Latest / Get Savvy...Demystifying Healthcare / Episode 136: Beyond the Diagnosis: The Questions Every Cancer Patient Should Ask

Transcript

Episode 136: Beyond the Diagnosis: The Questions Every Cancer Patient Should Ask · Get Savvy...Demystifying Healthcare

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Be frank, let's start out say, look, sometimes you know, we have to keep it real.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like, look, I just got diagnosed with cancer.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of stuff you're going to say is gonna go over my head.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Can you please slow it down and um break it down for me?
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: And is it okay if I take notes?
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: They're not going to tell you no.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to record it, however, you must ask permission.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: But I don't think there's much sense in recording because then you're going to be listening to it later and listening to another language, maybe.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: But ask that permission if that will work.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: The questions you want to ask.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: If healthcare has ever left you feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, or stuck, this show is for you.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to GetStabby, the Mystifying Healthcare weekly podcast, where we take complicated healthcare topics and make them simple.
• 0:48
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• 0:57
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• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: Get Stabby with your host, Dandy Kibling, changing how healthcare knowledge is shared.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_02: Hello everyone, before we get into the show, just a quick 90-second update.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_02: What could you accomplish if you could gain five or even 10 hours every week?
• 1:20
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• 1:23
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• 1:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, it's that AI topic.
• 1:30
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• 1:32
  SPEAKER_02: I believe that AI should make your life easier, not leave you buried in confusing tools, technical jargon, and endless tutorials.
• 1:40
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• 1:48
  SPEAKER_02: At Playbook AI Partners, I deliver practical conversations, expert insights, and simple AI knowledge nuggets that you can put to work in your business or personal goals right away without becoming a technology expert.
• 2:02
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• 2:19
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• 2:23
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• 2:25
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• 2:27
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• 2:34
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• 2:36
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• 2:40
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• 2:42
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• 2:48
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• 2:50
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• 2:52
  SPEAKER_02: Let's demystify AI together.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_02: And now on with the show.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: Well, hello everyone, and welcome to the show.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_02: Beyond the diagnosis, cancer courage and the questions that matter.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_02: Cancer is a word that no one wants to hear, and once it enters a conversation, the questions can feel overwhelming.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_02: Understanding the diagnosis, treatment options, and what to ask next can feel unfamiliar, scary, and uncertain.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_02: To help us get into this topic, I have Dr.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_02: Camille Williams on the show.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_02: Dr.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_02: Williams is a board certified radiation oncologist, retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, and founder of Questions for Cancer Doctor.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_02: She helps patients, veterans, and families better understand cancer diagnosis, treatment options, and the questions they need to ask when the road feels uncertain.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_02: With deep experience of both military and civilian medicine, she also helps veterans and their families better understand how cancer, toxic exposures, and military service may connect to their broader health and benefits journey.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the show, Dr.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_02: Williams.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, Sandy.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for having me here.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's indeed a pleasure.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my goodness.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you have a wealth of experience.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_02: I'm so gr honored that you're you've taken some time out today.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_02: So thank you.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_02: And um, let's get started.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_02: Tell us your story and how did how it has led you on the journey you were on today.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, wow, my goodness.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_02: Do we have time?
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Where do I start?
