2023 Podcasts for People Living With Melanoma

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ALL 2023 EPISODES BEYOND THE CLINIC: LIVING WELL WITH MELANOMA AN AIM AT MELANOMA PODCAST

hosted by Raymond Liu, M.D.

Each episode shares advice on handling life after a melanoma diagnosis and how to ride the emotional rollercoaster that often follows

OUR HOST RAYMOND LIU, M.D.

Raymond Liu, M.D., is a medical oncologist at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco, and serves as the Director of Research at The Permanente Medical

Group’s

Hematology-

Oncology service line, overseeing hematology and cancer research.

Dr. Liu has a research interest in implementation science with special emphasis on cancer survivorship and

the

care

journey.

He

has

published numerous articles in peerreviewed publications on a variety of oncology topics.

Dr. Liu received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and his medical degree from University of

Raymond Liu, MD Medical Oncologist Director of Research Kaiser Permanente San Francisco

Chicago’s

Pritzker

School

of

Medicine.

He

completed

his

residency

and

fellowship

at

University

of

California,

San

Francisco. Dr. Liu is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Francisco.

PODCAST EPISODES

episode one The Grieving Brain: The Science of Love and Loss episode two Functional Nutrition for Cancer Survivors episode three Transformation after Trauma episode four The Unexpected Journey of Caring episode five A Beginner’s Guide to the End: Practical Advice To Living Life and Facing Death episode six Why Peer Support is Important for People Coping With Melanoma episode seven | Special Three-Part Series Part I: I’ve Been Diagnosed With Melanoma…Now What? episode eight | Special Three-Part Series Part II: Dealing with the Emotional Rollercoaster that Follows a Melanoma Diagnosis episode nine | Special Three-Part Series Part III: Becoming a Melanoma Caregiver…Now What? episode ten That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour episode eleven Cancer and Financial Toxicity episode twelve The Clinical Trial Experience: A Patient’s Perspective

AIMATMELANOMA.ORG

The Grieving Brain: The Science of Love and Loss Our guest, Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor, is a renowned grief expert, author, neuroscientist, and an associate professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, where she directs the Grief, Loss, and Social Stress (GLASS) Lab, which investigates the effects of grief on the brain and the body.

In this episode, she discusses groundbreaking discoveries about what happens in our brain when we grieve, providing a new paradigm for understanding love, loss, and learning about the changes that occur in the brain during the grief process, and how we can develop a toolkit to go about restoring a meaningful life while grieving.

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SEASON TWO EPISODE ONE Mary-Frances O’Connor, Phd Author, The Grieving Brain

Functional Nutrition for Cancer Survivors

We welcome Dione Detraz, RD, integrative dietitian nutritionist and author of The Cancer Diet Cookbook, to talk about cancer nutrition for cancer survivors. A healthy, strong, and balanced immune system is critical in preventing infection and in chronic diseases such as cancer. In this episode, you will learn how to use your diet and lifestyle to support a healthy and balanced immune system when living with melanoma.

SEASON TWO EPISODE TWO Dione Detraz, RD Author, The Cancer Diet Cookbook

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Transformation after Trauma SEASON TWO EPISODE THREE Richard Glenn Tedeschi, Ph.D. Co-Author, Transformed by Trauma: Stories of Posttraumatic Growth

Our lives are filled with ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies, success and stress. The question is not whether we will experience difficulty, challenge, or trauma but what we will do in response to such events and experiences.

In this episode, Dr. Richard Tedeschi joins us to discuss how people can grow in the aftermath of trauma and live great lives — filled with Posttraumatic Growth.

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The Unexpected Journey of Caring Listen

Guests Donna Thomson and Dr. Zachary White discuss their book, The Unexpected Journey of Caring. Becoming a caregiver is one transformation that comes at us, requiring us to rethink everything we once knew. Everything changes—responsibilities, beliefs, hopes, expectations, and relationships. Caregiving is not just a role reserved for “saints”—eventually, everyone is drafted into the caregiver role. It’s not a role people medically train for; it’s a new type of relationship initiated by a loved one’s need for care.

Donna Thomson, Zachary White Ph.D. Authors, The Unexpected Journey of Caring

SEASON TWO EPISODE FOUR

A Beginner’s Guide to the End: Practical Advice To Living Life and Facing Death “There is nothing wrong with you for dying,” hospice physician B.J. Miller and journalist and caregiver Shoshana Berger write in A Beginner’s Guide to the End. “Our ultimate purpose here isn’t so much to help you die as it is to free up as much life as possible until you do.”

BJ Miller is a hospice and palliative medicine physician who thinks deeply about how to create a dignified, graceful end of life for his patients. He joins us to talk about the big questions about how we think on death and honor life.

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SEASON TWO EPISODE FIVE BJ Miller, MD Author, A Beginner’s Guide to the End

SEASON TWO Why Peer EPISODE SIX Support is Important for People Coping With Listen Melanoma Carrie Brophy Stage IA Melanoma Survivor Bob Polkinghorn Stage III Melanoma Survivor

People living with melanoma often benefit from practical help and advice from others who have lived through similar situations. Peer support brings people together and provide a safe forum for exchanging perspectives, sharing concerns, and gaining confidence to face the future. Each of us has to find a way of dealing with a melanoma cancer diagnosis.

