My Sister's Cancer
by Kayla Crum
We’re sisters on a mission to care for the cancer community through the sharing of real life stories, a sprinkle of sass, and lots of support. Join us in a new kind of pity party: It’s a pity so many of us carry the heavy burden of cancer alone, so let’s make it a party and carry it together.
Episodes
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Farewell for Now
Today marks our 50th and final episode! We’ve been creating the My Sister’s Cancer podcast for a year. Like we always say, it’s a pity so many of us carry the heavy burden of cancer alone, so let’s make it a party and carry it together. Thanks for carrying it with us this past year. For our full...
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Survivorship Resource Roundup
Today’s podcast episode is packed full of resource recommendations for the survivorship season. As we prepare to take a break from producing new episodes, we wanted to leave you with ideas for how you can continue to process your cancer experience. For our full show notes, visit the podcast page…
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Guest Episode with our Parents
Today we are joined by our parents! You’ve heard them mentioned on the show time and again and today they get to tell the story from their perspective. We are so grateful for their love and support. For our full show notes, visit the podcast page at our website:...
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Guest Episode with Our Husbands
Today we are joined by our two favorite people: our husbands. For the last year they’ve supported us as we record the podcast weekly, and for years before that they supported us through cancer and its aftermath. Today we get to hear how cancer has affected their lives, too. For our full show…
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Survivor's Guilt
While surviving a life-threatening situation calls for celebration, it comes with a heaping helping of guilt on the side. Why did some of my friends die and not me? Or why did my loved one get sick and not me? Today on the podcast we discuss the lingering effects of survivor’s guilt. For our full...
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Precarity for Infinity
Life is, by nature, precarious. None of us knows when our last day will be. But if you’ve had a life-threatening illness, this truth feels a lot more real. On today’s show we discuss the way that you never really lose a sense of life’s precarity after cancer. For our full show notes, visit the...
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Forever Overshadowed?
Even when you’ve been a survivor for years, cancer can still affect your daily life. We’ve talked about lasting physical side effects; today, we tackle lasting mental and relational changes that sprung from our cancer experience. For our full show notes, visit the podcast page at our website:...
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Cancer and Reproductive Health
Issues of fertility and reproduction are fraught even in the best of scenarios. And for many AYA cancer survivors, their fertility and reproductive health were not addressed during the course of their cancer treatment in the way they had hoped. On today’s show we hold space for that…
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Ongoing Side Effects
Everyone knows that many cancer patients go bald and spend a lot of time throwing up. Fewer people understand that there are many physical side effects that stay with cancer survivors for years, decades, or their entire lives. On today’s show, we discuss the side effects that just don’t leave.…
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COVID-19 as a Cancer Survivor
Believe it or not, it’s been four years since the COVID-19 pandemic first swept the globe. On today’s episode, we discuss the parallels between pandemic and cancer experiences, and explore how it felt for Ella as a still-recovering cancer survivor to navigate that polarized and isolating season....
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Welcome to Survivorship
It’s (kind of) spring, and here at My Sister’s Cancer we are ready to talk about survivorship. On today’s episode we relate Michigan springs - unpredictable, stop and start, beautiful and cold - to the experience of emerging into cancer survivorship and lay the groundwork for all there is to talk...
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Parenting Tweens through Cancer
Today we get the pleasure of bringing you our second guest episode. Mom of two Trish shares her family’s right-now, real-life experience with her son’s leukemia. Parents of tweens - or anyone with tweens in their life - might find this episode particularly helpful! We thank Trish for her openness...
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"A Good Kid"
We are so honored to be able to share our first guest episode on the show today. Jack Foster shares the story of his wife’s cancer, his daughter’s mental health, and the way he now sees his son was affected by it all. We thank him and his family for sharing their story with our community. Content...
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Happy Birthday, Ella!
Ella turns 26 next week! To celebrate, the sisters are discussing the bittersweet significance of birthdays after a cancer diagnosis, and unpacking our culture’s attitude toward aging in general. For our full show notes, visit the podcast page at our website…
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How to Show Up
Today’s episode is short but sweet, packed with lots of advice on how to show up for your people when someone can’t be there in person. Although we all may think we are pros at this post-COVID, there is a difference between the way things worked when we were “all in this together” and the way it...
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The Winter Blues
Mental health is vital to our overall well-being. We know this. But what are you supposed to do in a prolonged season of isolation or recovery when you can’t reach for your usual mental health boosts? Today on the podcast we discuss Ella and Kayla’s different experiences with mental health and…
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Are You (Still) There, God?