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: So just to be uh transparent, I am not one of the regular physicians who were, you know, always wanted to be a doctor or born with a silver spoon in my mouth.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: I grew up in Jamaica.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I so I grew up under the British system.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then after graduating from high school, I had that carrot dangled in front of my from my um by my dad.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, oh, well, if you want to come to America, you need to get your grades straight.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because back then I was a jock.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: You know, everyone thinks everyone from Jamaica runs track.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I thought I could be one of them back then.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, ooh, Olympics, track, you know.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: But um, when I came to America, it wasn't all I thought it would be, because there weren't any job opportunities for a teenager.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: We graduate much younger.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: So I was like 16 when I graduated high school per the British system.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: So when I came here still a teenager, I worked several odd jobs.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, this is not what I want to do.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: I want to go to school, I want to do more.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: And lo and behold, those commercials be all you could be.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, that's what I'm going to do.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I called the recruiter.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: And the recruiter came to my home, picked me up, and we did all of that.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: So my first step being here was joining the military.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I was enlisted in the nuclear, biological, and chemical field.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: NBC, yeah.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: So it started many moons ago, back in the 90s.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: So that was my first exposure being enlisted.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: So back then it's like a grunt, all that stuff.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: But I did contribute to the GI Bill because I knew I wanted to go to college.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because of my athletic prowess, I guess, at the time, I was being recruited by West Point.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I went to West Point Prep for a year, but eventually went to Rutgers.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: So my journey is absolutely not a straight one.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: I worked while I was enlisted.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: I went to community college while I was enlisted.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: So it's really, I say, a path that was laid out for me, but by God, you know.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I went through all of that meandering and um went to medical school in Maryland, to the Uniformed Service University, which is a military medical school.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: The best part about that is that you get paid to go to school.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I did not have to worry about debt.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: And it was during that time, that process, I found out about using what I knew before as an enlisted with the radiation and the chemical exposure, that there was actually a specialty that would incorporate all of that, which turned out to be radiation.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: So after all of that, I then went, I got trained in um out at Chicago at Northwestern, went back into the military to serve, and I start advocating for patients then because there was such a gap of when someone is diagnosed and what questions they need to ask.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I've recognized this for many years now.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: I started I started officially the track of advocating back like in 2011.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I've been on this for a while.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_02: So that's a lot.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_02: And let's abbreviate it.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_02: I had to abbreviate it for you.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_02: Well, first of all, thank you for your service.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_02: I we're so grateful.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_02: And you getting to where you're at today.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_02: I know this sounds basic, but let's let's start off with what is re what is a radiation oncologist?
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_02: Let maybe let's just set the record straight on that.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: And thank you for asking that question, because I always tell folks that radiation, we're the anchor leg when it comes to cancer treatment.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: So if someone is initially diagnosed, they don't see us first.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's usually either through their primary care or, you know, the pulmonologist, whatever, but they never really see us first.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: So what I like to do in explaining what we do first is just do a big um aerial view of what cancer treatment is like, right?
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: So there are three big components of cancer treatment.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: First, oncology just means cancer.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: So you have the surgical oncologist, and there are different types of oncologists in the surgical field.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: So you have like in your surgeon who does the brain, they'll cut out the tumor from the brain.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: You have the breast surgeon or even general surgeon there, you have thoracic surgeon who deal with the lung.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: But the job for the surgeon is quite straightforward.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Cut out the tumor.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's it.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: As cleanly as possible, leaving nothing behind.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: So first the surgeon would go in.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: Well, sometimes the the medical oncology they come before, but the medical oncology now, what they do is they give, I always say systemic therapy because it can be done via the vein, orally or otherwise.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: But commonly people think of chemotherapy, but we now have a lot of immunotherapy, and chemotherapy can also be in pill form.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: So, generally speaking, the um medical oncologists will give you the systemic therapy that goes throughout your system.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: So that would be um, there are two ways I used to describe this.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm military, so forgive my comparison.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: So the the chemotherapy would be like using like a Uzi weapon, right?
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like a machine gun, it sprays, it goes everywhere and it destroys everything.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: The cancer cell, though, inherently, because it's already damaged, it cannot repair itself.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: The good cells can repair itself.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why sometimes folks will lose their hair with certain chemotherapeutic drugs, but then because that's good cell, it will grow back.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: There's some damage that may be lingering, like if you have neuropathy, that tingling in your fingers or toes, etc.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: But the goal, another example is like Pac-Man, right?
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: The Pac-Man everyone can relate to, it just goes and it gobbles up everything as well.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what chemotherapy does.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: And typically that's given through the vein.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to get something in and it goes anywhere you have blood, chemotherapy can go there.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: The third portion that we use to fight then is radiation.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: Radiation is more of a sniper, it's very specific.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: So only where we point the beam is where we treat.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: It can be as laser focused as to treat like a five-millimeter tumor in the brain, or we can make the the band of it or the width of it as wide as to treat the breast, but then we can also cone it down small to treat the prostate.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: The way I tend to describe this as well for the basic understanding, again, that's what I try to do, is if you think about like a grape and you put the grape in the sun, what does it become?
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: A raisin, right?
