(lighthearted music) - Coming up on "Inspire," we're featuring stories of survival.

If you are currently battling cancer, are a survivor, or are caring for someone with cancer, you're not alone.

The resources, the stories, the celebration of life.

Stay with us.

(lighthearted music) - [Announcer] "Inspire" is sponsored by the estate of Ray and Ann Goldsmith.

- [Announcer] And the Raymond C. and Marguerite Gibson Foundation, and - [Announcer] Friends of KTWU.

We appreciate your financial support.

Thank you.

(lighthearted music) (upbeat music) - Hello and welcome to "Inspire."

I'm joined by my wonderful "Inspire" sisters, Betty Lou Pardue and Danielle Norwood.

Okay, well, today's episode is a tough one.

So many of us are impacted by cancer.

Even if we don't go through cancer ourselves, most of us know someone going through this journey and understand the ups and downs associated with the battle against cancer.

- It's definitely an emotional rollercoaster that can leave us feeling angry, sad, confused, even joyful at times.

And sometimes we just need to be told that we're not alone.

- That is so true.

We are not alone.

There are many who are willing to share their stories, provide help and suggestions, advocate, do everything they can to be there for cancer patients and their loved ones.

Coming up, we'll be talking with the American Cancer Society about those resources, assistance, and advocacy they provide.

But first, let's feature a couple of stories from cancer survivors Becky Duncan and Michelle Tibbetts to kick off the conversation.

(upbeat music) - Welcome, everyone.

I am honored to be here with Becky Duncan, breast cancer survivor.

And what a journey you've been through, Becky.

Tell us a little bit about your experience.

- I was diagnosed in 2005 because of a routine mammogram.

So those mammograms are really important.

- [Interviewer] Absolutely.

- I had not been doing regular self exams, which I regret now, 'cause when they called and told me where they had seen it, I put my hands right on it and thought, this does not feel good.

- [Interviewer] Wow.

- So it had spread to my sentinel nodes, so I had a lumpectomy, followed by eight rounds of chemotherapy, and however many rounds of radiation it was, I don't remember.

- Wow, so how long was the treatment in total, a year or... - I started right after Thanksgiving and I finished in April, I believe, with radiation, that was the last.

- Wow.

I'm sure probably the emotional, the mental impact it had on you and your family, I mean, I'm sure it's a shock when you first find out, and then you go through a rollercoaster.

- Telling my dad was really, I ducked that, and my brother told him for me, 'cause that was gonna be too hard.

Telling people that you have cancer is one of the hardest parts, and people don't how to react, and I get that.

- Yeah.

- I get that.

- You yourself have had quite an experience battling cancer, and your mother was also impacted as well.

- Yeah, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer back in the 1970s, when I was still in college.

Oh, I gave away something there, didn't I?

Anyway, she came through that just fine.

She was one of the very first Reach To Recovery volunteers, an American Cancer Society program in Kansas.

And she did really well.

And then she had a seizure and was diagnosed with glioblastoma.

And less than a year later, she was gone.

- [Interviewer] Oh.

- And it's one of the things I tell people, cancer doesn't care that you've already survived once.

- Absolutely not.

- It is a leveler when it comes to, everything is the same for everybody.

- Becky, thank you so much for sharing your story about your mother and you.

It's wonderful to have you here with us today.

- Thank you.

- Hi, we are talking about cancer and talking to survivors of cancer.

And today, I'm delighted to be sitting with Michelle Tibbetts, cancer survivor, a long time cancer survivor.

Michelle, can you talk about that?

- Yes, this is 2024, which is my 24th year cancer-free.

- [Amy] Wow.

- I received my diagnosis of cervical cancer in 1999.

So I was one year cancer-free in 2021, or 2000, sorry.

I was a new mom.

I had just had a baby.

I was going back for my follow up appointment, did a Pap smear, and then you wait.

It's a waiting game.

But when you get a call sooner than later, that's when you know there's probably something wrong.

I was blessed I was able to do a procedure to have almost all of my cervix totally removed and utilize medication treatment.

For some people, there's not that option.

Some people have to do chemo and long stems of treatment.

So I'm blessed in the fact that I didn't have to go through that.

Literally everybody on my father's side of the family and my mother's side of the family has had cancer or lost a battle to cancer.

So from the age of 18, senior high school, I pretty much knew what my fate was gonna be.

So I started advocating and doing a lot of volunteering with the American Cancer Society.

