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When Life Takes an Unexpected Turn: Allison Blass on Parenting a Child with Cancer, Faith, and Finding the Funny

Some episodes stop you in your tracks. This is one of them.

Allison Blass — longtime listener, friend of the show, and one of the funniest people to ever sit across from the Carpool Guys — joins Jon, Asher, and Dave to share the story of her daughter Perry's cancer diagnosis, treatment, and remarkable recovery. What begins as a frightening story of a six centimeter mass discovered on a Friday afternoon twenty minutes before Shabbos becomes something else entirely: a masterclass in parenting under pressure, faith in the hardest moments, and the kind of stubbornness that saves lives.

Peri, Allison's oldest child, was diagnosed with one of the rarest malignant tumors on record — one of only twenty cases ever documented. She went through multiple rounds of chemotherapy, a week in the ICU with fungal pneumonia, hair loss, wild food cravings, and a surgery she woke up from demanding a double burger from Smash House. She was walking within hours, home by Shabbos, and is now a completely healthy teenager heading to high school next year.

But this episode is about so much more than the medical story. Allison opens up about what it means to keep your other children grounded when one child needs everything. She talks about the friends who showed up without being asked and the ones who said "let me know if you need anything" — and why that phrase, though well intentioned, puts the burden on exactly the wrong person. She shares how her family turned every moment of the process — the hair donation, the chemo mug, the smash room — into a kiddush Hashem. And she delivers one of the most important lessons this show has ever aired: when someone you love is going through something devastating, it is not their job to comfort you.

Also: gherkins, sushi rolls, an accidental antipsychotic mix-up, a son who slept for fifteen hours, Megan Trainor's Walk of Shame playing in an operating room, Disney turkey legs, and the best shirt ever made.

Allison, thank you for your vulnerability, your humor, and your heart. Peri — you are extraordinary. Ad meah v'esrim.

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⏱️ Chapters with Timestamps

0:57 — Jon Is Back! Welcome Home After Surgery

4:29 — Introducing Allison Blass: Longtime Listener, First Time Guest

6:02 — Meet Allison: Giant Bear, Banned from Little League, Parent of Three

8:32 — Setting the Scene: Who Is Peri and Where Does the Story Begin?

9:08 — Allison's Career and Life Before the Diagnosis

10:05 — The First Signs Something Was Wrong: December 2024

15:58 — How Do You Tell Your Daughter She Needs Surgery?

25:10 — Perry's Mindset: Control, Preparation, and a Double Burger From Smash House

29:12 — April 9th: When the World Really Turned Upside Down

30:20 — Hearing the Word Malignant: "Everything Went Quiet"

32:30 — Turning Every Moment Into a Mitzvah: Hair Donation to Chai Lifeline

41:00 — What Allison Learned About Perry She Didn't Know Before

49:27 — NED: No Evidence of Disease — Perry Is on the Road to Survivorship

52:05 — Who Showed Up and Who Didn't: What You Learn About People in a Crisis

54:30 — "Don't Say If You Need Me" — The Most Im

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