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: It just dries it up.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what radiation does, in essence.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: Whenever we target the tumor that can be visually seen, such as in the lung cancer, it really just target it and it shrinks.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: So it's our job as radiation oncologists to make sure we keep other organs that are close by, safe as possible, with minimal effect by the radiation that we're given.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: So as tell folks, radiation is like the sun, it just dries stuff up and we have to be careful of the organs that are close by, and that's where the side effects come into play.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: So those are the three big players in the field of treating cancer.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_02: I have never heard anyone explain it that way, that you've just made it simple.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_02: And I love this because this has been my whole mission and my podcast.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you and I would both agree, and it no doubt is your path of advocacy because healthcare literacy is high.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_02: It's complicated, it's confusing, people are not feeling well, there's white coat syndrome, there's a myriad of things that people experience.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_02: So I so appreciate how you've just taken what is complicated and made it simple.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_02: I've never heard it explained that way.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_02: So thank you for your doing that and making that that that simple, which I have to ask about the queen, right?
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_02: Because I think you try to, in the spirit of also explaining and making it simple, you also try to take away that white coat syndrome a little bit.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_02: So tell me more.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: So in walking in advocacy, I've I've organized breast cancer walk, I've had stuff for prostate cancer, I've done one-on-one advocacy because sometimes folks just are not as comfortable with the information they're receiving from their doctors, even though it may be, they just want to hear it from someone else.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so when folks approach me, maybe it's like my Caribbean vibe, when take away the doctor portion, they find that I'm more approachable, less threatening.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have to put my white coat on.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: They can say queen and no, they're not disrespecting me because they're not saying doctor wives, because then they're saying, okay, well, queen is a title.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Princess is for a little girl, you're grown.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: They literally went through that process with me in a breast cancer survivor group I was going.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: So they dubbed me queen because they're like, okay, queen, you explain stuff.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: You're so approachable, you just rule the land.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so I've been dubbed queen.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was like, okay, so Dr.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: Williams or Queen, I'm okay with that.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of my advocate patients, then my family got on to saying queen, and that's where the queen quanta came from.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, the my patients, again, it's been so long.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: I graduated medical school in 2003.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: And when you became the when when I became that doctor in the family, let me tell you, stuff were coming from everywhere.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: And my parents, they are one is a high school graduate and one is not.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm always their little girl.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: And if they can't understand it, I'm doing a poor job.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not doctor to them.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just, you know, little Camille or Dimples or whatever they used to call me back then, my nickname.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: So um, yeah, I strive to make sure that my family and friends and my parents were able to understand medical terminology.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it birthed from that.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: Again, in the Caribbean, they are really not into going to doctors as much.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: They do a lot of herbal stuff.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: So trust me, I had my work cut out for me.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_02: But I love that you're open to that too, because I do think, you know, now speaking of that, someone gets a cancer diagnosis and and they freeze, they get scared, they get frustrated.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_02: As do uh family members get that way as well.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_02: You're like, I I don't even know what to say.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_02: So we I appreciate that that extra touch of queen to make uh make it more approachable because it is a tough one.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_02: No.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_02: Speaking of that, we don't wish it on anyone, but if it happens, what what are the first questions that someone should ask after a cancer diagnosis?
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: So, really, to be honest with you, Sandy, there's been a lot of changes in the way that patients are informed that they have cancer.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: And some of it said, you know, they get a phone call.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's not as personable as it used to be.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: So it really depends on the situation.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: So this approach, as far as the questions to ask, will be as when you go in for your first consultation.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: The first thing I would say before any question comes up, if you're going on your consultation, never go to your consultation alone.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: Don't do that.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of folks I've come across over the past decades, they like to be private about things, but you must have a trusted source that you can take with you because you need more ears than your own.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: And when you're in that room, that white coat syndrome, that fear, that apprehension, even when the physician is trying to explain, chances are a lot of the verbiage and the terminology is going to go over your ears, go over your head.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: So you need someone who can be a scribe for you, someone who can speak up for you when you are not able to speak.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: So before even coming to the questions, you have to make sure that you have someone going with you to these appointments.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: And it was to that end that we created the Questions for Cancer Doctor book for both pressed, prostate and breast, where you can write those questions down.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: Now, in asking the question, I always tell my advocates, my the patients I'm advocating for family and friend, is to ask the doctor.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: Be frank.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: Let's start.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'd say, look, sometimes you know, we have to keep it real.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like, look, I just got diagnosed with cancer.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of stuff you're going to say is gonna go over my head.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: So can you please slow it down and break it, um, break it down for me?