And then just since then, it has stayed a constant piece of my life.

It's pretty much driven a lot of what I do.

So one thing I can say is prevention is key.

Do your test, do your colonoscopies, do your mammograms.

If something doesn't feel right, if it doesn't look right, call your doctor and follow up.

The other big thing I could say is if you have had cancer or if you're at risk at cancer in your family, talk to your pharmacist and your doctors.

I mean, if you have more than one doctor, 'cause most of us usually do, let them know what your history is.

Some people would be surprised.

A lot of medications that we take actually put us at higher risk if we have a cancer risk.

You know, they make one thing great, but put me at risk in another area.

- Wow.

You're an incredible wealth of knowledge, of information, especially since it seems like you devoted a good part of your life to cancer awareness and working with the American Cancer Society.

And we thank Michelle Tibbetts for being here.

And we'll keep talking.

- Thank you.

(upbeat music) - Ooh, what powerful stories.

Thank you so much to Becky Duncan and Michelle Tibbetts for taking the time to share their cancer stories with us.

It's impossible to fight this journey alone.

Cancer patients need a network of family and friends to keep going.

And caregivers are very special.

But oftentimes they focus more on helping their loved one over their own needs.

Let's hear a little bit more about this from Shelle Arnold and Jill Sittenauer.

Jill is actually a cancer survivor and a caregiver, and stresses the importance of early detection.

Let's take a look.

(upbeat music) Hello, and I'm so honored to be here with Shelle Arnold.

Shelle, thank you so much for joining us here on "Inspire."

- Oh, thanks for having me.

- So today, we're talking about survivor stories, caregiver stories.

And I know you are a caregiver, and you've been a caregiver for many.

Tell us about your experience with this.

- So my first experience started with my daughter-in-law, Becky.

Becky was 25 years old.

- Wow.

- When she was diagnosed with cancer.

Her immediate family lived in the Chicago area.

And so we were truly her local family.

And it was really my first time being in that caregiver position, along with the other members of our family, and especially with someone with cancer.

Becky had been diagnosed with a cancer that none of us had ever heard of before.

It was Ewing sarcoma.

And she ultimately lost her fight to cancer.

And she passed away just a few days shy of her 28th birthday.

- Ugh, so young.

And I know that you were there for her, and I'm sure her family appreciated that so much.

I'm sure the emotions too, it's emotional rollercoaster when you're a caregiver.

- You know, you try to remain upbeat because the person that you're caring for, you know, doesn't wanna see you sit around moping and crying.

They want to continue to live life to their fullest, you know?

They want to do all of the fun stuff.

And yet, looking back, you want to create good memories with them.

- [Interviewer] Yes.

- You want to look back, and rather than go, oh, crap, I could have done this, or I wished we would've done that, you know, that you did all kinds of fun things, and it's those things that come to mind when you reflect about that journey.

- Yes, so staying positive, living life to the fullest, some of the most important things a caregiver can do.

Thank you so much for joining us today on "Inspire," Shelle.

- Thank you.

We're visiting with Jill Sittenauer.

And in addition to being a cancer survivor, she has been a caregiver.

Let's examine that a bit.

- Sure.

So my mother had breast cancer about 12 years ago, and then my father-in-law had esophageal cancer, and he passed away a year ago.

So my mother's still surviving and doing well.

And when I was caregiving with her, I went to all of her doctor's appointments with her because it's so hard.

I know, as a person who's been diagnosed, that it's very difficult to comprehend and hear everything that the doctors say in the visits.

So it's good to have a second person go with you so that they can hear what the doctors say and help you remember what you learned.

So I went to all my mom's doctor's appointments with her.

My husband came to all my doctor's appointments with me.

And then my father-in-law, he was diagnosed at stage four, so we had a lot of caregiving responsibilities with him.

But luckily we have a big extended family, and everybody pitched in and had their role to do in his care.

- And that is so important because, let's take you back as the patient, your caregivers, they came in there with you.

- They did.

- Now, did somebody take notes?

- Yeah.

So my husband would come with me, and he'd take notes for me, and then he'd help me remember things that I didn't remember, and he asked different questions than I asked.

- Oh.

- 'Cause he came at it from a different angle than I did.

- Well, elaborate on that.

- Well, he wanted to know more about how was I going to feel.

Was I gonna be tired?

Was I gonna feel sick?

You know, what could he do to take care of me better?

- Help, right.

- Right, right.

