DESCRIPTION DESCRIPTION On this episode of the @CancerInterviews podcast, prior to his death in 2026, Mark Kageyama told host Bruce Morton about his surviving three cancers.  A diagnosis of prostate cancer became metastatic prostate cancer when it was learned his cancer spread to his lungs and bones.  To fight the cancer, Mark had to experience an aggressive chemotherapy, with the medication, taxotere.   Mark Kageyama of Granada Hills, California was in his mid-sixties in Oct

DESCRIPTION   Note: Erin Cummings passed away in 2026.   Erin Cummings was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 1972.  At age 15, she noticed a lump on her throat and another on her chest.  That led to a diagnosis of Stage 3B Hodgkin lymphoma.  She was shocked at her diagnosis but initially had trouble putting into perspective just what she was up against because she cancer was something suffered by old people.  Even though she achieved survivorship, she still deals with residu

DESCRIPTION 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 smal

DESCRIPTION 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

DESCRIPTION Athena Porter Description   KEYWORDS WITH SPACES:   cervical cancer, athena porter, endocervical adenocarcinoma, colposcopy, LEEP procedure, radical hysterectomy, pap smear, HPV+   TITLE:   Athena Porter survived cervical cancer | radical hysterectomy | endocervical adenocarcinoma | HPV+   DESCRIPTION:   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 adenocarcin

DESCRIPTION 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, mo

DESCRIPTION For Bhavika Taunk, life took a radical turn in 2017 when her four-year-old son, Kabir, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.  After a bone marrow transplant, he went on an aggressive chemotherapy regimen for two years.  Kabir relapsed twice, but has been in remission since 2020.  Bhavika tells the story of how she cared for her son and how she reaches out to other parents of children diagnosed with cancer.   Bhavika, her husband and two young sons retur

DESCRIPTION In 2021, Brian Vesall noticed some pain in one of his testicles when getting in his car.  He sought medical attention, which led to his getting an ultrasound.  After briefly looking at the scan, a urologist confirmed to Brian that he had Stage 2A testicular cancer.  He underwent an orchiectomy to remove the cancerous testicle, followed by an aggressive chemotherapy regimen of bleomycin, etopiside and cisplatin.  But he wasn’t done.  Brian also underwent an additio

DESCRIPTION Marcel D'Allende was in outstanding health, an avid hiker in the mountains overlooking her hometown of Cape Town, South Africa.  However, in October 2021, she began to experience shortness of breath and extreme fatigue.  That led to a diagnosis of Stage IV non-small cell adenocarcinoma, or lung cancer.  Determined not to let cancer define her, she underwent a treatment regimen of radiotherapy, then chemotherapy with carboplatin and pemetrexed, and immunotherapy wi

DESCRIPTION   In November 2019, Margo Wickersham noticed blood in her urine.  Three months later, she was diagnosed with two types of bladder cancer.  After an aggressive chemotherapy regimen, she underwent a radical cystectomy and a hysterectomy in June 2020, resulting in the removal of her bladder, uterus and cervix, all this during the quarantine phase of the COVID pandemic.   Ever since, Margo has been cancer-free, but she had to get fitted with a stoma bag and had to le

DESCRIPTION When she began experiencing severe bruising and fatigue and turning pale in late 2013, Casey Kang sought medical attention.  This led to a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.  She was placed on an aggressive, 18-month chemotherapy regimen, which included doxorubicin and methotrexate.  Casey relapsed three times during which she was placed on an experimental immunotherapy.  All told, she spent 168 days in a hospital, but Casey achieved survivorship.  She is

DESCRIPTION Stacy Martin says genetic testing saved her life.   The testing indicated she had the CDH1 mutation.  The mutation gave her an 80 percent chance of getting gastric cancer and a 60 percent chance of breast cancer.  She opted for a prophylactic total gastrectomy to remove her stomach and addressed the possibility of breast cancer with a bilateral mastectomy.  Without a stomach, Stacy has had to change the way she eats, requiring food every two hours, and having to c

DESCRIPTION In 2019, Jonathan Gegerson sought medical attention went he felt a lump on the right side of his neck.  After a couple of scans and a biopsy, he was diagnosed with salivary duct carcinoma, a rare form of head and neck cancer.  Jonathan survived, but not before enduring 67 sessions of radiation, 12 cycles of chemotherapy (carboplatin, taxol, herceptin) and seven surgeries.  He still undergoes a targeted therapy on a monthly basis, and the surgery has affected his s

DESCRIPTION   It took two chemotherapy regimens, but Luke Mutter survived a rare form of bile duct cancer.  A CT scan found a 14cm tumor...

DESCRIPTION Are you or a loved one navigating cancer treatment or survivorship? Discover how exercise oncology—a powerful, evidence-based...

DESCRIPTION For Stewart Greenfield, the third time was the charm.  After checking pictures of his bladder in 2016, two doctors told him...

DESCRIPTION Noelle Gatlin had to endure a lengthy, multi-step process, but she survived Stage II pancreatic cancer.  A visit to an...

DESCRIPTION Nicole Scott and her husband, Keith, worked at the same Ohio hospital.  When Keith noticed abdominal pain in his left side,...

DESCRIPTION Guy Nakoa has survived two diagnoses of Stage IV breast cancer.  He initially felt a lump in his breast while showering in...

DESCRIPTION Whitney Jones, MD, the founder of the Colon Cancer Prevention Project is a staunch advocate of increased usage of biomarkers...