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: And is it okay if I take notes that going to tell you no?
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to record it, however, you must ask permission.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: But I don't think there's much sense in recording because then you're going to be listening to it later and listening to another language, maybe, but ask that permission if that will work.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: The questions you want to ask, firstly, whenever they're talking about the cancer, if it's not something that you can see, such as skin cancer, if you cannot see that, right?
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: You if you can see skin cancer, it's fine, you know where it is.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: If it's not, ask, can you show me on a picture inside where the cancer is located?
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: Did the cancer go anywhere else?
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: How do you plan to treat the cancer?
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: So those are three things.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: But first, a picture is better than a thousand words.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: I cannot draw, Sandy.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: I still do stick art.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I cheat, I print out pictures, I have anatomic body images and stuff in my office so I can point to where it is.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: So if I'm talking about cervical cancer, a lot of really don't know where that is.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: Or a prostate, they have no clue because it's not something you can see with the naked eye.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: So using the picture, the side view, being more relatable, taking the time, ask your doctors to do that for you.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then based on where it's located, you may have a better understanding of where it spreads to or may spread to or why certain treatments are being recommended.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: This is your body, your temple.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: You're still in charge of it.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: So be sure to ask the questions that are most important to you.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I will pause and say this one thing.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of time when folks are diagnosed with cancer, with cancer sandy, the first thing comes to mind is their demise, right?
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: Is death and dying.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: Not that's not always the case, but we're human.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's the first thing that comes to mind.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: And guess what?
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: If that's the first thing on your mind, you need to ask your doctor, Doctor, am I gonna die from this?
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: You may be the person who have to work backwards.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: Because I've had patients with stage zero breast cancer where that was their major concern.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so I pause and I go through the staging with them and why zero is really not going to be something that they would die from as far as medicine, not in that stage, it's over 95% um cure rate, if we can use that word, right?
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: So it's really being honest with how you feel.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: For some, they may want to take stepwise from the beginning.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: For others, they may want to jump to the end and ask.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it's your prerogative.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: The doctors are there for you.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: Make it a team approach.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, that is so valuable.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_02: And I love that I always say this.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_02: My listeners hear me say it all the time.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_02: I might need to start including in the version of a song or something, but I do believe in leadership and health for sure.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_02: Now, I want to lean in a little bit.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_02: Those are some, because I want to feed the need, so to speak, of my listeners.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_02: And I also want to leverage your military background as well.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_02: So if I may kind of segue a little bit into that, what unique health challenges do veterans and maybe military families face when dealing with a cancer serious illness?
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, there are plus and minuses for the military systems, right?
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because we tend to say in the military, we take care of our own.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're in the military and you're diagnosed with cancer, then you have access, direct access, without consideration for insurance or anything like that to get the care that you need.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: It becomes an issue, though, when you're looking at exiting and leaving the military, or if you are already out of the military, but you are deployed in areas where you may have been exposed to certain types of toxin.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's important for this is something I've learned since I was enlisted.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: Always keep track and keep a copy of every single military encounter for your health.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: So the unique challenges aren't really when you are in, because I have to say that the military take excellent care of their troops.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: So we have excellent doctors who are there.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: And if there's something that they cannot do in the military, they will allow you to get treatment in other institutions that are close by.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: So they take excellent care of their troops.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: When the issue becomes, though, what it becomes an issue is when they're leaving or if they're already out, or if they had an illness in, didn't keep good track.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I have to say, one of the issues outside of cancer, when I was enlisted in the military, going to sick call, that is, if you're not feeling well, you're going into the doctor, um, that was considered a side of weakness.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: We're told to push through certain Things and to to you know you're you gotta be tough.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta do all these things.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: And so a lot of soldiers may have encountered, and I say soldiers, but this all apply to my other comrades in arms, the Air Force and the sailors and those in the Space Force, Space Force, et cetera, Coast Guards, um, that we're typically told not to go in, not to report.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: But if it's not documented, it didn't happen.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's very important if someone is active duty now, whatever you're going through, make sure you keep a record of all your assignments.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: And because of the work I do with veterans, we're starting to recognize over the past I would say decades or so that some of these assignments and deployments are not in our final exit document called the DD Form 214.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: And some people may have misplaced that they were deployed to Afghanistan or Iran, whatever it may be.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't have those orders, it will not show up or likely not show up on your final exit form called the DD Form 214.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: So the issue starts when you're out and you're trying to prove that you've been exposed or had certain injuries or illnesses and working with the VA for benefit.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: They've gotten much better, I must admit, um, over the past uh few years.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: But there's where the challenge comes up.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: Not while they're in, but as they're exiting and when they're out.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: At least that's been my experience for those that I've worked with.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_02: Well, question for you, because this all sounds familiar.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_02: My my husband was in the Air Force and his my father-in-law was in the Navy.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_02: And so when we were trying to get care, because I only asked this because it you're trying to deal with the diagnosis, and now you're trying to figure out who's going to cover what.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_02: And so um what we found was that it was also tiered.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_02: And what and what I mean by that is based on years of service or or you know, you were oh you were allowed a certain percentage, I want to call it that, but percentage of care.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_02: And so the you would only get so much based on did you serve in a war zone or did you, you know, that kind of thing.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_02: So I I don't know if that still applies, but I know we encountered that with my father-in-law and so, and actually in my with my husband as well.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_02: So what would you recommend because a first step reaching out?
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_02: So someone has a cancer diagnosis or veteran, maybe just reaching out to the VA first to confirm maybe benefits, um, just to confirm how they can treat their cancer if that's the case.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: I would say always to start with a credentialed uh VA personnel.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: So that could be someone that's a VSO or a VFW.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_00: There are multiple of them.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: I always say credentialed because there's some out there who are doing this who are not credentialed.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: So they really do need to be credentialed to work with the VA.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: They will guide you through, right?
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: There, they've made it much easier now where you can upload your own information and do your own packet, but there'll always be blind sides or stuff you may miss because you simply don't know all of what's encompassed and what's required.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: So working with someone who is um credentialed is definitely, definitely helpful in getting your claim started.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: I do not do claims, I only work on the medical side, specifically in cancer and toxic exposure, and doing like Nexus letters or helping with DBQs, et cetera.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: And we can go into explanation of that, but that's really military veteran related.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: But um, don't try to do this on your own because sometimes you don't know what you don't know.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: Things are getting better.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: The tear portion, I don't think I can speak to that.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's more of a percentage of uh the benefit, how they do some calculation and based on how intense your uh residuals are.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: So if someone maybe have lost a leg, eye issue, diabetes, GERD, heart issues.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: So there are different types of rating depending on the seriousness of the diagnosis.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_00: And they actually go through that.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: If someone, you know, if you have, I'll use an easy example, reflux.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: I don't do reflux um evaluation.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: But let's say you're taking, you know, you only have it maybe once a month.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's different than somebody who's actually consistently have to take medication every day in order to keep their uh their GUR or their reflux disease in check.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: So really it has a lot to do with the intensity or how difficult it is to manage the diagnoses that you have.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_02: No, I appreciate that.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_02: And here's why why I went through to that in my head.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_02: I'm also a health insurance broker, and so and also we were a caregiver of my father-in-law, again, who was in the Navy, and we take care of my sweet mom, who's 85.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_02: I mention her all the time on the show.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_02: So she's a spicy lady.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_02: But I mentioned that because in health insurance, unfortunately, so many people, you know, health insurance is so high.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_02: None of us are experts always in claims and stuff, but they're so high.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_02: And so I worry about people with a cancer diagnosis and thinking, how am I gonna pay for this if I have a high deductible?
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_02: So that's kind of where I went in my head about maybe looking at all and all, we're not gonna answer all the questions, of course, but being able to look at, you know, what are my options to kind of offset or get the care that I need.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_02: And so I do appreciate that guidance there.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_02: But speaking of that, you have started uh questions for cancer doctor.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_02: And thank God, because after this conversation, we have more than enough.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_02: But tell us more about what is Questions for Cancer Doctor?
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_02: What is that?