And I was thinking more about, you know, how am I gonna survive this and what are all the tests I'm gonna have to go through?

So caregivers come at it from a little different angle, and it's nice to have them along.

And how can we help caregivers as a patient and as a caregiver?

- Yeah, so caregiving can be very, very tiring.

And you can get sick yourself if you're not careful.

So really, caregivers have to take time for themselves.

You have to ask for help when you need it.

Just like a patient has to, the caregiver has to ask for help when they need it, and to rest.

- And dietary, there's just so much going on with that as well.

- Yes, just trying to eat a balanced diet and help your patient eat a balanced diet, but then you have to do that yourself too.

- Thank you so much.

- Yeah.

(upbeat music) - The strength featured within these stories.

We thank you so much, Shelle Arnold and Jill Sittenauer, for sharing your caregiving experiences with us.

And in fact, Jill was telling me that she had the same exact type of cancer that her mother had 10 years prior.

And, oh, how interesting for her to be in with her mother as her caregiver and then having her husband care for her with the same type of cancer that she'd learned so much about.

But such medical advances had been made in that 10 years.

But we can never be prepared for a cancer diagnosis, and most are thrust into the role of caregiver.

News like this can leave us confused, angry, unsure of where to begin.

So I'm thankful to have Amy Kralicek with us now, associate director, Access to Care Solutions, delivery for the American Cancer Society, to talk about the next steps and resources.

Amy, we are so glad we're here.

When I usually see you, you're all dressed up for a fundraiser, corks and forks, for the American Cancer Society, where we learn so many things.

So let's talk with, like, right when a patient gets a diagnosis.

What happens?

What can the American Cancer Society do?

- Absolutely.

I always say the American Cancer Society is kind of a best kept secret.

Let's face it, nobody wants to talk about cancer until you have to talk about cancer.

My recommendation is if someone's been diagnosed with cancer, if it's a loved one, if it's you, if it's your neighbor, and you wanna know more, call the American Cancer Society.

That's why we're here.

We can be reached through our website at cancer.org or through our 1-800-NATIONAL call center that's answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, That has over 200 languages available too.

So if English isn't your native language, you can still call, we're here to help.

- What resources are available for caregivers?

- There are a lot of resources available.

We often talk about cancer patients.

And becoming a caregiver, nobody signed up for it.

It just, you happen to do it.

The American Cancer Society has a lot of resources available specific to caregivers.

One of them is a caregiver resource guide that talks about everything from menus, recipes that cancer patients may be interested in eating, because a lot of things change with cancer treatment.

Also, taking care of yourself, taking time to exercise.

We often focus so much upon the patient that the caregiver sometimes forgets to eat.

And the caregiver guide kind of helps through some of those questions that you have.

And in fact, we put together a caregiver video series that talks about, I think there's some yoga that's in there that the caregivers can do.

But there's also, sometimes the caregivers are asked to do medical things, like changing out a tube.

Who knows how to do that, unless you're a medical professional.

Your doctor's office will show you, but you can use the video as a backup and as a reminder of, oh, yeah, this is what I'm supposed to do.

- Yeah, 'cause that could be scary, and they don't wanna do the wrong thing.

- Absolutely, yes, yeah.

And our national call center also has oncology nurses on staff.

So if they wanna call in and talk to an oncology nurse about, hey, I'm getting ready to change this out, can you talk me through this?

They're definitely there to help too.

- Wow.

- So there are plenty of services for caregivers.

What kind of services do you offer for the cancer patients themselves?

- Absolutely.

So including our national call center, we do have a health insurance assistance team.

So if someone is uninsured, underinsured, has questions about their insurance, which who doesn't, but they can call in and they can get information for that.

We have a lot of support services available too.

I know our earlier guest talked about our Reach To Recovery program.

Reach To Recovery connects someone newly diagnosed with breast cancer with a breast cancer survivor who's gone through it and is trained to talk to someone newly diagnosed with breast cancer.

And then they can pick and choose.

Do you wanna talk to someone with the same diagnosis as you?

Maybe you wanna talk to somebody who has young kids that you're going through it.

And they get to pick and choose from a volunteer from anywhere across the United States.

And we also have our Cancer Survivors Network.

So if you're not diagnosed with breast cancer, but you can talk to someone else who's had colon cancer or any type of cancer through our Cancer Survivors Network, I work in our Access to Care Solutions.

So the best cancer treatment doesn't work if you can't get there, and so what I do is I work in our transportation program.

We have that available in many areas across the whole United States, where we have volunteer drivers that transport cancer patients back and forth to their cancer treatment-related appointments.

- Wonderful.

- And where that's not available, we have other transportation solutions that are available too.

So if they're traveling longer distances, where maybe a volunteer wouldn't drive three hours one way to get somebody to treatment, there are other solutions available, including lodging.

You don't always think of lodging as a transportation solution.

But if somebody has to travel away from home for their cancer treatment, we have 31 Hope Lodges available across the United States, including one in Kansas City, that the cancer patient and a caregiver can stay free of charge.

- Nice.

- And where there's not Hope Lodges, we have other lodging options that are available too to assist cancer patients that have to travel away from home.

- I love your caring personnel as well because oftentimes that may be the only person that they interact with.

So they need to speak with that person as they're going to and from their treatments.

And that person can come in and listen, listen to the doctor and listen to help talk them through it on the way to and from.

- Absolutely, yes.

And I always recommend, when somebody's been diagnosed with cancer, take someone to the treatment with you.

Take someone to the doctor's appointment with you.

Have them take notes.

There's so much information that's thrown at you.

And don't be afraid to ask your doctor questions.

Like, I don't understand what you're talking about, I don't understand what's going on.

Most of us are not medical doctors.

We don't understand the terminology.

And it's okay to question your doctor and say, I don't understand what's happening here.

- Talk about mental health resources because that's as big a component as everything else.

- Absolutely.

When someone's diagnosed with cancer, there's a lot that goes into it.

And thankfully, due to research, it's being taken a lot more seriously, the mental component of the cancer treatment, because it's not just, oh, we're gonna zap this cancer.

It is the whole person, it's their whole body, it's their whole family that's being affected by it.

So definitely more resources that are available to the cancer patients and their entire families for that.

- Okay, what about the friend unit?

Let's step out a little ways.

Like, in fact, many of us hear about, oh, did you hear about so and so?

They just got a, and you're like, okay, what do I do?

So you wanna call up and say, what can I do?

Which is like the worst thing to do because they're lost.

They're dealing with everything.

What can the people, not the caregivers, but the little bit outer circle, what can they do?

And importantly, what should they not do?

- Yes, that's a great question.

First of all, I would always, my best advice is to listen.

Listen to their needs.

And also, call before you visit.

During cancer treatment, they may not be feeling well or they may be limited to the number of visitors that they can have.

And so, definitely call, listen to what their needs are.

It could be as simple as, can I take your son to softball practice, or, hey, I'm heading to the grocery store, what do you need me to pick up for you, to save them a trip.

But really listen to the entire family on what their needs are.

Like, everybody thinks, oh, I'm gonna give them meals, I'm gonna give them meals.

Well, ask ahead of time because with cancer treatment, sometimes tastes change, smells change.

It could be very helpful to have something that they could put into their freezer and pull out, but you don't wanna give 'em something that's gonna make them feel worse.

- Well, Amy, thank you so much for being on with us at "Inspire."

And the American Cancer Society is such a tremendous resource for our community members going through their own battles against cancer.

And coming up next, the last of our survivor stories.

We honor Barbara Craig, and our very own, Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt.

So please stay with us.

(upbeat music) I'm so pleased to be here with a woman that I consider one of my friends to talk about something that no one ever wants to hear, the words, you have cancer.

I'm talking with Barbara Craig.

Thank you for being here with me today on "Inspire."

So pleased that you could be with us.

- Thank you for having me.

- Tell me about when you first heard the words that you had cancer.

- I got diagnosed April of 2016.

And they took some tests and it came back that I had cancer.

So the next day, I found out what type it was.

So it was stage three.

- Oh my goodness.

- [Barbara] Yes.

- And for people who don't know about the stages, what does that mean?

- Stage four is the highest, and it's really bad.

You know, stage three is bad.

And then you have different types of it.

And my tumor was almost a little bit bigger than a baseball.

- Oh my goodness.

So where was the tumor, if I may ask?

- In my right breast.

- [Danielle] Okay.

Okay.

- So I had to have a mastectomy done, 15 rounds of chemo.

- Wow.

- 33 rounds of radiation.

So I did all of this from April and finished December of that same year.

- Talk to me, had you had a family history of cancer or were you the first one in your family to have that diagnosis?

- My mom had cancer like in 1970.

- [Danielle] Okay.

- So that was a totally different.

They didn't have chemo then.

They just had radiation.

So she had her left breast removed.

And her left arm swole from lymphedema.

And I did have some in my lymph nodes in my right arm.

So I do have lymphedema.

So I had six taken out.

Three had cancer in them.

So it's just, you know, the stages you go through, the swelling, it don't come all at once.

You have neuropathy.

Lymphedema, they have to see your fingernails and toes, make sure they, because they gonna change colors.

- My goodness.

These are things that most of of us have no clue about unless we've been around someone who was going through a cancer journey.

You've been in remission now for how many years?

- Eight years.

- Tell me something that you could share with our listeners and our viewers about what it's like being on the other side, 'cause how long was the journey for you?

- Like I said, it started in August.

I'm still, you know, going through it.

My kids we're my caregivers, my coworkers.

I went to chemo one day, went to work the next day.

- My goodness.

- Went to surgery, they let me out the next day to have a mastectomy.

I was home for a week.

I could barely stand that.

(laughs) But, you know, I treat my doctors as my bosses.

So whatever they say, you do it.

And I tell everybody that.

Make sure you tell your doctors, you're the bosses.

Whatever they say goes.

- Well, you're a very positive person that I have loved from the get go.

So thank you not only for being an inspiration but for being my friend.

And thank you for joining us on "Inspire" today.

- Thank you.

Thank you for having me.

I enjoyed it.

- Hearing the diagnosis that you have cancer is bad enough.

But when you're a public figure, just double that or triple that.

Vicki Schmidt, our Kansas Insurance Commissioner.

That was what you had to deal with on top of hearing the diagnosis.

Please elaborate.

- Well, I decided to turn that very negative event to a positive event.

You know, early detection makes such a difference.

And it's a difference of night and day.

And routine mammograms save lives.

And I believe that I'm here today because of early detection and early treatment.

And I have to encourage everyone to get their mammogram.

I wanna be the Bob Barker of mammograms.

I mean, you know, get your mammogram.

I mean, tell your loved ones, the people that you care about.

Get your mammogram.

I don't give a speech anymore without ending with that.

You know, speak to your loved ones about getting their mammograms.

- And your loved ones and people that you didn't even know loved you really came through for you in a big way.

- I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my husband, who, you know, took me to all my doctor's appointments, took care of me.

The day after surgery, I came out of the bedroom, and I said, "You know, I feel pretty good.

I think I could go to work today."

I said, "I'm gonna go get dressed, and you're gonna drive me to work."

And he said, "Turn around, go back.

Tomorrow you're gonna feel lousy.

This is just some medications talking."

And he was right.

The next day, I didn't feel like going to work.

But then he hid the power cord to my computer, to my work computer.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

That was not nice of him.

It wasn't nice.

- No, but this is so important.

I gotta tell you, the folks from the American Cancer Society think of you as one of their biggest cheerleaders.

Please elaborate a bit on- - Oh, you know, I don't think, I mean, I was a cheerleader in high school.

I'd love to have that.

I'd love to fit back into that skirt again.

But barring that, I mean, you know, I am so honored to be able to help raise money and to help spread the word about early treatment, early diagnosis.

I mean, it is an honor for me.

And it's not something that anybody would ever, you never hope you're gonna have a diagnosis like this, but, you know, it's okay.

It's part of the fabric of my life now.

And I wanna do whatever I can to make it better for other people.

- And we thank you so much.

Man, isn't it wonderful to see our Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicky Schmidt, cancer survivor.

I love you.

- Thank you so much, Betty Lou.

- Thank you so much.

This is amazing.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

(upbeat music) And that's all the time we have for today.

I wanna thank all of our cancer survivors and caregivers that joined us and shared their stories with us today.

Also, thank you to Amy Kralicek from the American Cancer Society for showing cancer patients and caregivers that they are not alone.

And don't forget, if you want to learn more about "Inspire" or watch this show again, learn more about the Cancer Society, just visit www.ktwu.org/inspire.

- Inspiring women, honoring cancer survivors and all of you battling cancer, and honoring all we have lost to cancer, on KTWU.

Thank you for watching.

(upbeat music continues) - [Announcer] "Inspire" is sponsored by the estate of Ray and Ann Goldsmith.

- [Announcer] And the Raymond C. and Marguerite Gibson Foundation, and - [Announcer] Friends of KTWU.

We appreciate your financial support.

Thank you.

(lighthearted music)