When Helen Bender's doctor told her the cancer was gone, she expected to feel happy. Instead, she slept 16 hours that night and cried in the shower. Bender first shared her story of stage 4 melanoma in Episode 33, "Feeling So Alive with Helen Bender," one of the most popular episodes of The Cancering Show. Four years later, she returns to catch up with Dr. JYP about life after treatment.

The moment she described captures much of what survivorship has meant for Bender. Emotions she set aside during two years of treatment returned once it ended, and she has learned to let them come. She still thinks about melanoma several times a day, but over the past year, those thoughts have shifted from fear to peace. She also shares the routine she uses to protect her skin and the work she does through Healing with Helen, her Instagram and TikTok accounts for patients and families facing melanoma.

Bender is careful to limit what she offers her social media followers. When followers share photos of their moles, for instance, she reminds them she is not a medical professional. Her screening routine reflects her own history, and listeners should ask their care team what schedule is right for them. For her own recovery, Bender credits the medicine and the doctors behind it, along with the prayers said by everyone who supported her.

Relevant Links

Healing with Helen on Instagram

Healing with Helen on TikTok

Episode 33: Feeling So Alive with Helen Bender

Submit your questions for the show at cancering.com

3 Key Listener Takeaways

1. Survivorship can be harder than expected.

Bender expected to feel relief when treatment ended. Instead, the feelings she had held back for two years caught up with her, and the news that her cancer was gone left her emotional and exhausted. Dr. JYP offers a comparison she once heard: "Suppressing those feelings is like holding a volleyball underwater. It takes enormous energy, and the moment you let go, everything comes up at once." Bender's advice to anyone in treatment is to allow yourself to feel those emotions as they arrive.

2. Healthy habits do not have to be perfect.

Bender eats healthy when she can and has signed up for meal services, but she still skips the occasional workout and enjoys foods she knows aren't the best. She remembers her grandmother showing up during her treatment with what felt like 100 smoothies. Dr. JYP says many patients leave treatment believing they must follow a strict plan to prevent "something bad" from happening. The better course is finding a middle ground that is sustainable.

3. Know your skin and keep up with checkups.

Bender checks her skin every time she showers and studies her hands and legs during phone calls so she will notice new spots. She prefers to see a dermatologist every three months, though she tells others that every six months is a more reasonable goal. She covers her exposed skin with sunscreen each day and reapplies before her 30- to 40-minute drive home, because the sun's rays reach through car windows. Her story has also made a difference close to home. After Bender's diagnosis, her sister-in-law saw a dermatologist, who found and removed a melanoma before it spread.

Show Overview

00:00 Helen Bender looks back

02:06 Why survivorship was harder than she expected

02:59 The day she learned her cancer was gone

05:51 Life after cancer and healthy habits

07:41 Living with the fear of recurrence

11:17 Letting hard emotions surface

14:00 Helping others through her story

15:37 Her daily skin protection routine

16:41 Hopes for the next five years

18:27 Healing with Helen on Instagram and TikTok

22:10 Dr. JYP's reflections

A patient recently came to see Brian Persing, M.D. with a list of questions about their lung cancer, every one of them written by AI. He answered them all, and he noticed that a few were tailored to that patient in ways even an attentive doctor might not think to raise. That story opens Dr. JYP's conversation with Dr. Persing, a hematologist and medical oncologist who has returned to the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute as its new director.

Most people hear "artificial intelligence" and picture a chatbot, but at MCI much of the work happens out of sight. Canopy Care checks in with patients on treatment by text or email and alerts the care team when a symptom can't wait. LeanTaaS studies the clinic schedule to shorten wait times, and other software follows lung nodules that turn up on scans taken for unrelated reasons, so a finding from a car accident doesn't slip through the cracks.

The two doctors are just as candid about the limits of artificial intelligence. Information generated by chatbots can be months out of date and sometimes even fully invented. Security measures dictate that patient information has to stay private, so what can be inputted has to omit any identifying information. For these reasons and more, no algorithm will ever replace the professionals in the exam room, Dr. Persing says.

