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When should you screen for colon cancer?
What are the currently available screening options?
What are the new options on the horizon?
What about the rise of colorectal cancer in young people?
These are the questions I tackle in today's 25-minute episode of the Man Up to Cancer Podcast.
Got questions or comments? I want to hear them!
Cologuard
Fight CRC
Exact Sciences
Guardant Health
Colon Cancer Coalition
Classic SNL ad for Colon Blow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku42Iszh9KM
2023 SNL ad for Cologuard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu12X2cu6Y0
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I'm joined on today's show by Joy and Isaac Moel, a mother and son from Iowa City, Iowa (Go Hawkeyes!).
Isaac was just 23 years old in April 2019 when he was diagnosed with stage IV colorectal cancer. He was otherwise healthy and had no family history or other red flags.
Just when Isaac was gaining independence as an adult, he was forced into the role of patient, depending on his mother to be his primary caregiver as he faced mutliple surgeries and grueling chemotherapy, radiation, and more.
The shocking diagnosis was a difficult blow for this tightknit family, yet they have fought this disease together with incredible courage, intelligence, grace, and heart.
In this episode, we discuss
Isaac's engagement and upcoming wedding!The physical and emotional burdens of managing metastatic cancer over a period of yearsWhat it was like for mother and son to have him become dependent on her again, just as he was gaining independenceAdvice for other young men facing a cancer diagnosisOur mutual love for Iowa City, home to my alma mater, the University of IowaThe best pizza in the midwest (In my humble opinion)
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Fehlende Folgen?
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My guest today is Ethan Zohn, a former professional soccer player, winner of the world's most famous reality show Survivor, humanitarian, philanthropist, author, inventor, investor, advocate for cannabis and psychedelics, with a special interest in helping cancer patients and survivors.
Ethan is the co-founder of the global non-profit, Grassroot Soccer, which has reached millions of youth in 60+ countries with vital health information and services.
Oh, and he's a two time survivor of CD20 positive Hodgkin’s Lymphoma who has been through the gauntlet of chemo, radiation, two stem cell transplants.
We talk about how at 50 he's now the "old curmudgeon" of the Survivor family tree; his uncanny resemblance as a teenager to Patrick Dempsey's nerdy character, Ronald Miller, from the movie "Can't Buy Me Love"; his insane number of side hustles since grade school; the emotional turmoil of his two bouts with lymphoma; how medical cannabis changed his life for the better; the pressure of going through cancer in the media spotlight; and how he found his authentic voice when he stopped saying what people wanted him to say, and started telling his truth about the cancer experience.
LINKS
EO Care: Medical Cannabis Care Plans for cancer patients, Survivors and caregivers : www.EO.care
Crunch Bowl - Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/6o46Ezf
Survivor Merch : www.EthanZohn.com
Dempsey Center: www.dempseycenter.org
Social Media Channels
X (Twitter): @ethanzohn
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ethanzohn
Follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/EthanZohnSurvivor
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#KFG has been one of my go-to hashtags during the past six years living with stage IV colon cancer.
But what is it?
On today's throwback episode of the Man Up to Cancer Podcast, we go back to a show from August 2020. It's crazy to think that nearly four years have passed since I recorded this.
In this bonus episode, the meaning of KFG gets revealed. I ramble for 14 minutes about my first surgery, amazing nurse Aaron, and the joys of oxaliplatin chemo. I also send out a message of encouragement to all the cancer patients out there who are in pain, suffering, and basically living minute to minute.
To learn more and get involved in the Man Up to Cancer movement, find us on social and visit us at www.manuptocancer.org. HOWL!!
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Today on the Man Up to Cancer Podcast, I'm joined by super advocate DeMetrius Kee from Rancho Cucamonga, California.
When his stepfather was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2017, the ripple effect hit the entire family hard, especially 41-year-old DeMetrius.
"It threw us all off. I spent several years in the health and wellness space and had no idea what prostate cancer was. I immediately started researching," he said.
That launched DeMetrius into a newfound passion for cancer advocacy. More than six years later, he has established a thriving career with cancer non-profits. In the cancer world, sometimes having a strong voice — and the willingness to us it — is exactly what is needed. With his self-described "big mouth," DeMetrius is changing the lives of anyone within earshot.
"Knowing what I know now, in regards to early detection, I encourage everyone," he said. "I know it's difficult, but you've gotta talk about it."
Things you will learn about DeMetrius in this episode:
He has 45+ first cousins — and that's just on his mom's side of the familyHe looks so young, sometimes people think he and his 20-year-old son are brothersHe served in the Air Force for eight years… in Nebraska@LLS - Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
@Zero Prostate Cancer
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On today's episode, two of Canada's most helpful (and obviously handsome) cancer fighters sit down for a chat with me about friendship.
