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What happens to desire after a cancer diagnosis? In this episode, Dr. Leah Sherman speaks with intimacy coach and cancer survivor Claire Rumore about the often-overlooked intimacy challenges that come with cancer diagnosis and treatment. Claire shares how cancer may reshape desire, body image, and relationship dynamics—and why clinical care frequently misses these impacts. They explore practical approaches like redefining intimacy beyond intercourse, using nervous system regulation and consent-based touch to rebuild safety, and the Erotic Blueprints framework for understanding desire. Claire also introduces resources from her site cancerandintimacy.com designed to support patients, survivors, and their partners through this deeply personal aspect of cancer care.

Cancer and Intimacy website

Coupon Code: CAI20

Free resource kit: Reclaiming Intimacy During and After Cancer, The Sensual Wardrobe Reset

Claire's Bio and social media links

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Dr. Kaczor speaks with Dr. Chad Levitt, a board-certified radiation oncologist with over 25 years of experience and founder of ONCARE MD. Levitt discusses how patients are, in effect, consumers of a product called "medical care." As consumers, they are in charge and must navigate the often fragmented healthcare landscape. He talks about the need to have your questions answered fully, to seek second opinions, and to ensure that your care team communicates clearly. The discussion covers what fully informed consent looks like, the limits of the NCCN guidelines, and the need for integrative oncology (including nutrition, stress, and supportive care). His company, OncCareMD, provides unbiased, membership-based advice for optimal treatments with frequent touch points to ensure treatment goes smoothly.

Dr. Chad Levitt's bio and links

OnCareMD website

NCCN Guidelines for Patients

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In this episode, we dive deep into surgical support for cancer patients and share all the insider intel you might be missing out on. From what not to take before surgery (blood clotting is essential!) to the importance of inflammation in the healing process (yes, inflammation is actually your friend after surgery!), we cover it all.

Discover key nutrients, physical and occupational therapy recommendations, and even some mind-body strategies to boost your recovery. We’re talking macronutrients, micronutrients, supplements, and the best foods to eat before and after surgery. Also, we reveal a common supplement that we’re told to skip that might actually help with healing! This episode is packed with practical, easy-to-implement advice that you won't want to miss.

Past episodes we mentioned:

• Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Supplements 101
• Vitamin D: Supplements 101
• Calcium: The Low Down and the High Points
• Vitamin C: Supplements 101
• Magnesium: the Goldilocks Nutrient?
• Flax and Chia Seeds: Foods First
• Link to nutrient absorption chart of gut
• Find clinical trials on exercise as cancer supportive therapy

Products we mentioned (we may earn a small commission at no cost to you):
Juven
Ginger People
Tummy Drops

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Become a member of The Cancer Pod Community! Gain access to live Q&As, exclusive content, and so much more! Join us today!

Check out our website! Looking for more information? We have blogs, merch, and all of our episodes listed by season and category.

Shop our favorite reads! We've joined with Bookshop.org to offer some of our fave books!

Buy our merch! Whether it’s a cozy hoody or a handy water bottle, we have something for everybody.

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Writer, humorist, previvor, survivor, and breast cancer prevention advocate Gila Pfeffer joins Leah for a thoughtful, funny, and deeply honest conversation about loss, resilience, and finding humor in the most unlikely situations.

Gila talks about her memoir, Nearly Departed: Adventures in Loss, Cancer, and Other Inconveniences, how humor can be a survival tool during cancer treatment, and her cheeky Feel It on the First campaign that raises awareness of breast cancer screenings and risk reduction. Gila shares her experiences from undergoing a risk-reducing double mastectomy as a BRCA+ previvor to becoming a cancer survivor who is a powerful voice in breast cancer awareness.

This wide-ranging interview moves between generations—Gila’s experience as a daughter watching her mother go through cancer, and later as a mother facing her own diagnosis—highlighting the power of storytelling to help us make sense of what feels impossible. Honest, insightful, and refreshingly human, this episode is for anyone navigating cancer.

Follow Gila on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gilapfeffer/

Subscribe to her Substack

Send your Feel It On the First pictures to Gila! gilawrites@gmail.com

Things mentioned in this episode:

Read Gila’s first publication in McSweeney’s An Open Letter to Tiffany & Co. About Their Advertising Campaign for the Ring That Helps Women Remember They Survived Cancer

The Tyrer-Cuzick Risk Calculator

Koning-Vera, compression-free mammography

Eleonora Deplinsky, MD Gynecologic medical oncologist https://www.instagram.com/drteplinsky

Robyn Roth, MD breast radiologist

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Become a member of The Cancer Pod Community! Gain access to live Q&As, exclusive content, and so much more! Join us today!

