Cancer-free doesn’t mean back to normal. Filmmaker and 14-year lymphoma survivor Edward Miskie joins Leah to talk about what nobody tells you after cancer treatment ends: grief for the person you were, missing the hospital, and “cancer panic.”
Edward talks about cancer survivorship, young adult (AYA) cancer, and why he says being cancer-free can be harder than treatment. Edward is the founder of the Remission Film Festival, author of Cancer, Musical Theater, and Other Chronic Illnesses, and creator of the documentary short Back to Normal: A Cancer Survivor Documentary.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Cold open and meet Edward Miskie
01:30 Writing a gritty, honest cancer book
03:00 Sex, chemo, and the questions patients don’t ask
05:30 Aging out of AYA and long-term survivorship
08:30 Coping during chemo: alcohol, sex, and grief
12:45 Grieving the person you were before cancer
16:00 Sobriety, therapy, and recreating your pre-cancer self
23:00 “Cancer-free but not free of cancer”
24:45 The film Back to Normal: A Cancer Survivor Documentary
27:30 Why survivorship needs a voice on social media
29:00 When treatment ends: the $500 bill and the five-year goodbye
34:00 Missing the hospital after the all-clear
38:00 Cancer Screenings with the American Cancer Society
42:00 Self-advocacy, dismissed symptoms, and cancer panic
45:00 Closing
Find Edward:
His website: https://www.edwardmiskie.com
Instagram https://instagram.com/edwardmiskie
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@HyperbaricEntertainmentNYC
TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@edwardmiskie
IMDb https://www.imdb.com/title/tt41346334
Mentioned in this episode:
American Cancer Society action network: https://www.fightcancer.org/
REACH study/Galleri test/MCED: https://www.ohsu.edu/knight-cancer-institute/cedar/join-reach-study-find-cancer-early
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The Cancer Pod: Integrative Oncology Talk is a resource for cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, and everyone in between. This podcast is for education, entertainment, and informational purposes only. Do not apply any of this information without first speaking to your doctor. The views and opinions expressed on this podcast by the host and their guests are solely their own. The Cancer Pod is hosted by Dr. Leah Sherman. Music is Funkorama, by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
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