Ann is a serial entrepreneur, author, and cancer advocate. After her own cancer diagnosis in 2014, Ann, who spent several decades as a surgical assistant to a glaucoma specialist, recognized how little she knew about the cancer journey, even with her vast medical background. This raised a question in her mind, “If I found the experience difficult, what must it be like to have no medical background and receive a cancer diagnosis?” This question was the impetus for her to pen, Holy Crap I Have Cancer! Now What? What to Expect When You Weren’t Expecting, a book that assists patients, who are newly diagnosed with cancer through their treatment and into survivorship.
- 02:22: I had dense breasts and a family history of cancer.
- 04:31: I go to the surgeon, and I fall in love with him immediately.
- 06:40: I spent 20 years in medicine as a surgical technician.
- 08:22: I was in such bad shape.
- 10:19: I was on a 21-day cycle.
- 12:45: It's the first time I've ever thought of giving up.
- 14:00: East Coast chemotherapy can be far different from West Coast chemotherapy.
- 16:15: I had radiation after the mastectomy.
- 18:20: Silicone was banned for a long time, and they brought that back.
- 20:21: I was stage three.
- 22:08: After you got the implants, were you happy with them?
- 24:26: I suddenly started having vertigo all the time.
- 27:52: In Arizona, people have to be told about breast implant illness prior to getting implants.
- 28:48: What was your worst moment during that time?
- 29:24: Staph infections are typically more painful than the original injury or surgery.
- 32:29: I would give you a 15% chance of being here next year.
- 35:34: What's nice about the clinical trials is that they keep a close eye on you.
- 36:14: What was your best moment?
- 39:49: What is one thing you wish you'd known at the very beginning of your cancer journey?
- 41:12: If you could only change one thing in health care in the U.S., what would it be and why?
- 45:18: Thriver Rapid Questions
- 46:33: Aside from Cancer U, what is one resource that you would recommend for cancer patients and caregivers?
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