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Dr. Tina Kaczor and Dr. Leah Sherman discuss new diagnostic tools that can tell benign tumors from cancer in the pancreas, highlight the growing concerns over microplastics, and explore the link between ultra-processed foods and early colorectal cancer. They also highlight some amazing inventions by teenagers, like a melanoma-detection app and a skin-cancer-reducing soap. Last, they cover the benefits of hypnosis before breast cancer surgery and the health impact of commonly used chemicals in dry cleaning. This episode provides valuable insights for anyone interested in cancer prevention, early diagnosis, and overall wellness.

Soap for skin cancers invented by TIME's Kid of the Year, Hemen Bekele

A skin cancer detecting app invented by Richmond, VA high-schoolers

The dramatic increase in glyphosate use across the Midwest in the USA

The rising rates of cancer in young people around the world

Exposure of rat fetuses to glyphosate levels led to early cancer development

The rising rate of glyphosate exposure over time

Support the show

Become a member of The Cancer Pod Community! Gain access to live Q&As, exclusive content, and so much more! Join us today!

Check out our website! Looking for more information? We have blogs, merch, and all of our episodes listed by season and category.

Shop our favorite reads! We've joined with Bookshop.org to offer some of our fave books!

Buy our merch! Whether it’s a cozy hoody or a handy water bottle, we have something for everybody.

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In this special November episode, we are swapping podcasts with Charlotte Bayala of the Cancer Caregiver Podcast. Charlotte explores the complexities of meeting expectations of gratitude during the holidays when you or your loved one is dealing with cancer. Listeners will hear an honest, grounded discussion of the mixed emotions that arise, and a breathing tool to help you deal with them in real time. By the end, listeners will have strategies for expressing gratitude authentically in difficult times.

Links to Charlotte's bio and social media

https://www.cancercaregiverpodcast.com/

Support the show

Become a member of The Cancer Pod Community! Gain access to live Q&As, exclusive content, and so much more! Join us today!

Check out our website! Looking for more information? We have blogs, merch, and all of our episodes listed by season and category.

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Buy our merch! Whether it’s a cozy hoody or a handy water bottle, we have something for everybody.

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In 2022, Jeff Stewart was preparing to donate a kidney when his life took a completely different turn. Unknown to him at the time, he was harboring two separate cancers—kidney and stomach. As a former Jeopardy champ, long-time molecular biologist, and inventor, it’s no surprise that Jeff instinctively framed his relationship with cancer as a complex puzzle that needed solving. In this heartfelt interview with Dr. Sherman, Jeff shares the insights he has gained over the years. He also discusses his published memoir, Living: Inspiration from a Father with Cancer. Written with his seven children in mind, Living offers advice and inspiration for everyone, regardless of age. He also touches on his love of writing itself, having just completed his upcoming young adult fantasy book, Angel Chloe and the Wall of Stone and Bone. Jeff passed away in August 2025, yet his wisdom, humor, and legacy live on to inspire us, just as he intended.

Hope for Stomach Cancer support group mentioned by Jeff

Buy his book, Living: Inspiration from a Father with Cancer, from our bookshop.org collection

NPR piece by Jeff on experimental therapies

Support the show

Become a member of The Cancer Pod Community! Gain access to live Q&As, exclusive content, and so much more! Join us today!

Check out our website! Looking for more information? We have blogs, merch, and all of our episodes listed by season and category.

Shop our favorite reads! We've joined with Bookshop.org to offer some of our fave books!

Buy our merch! Whether it’s a cozy hoody or a handy water bottle, we have something for everybody.

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Maria Montoya shares her personal experience as a two-time AYA breast cancer survivor. Diagnosed first at 30 and later at 37, she discusses dealing with Li Fraumeni Syndrome—a rare genetic predisposition to various cancers. Maria also talks about the systemic gaps she encountered in the healthcare system, such as limited genetic testing and inadequate fertility counseling, and what can be done to fix this. She also shares how getting treatment during the isolating early months of the COVID-19 pandemic fueled her passion for cancer care advocacy and systemic change. Now pursuing a Master’s in Social Work, Maria aims to address systemic healthcare challenges, focusing on improving psychosocial support and survivorship care.

Maria's bio and LinkedIn profile

Support the show

Become a member of The Cancer Pod Community! Gain access to live Q&As, exclusive content, and so much more! Join us today!

Check out our website! Looking for more information? We have blogs, merch, and all of our episodes listed by season and category.

Shop our favorite reads! We've joined with Bookshop.org to offer some of our fave books!

Buy our merch! Whether it’s a cozy hoody or a handy water bottle, we have something for everybody.

Have a comment or suggestion? Email us at thecancerpod@gmail.com

Follow us wherever you browse. We're always @TheCancerPod:

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THANK YOU!!