In this episode of the Oncology Revolution Podcast, we chat with Meghan McHugh, an Oncology Certified Nurse and Manager of the Lung Cancer Screening Program at Advocate Health, overseeing care across 50 locations and 26,000 patients each year. Meghan shares how early detection and community partnerships are changing outcomes around lung cancer.
Meghan's advices:
•Screening catches diseases early on and saves lives
•Stigma has no place in lung health
•Awareness drives better prevention
•Community outreach creates real change
In this episode of the Oncology Revolution Podcast, we delve into the science and implementation of exercise in cancer care, with Associate Professor at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences Tormod S. Nilsen. From resistance training and soccer-based interventions to managing fatigue and improving daily function, Tormod shares evidence and practical insights that show why exercise isn’t optional but essential.
In this episode:
•Why any movement is better than none and the need to start small and stay consistent
•How strength training preserves independence and quality of life
•Fatigue isn’t one condition; it has many causes
•Exercise trials prove benefit, but implementation is the next frontier
•Sustainable habits matter more than perfect programs
In this episode of the Oncology Revolution Podcast, we welcome Shelby Yaceczko, a registered dietitian and doctor of clinical nutrition, for a conversation about how evidence-based nutrition supports resilience and recovery throughout cancer care. Shelby shares her journey from sports nutrition and critical care to oncology, explaining how food and muscle health work together to help patients regain strength and function.
What you'll learn:
• Nutrition is a treatment, not an afterthought
• Early screening for malnutrition can change outcomes
• Protein intake needs to rise during illness and recovery
• Assessing body composition is essential for safe care
• Every patient deserves access to dietitian-led guidance
Following up the previous episode, we continue our discussion with Dr. Arif Kamal on making humanized care operational. We look at rebuilding trust, redesigning clinical trials with real lives in mind, and improving navigation so patients get clear information, plain-language consent, and support that fits their daily reality.
We explore topics such as:
•Trials that fit life: access, eligibility, logistics, and language
•Trust grows through transparency and authentic communication
•Navigation as a clinical intervention, not a brochure
•Technology should reduce burden, not add to it
•Partnering with patients turns experience into system change
Follow Dr. Arif at: linkedin.com/in/arifkamal
In this two-part conversation with Dr. Arif Kamal, an MD, Chief Patient Officer at the American Cancer Society, practicing oncologist and palliative care physician, we dive into what it really means to humanize care after cancer: bringing compassion earlier in the journey, centering what matters to patients and caregivers, and treating resilience as a skill that can be taught.
What Dr. Arif wants to keep in mind:
•Palliative principles belong early, not only at end-of-life
•Measure what matters: distress, function, goals
•Caregivers are part of the care plan, not visitors
•Financial toxicity is clinical: address it like a symptom
•Resilience can be learned through skills, coaching, and support
Follow Dr. Arif at: linkedin.com/in/arifkamalmd
In this episode, we're joined by Matthew Zachary, a brain cancer survivor, founder of Stupid Cancer, and creator of Out of Patients, in a conversation about what real patient advocacy means today. Drawing from decades of experience leading movements and building communities, Matthew shares how empathy, storytelling, and trust can transform the relationship between patients and professionals.
Matthew wants everyone to learn that:
•Advocacy starts with listening, not branding
•Empathy builds more trust than expertise alone
•Community creates change faster than awareness
•Storytelling is strategy, not decoration
•Patients don’t need saving; they need partnership
Want to bring empathy, communication, and patient-centered advocacy into your practice? Our Advanced Certificate in Lifestyle Oncology explores how lifestyle, communication, and integrative approaches strengthen the human side of cancer care. Learn more at esloncology.com
In this episode, we sit down with Beatriz Subtil, a PhD in Biomedical Sciences and Mindfulness Instructor, about how meditation helps manage stress and support overall wellbeing. Blending science and personal experience, Beatriz explains how being present can regulate cortisol, reduce inflammation, and transform how we respond to challenges, making meditation a practical, evidence-based tool for health and healing.
What Beatriz invites you to try:
•Practice presence, not perfection
•Use meditation to calm the body and mind
•Bring awareness to daily stressors
•Build resilience through small pauses
•Make mindfulness part of prevention Want to integrate mind-body practices into care?
Our Advanced Certificate in Lifestyle Oncology includes modules on stress, mindfulness, communication, and behavior change – designed for professionals who want to bring awareness-based tools into oncology and lifestyle medicine. Learn more: esloncology.com
In this episode, we welcome Toral Shah, a Nutritional Scientist, Integrative Oncology Practitioner, and breast cancer survivor, to tell us about how culture, environment, and lifestyle deeply shape cancer outcomes. Drawing from personal experience and research, Toral explains how personalized, culturally sensitive interventions can improve cancer prevention, treatment, and survivorship.
