This Is Why We Had to Create This

#001 A cancer diagnosis can leave you feeling overwhelmed, uncertain, and searching for answers. This episode introduces Hope Forward, a podcast from Rexanna's Foundation created to provide clear information, real conversations, and meaningful support for patients, caregivers, and families.

Learn why this podcast exists and how it's designed to help you move forward with confidence, connection, and hope.

📒 Show Notes and Resources 📒

✅ Contact Rexanna's Foundation
https://rexannasfoundation.org/contact/

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Transcript

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You need to know that if you're walking through cancer right now in any capacity whatsoever, you're not alone here in this podcast and not alone in this community. What has stayed with me most is that cancer is the great equalizer. The needs, the challenges, all of it, you guys, is universal. And sometimes the worst window of time is from the moment we're diagnosed to the moment we have a protocol, a plan in place. The anxiety goes up, and that's when we get crazy, right? And we go to the internet and we start searching. We want to find ways to create a community to support the patient. Without the patient feeling like cancer is the only thing they have to deal with in their life. Over and over again, patients share with me. They want clarity of information. They want to understand all the options that exist. They want to have conversations outside of the cancer diagnosis. This isn't just a podcast. We're creating a community of conversation. We want to encourage everybody to be a part of this. And hope empowers people to move forward, even if we're uncertain about the future. Hey everybody, I'm Lisa Spain, the Executive Director of Rex Anna's Foundation. And today is the kickoff of our new podcast, Hope Forward. I am so excited about this, you guys. Man, it is just integral to our mission at Rexanas Foundation. Part of our mission is to love and support and be with the cancer patients and their families throughout this journey. And you guys, that's what this podcast does. It helps us lean in. The opportunity for us to work together, to be on this podcast together and learn together really resonates with me. This podcast is funded through Sandy's Project Hope. This program was created to extend the practical and emotional support for all patients of cancer and their families. So for those of you listening, thank you, thank you so much. Whether you're a patient in treatment, a survivor, a care giver, a friend or a family member, those grieving or those newly diagnosed, you guys, thank you for joining us. You need to know that if you're walking through cancer right now in any capacity whatsoever, you're not alone here in this podcast and not alone in this community. So let's talk about the why. The why behind hope forward. You guys, cancer can be so overwhelming. And I know I'm singing to the choir, right? It's isolating, it can be confusing. It really is a difficult journey for everybody. So often the information is too clinical, it's too technical, or too filtered, and don't feel bad, you guys. I've been doing this for many years and have gone to so many clinical conferences, cancer conferences, and I still struggle with all of the information in the technical terms. And sometimes the worst window of time is from the moment we're diagnosed to the moment we have a protocol, a plan in place. The anxiety goes up, and that's when we get crazy, right? And we go to the internet and we start searching. And you guys, that's not always really helpful for us. So, patients, families, and all of our extended friends, we deserve more. We deserve clear information, we deserve honest conversations, practical guidance to help us in the journey, the emotional support that's so needed, and real hope. At Rexanta Foundation, our mission has always been to support patients and families throughout their entire cancer journey. Hope forward is absolutely an extension of that mission. Hope forward exists because education and knowledge reduce our fears, you guys. Community, it reduces the isolationism we feel. And hope empowers people to move forward, even if we're uncertain about the future. Why hope forward? We were super intentional about this name. I just love it personally. I know that's not fair since this is my podcast, but I do. Hope it's not about denial. Hope's not pretending that things aren't hard, because definitely we know how challenging they are. Hope is choosing to move forward even when the path is uncertain. And hope can exist, you guys, when we're afraid, when fear exists, when it's hard, when there are hard days, hope still can exist. Hope forward isn't false optimism. And you guys that know me, I do live in a world of optimism. I try so hard every day to wake up and embrace the moments. But hope forward is about informed strength. It's about facing reality and still choosing to move forward. What this podcast is not, let me tell you, it's not gonna be overly clinical because I can't even pronounce the names of many of the medicines that are diagnosed. So don't even worry about that. It's not gonna be political, it's not fear-based, and it's not gonna be sugar coated. Hope forward is reality where we can have conversations and talk real of what's happening and going on in our lives. So who's the target audience of Hope Forward? Any single person associated with a person in battle, can't battling cancer. It could be you, the patient, it could be the family, it could be the caregivers associated, the extended family, friends, you guys co-workers. Many times we're in situations we don't know how to react, what we can say, what can we not say. This community is for everyone that's absolutely touched by a cancer diagnosis. Some episodes are gonna focus on specific types of cancer. We'll let you know that in advance. Some are gonna deal with universal issues that all cancers would be impacted by. We're talking mental health, um, your relationships, your survivorship. We're talking about nutrition, fitness, finances. We know that cancer, the diagnosis doesn't just affect the person that has the cancer. It infects entire families, the extension of the family. And this podcast is for every single one of you. I want to give you some ideas about some specific topics. These have come from, like I said, many years of working with patients, but most recently, all the questions that have been going through conversations I've had with patients and caregivers. What about understanding our diagnosis in plain language, right? Terms that the layman can understand. Biomarker testing. Why does it matter? All this here we hear about genetic testing. Let's learn more about that together. Mental health. The first thing I think about