Cancer Recovery Is Being Reinvented | The Science of Cancer Rehabilitation - Dr. Jessica Cheng, MD - City Of Hope; Sharyn Araki - Breast Cancer Survivor

Send us Fan Mail We spend billions of dollars developing drugs to fight cancer - but what if one of the most powerful therapies begins before treatment even starts? Today we're exploring the rapidly growing field of cancer rehabilitation and the science showing that exercise, nutrition, and personalized recovery plans can dramatically improve life before, during, and after cancer. Today's first guest is Dr. Jessica Cheng, MD ( https://www.cityofhope.org/patients/find-a-doctor/jessica-cheng ) one of the country's very few fellowship-trained physicians specializing in cancer rehabilitation medicine, and currently the only fellowship-trained cancer rehabilitation specialist serving Orange County at City of Hope. Dr. Cheng is a board-certified physiatrist whose work focuses on helping cancer patients maximize their strength, mobility, independence and quality of life before, during and after treatment. Her approach combines exercise medicine, physical rehabilitation, pain management, neurological recovery and supportive care into individualized treatment plans designed to remove barriers to successful cancer therapy. After earning her medical degree from Boston University, Dr. Cheng completed residency training at Loma Linda University Health before pursuing one of the nation's premier fellowships in cancer rehabilitation at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Today she is helping shape the future of this emerging field through clinical care, research and physician education. Our second guest is cancer survivor Sharyn Araki. Sharyn's journey encompasses every stage of breast cancer - from discovering a lump and receiving a life-changing diagnosis, through chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy and rehabilitation. Throughout that experience she discovered that recovery wasn't simply about surviving cancer - it was about reclaiming her life. Working alongside Dr. Cheng, Sharyn embraced structured exercise and rehabilitation - including an unexpected passion for pickleball - which helped combat debilitating fatigue, rebuild strength and restore confidence. ( https://www.cityofhope.org/orange-county/talking-hope/physical-medicine-and-rehabilitation ) Perhaps most remarkably, Sharyn navigated this entire journey while raising seven children, offering a powerful perspective on resilience, family, faith and what it truly means to recover after cancer treatment. #CancerRehabilitation #CancerSurvivor #BreastCancer #CancerRecovery #ExerciseIsMedicine #Prehabilitation #CancerCare #Oncology #IntegrativeOncology #CancerResearch #Fitness #HealthInnovation #QualityOfLife #Stem #MedicalScience #PhysicalTherapy #Wellness #CancerFatigue #CityOfHope #ProgressPotentialPossibilities Support the show