Andrew Sweeney, now 35, was aware of his risk for colorectal cancer – his mother had had been diagnosed with it when she was 41. When he was 31, a CT scan at University of Michigan Health’s University Hospital revealed that Sweeney had a mass in his colon and potential metastases in his liver and lymph nodes. A colonoscopy confirmed that he had stage 4 colorectal cancer.

After 1.5 years of chemotherapy, his care team began discussing how they could remove the damaged parts of Sweeney’s liver. They developed a colorectal cancer liver transplant protocol from a deceased donor and Sweeney was the first patient to undergo a liver transplant in Michigan for colon cancer. After minor recurrences of tumors in his lung in 2024, which were treated by surgery and radiation, his scans have been clear.

For more episodes, visit the Cancer Aware podcast website.

A transcript of this episode can be found here.

Cancer Aware is a part of the Michigan Medicine Podcast Network and is produced by the Michigan Medicine Department of Communication. You can listen to Cancer Aware wherever you get your podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a patient has a biopsy, the samples are sent to pathology to determine if it is cancerous or not as well as how aggressive it might be. Many patients will see their results before hearing from the medical team in their patient portal – leaving them anxious or confused on what it all means.

Pathologist, Dr. Cathyrn Lapedis, talks about the role of pathology in a patient’s care plan, as well as new ways to help patients when they get results before their physician is able go over to help them with anxiety and to be better informed about their potential diagnosis.

Participant:

Cathyrn Lapedis, MD

Resources:

People find medical tests hard to understand, increasing overall worry

Pathologists aid in patient understanding and quality of care

For more episodes, visit the Cancer Aware podcast website.

A transcript of this episode can be found here.

Cancer Aware is a part of the Michigan Medicine Podcast Network and is produced by the Michigan Medicine Department of Communication. You can listen to Cancer Aware wherever you get your podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Those with an elevated prostate-specific antigen test are referred for a biopsy of their prostate to help diagnose prostate cancer or other prostate concerns. This can bring anxiety and discomfort for the patient.

Dr. Chad Ellimoottil, a urologist and division chief of men’s health and reconstruction at Michigan Medicine, shares information on prostate biopsies. He discusses those who need it, forms of biopsy, and the latest in performing them.

For more episodes, visit the Cancer Aware podcast website.

A transcript of this episode can be found here.

Participant

Chad Ellimoottil, MD

Additional Resources

Prostate-specific antigen test

Prostate cancer

Cancer Aware is a part of the Michigan Medicine Podcast Network and is produced by the Michigan Medicine Department of Communication. You can listen to Cancer Aware wherever you get your podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.