Are you (still) there, God? On today’s podcast, the sisters discuss the ways their faith shook, grew and changed throughout the course of Ella’s cancer. It’s complicated and personal when you start to ask the big questions about the universe and if there’s a loving God. But it’s worth it. For our...
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Book Report: "Marrow"
While sister stories are everywhere, it is rare to find a cancer memoir that focuses on the sister relationship between two adults. Elizabeth Lesser has filled that gap with her stunning memoir “Marrow” that chronicles her experience being a bone marrow donor for her sister, Maggie. Today on the...
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When Everyone Forgets
Cancer is unpredictable in nature and can drag on for months or years. Sometimes original timelines get extended, sometimes cancer returns, sometimes recovery takes a lot longer than anticipated. If you’re still dealing with cancer but feel like your support network has faded into the background,...
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Social Media
We’re not treading any new ground here when we say social media is controversial. It connects us… and it depresses us. It sparks our imagination… and leaves us feeling lonely. Today on the podcast, the sisters discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of social media and how it can be used...
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New Year, New You?
It’s no secret that January is the biggest month for self-improvement of all sorts. Today on the podcast the sisters unpack this messaging, discussing what’s helpful, what’s not, and how to adjust your perspective to accept the reality that we might not have as much control as we think we do. For...
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Cancer for Christmas
‘Tis the season for… mixed emotions. If you’ve ever been going through something tough during the holidays, this episode is for you. The sisters remember the December Ella spent inpatient for her stem cell transplant and hold space for difficulties of all kinds around the holidays. For our full...
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Transplantaversary
Ella celebrates two birthdays every year - the day she was born, and the day that her stem cell transplant gave her another chance at life. Join us on today’s special episode as we commemorate Ella’s 6th “re-birthday” and discuss her transplant experience in more detail than ever before. For our...
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Isolating Before It Was Cool
Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, we all became a bit too familiar with what it’s like to stay away from other people. But years before this worldwide experience, cancer patients were isolated from friends and family for months on end as they tried to heal. In today’s episode, the sisters discuss...
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Reflecting through Writing
As the calendar turns from fall to winter, we too are turning from a focus on the treatment season of cancer to the isolation season that often follows it. As a final reflection on what cancer treatment was like, the sisters turn to the written word - both their own and that of other authors…
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When You're NOT Grateful
Today is Thanksgiving in the United States, and all month we’ve been hit by the mixed messages of gratitude and consumerism leading up to this holiday season. Today the sisters hold space for when you just don’t feel grateful, and reframe what gratitude can look and feel like. For our full show...
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Hiccups Along the Way
Chemo regimens, radiation schedules, surgery dates - sounds like cancer is full of airtight planning, right? Wrong. Cancer is unpredictable and so are our bodies. In today’s episode we discuss the myriad of reasons things can get delayed, rescheduled, or changed altogether during cancer…
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The Joys of a Job
Last week we covered cancer and college - this week, it’s cancer and work. Employment can be tough to juggle during a cancer experience, whether you’re the patient or a caregiver. In this week’s episode, we discuss both the emotional and logistical side of jobs for young adult cancer patients and...
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College and Cancer
College is hard enough as a freshman - eighteen and out of your parents’ home, trying to juggle friends and classes and sometimes a job. Then add cancer. In today’s episode, the sisters discuss what it’s like to be a college student with cancer (or the sibling of one). For our full show notes,...
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Health Care and Horror
Boo! With Halloween right around the corner, the sisters unpack the concept of fear in the medical space. From white coat syndrome to fear of needles to Halloween costumes, this episode covers a little bit of everything. Be sure to stick around until the end for a walk down memory lane of the...
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Book Report: "Between Two Kingdoms"
Once a season, we like to recommend a book to our listeners. This time, that book is “Between Two Kingdoms” by Suleika Jaouad. A memoir about having cancer throughout your twenties, Suleika is equally talented at documenting the delightful and the devastating. She chronicles everything from the...
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Have You Tried Essential Oils?
Humans are wired to solve problems, and when someone they love has cancer, they can sometimes get a little… bossy. From smoothie detoxes to essential oils, people with cancer have heard it all when it comes to unsolicited advice. On today’s podcast the sisters look back with a bit of laughter at...
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The Power of Presence
Sometimes there’s nothing you can say or do to fix a situation, yet showing up makes all the difference. Today on the podcast the sisters unpack the power of presence as a healing force on both the personal and professional side of cancer. For our full show notes, visit the podcast page at our...
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Can Cancer Be Funny?
Have you ever said a joke and had it fall flat? Yet we all keep trying, because sometimes jokes speak the truth and bring people together in a way nothing else quite can. In today’s episode, the sisters discuss dark humor and its role in helping us cope with cancer. For our full show notes, visit...
