Oncologist-created podcast aims to ‘demystify’ cancer care
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Jennifer Y. Pierce, MD, MPH, FACOG, said she and her team created The Cancering Show podcast series to “demystify” cancer care for patients undergoing treatment and their support systems.
Healio spoke with Pierce, a professor of gynecologic oncology at University of South Alabama (USA), about her personal journey into the field of cancer care, what inspired her to create the podcast and tips she has for health care providers participating in media interviews.
“I never thought I would be a cancer doctor,” said Pierce, who also serves as leader of cancer control and prevention and program director for the gynecologic oncology fellowship at Mitchell Cancer Institute of USA Health. “I went into medical school for women’s health. I felt like I had enough experience that I knew I wanted to be an OB/GYN.”
Pierce continued that into her third year of medical school, she found an interest in surgery — particularly transplant surgery. What stood out to her most were serious potential outcomes and critical moments that could affect the lives of both the patient and their family.
She still followed into OB/GYN, however, after an initial rotation with OB/GYN oncology.
“I realized that these physicians have a very similar experience with their patients,” Pierce said. “It’s a continuous, long relationship. There are times you do complicated surgeries with patients to a curative status, but we also do a lot of medical management. We’re the only oncologists who cover both medical and surgery, providing this incredible depth of relationships, but also healing, that we use in our arsenal, to try and take care of people. I really enjoyed that aspect.”
The Cancering Show
Pierce said that she and her team developed the podcast show based on a concept that cancer could feel like a “big black box” that a patient or those in the patient’s support system know little about until experiencing diagnosis and treatment.
Along with treating physicians, once patients have experienced cancer directly, they may possess a wealth of knowledge that they want to share that is too much for any one person to digest in a single setting.
“We try to tackle the basics, topics such as cancer staging, radiation, immunotherapy, getting a port, etc, while also humanizing them,” she said. “We tell peoples’ stories and share the different ways that people interact with cancer, whether it is the patient themselves or those around them — a friend, a mom, a child, a cousin or uncle.”
Pierce described the structure of the show as “bite-sized segments” so that anyone can hear others’ experiences piecemeal from the start of early symptoms, to first doctor visit at which they received a cancer diagnosis, all the way through treatment and survival.
“Through all of that, we intersperse stories about patients and their own advice for future patients, along with stories of hope, and stories of doctors who are breaking down science that is going to change the future of cancer care,” Pierce said.
Pierce said two of the most popular episodes from season 2 include episode 16, in which she discusses health equity in cancer care with Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO, and episode 16, in which she speaks with Matt Teague, who lost his wife to ovarian cancer and whose experience served as the inspiration for the movie “Our Friend.” Season 3 is scheduled to launch on Sept. 13.
‘Take the time to prepare’
Because Pierce has been on both sides of the table regarding interviews about medical care, she had some advice for health care workers regarding media interviews.
“I always think through the questions I would ask,” Pierce said. “I don’t tend to write things down, but I think for anyone who might feel nervous, it can be useful to jot some things down regarding where you think the interview might be heading.”
She added that if a physician has an opportunity to participate in media training, it can be particularly valuable for their future.
“We’re such a valuable resource and there is so much information that we can share with the public, whether it’s on TV or the internet, or in a newspaper or magazine,” she said. “In this day and age, there are so many experts who speak about a topic, so I try to at least stay in my lane when talking about something I have expertise on, and I’m prepared for a situation in which you ‘speak to what you know.’ Take the time to prepare, because what we say could really mean something to the public, to a future mentee or to someone going into our field.”
For more information:
Jennifer Y. Pierce, MD, MPH, FACOG, can be reached at jypierce@health.southalabama.edu. Episodes of The Cancering Show podcast are available at https://cancering.com/.
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