Jay Abramovitch of South Mountain, Ontario, and Jason Manuge of Kingston, Ontario, were both in their 30s when they were diagnosed with young onset colorectal cancer.
Jason is facing the challenges of cancer that has spread to his bones, while Jay is navigating a couple of new, small tumors that have popped up in his lungs, after a few years of NED - No Evidence of Disease.
To hear these two young guys open the doors of their hearts - and reject bitterness in the face of brutally difficult circumstances - was something I will never forget.
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How does a person find comfort and care when he is the one who usually does the comforting?
The Rev. Ian Williams, a pastor at St. Helen Parish in Hebron, Indiana, is my guest today on the Man Up to Cancer Podcast. He has been living with metastatic liver cancer for more than three years.
Father Ian is the leader of the Indiana Chapter of Man Up to Cancer. He is a source of encouragement, care, and inspiration for members of our community.
On today's episode, Ian reflects on faith, nature, and humor and other aspects of his cancer journey. I also put him in the Gauntlet of Random Questions, where he answers questions about animals, time travel, and a certain Olympic sport not generally associated with the Hoosier state.
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A solo show with your host Trevor Maxwell
The stress of cancer accumulates, a thick and heavy covering that I can't shake.
It builds with each scan, each blood draw, each surgery.
It builds in the days between.
Nearly six years in the world of never knowing.
For 2,130 days the stress builds and my body and soul labor under the weight of it.
What are my cancer cells doing today? Where are they misbehaving? Where is my immune system keeping them in check? Where might my immune system be overwhelmed? How long can I go managing my cancer as a chronic illness? Will I make it to Elsie's high school graduation? Will I make it to Sage's college graduation? Will I slide through the eye of the needle and reach longterm survival, against all odds of science and every friend that I have lost to this same disease?
The people who have never had cancer in their bodies tell people like me to stop thinking about it. After the scans, the blood draws, the surgeries, they send me out into the sunshine and tell me not to think about it, as if my world looks anything like theirs.
I realized a while ago that I can't stop thinking about it. I can't stop those questions from repeating in my head.
So I lean the fuck into it.
I say bring it on, let me ask the question, how long can I do this? So many times that it becomes a mantra, and I tell myself that this would make those cancer muggles insane, and only I'm strong enough to keep asking the question and to turn it into a raging inferno of motivation.
But yeah, the stress doesn't go away. It's rust. You can cover it up, bondo that shit, but you know it's under there, you know the frame is still compromised. And after 2,130 days of stress, this frame is compromised. The scars and adhered tissues and severed muscles and nerves of 10 surgeries.
After 2,130 days of stress, this brain is compromised. There are some moments, beautiful moments in which I'm right here right now, grounded in the present, aware of my living breath and the sensation of my feet on the wood floor, the sensation of the heat from the wood stove.
Other times though, I'm like Billy Pilgrim and I've come unstuck in time.
Sometimes in a dream, sometimes even when I'm awake I find myself back on that first surgical table, staring up into a cluster of the brightest lights I've ever seen, mask over my face and breathing in the sweet anesthetic while surgical techs inspect my IV lines and double count the instruments that will cut me open.
Big breaths Trevor, we're gonna take good care of you. 10-9-8
Other times, I'm back on my most recent surgical table, just a few months ago, The same buzz of activity. Are these the same techs? Are they even real at all? Or is this the 3rd surgery, the 5th, they all swirl and mesh together with an antiseptic smell, muffled voices and the constant beeps of the heart and respiratory monitors, the same voice in my head telling me - you're going to see Sarah, Sage, and Elsie on the other side of this.. This team knows what they're doing.. They do this all the time.. You're not dying today.. My body is strong, my body is strong, my body is strong.
And each time after the blackness I am born again to the waiting world, disoriented, in pain, and with a shock of recognition that I didn't die.
I cannot put the exhaustion of this into words.
But I can tell you about the hospital after my last surgery.
I guess I need to write about that.
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When I think about today’s guest, which is often, I think of his thoughtfulness, curiosity, joy, his welcoming nature, his beautiful heart.
Lee Silverstein is joining us from his home in Tampa Bay, Florida.
Lee is a natural helper of people; As a career management professional, he has been a consultant, mentor, and coach helping students, executives, and others land jobs or change careers.
He is a public speaker and Podcaster and I first got to know him by listening to his We Have Cancer Podcast.
He has been living for more than 12 years with stage IV colorectal cancer. To put that in perspective, less than 15 percent of people with his diagnosis live past 5 years.
Lee became part of the Man Up to Cancer community, and our Howling Place FB group, soon after it launched in 2020, and since that time he has become a beloved member. Guys look up to him for his openness, wisdom, and humor.
He recently reached a point where treatment is no longer working, there are no interventions to stop the disease, and he has entered into hospice care.