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Family Roles
From the earliest days of childhood, we all fall into family roles. One sibling may be the jokester while another is the goody two shoes. One parent may be the comforter while another is the instigator of fun. What happens to these roles when a crisis hits? On today’s episode, the sisters discuss...
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The Bitter Truth
Most of us know that cancer patients go bald. But do we understand why? And what do we know about the host of other side effects cancer patients endure? On today’s episode, the sisters get sciency and help us understand the side effects of chemotherapy, radiation, transplant, and surgery. For our...
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The Ring Theory
Ever heard the words “support system” and wondered, how does that actually work in real life? In today’s episode the sisters unpack one such structure called the ring theory. Originally put forward by Susan Silk and Barry Goldman in the LA Times, the ring theory has an idea for how we can dump...
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Limited Choices
As soon as you’re diagnosed with cancer, you realize that your hazy understanding of “chemo” is about to get real. Whether your doctors recommend chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, or all of the above, it might feel like you don’t have a lot of say in the matter. In today’s episode, the sisters...
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Grappling with Mortality at a Young Age
When you’re an adolescent or young adult cancer patient, you often feel out of place. You’re either getting chemotherapy next to toddlers, or in the radiation waiting room with the elderly. So what happens when you layer the idea of death on top of that? In today’s episode, the sisters unpack...
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August Anniversaries
Most of us have dates on the calendar that give us pause - the death of a loved one, 9/11, the day a community shut down due to COVID-19. Today on the podcast, the sisters discuss diagnosis and relapse anniversaries and how the timing of tragedy can affect that season for years to come. For our...
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It is Well
Faith can be a comfort or a strain, and often both. Today the sisters discuss how Ella’s diagnosis influenced their Christian faith through the lens of the old hymn “It Is Well with My Soul.” For our full show notes, visit the podcast page at our website: mysisterscancer.co/podcast Note: This...
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Stomaching Superficiality
During or after a difficult life experience, it can be tricky to engage with friends, family and strangers who continue to complain about mundane things like bad hair days or a grumpy boss. The sisters unpack that experience in today’s episode. For our full show notes, visit the podcast page at…
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Book Report: "Everything Happens for a Reason (And Other Lies I've Loved)"
The sisters enter the world of “sick lit” and cancer in the media, then discuss the work of Duke professor and colon cancer survivor Kate Bowler. They recommend her first book and unpack it’s themes on today’s episode. For our full show notes, visit the podcast page at our website:...
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Life Isn't Fair
Growing up the sisters were a bit obsessed with keeping things fair. In this episode they unpack why they ever felt entitled to fairness in the first place, and how it feels now that cancer has made life perpetually unfair. For our full show notes, visit the podcast page at our website:...
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Loss of Control
The sisters return to a more emotional topic this week with an exploration of the loss of control that accompanies a cancer diagnosis. For our full show notes, visit the podcast page at our website: mysisterscancer.co/podcast Note: This content is for informational purposes only and does not...
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American Healthcare
In honor of Independence Day this week, the sisters unpack the American healthcare system, briefly compare it with other systems around the world, and give tips for how to navigate the logistics of getting care. For our full show notes, visit the podcast page at our website: mysisterscancer.co...
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Great Aunt Hilda and the Variety of Cancer
The sisters get a little more scientific and unpack why cancer is physically different for everyone, and therefore emotionally and mentally different for everyone. For our full show notes, visit the podcast page at our website: mysisterscancer.co Note: This content is for informational purposes...
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The Response
People say the craziest things. In this episode, Kayla and Ella discuss what’s helpful, what’s hurtful, and why saying nothing is perhaps the worst of all. For our full show notes, visit the podcast page at our website: www.mysisterscancer.co/podcast Note: This content is for informational…
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The Rollout
In this second episode, the sisters discuss the near professional level publicity management that comes with a cancer diagnosis. I wish I was kidding. For our full show notes, visit the podcast page at our website: mysisterscancer.co/podcast Note: This content is for informational purposes only…
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Diagnosis
In this inaugural episode, we unpack the day of Ella's diagnosis with Hodgkin's lymphoma. For our full show notes, visit the podcast page at our website: mysisterscancer.co/podcast Note: This content is for informational purposes only and does not provide any medical advice. Contact a medical...
About this show
We’re sisters on a mission to care for the cancer community through the sharing of real life stories, a sprinkle of sass, and lots of support. Join us in a new kind of pity party: It’s a pity so many of us carry the heavy burden of cancer alone, so let’s make it a party and carry it together.
Hosted by
Kayla Crum
Categories