176: Mike Fitzpatrick survived pancreatic cancer | whipple procedure | nanoknife | lanreotide | cancer cachexia
Release Date: 05/30/2026
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_outlineMike Fitzpatrick was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 1999. That he is still with us in and of itself is amazing; what is even more incredible is that he later learned he had been walking around with symptoms of the disease since 1986! When he initially reported the symptoms to doctors, they performed some tests and claimed at worst he had a twisted bowel. Mike went to a different doctor who ran an MRI and a CT scan and told Mike he had pancreatic cancer. After discussing the diagnosis with his wife, they decided to be proactive and opted for a Whipple Procedure, a complex, 13-hour procedure that got rid of hundreds of tiny tumors on his pancreas. However, in 2018, more tumors were back. They were removed with a nanoknife procedure, but Mike was told for the rest of his life he would have to take lanreotide, a monthly injection to keep the tumors at bay.
His health seemed to be just fine until 1986, when Mike experienced pain shooting through his abdomen and back. He found himself with severe diarrhea and sustained vomiting for twenty minutes at a time. Mike sought medical attention. Despite doctors running various tests, they said there was nothing wrong with him that indicated cancer, and that the worst possible scenario was twisted bowel.
In 1999, Mike went to another doctor who performed a CT scan and an MRI. Shortly thereafter, he and his wife were called to the doctor’s office where they were told Mike had pancreatic cancer. The doctor urged Mike to undergo a Whipple Procedure to get rid of hundreds of small tumors on his pancreas. When he asked the doctor of the consequences should Mike pass on the Whipple Procedure, Mike was told the consequences could be sudden death because the tumors could “explode.” Mike and his wife chose to go ahead with the Whipple Procedure.
It was a 13-hour surgery. Mike had his gall bladder, bile duct and part of his pancreas removed. Then the bile duct was re-attached to his small intestine so that he could eat and digest food. Mike said his recovery from the procedure took close to one year, but the tumors were gone.
All seemed well for Mike until 2018 when two tumors were detected. This time he underwent a nanoknife procedure. He was told the tumors were gone, but in 2024, they reappeared. His doctor told him that for the rest of his life, Mike would have to get a monthly injection of lanreotide, aimed at keeping the tumors from spreading.
Mike Fitzpatrick is glad to be alive, but suffers from neuropathy, which results in chronic fatigue and a loss of balance.
Additional Resources:
The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network: https://www.pancan.org
The Cancer Support Studio: https://www.cancersupportstudio.com
The One Cancer Place Institute: https://www.onecancerplace.org
Mike's Blog: 50 for Fitz, available on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram