Cancer Conversations: Carly & Cory Allen—When Cancer Hits Home

Cancer evokes mixed emotions ranging from fear to scientific curiosity, especially for those in medical fields like medical physics where practitioners help develop radiation treatment plans and support imaging technologies.

• Medical physics bridges abstract physics concepts with practical healthcare applications
• Screening differs from testing - screening is preventative while testing investigates suspected issues
• Personal experiences with family members' cancer diagnoses shape perspectives on healthcare
• Faith, asking questions, and staying informed help when coping with a loved one's cancer diagnosis
• Early detection through appropriate screenings leads to better treatment outcomes
• The UW-Carbone Cancer Center houses over 300 cancer researchers and physicians

Stay informed about cancer screenings recommended by your doctor, ask questions when you don't understand, and support those experiencing cancer in your life.

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:00

Thank you so much for joining us today , and so we're here just talking about the open house and the Carbone Cancer Center . What is it that you think of when you hear the word cancer ?

Speaker 2 0:14

When I hear the word cancer , I think it's kind of like a scary thought , like I think of like sickness , I think of chemo treatments , surgeries , just like a bunch of scary thoughts like that . What about you ?

Speaker 3 0:26

I would say it's like mixed emotions . I have that like I don't know scary thought of it as well , but I'm also , like currently in the medical physics graduate program , so I also kind of like have over the past couple of years , like learn a lot more about it . So it's kind of a more familiarity as well as like more familiar with like the treatment . So I guess that kind of makes the scariness a little less .

Speaker 1 0:49

Okay , and I don't know if I've heard of the two terms

Introduction and Cancer Perceptions

Speaker 1 0:53

medical physics put together . Can you tell me a little bit about that ?

Speaker 3 0:56

Yeah , definitely so . Medical physics is has kind of two parts to it . So one part of it is radiation therapy . So medical physicists often help radiation oncologists in creating radiation treatment plans for patients and kind of making sure that the doses that patients are getting to any tumors are accurate and like as safe as possible . And then there's another aspect of it which is kind of supporting imaging , so like x-rays , cts , mris . Medical physicists help to make sure those machines are operating well and do quality assurance checks for those .

Speaker 1 1:34

I'm amazed . That sounds really cool . Can you tell a little bit about how you got interested in that field ?

Speaker 3 1:42

Yeah , definitely so . I did physics degree for my undergrad and in that I kind of did some experimental physics labs where we did some related to medical physicists physics . So we did a pet

Medical Physics and Cancer Treatment

Speaker 3 1:54

lab one time where we had kind of this mini pet like type of setup which is stands for positron emission technology , tomography , which is kind of a complicated term but it's like a type of imaging . I found that really interesting . Um , and then I also just really liked the um real people , like getting to help people aspect of it . So I was able to like apply physics to um help people with a um , yeah , just like being able to um use my physics knowledge but have a more real life application versus more abstract concepts .

Speaker 1 2:27

So , so , yeah , that has me really excited with you because I see the excitement in you . Can you talk a little bit about what you know about screening for cancer through your training as a medical physicist ?

Speaker 3 2:41

Yeah , so we've learned about a few different cancer screenings over the course of my classwork . One thing we learned about was mammography , so kind of getting x-rays of breast tissue in order to screen for breast cancer . So we learned about that Kind of also know about like pap smears for cervical cancer , colonoscopies to kind of see just like regular checks of colon to make sure there's no types of things going on there .

Speaker 1 3:09

But yeah , okay , okay . And so this is a different conversation than I usually get to have with people because , again , just the removed stance from cancer screening . But how would you describe to somebody the difference between screening and testing ?

Speaker 3 3:32

I would say

Personal Experiences with Cancer

Speaker 3 3:33

screening is more of a preventative measure . So it's kind of like something that we like would encourage everyone to get done . It's just like a preventative measure and kind of like looking for something , even if we're not sure if something's there . And then I guess testing would be more like there's more of an indication that there might be something wrong and so kind of going to get a test , a biopsy something like that , to test for that .

Speaker 1 3:57

Okay , that's , yeah , that's , that's very accurate in terms of how I understand it as well . And so can you tell us , like in your own lives , where you come across cancer or anything that you know you've been exposed to as far as cancer outside of your training ?

Speaker 2 4:17

Yeah , do you want to go first ? Yeah , yeah , I think my first exposure to cancer was when I was younger . Someone a year above me had cancer and it was kind of a scary thing because I was really young and I didn't understand it . But yeah , she made it through and she's cancer-free now . And then our uncle also had cancer too . Okay , yes , okay .

Speaker 1 4:42

Do you know any specifics about your uncle's cancer , like what kind it was or when he was diagnosed ?

Speaker 3 4:47

he was diagnosed um with leukemia , probably about three years ago , I think . Yeah , he um . Yeah , he had crohn's disease before um hand and then over and then , like later years of his life , he was diagnosed with leukemia and went through um some .

Speaker 1 5:04

I think it was radiation treatment , yeah okay , okay , um , who talked to you about that wasn't your uncle , specifically , or ?

Speaker 2 5:13

I think it was our probably our dad . Yeah , so it was our dad's brother .

Speaker 1 5:16

Okay , the cancer , yes okay , okay , do you remember or can you share a little bit about what that conversation was like ?

Speaker 2 5:26

I don't really specifically remember . Our uncle was sick a lot . He had a lot of health issues , so I don't remember the specific conversation we had , but yeah .

Speaker 3 5:37

Yeah , I remember hearing about it in kind of more vague terms , I think there was . We talked about how it was more palliative and how he would kind of have to go through this maybe for the rest of his life , even just like coming back for short-term treatments .

Speaker 1 5:57

Okay , okay , and from there did you have any questions that you ended up asking from that place ?

Speaker 3 6:07

I would say yes , I think , because there wasn't a lot like that . I knew about the treatments that he was going through . It was actually an interesting time in my life because I was trying to help like people who are going through like disease and sickness , and it was actually about when I was like applying for grad school . So I remember like when I was thinking about applications and thinking about my potential future and like helping cancer patients , he was on my mind a lot and just like wanting to learn more about what he went through with treatments mind a lot and just like wanting to learn more about what he went through with treatments .

Speaker 1 6:53

Okay , okay , and so what ? What advice would you have for somebody who is learning about their family ?

Speaker 2 6:57

member getting a diagnosis . Something that I leaned a lot on during that time was , like prayer , like that's something that's really important to me and like I don't know how like a lot of people would get through like those difficult times without , like , if I didn't have my faith , I think that would be really hard for me to get through those and I know , like I trust , I trust personally in God to like bring people through those tough times , and I just kind of put it in his hands and pray for healing for my uncle . But that was just what I did .

Speaker 3 7:24

But obviously each person deals with different things , like in their own way , so yeah , I would say also don't be afraid to ask questions about what's going on . It can seem really overwhelming

Cancer Screening and Prevention

Speaker 3 7:35

at first , but I think like finding that healthcare person that you can like ask questions to , to kind of explain the treatment like what's going on , can make it seem a lot less scary . I know like having just that knowledge and support from them can be super beneficial .

Speaker 1 7:50

Okay , okay . Were there any professionals that you were able to talk to , to ask questions of during that time , or with your family ?

Speaker 2 7:59

Not really for me . What did you ? Yeah , not not really . I just kind of asked , like what was happening , like with my , my , like our family members , like what was going on , because I was kind of confused about the whole thing . I wasn't really sure , like what he was going through and stuff like that . So just like asking , like him or our family members that have been visiting him a lot , like asking them about what was going on , Okay , Did you have any understanding about the difference between blood cancers and tumor cancers ?

Speaker 3 8:30

No , I did a little bit . Yeah , I think I had a little bit of an idea . But I think like as I've gone on and learned more about cancer in my classes , it becomes more clear . But I think like in general they kind of all get lumped in your head in the same category , even though there's like some differences with them .

Speaker 1 8:48

Sure , sure , okay . And then just in terms of like your own kind of healthcare journey , what approach do you have to cancer screening ?

Speaker 2 9:00

Yeah , For me . I feel like that's scary for me to even think about . I know it's important to get screenings and stuff , but I don't really think that I've undergone any screenings .

Speaker 3 9:13

I think like yeah , like my plan is to like continue to like to get cancer screening , as , like I approach the ages where , like different types of screening are recommended and , like a lot of times you can hear about that from like your primary care doctor , they can like make sure you're on track with cancer screening . So , yeah , I think it's important to like . It seems like it might be like far away or like you can just put it off a few more years , but I think it's important to like stay ahead in order to prevent that , because then the earlier that you can screen and test for it , the better outcomes there are . So , yeah , okay , okay .

Speaker 1 10:00

Well , I just have a couple . Well , I just have a couple of . Did you know things ? And so did you know that UW-Carbon is home to more than 300 cancer researchers and physicians working across a wide range of cancer types ?