Today, we are going to talk about Lee’s passions, his family, his transition to hospice and the legacy he will leave for all of us.
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Our good buddy Joe Bullock joins the show to look back over the past four years of working together on our mission to help men facing cancer, and the new era of Man Up to Cancer as a non-profit organization. Joe's the Chief Operating Officer in case you haven't heard!
Of course we get off track and talk about #decklife, Peeps, and gingerbread houses.
How sweet it is to bring back the MUTC Podcast for 2024!
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On this solo episode of the Man Up to Cancer Podcast, I read from Chapter 5 of my book, "Open Heart, Warrior Spirit: A Man's Guide to Living with Cancer."
This chapter is all about how some very special people in my life helped me redefine the definition of courage in my fight against cancer.
Here is an excerpt:
Cancer tried to drown me.
It was a cold river that rose up far above the banks, plucked me from my pleasant dreams, took me down into the raging current, and smashed me again and again into the rocks.
I choked and flailed and blacked out. I cried out for mercy, for the sake of my wife and kids. I pleaded with the universe, Mother Nature, or whatever gods might listen.
In the early portion of 2019, after my Shawshank moment with Sarah, while I was reaching out for help, I still felt like that frantic swimmer swept up in the ice-cold water whose only instinct was to fight like hell against the current.
I thought if I swam hard enough and long enough, I could get back upstream, back to safety—to that place before cancer.
That’s when another helper came into my life, with the right guidance at the right time. Technically, Kate was my physical therapist. I began seeing her for hands-on therapy to help alleviate the pain from my surgical adhesions and the 12-inch scar from liver surgery and smaller scar from colon surgery.
In truth, Kate is a healer in the best definition of the word. She bonds instantly with people going through trauma and knows what they need. She does talk therapy while providing manual therapy, and she is insanely intuitive.
“Trevor,” she would say, “you are fighting so hard to go back upstream. I want to help you see that you can’t get back there. You are in the current, and your only option is to stop struggling and face downstream. I know it’s scary, I know you didn’t ask for this, but there is no going back to your life before.”
The truth of her words were clear, even while I kept flailing. But I continued to protest.
“I think I can turn downstream, but I’m struggling with my shame,” I told her. It was the shame that was relentless. At that time, I was convinced that all cancer patients, except for me of course, handled their diagnosis and treatments with grace and courage. You know, those 5K runners and top fundraisers. They were all crushing it. And here I was, debilitated, leing my family down.
“I’m a mess. I’m failing them,” I told her.
“You’re being way too hard on yourself. You’re not going to be able to understand this now,” she said, “but you are exactly where you need to be.
“Courage doesn’t always look like what you think it should look like,” she said.
And then she told me a story.
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One of the coolest and most exciting things happening for Man Up to Cancer for 2023, going into our fourth year, is the growth and development of local and regional chapters for our community.
These chapters are creating connections where guys who live near one another can meet up for a coffee or a beer, or go to a ballgame, or dinner, or even rally resources for members and their families who need help.
Each chapter has a private chat group, and their own version of the MUTC logo. With the chapter system, guys can get the best of the community online, and then also have that in-person experience that really takes friendships to a whole new level.
Today's episode features three men who are playing central roles in the local chapters.
Don Helgeson of Nanaimo, B.C., Canada, is a member of the Man Up to Cancer leadership team, and is our Meet-Up Coordinator. In this role, he is overseeing the development of the chapters.
John Bradley and Brandon Martin are leaders of the Colorado chapter of MUTC, one of the first chapters to come together in 2022.
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There have been a lot of changes since the launch of Man Up to Cancer and our Howling Place Facebook group three years ago.
The world faced a health pandemic. Governments faced instability. Tom Brady went to the Bucs and got dumped by Giselle.
But one thing hasn't changed: A lifelong friendship between myself and the one and only Joe Bullock of Durham, N.C.
It's a friendship that has endured the ups and downs of cancer, and the stresses and joys of trying to create a brand new cancer support community for men.
Joe is the community manager for MUTC, and lead admin for the Howling Place group. I'm the luckiest guy in the world to have him on board.
On today's episode, we reminisce about the beginnings of MUTC and discuss where this movement is headed in 2023. And of course, we share some laughs along the way.
KFG Joe. I love you brother!
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We're baaaaack....
The OG co-host, Kelin Welborn, turns the tables and interviews me about my independently published book, "Open Heart, Warrior Spirit: A Man's Guide to Living with Cancer," and the past, present, and future of Man Up to Cancer.
Founded in January 2020, MUTC has grown to include:
The Howling Place Facebook group of 2000 male cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers from around the worldContent (podcast, website, social media, email)Annual retreat - The Gathering of WolvesChemo Backpack Program 15+ regional chaptersAfter taking a break from the podcast in order to write the book (September-December 2022), I'm fired up to get back in the saddle and bring you engaging conversations this year. With guests from all corners of #cancerland, my goal is to serve up a weekly mix of entertainment, education, and uppercuts that hit you right in the feels.