Relevant Links

Brian E. Persing, M.D. | USA Health - Mitchell Cancer Institute | Medical Oncologist And Hematologist

Persing named director of USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute

Submit your questions for the show at cancering.com

3 Key Listener Takeaways

1. Much of the AI in cancer care Is invisible

Patients on treatment at MCI receive a short weekly survey from Canopy Care by text or email. If an answer crosses a threshold, such as unexpected vomiting or new shortness of breath, the care team is alerted right away and the patient gets clear instructions on what to do next, even if they hadn't thought to call. Behind the front desk, LeanTaaS learns which appointments tend to run long and adjusts the schedule to match. Persing admits he is one of the clinicians who gives it reason to.

2. Speed is not the same as accuracy

Persing recently joined a panel that tested the NCCN and ASCO guidelines against Claude and ChatGPT. The clinicians loved getting answers in 15 to 30 seconds, but they didn't trust them, and the experts who reviewed the results found they weren't always right. Pierce has her own cautionary tale: a chatbot once sent her to a Paris café that doesn't exist. For medical questions, both doctors recommend vetted sources like UpToDate and OpenEvidence, and they encourage patients to lean on their own physician to help make sense of what they find online.

3. The human stays in the room

AI may help oncologists keep pace with the 15 to 20 new cancer drugs now approved each year, flag interactions buried in a long medication list, and turn an eighth-grade drug information sheet into one written at a first-grade level. Even so, when Canopy Care raises an alert, someone from the care team still picks up the phone to confirm it, and every new AI tool at USA Health goes before a special committee to make sure it is safe. When asked what he hopes AI will be doing in 10 years, Persing keeps it simple. He wants it to work so seamlessly that it fades into the background and gives clinicians more time face to face with their patients.

Show Overview

00:00 A patient arrives with questions written by AI

03:07 What AI really means in cancer care

05:22 When chatbots make things up

07:28 Turning medical jargon into plain language

08:43 How Canopy Care keeps tabs on patients between visits

11:01 Shorter waits through smarter scheduling

12:02 Ambient recording and protecting patient privacy

14:37 Catching cancer earlier

17:51 Moving from precision medicine to personalized medicine

21:15 The next five to 10 years, including virtual tumor boards

25:42 Why AI will never replace the human touch

In this emotional episode of the Cancering Show, Dr. JYP shares a deeply personal story about the unexpected health crisis that disrupted her and her family's life. After her husband, Chris, suffered a heart attack, she was suddenly thrust from her role as a physician into the roles of wife, caregiver, and mother navigating trauma and healing. She opens up about their journey through crisis, the challenges of caregiving, the realities of post-traumatic stress, and the ongoing process of healing as a family. Throughout the episode, Dr. JYP emphasizes the parallels between the journeys faced by families dealing with cancer, heart disease, and other life-altering events, underscoring the universality of healing and resilience, what she calls "cancering."

3 Key Listener Takeaways

1.The Universality of Trauma and Healing

The conversation focuses on how life-altering events such as cancer, heart disease, loss, or trauma reshape individuals and families in profound ways. No matter the diagnosis or event, the emotional and psychological journey of coping, healing, and caregiving shares many universal features. Whether someone is a patient, caregiver, or loved one, the process of adjusting to a new reality brings similar challenges and growth opportunities for everyone involved. This episode underscores the notion that these experiences transcend any specific illness and connect deeply with the human condition.

2. Caregivers Need Care, Too

Dr. JYP discusses the critical importance of recognizing that caregivers themselves require support and care. She explores how caregivers often shoulder an immense emotional and logistical burden, sometimes neglecting their own needs in the process. She covers lessons learned about the necessity of allowing oneself to accept help, utilizing therapy, and giving space for emotional processing. Recovery -- whether the patient or the caregiver -- is not linear and can include setbacks. Understanding and accepting this can alleviate guilt and feelings of inadequacy.

3. Healing Is Ongoing, Not a Fixed Destination

A key theme is the idea that healing does not have a definite end point. Dr. JYP points out that the aftermath of a life crisis creates a "new normal," where fears and anxieties linger, yet life must be rebuilt with intention and hope. She explores how both patient and family must find ways to adapt, embracing new routines, identities, and methods of self-care to continue living meaningfully. Healing is an ongoing practice, not simply a stage to check off before resuming normal life. It requires conscious choices, resilience, and community support to navigate the ongoing uncertainties that follow trauma.

Show Overview

00:00 Dr. JYP's life-changing medical emergency
05:31 Her husband's traumatic cardiac event
09:25 Learning about recovery and healing
15:42 Discussing EMDR and caregiving therapy
17:06 Coping with burnout and healing