when I think of mental health is scan'sity. Yes, scans and anxiety, right? It's real. The just the trepidation, the pressure of going for those next scans. You want to know it's all clear, no evidence of disease, right? NED is what we're looking for. We're gonna talk about caregiver burnout because so many times we talk about the patient, but we don't consider the overwhelming stressors that are placed on the caregiver. I completely understand that because I have been a caregiver for immediately immediate family of my own. And then we're gonna talk some about clinical trials. What happens in a clinical trial? How do you sign up? How do you know which ones are right for you? There's so many opportunities for clinical trials, and clinical trials make the difference for future research, and they're desperately needed to have participants. What about palliative care? What does that mean for you? What does that look like? Nutritional myths, there's a lot of them out there. What works, what doesn't? And how about some real patient stories? The topics are endless, so we really want to lean into things that will engage this community and help all of us learn and stretch. I'm gonna be bringing different folks to join me in this discussion. So you're not gonna be just stuck with just me all the time. I need to bring in some experts, physicians, surgeons, researchers, survivors, caregivers, advocacy leaders, nutritionalists, fitness experts. You guys, the sky's the limit. Let's reach out, let's tap into this wealth of knowledge that's out there so you and I can learn together how to better navigate the marathon that we experience during cancer. Each episode is gonna be set up following a 3, 2, 1 pattern. We're gonna provide three main points of information and learning that we can all wrap our heads around. We're gonna provide two perspectives. This section I'm gonna call Ask the Expert. They could be the same perspectives, but coming maybe from a physician or a patient, a caregiver. But we're gonna lean into those perspectives and see what they're thinking. And then number one is the stretch. This is what I'm calling hope in action. This isn't the action item that you and I can take from the learning. It's a motivation, perhaps. Maybe it's something that extends our learning, and it's usually gonna be based on the patient experience. Three, two, one, three main points, two perspectives, and one stretch to hope in action. Every episode, for me personally, the goal is that you leave more informed, more supported, and absolutely more empowered in this journey. In my role as executive director and a patient advocate, and as a caregiver for several family members who are warriors, I've seen and learned so much about this journey that we face in cancer. I've been supporting cancer patients for 20 plus years. And if I can help someone else navigate this journey in a way that reduces the stress, that allows you to breathe in a little bit deeper, to notice the little things in life that bring you joy and bring some sort of normal to your life. That's what I desperately want to do, you guys. What has stayed with me most is that cancer is the great equalizer. The needs, the challenges, all of it, you guys, is universal. Doesn't matter. Ethnicity, economic, none of it matters. Cancer is brutal. It doesn't matter who you are. I've learned that everyone has the best intentions. Think about it. When we're first diagnosed with cancer, the support comes in, right? We have meal trains, we have people calling and checking on us, especially in the first few weeks, maybe even months, or during surgery. But you guys, the cancer battle can be years. The good news is that many battles are extended longer because this research is working. There are new treatments out there. But with that, sometimes when a patient's on year three, four, five and still going to monthly checkups or three-month scans or six-month scans, sometimes that support system is not as great. We want to find ways to create a community to support the patient without the patient feeling like cancer is the only thing they have to deal with in their life. Waking up, worrying about the meds that day, worrying about what treatments they're going to, checking the calendar every second for what appointments are coming up. They want their life to be way more than just the diagnosis and just the battle. We want to navigate that journey with them. Over and over again, patients share with me they want clarity of information. They want to understand all the options that exist. They want to have conversations outside of the cancer diagnosis. You guys, one of the things I want to reference is a book. This book is called The Magic of Normal. It's by Dr. Mackie Zangine. Sorry. Dr. Mackie Zangine. The Magic of Normal, it talks about her journey with breast cancer and how she just wants returned to normal in her life. It's a wonderful read, easy read. I really encourage you to read it because she demonstrates how she navigates life and she does not allow cancer, the diagnosis, the treatments, the chemo, all of it to derail her from her daily focus and her goals in life. It's a really fantastic read. It is the magic of normal, hope, love, and beyond. Because of Sandy's Project Hope within Rexana's Foundation, we're able to bring these conversations directly to you. Sandy's Project Hope was created to expand the support and education for patients and their families. The Hope Forward Podcast is a living extension of that commitment. It absolutely helps us bring Sandy's Project Hope to life. Please join us, you guys, for this podcast. There's going to be information and links to contact us in the show notes. Subscribe, share the episode, share the information. If you're listening on YouTube, comment, provide suggestions. We'd love to hear from you. We want to listen to what you have to say. Every bit of your feedback matters. At our website, rexanafoundation.org. There's a place where you can write for more information. That's another location that you can go to to share your stories with us as well. We'd love to hear. You guys, this isn't just a podcast. We're creating a community of conversation. We want to encourage everybody to be a part of this. Guys, I'm so excited about this opportunity. And I know I've said that too many times in this podcast, but I am. I'm thrilled about it. My goal for this podcast is everyone moving through cancer or supporting someone that is battling this disease. They get the clarity they need. They get the support and information they need to make the courageous decisions. And you guys, that we create a community that fills their soul with hope. You guys, until next time, I want you to lean in. I want you to capture those moments that make you smile. Together, let's create a community that moves hope forward.