which immediately revealed a tumor and a diagnosis of Stage IV esophageal cancer. ...
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177: Dr. Jessa Landmann provides care for cancer survivors in the post-treatment phase | naturopathy | complimentary therapies
Cancer Interviews
Early in Dr, Jessa Landmann’s medical training, she discovered a need for attention given to those after they had received treatment for cancer. The post-treatment phase can be difficult physically, mentally and emotionally. Nutrition, what survivors eat, how much they eat and when they eat is where she starts in dealing with those going through the multi-layered challenges of post-treatment. Dr. Landmann urges those in the post-treatment phase to be proactive and seek direction from healthcare professionals. Dr. Landmann is by trade a naturopathic...
info_outlineJohn Walker Pattison is still with us despite two protracted battles with cancer. He was diagnosed with Stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma in 1975 and relapsed three times. Then in 2018, he was diagnosed with bladder cancer, a diagnosis after which he relapsed once. After his lymphoma diagnosis, treatment included an aggressive chemotherapy regimen, which included nitrogen mustard, vincristine, procarbazine and prednisolone. John said effects from the chemo hampered his fight with bladder cancer and still affect him today, although his urinary function is just fine.
John was in his late teens when he began to experience fatigue, night sweats, recurring cough and weight loss, among other symptoms. He was doing heavy lifting in the shipbuilding business, had difficulty at work and one day on the job he collapsed. Realizing he needed medical attention, he underwent scans and biopsies, and they led to a diagnosis of Stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma. He was told his chances of recovery were slim.
In May 1975, his care team prescribed a chemotherapy cocktail of nitrogen mustard, prednisolone, procarbazine and vincristine, which only added to a high degree of fear he had for his future.
Things went from bad to worse when he was informed that the chemo regimen didn’t work and he relapsed. In April 1976, he was put on a different regimen with cyclophosphamide taking the place of nitrogen mustard. That, too, was ineffective, resulting in another relapse. In December of that year, his care team tried radiotherapy, again with no success.
In April 1977, John went on a regimen of palliative chemotherapy, with single agent vinblastine. On a subsequent visit, his oncologist raised his arms in triumph and shocked John by telling him he was cancer free.
John Walker Pattison thought cancer was in his rear-view mirror, but in 2018, while traveling by air, he discovered blood in his urine. He was a health care professional and immediately knew something was wrong. Again seeking medical attention, he was diagnosed with Grade II Transitional Cell Bladder Carcinoma. He underwent surgery, followed by bladder installation of mitomycin chemotherapy. That was followed by transurethral laser ablation in 2020. Not long after that procedure, again, John was told he was cancer free.
John Walker Pattison enjoys normal urinary function, but says he will be dealing with the side effects of the chemotherapy and radiotherapy he underwent in the seventies.
That said, John wants to help others diagnosed with cancer. He has written a book, “Shadow of a Survivor,” which he hopes will be a source of hope and inspiration.
Additional Resources:
John’s Book, “Shadow of a Survivor,” available on Amazon
John's Website, https://www.johnpattison.co.uk