Key takeaways:
•Why cultural context matters in oncology care
•How food access, urban planning, and environment affect health outcomes
•Blind spots in current medical training and research diversity
•The role of lifestyle interventions in improving treatment adherence
•Why integrative, patient-centered care leads to better support
Want to integrate cultural sensitivity and lifestyle medicine into your clinical practice? Our Advanced Certificate in Lifestyle Oncology includes modules on communication, nutrition, exercise, behavior change, and integrative care strategies, all helping you deliver more inclusive, effective survivorship care. Learn more here: esloncology.com
In this episode, we chat with Mattia Pirani, exercise specialist at the PRIME Center of the Istituto Oncologico Romagnolo, where he designs personalized training programs for people during and after cancer treatment — including those living with metastatic disease.
Mattia shares how exercise, when structured and evidence-based, can ease treatment side effects, improve quality of life, and support long-term health outcomes. He explains why tailoring matters, what patients can realistically achieve, and how exercise becomes essential in oncology care.
What you’ll take away:
•How to adapt training for every stage, even advanced disease
•The role of supervision and personalization in safety
•Strategies to improve fatigue, mood, and daily function
In this episode, we chat with Petra Thaller (Outdoor Against Cancer) and Rūdolfs Cešeiko, PhD (Exercise Oncology Clinic, Latvia) on how structured exercise and outdoor movement can transform the cancer journey - from treatment to long-term recovery. Petra shares how founding Outdoor Against Cancer during chemotherapy put nature-based activity at the center of care, while Rūdolfs explains the clinic framework that blends aerobic endurance with strength training and the evidence-based 4×4 Method adapted for oncology.
What Petra & Rūdolfs want you to try:
•Start light, keep moving
•Go outdoors when you can
•Don’t skip strength work
•Use a structured plan (4×4)
•Seek supervised, accessible sessions
Want to bring exercise oncology into your professional practice? The Advanced Certificate in Lifestyle Oncology includes evidence-based modules on movement, strength training, communication, and behavior change.
Explore here: esloncology.com
In this episode, we chat with Tyler Hussey - pharmacist with over 12 years of experience in oncology - about his journey from burnout to functional and lifestyle medicine. Now working in a compounding pharmacy, Tyler focuses on hormones, health, and root-cause approaches to care.
What Tyler wants you to know:
•Lifestyle changes can power recovery
•Fasting may boost chemotherapy effects
•Hormones aren’t the enemy - context matters
•Pharmacists can educate beyond prescriptions
•Knowledge is the first step to control
For pharmacists seeking to expand their role in integrative cancer care, the Advanced Certificate in Lifestyle Oncology includes modules on nutrition, exercise, communication, and behavior change - tools to bring lifestyle medicine into pharmacy practice: esloncology.com
In this episode, we speak with Dr. Jessica Gorzelitz — researcher and director of the PACS Lab at the University of Iowa — about how physical activity can support and shape life after cancer. Jess combines kinesiology and epidemiology to study how behavior change and movement can shape life after cancer. As director of the Physical Activity and Cancer Survivorship (PACS) Lab at the University of Iowa, she develops scalable, accessible approaches that bring exercise and physical activity into survivorship care. We talk about: •The key difference between exercise and physical activity •How to motivate people when fatigue and anxiety get in the way•Why avoiding perfection helps build long-term habits •The role of community and accountability in sustaining change•When remote vs. in-person support works best for survivors
Want to better support cancer survivors in movement, mindset, and motivation? Explore our Advanced Certificate in Lifestyle Oncology — with modules on exercise, communication, behavior change, and long-term survivorship care: esloncology.com
In this episode, Alexandra Hill (@oncopelvicpt), a dual board-certified physical therapist specializing in pelvic health, oncology, and lymphedema care, joins us to explore the intersection of pelvic health and oncology rehabilitation. Alex takes us into a part of cancer recovery that’s often overlooked: the pelvic floor. With compassion and clarity, she explains how cancer treatments can affect pelvic health, what symptoms are common but rarely discussed, and why early, personalized rehab can dramatically improve quality of life. This conversation covers:
•The key roles of the pelvic floor in daily life and cancer recovery
•What pelvic rehab really involves — from assessment to treatment
•Practical strategies to support survivors experiencing pain, incontinence, or sexual dysfunction
•The barriers to access and why pelvic health still isn’t part of standard oncology care
•A vision for more inclusive, multidisciplinary and empowering cancer rehabilitation.
Inspired by this conversation? Learn how to integrate pelvic health, rehabilitation and patient-centred care in our Lifestyle Oncology Certificate.
In this episode, we’re joined by Krista Brown (@cancer.prevention.coach), an oncology nurse navigator and certified functional nutrition counselor with a master’s degree in medical nutrition. Krista shares her personal journey with cancer and how it shaped her mission to support others in navigating complex decisions with clarity and confidence.
We explore the role of genetic testing and counseling, breast reconstruction options, and the intersection of nutrition, lifestyle, and survivorship. Krista also highlights the power of self-advocacy, the importance of information literacy, and how patients can actively shape their care.
You’ll also hear:
• Why genetic counseling should be central to preventive oncology
• What patients need to look for in breast reconstruction options
• How to implement lifestyle strategies to support prevention and recovery
• Practical ways to advocate for yourself in the healthcare system
In this episode, we’re joined by Cheri Ambrose, Founder and President of the Male Breast Cancer Global Alliance, and a leading voice in challenging stigma, shifting policy, and advancing research for male breast cancer. We explore why breast cancer in men remains overlooked, how stigma and misconceptions delay diagnosis, and the power of global advocacy in driving change. Cheri shares her journey from a local initiative to a worldwide movement, the impact of peer support, and her mission to ensure men are included in clinical trials and have access to appropriate screening. You’ll also hear:
•Why awareness and early detection are critical for men’s breast health
•The role of peer support in empowering patients and families
•A groundbreaking proposal to make ultrasound the standard of care for men
In this episode, Adrian Pogacian, a licensed clinical psychologist, psycho-oncology specialist, and founder of the INCKA Psycho-oncology Center — shares his perspective on the emotional and relational dimensions of cancer care.
We explore his journey into psycho-oncology, the role of trust, human touch, and communication, and how families can navigate a cancer diagnosis together. Adrian also discusses post-traumatic growth, cultural barriers, and why multidisciplinary collaboration is essential for healing.
If Adrian’s insights on emotional wellbeing, communication, and patient–family support resonate with you, discover how our Advanced Certificate in Lifestyle Oncology equips healthcare professionals with practical skills in these areas — from stress management and relationships to communication in oncology and mental health after a cancer diagnosis: https://aim.clinic/en/product/lifestyle-oncology/
In this episode, we’re joined by Ellen Matloff, certified genetic counselor, CEO of My Gene Counsel, and pioneer in digital genetic health, for a compelling conversation on how genomics is reshaping cancer care. We explore the evolution of genetic counseling in oncology, the growing accessibility of genetic testing, and how digital tools are helping clinicians and patients make more informed, personalized decisions. Ellen shares why family history still matters, what red flags to look for, and how building a clear family health history can influence prevention and treatment. You’ll also hear:
•What red flags in family history may indicate higher cancer risk
•Why DPD testing isn’t yet standard, and why that must change
•How digital tools can expand access to genetic insights
•Tips for building and preserving your family health history
•Real-life stories of risk reduction through genetic awareness
In this episode, we welcome Michael Stubblefield — one of the world’s leading voices in cancer rehabilitation — for a deep dive into why restoring function should be a priority in oncology care.
We explore the evolution of cancer rehabilitation, from its early development to large-scale implementation across the U.S. and beyond. Stubblefield shares insights from his work with the ReVital Cancer Rehabilitation Program and his founding of the International Cancer Rehabilitation Foundation, highlighting the urgent need to train professionals, expand access, and reshape how survivorship is approached.
We discuss:
• How pain, fatigue, and loss of function after cancer treatment can — and should — be treated
• The specific needs of young adult survivors and long-term effects of chemo and radiotherapy
• The importance of knowing when to refer patients to specialists like nutritionists and therapists
• The upcoming launch of a global registry to improve access to cancer rehabilitation services
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Want to learn more about cancer rehab or get involved? Discover the mission of the International Cancer Rehabilitation Foundation, co-founded by Stubblefield, and support global efforts to transform cancer recovery: cancerrehabfoundation.org
In this episode, we’re joined by Professor Robert Newton — a global leader in exercise oncology — for an eye-opening conversation about how physical activity is transforming cancer treatment. We explore the science behind exercise as a medical intervention, from myokines and muscle preservation to improved immunity and survival outcomes. Rob shares insights from decades of research, including a landmark study showing that exercise can extend survival by up to 37% — results comparable to leading chemotherapy agents. We also discuss the real-world challenges of bringing exercise into routine oncology care, the need for high-intensity and tailored programs, and why it’s time to stop seeing movement as optional. Rob outlines his vision for a precision exercise oncology model and shares practical strategies for clinicians to integrate exercise safely and effectively into cancer care.
In this episode, we sit down with Ines Sadoc Pereira, a nurse consultant and wound care specialist, to explore the often-overlooked world of oncology wound and scar management. Ines shares her professional journey from ICU nurse in Portugal to tissue viability expert in the UK and explains the unique challenges cancer patients face when it comes to skin health, wounds, and healing. We talk about the role of education, therapeutic communication, and scar therapy in improving quality of life, as well as the importance of compassionate, patient-centered care. We also explore how recent advancements — from AI and telemedicine to next-generation wound products — are reshaping this field, and what still needs to change to make care more accessible, holistic, and human.