Speaker 3 10:18

That's a lot yeah .

Speaker 1 10:32

So , and again , it's just the makeup of the Carbone Cancer Center . You know we are a NCI National Cancer Institute comprehensive cancer center , meaning that we do the range of cancer things here , from treatment to diagnosis , to prevention , to outreach , and so that is something that we really pride ourselves on , and part of that is that we get to have this open house that we're doing . And so can you tell us a little bit about how you heard about the open house and what you've experienced here ?

Speaker 2 10:58

Yeah , so I came in for the weekend , so I'm not actually from the area , but , carly , I came to visit my sister Carly . Her friend was telling us she is doing like a little booth here . We haven't gotten to visit it yet , but we saw her when we came in .

Speaker 3 11:13

Yeah , and so we kind of part of medical physics and radiology , and so she's doing a demonstration that we wanted to check out .

Speaker 2 11:18

It looked like she was giving CTs to Barbies from a distance . That's what it looked like , demonst

The UW-Carbone Cancer Center

Speaker 2 11:24

with the kids , and so that's how we heard about it . She told us last night , if we wanted to stop in , say , hi , see what was going on . So we didn't really know about it or what to expect , but we just came in and it's really cool , like all the blow-up demonstrations . Yeah , it's a very big event .

Speaker 1 11:38

Okay , Can you de-acronym the word , Just so I can have an understanding . You said a CT . She has a booth about CT scans .

Speaker 2 11:49

Yes .

Speaker 3 11:52

I'm going to direct that to you . That stands for um , computed um tomography , yes , so it's a type of um medical scan , medical imaging scan , that you can get . So it's basically like , in a way , like a 3d x-ray . So it's kind of like an x-ray , that kind of like circles around your body and then you can get a 3d view of , like the inside of you basically .

Speaker 1 12:12

And she's doing this for a Barbie .

Speaker 2 12:15

That's what it looks like when we were walking by . She's doing a demonstration .

Speaker 1 12:18

I don't think she has a really tiny CT , but Okay , I was really excited .

Speaker 2 12:23

I was going to run out ? I think it was just like a model , yeah .

Speaker 1 12:27

Okay , okay . And so what kind of things would you suggest in terms of other people , in terms of asking questions or when it comes to cancer ?

Speaker 3 12:41

Um , just like talk to people you've like know who are going through this , get their experiences and be there to support them . If you um like have someone in your life who's experiencing this cause , it can be a tough and scary time . And then also just like stay informed . Um , continue to get cancer screenings whenever your doctor's recommending them to you . Um , yeah , and then , just whenever if this like it's important to like stay informed so that because it can feel like a really overwhelming thing at first , but a lot of people in your life and maybe in the future might experience experience cancer . So yeah , so I guess just like asking

Final Thoughts and Advice

Speaker 3 13:20

questions , because the more you know , the more you can help others and less overwhelming it will seem . Ok , well said .

Speaker 1 13:28

Did you have any questions for a medical provider that you want to throw out there ?

Speaker 3 13:32

You got anything .

Speaker 2 13:35

Are there any specific warning signs that you would be looking out for to ? Maybe you would need to get a screen or a test for cancer ? Okay , that would be my question . I think , Because I wouldn't know what to look for Like when I if I needed to get tested , I don't think I would know .

Speaker 1 13:54

Okay , and I just would leave leave with this kind of nugget in terms of the difference between screening and testing . Screening is before we have symptoms , right , and so you definitely alluded to that earlier when I asked , which was great , um , and then being able to test is when something's happening . So when you're talking about it , it'd be testing , because it's like , okay , there's something going on , but we don't know what is going on . Right , but what ? What is that symptom and what does it mean ? Okay , but yeah , definitely , I appreciate you for outlining that , because that is a very common thing that you know . We just want to be able to have a starting point of having this conversation , and so I want to say thank you so , so much , and I'm going to try very carefully not to get you confused .

Speaker 3 14:45

And Carly and Corey . Is there another C name person in your parents ? There's a cooper . Yep , our younger brother's name cooper .

Speaker 1 14:54

Yes , okay , okay , um , any , uh , okay . Thank you so much . If there's any other parting words or words of advice that you would like to share , I don't know just .

Speaker 3 15:04

Thank you so much for having us . It's very cool that you're doing this podcast to inform people about cancer ?

Speaker 1 15:09

Yes , Thank you so much .

Speaker 2 15:11

Thanks for having us on . Absolutely Lovely to meet you guys . Thank you .

Speaker 3 15:15

All right .