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, so Questions for Cancer Doctor, oh my goodness.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: I started this many years ago.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: I have to say, maybe 2012.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: It was myself and uh three other folks who were we found out we were doing the same thing.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: There's a doctor, a nurse, survivors.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: We were all talking the same language.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: So we all decided to come together back then.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: Now, because I was in the military, I moved around a lot.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: We had an LLC then.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: We kind of closed it down because I had to move, and I was like the one spearheading it as a physician.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: So since I retired out of the military and I relocated, I was like, you know what?
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: Folks are still coming asking questions.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so my husband was like, you need to start that back up.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: Even the books that are on Amazon's been there since 2017.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: So now, though that I'm out, I am more focused on helping veterans.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: But anyone who has cancer, they can go to the website, which is q4cd.com, and that will give them information.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: It is geared towards um the veterans, but at the very top, it'll say if you're just interested in cancer, click this button and it'll take you to um the site that will do just cancer.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: For now, I do mostly breast and prostate, but I'm trained and I've treated just about every cancer there is.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, so the questions for cancer doctor always came about, what came about specifically for me.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: As I said, I consider myself the anchor portion of the treatment.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: And patients will come to me and they're being treated all this time, and they'll say, you know, doc, I what why do they keep saying triple negative breast cancer?
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: What exactly is that?
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, oh my, you are months into this treatment, six months into this treatment, and they don't understand what triple negative breast cancer means or what's receptor, or and sometimes you go on the internet and it can be really scary.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's how I got into doing videos.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_00: I did webinars, I have stuff for cancer survivors.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: I specifically look into um intimacy after cancer treatment, especially for those who are young, not dating, how it affects marriage.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I look at the all-encompassing issues that starts at the beginning of treatment, the question to ask, the issues you have during treatment, and then to wrap up the end.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: Survivorship is a whole nother level.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's when the true overall massive portion starts.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's when all the follow all the daily treatments and the being cared for routinely, it just suddenly stops.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I've had patients go into panic mode.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, okay, what's gonna happen next?
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: How do I know if everything was treated?
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: Who do I follow up with?
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_00: Do I need skin?
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's when all the questions truly come.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so we have like a little webinar where we go over how to really take charge of your follow-up plan, how to engage with your cancer care team.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: They're there for you, but remember, we are most important to ourselves or to our family member.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: They have multiple patients they have to take care of.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to work with them and saying, okay, I'm gonna have the CT scan done.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: When should I expect the results?
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_00: Or when should I expect to hear back from you?
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_00: If I don't hear from you within a week after the scan, what do I do?
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_00: Do I call you?
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_00: Do I reach out to you?
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's a plan unfolding, right?
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: That way you're not left out in the breeze where two months later and you still don't have the report, or heaven forbids, they send the report to you on the patient portal, and you're reading this whole nother language and have no idea what half of it means.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: So it's important to have a plan, a game plan all the time in follow-up as well.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: So there's much, so much work to do.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I thank you for the work you're doing as well, Sandy, and trying to reach out and advocate and helping folks understand how to advocate for themselves and their loved ones.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, thank you.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_02: It's a blessing.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_02: I've done this for four years now, and I and I do I hope that um I mean they got just listeners and increase, and I am so grateful to my to my guests and their confident my listeners, I should say, and also my guests who come on.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_02: I get so excited every day and so blessed to have people like yourself who take the time to do that.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_02: Now, one question popped up though, when you were talking about we talked about the questions for cancer doc, so we can veterans, or you can click on that button.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_02: So we'll make sure to link to that in the show notes.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_02: But you also mentioned videos and other things.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_02: Is that can they get to that um within the questions for cancer doctor, or is that a separate website we need to link to?
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: So that will take them to the queenquanta.com website.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's just something I do on the site.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_00: So one of the things I try to um explain, I I'm not good at drawing, as I said before.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll lease videos from other companies and I'll put together and I'll make my own videos from different webinars and I'll say, okay, let's go stepwise for someone who's newly diagnosed with cancer.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_00: What is cancer?
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_00: Why did I get this cancer?
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: Who's on my team?
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, who's on my radiation team?
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_00: Who's on my cancer care team?
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: What exactly is a multidisciplinary?
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: So it walks you through that, and there is like a video package that they can get if they go there and it walks them through one step at a time.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: The book is there as well.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I used to do like a monthly QA session where folks who get the book, watch the video, if they have additional questions, they can come and ask.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's something I'm looking to start back up in in the future, but I'm looking at just, you know, I I I need duplicity of myself.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I guess so.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_02: And real quick, do tell us about the book.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_02: I I didn't, you said 2017, I believe.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_02: What is the name of the book?