Nothing will take us back to where we were before, but the key is finding the way that lets you live the best, most positive life today and tomorrow. In this episode, two melanoma survivors who serve as volunteer mentors in AIM’s Peer Connect program talk about finding meaning and empowerment while helping others.

SPECIAL EDITION A THREE-PART SERIES

for newly diagnosed patients & caregivers HOSTED BY MELISSA WILSON, PA-C, MPAS Melissa Wilson, PA-C, MPAS has worked at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center in the Division of Hematology/Oncology as the lead physician assistant for over 18 years.

A natural trailblazer, Melissa is proud of her collaborative work as an NCCPA-certified senior physician assistant with the distinguished melanoma specialist Dr. John Kirkwood at the University of Pittsburgh in the Cancer Institute Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine. Their treatment and research initiatives were so successful that they have been used as a template for other cancer programs throughout the country.

She holds appointments at Chatham University Clinical Preceptor where she is adjunct faculty and has been a cancer care module lecturer on melanoma since 2013.

Melissa Wilson, PA-C, MPAS Melanoma Lead UPMC Hillman Cancer Center AIM at Melanoma’s, Ask a Medical Expert Host of AIM’s webinar series, From the Clinic to the Living Room

FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED PATIENTS A SPECIAL THREE-PART PODCAST SERIES EPISODES SEVEN|EIGHT|NINE

I’ve Been Diagnosed With Melanoma…Now What? PART I The test results are back. You’ve talked to the doctor and learned you have melanoma.

Whether it’s your first or fifth melanoma diagnosis, your reaction to a new melanoma diagnosis often comes down to a single question: What do I do now? To help you navigate your next steps after a new melanoma diagnosis, Melissa sits down with Yana Najjar, MD, a medical oncologist specializing in the treatment of melanoma at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.

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Dealing with the Emotional Rollercoaster that Follows a Melanoma Diagnosis PART II What can a newly diagnosed patient expect on their first visit to a psychosocial oncologist? What first steps should a newly diagnosed patient take to care for their mental health?

In Part II, Melissa talks with Emily A. Meier, Ph.D. Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center about what a newly diagnosed patient can expect at their first visit to a psychosocial oncologist towards addressing their psychological and emotional needs.

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Becoming a Melanoma Caregiver…Now What? PART III Last year, over 197,000 Americans were diagnosed with melanoma—and we know they won’t go through that experience alone because there will be a caregiver, usually a family member or close friend, at their side. Becoming a caregiver is often unexpected and life-changing.

To talk about the benefits of caregiving, the types of support that are most effective, and essential communication skills for caregivers, Allison J. Applebaum, Ph.D., Director of the Caregivers Clinic at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center joins Melissa for Part III of this special series.

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SEASON TWO EPISODE TEN Sunita Puri, M.D. Author, That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour

That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour A growing discipline, palliative care medicine remains underutilized.

Studies suggest that patients and providers commonly confuse palliative care with end-of-life care.

In this episode, Dr. Liu is joined by Dr. Sunita Puri, Program Director of the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center & Chan School of Medicine and author of ⁠That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour⁠.

During their discussion, Dr. Puri explains how fears related to misconceptions about palliative care can rob patients of their opportunity to engage in important conversations about living with chronic disease. As in her book, Dr. Puri uses stories to illustrate that palliative medicine moves its focus away from cures – focusing instead on questions regarding quality of life – about symptom management, hope, and what a ‘miracle’ might really mean.

Cancer and Financial Toxicity SEASON TWO EPISODE ELEVEN Elizabeth Geisel, MSW Director of Program Delivery Family Reach

Listen While being diagnosed with cancer alone can put a person under tremendous amounts of mental and emotional stress, the additional burden of outrageously expensive medical care only adds to the strain. Cancer treatment requires more than medicine — families need a roof over their heads and food on their tables to survive. The dramatic rise in the cost of cancer treatments has now given rise to what is being called financial toxicity.

On this episode, Liz Geisel, Director of Program Delivery for Family Reach, discusses the psychological stress related to financial toxicity and the role of Financial Navigators who help families discuss their concerns and guide them to community resources.

The Clinical Trial Experience In 2010, Mary Elizabeth Williams was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. The following year, she was offered the opportunity to participate in a Phase 1 immunotherapy clinical trial. She wrote about that experience in A Series of Catastrophes and Miracles: A True Story of Love, Science, and Cancer.

In this episode, Mary Elizabeth shares her story and insights into her journey as a clinical trial participant. Williams says she was in a place of desperate and deep panic, but she remembers having a conversation with someone who said, "This doesn't have to be your last resort. This can be our first resort for you." That perspectivechanging conversation began her belief in the special relationship between hope and science.

with Melanoma Survivor Mary Elizabeth Williams

SEASON TWO EPISODE TWELVE

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2024 EPISODES Beyond the Clinic: Living Well With Melanoma podcast is an invaluable resource for those affected by melanoma. Its engaging format and expert guidance provide much-needed support beyond medical treatments.

Topics in 2024 Include: How Can Sleep Help Melanoma Patients?

Overcoming the Challenges of Melanoma: A Survivor’s Experience Unlocking the Power of Creative Self-Journaling for Melanoma Patients The Incredible Impact of Animal-Human Healing Partnerships How to Find Strength in the Face of Death Navigating the Challenges of Facing Melanoma Recurrence S U B SCRIBE