MISSION

We are two friends compelled to share stories as a resource for cancer patients.  Our podcast provides information on what happens during cancer treatment based on our own experiences, along with the ideas and hacks we've picked up along the way. Warning: contains serious content and appropriately explicit language.

MIMI HALL

Mimi Hall is a community development manager, food consultant and yoga instructor who originally hails from Cape Cod and lives in South Boston. She was diagnosed with an aggressive HER2Postive +++ breast cancer in 2015 and received treatment at Dana-Farber through 2017, which included a trial study of the targeted immunotherapy drug T-DM1 , a bilateral mastectomy with immediate reconstruction, 12 weeks of Taxol chemotherapy and a year of Herceptin.  

Podcasts helped her survive the odd combination of terror and monotony that defined her treatment experience, along with amazing friends like Leanna who understand the darkness.  That's what Thanks Cancer is all about...like getting a chemo treatment with your best friends!

LEANNA HOUSE

Leanna House lives in Boston, and got a job within walking distance just in time for her cancer (shitshow) journey. She works in grants/finance in medical research and is waiting for someone to expose her as an English major. She was diagnosed at 33 with the same cancer that killed her mother: estrogen positive her2 negative breast cancer. She had chemo (A/C and taxol), a unilateral mastectomy with full auxiliary node dissection, radiation and reconstruction.  

If you choose to brave the interweb cancer wilds, you find a lot of "what" (what is your cancer treatment, what are the side effects, what will your future look like, what caused my cancer); there is precious little "how": how do I tell people, how do I cope, how do I go through trauma, how can I think about this experience. If you are lucky (HA!), you know someone who has been through it, or you have great psycho-social services at your hospital to work through the "how". This podcast is the "how" and the cancer folklore Leanna looked for when she was diagnosed.