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: So it is on again, if they go, even if they go on to q4cd.com.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_00: I use the q4cd.com because it's easier to remember.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then there's a link that goes to the Queen Quanta.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_00: On there, there is a book.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's on Amazon that talks about one's for breast cancer, uh, the breast cancer journal and guide, and one is for prostate cancer, the prostate cancer journal and guide.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_00: And what it does for each section, it gives the question to ask your medical oncologist, your radiation oncologist.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_00: It shows you how to write down your own staging.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: It um not only give you the question to ask, but it leaves space for you to write the answer.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_00: So this will therefore foster communication, right?
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: And then in the back, there are a few pages that talk about your follow-up plan.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_00: One month after, three months after, and some of the questions to ask.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're having symptoms, to record that down.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_00: Do not blow anything off.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_00: To write things down that you so when you go in for your follow-up.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: I know folks are digital now, but having something in your hand that you can actually write on, that really does help.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_00: And if you jotted, you write it down.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, wait a minute.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_00: I notice a lump here, or I don't feel well, or I know you just write down the stuff.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_00: And when you go in for your follow-up, you'll have it there, not on some random piece of paper that you lose.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_00: I've had patients come in with, oh man, I missed page five.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_00: I can't find those pages.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_00: So that was done in an effort then.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_00: But I, you know, when you're in the military and you're moving around and you're traveling and I do speaking engagements, and things just get lost in a shuffle.
• 35:01
  SPEAKER_00: So now that I'm retired, at least I like to think I'm retired from the military, but I'm not retired, um, I'm trying to bring this back into focus and advocating.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: And unfortunately, I've had someone in the family that was diagnosed kind of preempt my, okay, I really got to get this back going up again.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so we've started over again and we're moving forward.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_02: Awesome.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_02: Well, so much on the plate, and I'm so excited about what's going to come ahead.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm again, we will link to you because it will, but that way we can obviously access the resources that you mentioned and see what you're doing in the future with that.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_02: But I cannot thank you enough for your time, your expertise, your service and your grace to continue doing this going forward.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I am so, so grateful, and this has been a very enlightening conversation.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_02: So thank you so much, Queen.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_02: I'll call you.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you so much for having me, Sandy.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_00: This was a pleasure.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_00: I I so very much love advocating and teaching.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm available anytime.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: If there's a topic or something your listeners are interested in hearing about, just give me a ping.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'm more than happy.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_00: And thank you so much for having me.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really, really blessed for being here.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_02: I enjoyed having Dr.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_02: Williams, aka Queen, on the show.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_02: We actually talked more after the show, and what a wealth of expertise and a giving heart that she has.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_02: Make sure and check out the show notes for Q4 C D questions for cancer doctor, and uh that link will be in the show notes.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, lots of helpful resources, whether you're a veteran, um, you're struggling with a cancer diagnosis or helping someone who is, I know the resources will be helpful.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_02: As a side note, I wanted to ask you a quick favor.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_02: One of the ways that I can help people demystify healthcare is if you would be so kind to take a quick two minutes to provide a review.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_02: It would really help me promote the show.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_02: I've been doing this for four years, but certainly help others be able to find the show and help the guests that have been on the show, their great message, their book, their support to be found as well.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_02: Whether that's on Apple or Spotify, you pick, thank you for doing that.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_02: Navigating our healthcare system and making health insurance choices, as we know, is challenging enough.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_02: But what about our family firm members?
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_02: What if navigating health care for your pet didn't have to feel overwhelming or confusing?
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_02: In the next show, we're talking about how to help your pets live healthier lives and more tail wags and less guesswork.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_02: To help us get into the topic, I am bringing Dr.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_02: Kevin Toman on the show.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_02: Dr.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_02: Kevin is over 40 years of veterinary practice and special interest in orthopedic and cancer care.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_02: He has devoted his professional life to helping pets live longer.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_02: Dr.
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_02: Kevin takes great pride on being a healer and a teacher and would love to partner with you in the holistic care of your pet.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_02: Make sure and join us.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_02: Until next time, get savvy.