Podcast Episodes

Chemo brain, brain farts, brain fog, cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI)… no matter what you call it, it is a debilitating side effect that may persist for months or years after treatment ends. CRCI is more than just forgetting why you walked into a room or where you left your keys. You may find yourself struggling to remember a simple word or having a hard time concentrating on a single subject and don’t even mention multitasking! In this last episode of the year, Dr. Tina Kaczor and Dr...

Want to learn all about bone health? Then this is the episode for you! How does bone degrade? Who should be most concerned? How can you build bone? Are there certain nutritional supplements that can help? Fracture risk increases with age as our bones thin, but throw some cancer treatment into the mix and bone thinning can happen sooner and more rapidly (up to seven times faster following cancer treatments, according to ASCO). Loss of bone mineral density (known as osteopenia or osteoporosis) in...

Cancer-related fatigue (CrF) is common, both during treatment for cancer and afterward. Studies show up to 30% of cancer survivors experience fatigue for years following diagnosis. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill not getting a good night’s sleep or overdoing it at the gym fatigue. CrF is its own entity. It’s not relieved by sleep or rest and can be distressing, even life-altering. In this episode, Tina and Leah review the official contributing factors to CrF, and a few causes that aren’t found o...

​​What is genetic testing and is it appropriate for you? How do you talk to your doctor about getting tested? Tina and Leah cover what you need to know in this episode of The Cancer Pod. Hereditary cancers happen, but what are the chances? It is estimated that 10% of all cancers are due to genes we inherited from our parents. Yet, certain mutations can lead to personal risk of up to 80%. (We don't dwell on statistics, so no worries there.) Knowing whether there is familial hereditary cancer sy...

Doctors' appointments can be overwhelming, especially after a cancer diagnosis. There are so many questions to ask even before walking into the office, and then once a treatment plan is presented there are even more questions. On the latest episode of The Cancer Pod, Tina and Leah review some of the questions to bring up at an oncology appointment and offer some tips to help patients, both newly diagnosed and seasoned veterans, about what to bring to appointments. They even delve into the top...

It's the first pod inspired by our listeners' requests! Talk to Your Doctor is a series of episodes about, well, how to talk to your doctor! Whether it's about integrative medicine or questions you might not have thought of, we'll try and cover it in this pod. In the first episode of this series, we answer the question "how do I ask my doctor about integrative medicine?" According to the National Institute for Health, integrative oncology is a patient-centered, evidence-informed field that u...

Sleep disturbances may affect 40% of cancer survivors up to five years post treatment. In Episode 9 of Side Eff#%ks pod, Tina and Leah covered the causes of sleep disturbances and sleep hygiene, and now in Episode 10, they review integrative approaches to sleep management, including herbs and supplements that address anxiety and pain, which often contribute to insomnia. They also discuss cortisol’s association with waking up in the middle of the night. And since this is the last episode of this ...

Good quality sleep is always important, but it becomes especially precious following a cancer diagnosis. A good night's sleep supports our immune system, our mood, and so much more. It helps our body and mind heal. Anxiety, depression, and pain are only a few common causes of sleep disruption. In the first of this two-part episode, Tina and Leah talk about sleep disturbances, sleep hygiene, and some basic approaches to managing insomnia. Here are the links for some of the things we talk about o...

We're continuing with our theme of things that make our life miserable...I mean side effects from cancer treatment. Mouth sores and taste changes can greatly affect quality of life when going through treatment for cancer. Tina and Leah discuss causes and both pharmaceutical and integrative approaches to managing these side effects. Tell us your thoughts on this episode! Support the show Become a member of The Cancer Pod Community! Gain access to live Q&As, exclusive content, and so much m...

It's here! The first in what we hope to be many episodes on cancer treatment-related side effects. The most common questions we get have to do with integrative oncology approaches to managing common, and not so common, side effects when patients go through chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. (Immunotherapy and targeted therapies are included whenever we say "chemo.") We kick off this first pod with our nausea and vomiting episode. We cover a number of causes for nausea and vomiting, how di...

The third episode in the Good for You? Bad for You? pod is here, and it's about soy. Soy was a conundrum in the nutrition and the integrative medicine realm for many years—is it helping or harming cancer patients? Tina helps clear up some of the confusion and Leah is the Debbie Downer in this podcast. Remember to subscribe, rate, and review The Cancer Pod, and hang tight for now, the next pod will be released in two weeks. Tell us your thoughts on this episode! Support the show Become a membe...

For those who are still listening after our alcohol episode (hello loyal fans!), here is an episode that is easier to swallow. Tina and Leah talk about coffee, the good, the bad, the better, as well as that crazy hot dog article that was circulating a few weeks ago. What do hot dogs have to do with coffee? Tune in and find out! And as always, links to studies we mention are available on our Pinterest page. Tell us your thoughts on this episode! Support the show Become a member of The Cancer Pod...

Alcohol might be a solution, but it won't solve your problems. Okay, cheesy chemistry jokes aside, alcohol is always in the news. One day we read alcohol is going to save us from heart disease, the next day we're reading for every drink over the recommended limit, *someone* is going to take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes off of our lives (yes, this was an actual study a few years ago in The Lancet). So, who do we believe? Tina and Leah conquer this very intoxicating subject on this episode of...

How exciting, the last installment of the Hot Flash pod is here! In this episode, we cover common and not-so-common nutritional supplements that we've used with our patients and some we have only heard about. We also share some clinical pearls, handy hints, and a bit of woo, because why not? And we added music to our intro! Let us know what you think, about the podcast, the music, and as always, be honest but be nice! We are always updating our Pinterest page with pins of links to things we tal...

This is a hot topic, don't you think? In this episode, we start to talk about ways to address hot flashes, including the pros and cons of some of the most popular drugs and phytoestrogens, and how they may or may not interact with commonly prescribed medications like tamoxifen. What the heck are phytoestrogens exactly? Tune in to find out! Check out our Pinterest page for things mentioned on this episode. Tell us your thoughts on this episode! Support the show Become a member of The Can...

Hot flashes are a common side effect of cancer treatments, especially hormonal cancers like breast and prostate. In this episode, Tina and Leah discuss some common, and not so common, triggers of hot flashes and their take on what you can be done about it.