Education and Inspiration Across the Cancer Journey

At CURE, we strive to provide insight, education and inspiration for patients, survivors and caregivers at every stage of the cancer journey. That will be readily apparent as you flip through the pages of our latest seasonal issue of CURE, where our team covers everything from the basics of initial diagnosis to the realities of long-term survivorship.

As part of CURE’s drive to educate our readership, in this issue, you will find basic guides for those who have been recently diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer and multiple myeloma. These guides are intended to be starting points for newly diagnosed patients; your personal experience will be unique, and this information should be used as a foundation for discussions with an oncologist.

We also spoke with Brittney Nichols, registered nurse and senior science and research specialist at GO2 for Lung Cancer, during our team’s visit to the 2025 International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) World Conference on Lung Cancer. Nichols spoke with us about common misconceptions regarding the lung cancer experience.

“The one I really want to focus on is the belief that if a person has lung cancer, it's because they smoked, and that makes it their fault. That is very wrong,” she said. “For starters, cancer is no one's fault. Cancer is, unfortunately, just something that happens. To really emphasize it, anyone with lungs can get lung cancer. I know that's a saying that goes around a lot in the lung cancer community, but it's so true.”

Linda E. Carlson, a member of CURE’s advisory board, the Enbridge Research Chair in Psychosocial Oncology, and a professor in the Department of Oncology at Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, in Canada, discussed the utilization of acupressure to relieve nausea and vomiting in patients.

“I think Western medicine is finally starting to realize that they don't have all the answers, and it's such a young science, really. The paradigm of Western medicine used to be very arrogant and think, ‘Well, we know better because we have a better understanding of anatomy,’ or whatever,” Carlson said. “But the truth is that these ancient traditions, like Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine, have so much to offer that is evidence based [and has] been used for 2,000 or 3,000 years in many cases. So, people in Western medicine are finally starting to become a bit more humble and say, ‘Gee, maybe there's something we can learn from these other medical systems,’ because certainly there is, and it's folly to write that all off as just a bunch of bunk.”

Moving into survivorship, we recently visited Mary’s Place by the Sea, a retreat for women with cancer in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, to speak with Dr. Alison Ankiewicz, a pelvic health physical therapist and childhood leukemia survivor, about her work helping women address cancer-related pelvic issues.

“It’s important to embrace your pelvic health,” Ankiewicz said. “It’s never too late to seek help, even if you’ve been living with symptoms for years. Pelvic health therapy can improve bladder, bowel and sexual function. Ideally, we address these issues early — during pregnancy, postpartum or after a cancer diagnosis. Pelvic therapy looks at the whole body: the abdomen, hips, back and pelvic floor. These areas work together, so weakness in one can affect another. And, most importantly, don’t be ashamed to talk about it. We need to talk about pee, poop and sex. These are real parts of life, and there’s help available.”

CURE columnist Brian Sluga, a testicular cancer survivor, shared his story with us in a preview of his upcoming memoir, “The Shriek I Do Remember,” which will be released in early February 2026. Sluga, now 64, received his diagnosis when he was 20 years old.

“More people are talking about cancer today than they were years ago, and it's affecting more people,” Sluga said. “So my whole reason for the book is not just to tell my story, but it's to tell people that for men, it’s not a shameful thing. You know, it's kind of like if you're on a subway and if you see something, say something.”

For all the latest updates in oncology, including breaking news on Food and Drug Administration approvals of new treatments and expert perspectives on key cancer information, you can always visit curetoday.com.

In the pages of this issue and on our website, you will find both personal stories that resonate and expert opinions to provide context. We hope this information serves you well and offers encouragement and support.

Thank you for your continued readership.

Mike Hennessy Jr.

President and CEO, MJH Life Sciences®

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