Got an idea for a guest or topic? Email me at [email protected]
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My reflections on cancer and hope.
Thanks for listening. Love to you, #cancerfam
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Today on the Man Up to Cancer Podcast!
Meet my friend Chris Taylor from Albany, Georgia. Chris was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2010, and he has gone through multiple radiation and chemotherapy treatments. He is a beloved member of the Man Up to Cancer community, and is one of 18 Wolfpack Leaders from across North America.
Chris is a U.S. Navy veteran, artist, and a proud gay man. This guy lives his life without apologies and he doesn’t have time for BS.
I hope you check out our conversation about coping with side effects, his artwork, mental health challenges, and how being gay has colored his cancer journey.
#KFG
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Meet my dear friend Don Helgeson, a 3-time cancer slayer from Nanaimo, B.C., Canada.
A recently retired Mountie of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Don has survived melanoma, colon cancer, and prostate cancer. He is one of my #LynchSyndrome brothers, and a man of wisdom, compassion, and integrity.
Don spends a lot of his time on a new mission as a patient advocate. He is one of Man Up to Cancer’s Wolfpack Leaders, and is an admin for Tracy Morgan’s PC Tribe. Don is also the author of a memoir, “Prostate Cancer at 51.”
Check out our conversation and see which weapon Don will use during the Zombie Apocalypse. I promise you that it’s the most Canadian answer ever given in the Gauntlet of Random Questions!
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This is a special episode because someone listening — or a connection to someone listening — will have a chance to save a life. And it just might be you.
My guest is Tim McDonald from Tampa, Florida. Tim is a stage IV colon cancer thriver, and his best chance at curing his disease is through a living-donor liver transplant.
That means he needs a hero. Someone willing to give up part of their liver to replace his. Ready to save a life? Go to timsliver.com, and see if you might be Tim's match.
Tim is a force of nature who always helps anyone he can.
He is a generous, kind, compassionate and a brave soul who cares deeply about humanity and builds community everywhere he goes.
He is the Community Account Manager at HomeRoom and the former Director of Community at Huffington Post, Founder of My Community Manager, and Director of Communications for Social Media Club Chicago. He's also an ambassador for Fight Colorectal Cancer.
“Once I go through all this," Tim said, "I am going to build a community for anybody that’s got metastasized cancer looking for a liver donor.”
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Time to lighten up the mood a bit! Join me and my buddy Justin Birckbichler (AKA the uniballer) as we play "The Game of Life: Cancer Edition"
You have all played Life. Well, the cards are a bit different in the Cancer Edition.
Here's just one example from our game:
"Your nurse tells you it’s OK for you to eat breakfast, not knowing your doctor only wants you to have one sip of water. Lose your turn due to bowel obstruction."
If you are looking for a light-hearted distraction during this cancer sh*tshow, look no further, Justin and I have your back!
Justin is a men’s health activist, testicular cancer survivor, and the founder of aBallsySenseofTumor.com. He was 25 years old when he was diagnosed with stage II testicular cancer in 2016, and he underwent surgery and chemotherapy.
Through writing and speaking, Justin has shared his story to spread awareness about testicular cancer and to promote open conversation about men’s health. His writing has appeared in Cure Magazine, I Had Cancer, The Mighty, The Good Men Project, Stupid Cancer, and more, and his advocacy work has been featured by publications around the world.
In this episode, we also spend some time talking about the need for more men to become cancer patient advocates; how to prevent advocacy burnout; and Man Up to Cancer’s upcoming Gathering of Wolves.
SPONSOR SHOUT-OUT!
A shout out to our sponsor - Natera, developers of a new kind of test called Signatera that can detect recurrence as much as a year earlier than imaging. Ask your doctor if Signatera is right for you. Natera.com/signaterapatients
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Today on the Man Up to Cancer Podcast..
Part 2 of our interview with the amazing Jacquie Emory. When we left off last week, Jacquie’s husband Rich, a stage IV colon cancer patient, was undergoing a liver transplant. The surgery was a success, but in some ways, it was just the beginning.
“This is when the hard part begins,” Jacquie says. “This is when the real work starts.”
Liver transplant is still only occasionally used for colorectal cancer patients with metastatic disease, for several reasons. But more patients than ever are exploring this option, and many are qualifying for the procedure. For those who fit the criteria, the transplant can be the best chance of extending life, and possibly a cure.
Click here to listen to Part 1.
SPONSOR SHOUT-OUT!
A shout out to our sponsor - Natera, developers of a new kind of test called Signatera that can detect recurrence as much as a year earlier than imaging. Ask your doctor if Signatera is right for you. Natera.com/signaterapatients
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