This podcasts tells the story of two women, both diagnosed with ovarian cancer and who each elected to have preventative mastectomies.

Biological Tragedy

This podcast follows 4 people, each of a different generation and their stories and knowledge of cancer.

GCCC Cancer Podcast

For our podcast, “Diagnosis,” we explored the emotional affects that come along with a cancer diagnosis. In this episode, we learned the story behind Mr. Cooper’s experience being diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a type of cancer that is considered “incurable.” In speaking
with his wife, Linda, and his doctor, we discuss the steps of being diagnosed, what it feels like for a doctor to deliver the news, and how the patient’s family copes. Mr. Cooper’s story not only offers insight to the immense emotional turmoil a cancer diagnosis can bring upon all those involved, but also serves as a story of resilience, strength and the power of family.

Diagnosis - Cancer Podcast (Dom, Anna, Finn & Michael)

Our podcast, The Cancer Chronicles, produced by Petra Hinds, Emma Seitz, and Ellie Patton, explores the different ways that people can support their loved ones during their cancer diagnosis, treatment, and in some cases the end of their lives.  Our podcast follows two stories, one of Petra’s mom and her support of her best friend Margaret, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, and the other follows Emma’s story of supporting her neighbor Carl during his cancer treatment by reading to him.

The Cancer Chronicles: Ellie, Petra & Emma

It’s arguable that the biggest effect of the advances in cancer treatment is the reduction in the social trauma surrounding the patient and their families. Most of the examples in these interviews concern people whose cancer occurred before recent medical revolutions. They are therefore a testimony to the widespread, damaging social effects that cancer had when its conditions were still quite mysterious: you didn’t know how long you might live, what the causes might be. Under these conditions, cancer often appeared as a devastating and arbitrary event. As treatment has improved, we know more about the causes, about specific diagnoses and prognoses, and about productive behaviors to prevent or suppress cancer occurrence or reoccurence. These changes mean better physical outcomes for patients, but they also provide a basis for improved psychological and sociological outcomes. Even as patients can place cancer more realistically and concretely in the context of their past and future lives, so families may be gaining an ability to account for cancer and its effects in ways that neither annul nor block the ongoing patterns of their interlinked lives.

Treatment: Cameron, Shomari, James & Ethan

Our podcast--Cancer: Care, Community, Compassion--discusses the support systems that are necessary to help a patient through his or her cancer experience. We interviewed three people connected to our school community: a high school math teacher whose mother passed away from kidney cancer, a criminal defense lawyer who recovered from liposarcoma, and a high school literature teacher who is in remission from lymphatic cancer. We emphasize the importance of care for the mind. as well as the body, as the first of our interviewees suffered from a lack of mental health treatment. We also discuss the isolating effects of cancer treatment, and how a community of support can have a hugely positive impact on a patient’s cancer experience.

Cancer: Care, Community, Compassion

Our podcast tells the story of one woman, Vikki King, and the effects of having multiple people in her family die of cancer. Vikki, as a registered nurse, can speak thoroughly on the dichotomy of the physical and psychological effects of cancer. In our podcast, we try to explain and create a discussion on both of these sides of cancer, and their many intersections. Vikki shares the effects of cancer that she never would have known about before her family members’ diagnoses, namely how relationships change. As her mother was diagnosed with cancer, Vikki found herself in a unique position with her mother; she was able to help her mother by becoming her “bedside nurse,” but Vikki’s mother also felt comfortable talking to her about the psychological effects and depression that came along with her diagnoses. As Vikki’s mother grew up in a German household that Vikki described as “emotionally repressed,” her mother also had to battle a difference in culture when dealing with the psychological effects of cancer. The physical and emotional sides of cancer intersect with the Breast Cancer (BRCA) genes, which greatly increase one’s chance of developing breast cancer. Getting tested and knowing one’s result is heavy.

Final Podcast (Oliver, Julia, Liya)

This podcast discusses the different experiences of two women who have both dealt with breast cancer in their lives and how the science of breast cancer has and is evolving. We look back to Ancient Greece, Middle Ages in Scotland, and 19th century Europe to see how views on breast cancer and surgical techniques have progressed. Then we go into more modern 20th century science and highlight more advancements. Then we turn to Kathleen, who talks about her experience of her mastectomy, lumpectomy, and chemotherapy. She also mentions how she needed to protect her immune system since her lymph nodes are affected. Then we turn to the more emotional side and look at Jane who talks about the experience of watching her mother endure cancer. Then we close off with what is new in breast cancer testing and treatment.

Cancer! Niamh, Alice, Katie

the Long Goodbye

This podcast discusses environmentally induced cancer, and specifically how cancer can be caused by radiation. Our podcast begins with some background on the Chernobyl disaster. We take a look at how the explosion happened, its effects, and how people reacted. The podcast then transitions to a story from an interview with Ms. Melnyk. Ms. Melnyk discusses her friend who suffered from leukemia as a result of radiation fallout from the Chernobyl disaster, and how the cancer went away after initial treatment only to return some time later and end her life. Our podcast concludes by unpacking how radiation can cause cancer from a scientific perspective. We highlight how radiation can harm our cells through ionized radiation, which causes the breakdown of the DNA in our cells, and through harmful water molecule reconfiguration.

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