The Game On Glio Podcast

S3 Ep 5: ”I Live Every Day with Stoic Wisdom” --Guest Mike Hugo

Mike was diagnosed with glioblastoma in April of 2022. 13 months in, he is doing well and stronger than ever--but it comes at a price.

“I know the statistics,” he said. “The statistics for glioblastoma are a median survival of 14 months; half the people are dead by 14 months. The five-year survival is four or five percent.”

Mike found the tumor after a seizure while driving home led to a car crash. He woke up in the hospital with a broken back, but it was his brain scans that would change his life. Ironically, Mike works in neurological medical device sales, and his wife is a clinical research analyst. So, when he saw his scans, he knew it was cancer but never would have thought it was GBM.

Hear his remarkable story.

You can watch a special video of our guest singing an acoustic version of "My Little Girl" with country singing legend Tim McGraw.

 

**Book referenced can be found on our website thegameongliopodcast.com

Season Sponsors:

GammaTile

Imvax Inc.

 

Episode Sponsor:

MimiVax

S3 Ep 4: ”This disease kills kings” --Guest Wade Lewis

In this episode, we talk to Wade Lewis who was diagnosed with glioblastoma at the age of 43. Faith, fortitude, and fight all describe what this episode is about. 

Wade shares his brain cancer journey, the intriguing friendship he developed with Dr. Fonkem and how it led to their work in Africa together, and how ministry and his belief in God has given him a new outlook on the path that has been handed to him. We also discuss some interesting drug news that isn't on everyone's radar. 

 

Listen now! Please review or rate us anywhere podcasts are played. We love to hear from you! Also visit our website for updated clinical trials that are recruiting and updated brain cancer news.

Visit our YouTube channel for the latest special videos and a documentary trailer on Wade Lewis's journey so far.

 

Season Sponsors:

GammaTile Therapy,

Imvax Inc.

 

Episode sponsor:

Highmark BlueCross BlueShield

S3 Ep 3: ”Our Superman in the fight against brain cancer” --Guest Lance Kawaguchi

Lance Kawaguchi's motto is "working with heart" and it shows in all he does for the brain cancer community.

The CEO of Cure Brain Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Australia, Lance is also an internationally recognized executive leader with over 25 years of global finance and banking experience, and currently serves as the Chairman of the Asian Fund for Cancer Research (www.AFCR.org). Lance was featured on the cover of CEO Magazine and awarded the 2022 CEO Magazine Global Not-for-Profit Executive of the Year and the 2022.

In this exciting episode, we talk about Lance's foundation's move to the U.S., his hope to grow the work of his foundation, and his South Pole Trek to bring awareness and funds to brain cancer research. You can learn more by visiting southpoletrek4cancer 

 

Season Sponsors:

GammaTile Therapy

Imvax Inc.

 

Episode Sponsor:

Highmark BCBS of WNY

S3 Ep 2: ”Love has no limits: One Couple’s Journey with GBM” --Guests Nick Adamski & Diane Pathieu

"It's hard when someone puts an expiration date on you," said Nick Adamski, glioblastoma thriver and one of our guests for episode 2 of Season 3.

Nick, with the support of his wife Diane (ABC7 Chicago News Journalist), has been beating the odds against glioblastoma since December 2020. Walking through this rare cancer is not pretty, nor is it for the faint of heart. When Nick and Diane sat down with us, he didn't hold back; painting a picture of just how hard this journey has been and the obstacles he's had to overcome.

A previous firefighter, it's an indication of the kind of man Nick is--a fighter! But, it's not just his own inner strength that is helping him win against glioblastoma (GBM), it's the love he and his wife Diane share that transcends this disease.

And, that's what this episode is all about--LOVE! Diane and Nick also share education on Methylation Profiling and how it has saved Nick's life. 

 

*Our theme this season is "Advocate and Navigate" and this episode does just that!

Listen to episode 2 now!

 

Season Sponsor 

GT Medical Technologies & GammaTile Therapy

 

episode sponsors

Highmark BlueCross BlueShield of WNY

MimiVax LLC

S3 Ep 1: ”The Brain is the Black Box of the Body” --Guests Dr.’s Elad Levy & Ken Snyder

In this first episode of Season 3, we sit down with Dr.'s Elad Levy and Ken Snyder of UB Neurosurgery/Buffalo General Hospital and Gates Vascular Institute/Jacobs School of Medicine. They give us rare insight into the work they do, the cutting edge technology being used (including GammaTile Therapy now being offered) and even the emotional toll this field can take.

This season we are going to learn--together. "Navigate and Advocate" is a theme you will hear a lot during season 3 of The Game On Glio Podcast. And, it starts with episode 1. We all have moments we feel outnumbered. But we are not alone, and if this show gives you anything--it's that!

 

Season 3 Premier Sponsor:

GammaTile Therapy

 

Episode sponsor:

Highmark BlueCross BlueShield of WNY

S2 Ep 12: ”How Do We Create Space for Love in the Midst of Grief?”--with Guest Marie Alessi

Our guest today, Marie Alessi, is a celebrated author of the book "Loving Life After Loss" and podcast host of Upspiral Grief. Marie unexpectedly lost her husband and father to their two boys in 2018 to a sudden brain aneurysm. Using her own tools and strong intuition, she created a path back happiness and now shares that with others across the globe.

In our last episode of Season 2, Marie and I tackle the myths and peel back the many layers of grief and loss, and how to ignite happiness again. Don't miss out on this stirring episode! 

Subscribe to our podbean channel, to our website at thegameongliopodcast.com, and to our Instagram channel @gameongliopodcast to get the latest news, stories you won't hear on the show, AND a sneak peak into Season 3!!!

 

Season 2 Sponsor:

GammaTile Therapy

S2 Ep 11: ”An Honest Reflection of A Spousal Caregiver” with Guest Andrea Tom

"I (insert name here) take you (insert name here) to be my lawfully wedded husband/wife. To have and to hold from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish until death parts us."

Sound familiar? When we say those vows, we say them theoretically. As if we know that this is what we truly vow, it's what we mean, but we never expect to have to uphold some of them so soon. Being a spousal caregiver is so nuanced, so delicate. It's a tightrope that no one else can understand. For those who are blessed enough to have that dream marriage; a love that redefines what soulmate truly means, the task of being a caregiver is the most heart-wrenching and difficult task you will ever be given in this life.

Our guest today, Andrea Tom, knows this kind of caregiving as well. Like me, she became a caregiver to her husband in her 40's when he was diagnosed with Glioblastoma five years ago. She shares her experience; she reflects on what it honestly means to be a spousal caregiver and how she has "soldiered" on. She finds new meaning and has redefined what being a widow and a woman in her 50's looks like.

 

Season Sponsor

GammaTile Therapy

S2 Ep 10: ”Being a Grieving Spouse with a Grieving Child,”--with Guest Sara Deren

    It's hard enough being a parent (at least from everything I witness and see). So, what do you do when you suddenly become a widow, grieving the loss of your spouse while also trying to help your grieving child?

Whether the loss is a caregiver, a parent, or even a sibling, a child that experiences loss is going to experience grief differently than we as adults do. Young children may not even understand what death means, or that people who have died won’t be coming back. So, how do we wrap our arms around these tender souls while also still trying to cope with our own grief?

In this episode we speak to Sara Deren, Founder and CEO of Experience Camps. Experience Camps is a national non-profit that gives grieving children experiences that change their lives forever.

 

Season Sponsor:

 

GammaTile

 

S2 Ep 9: ”Cancer isn’t a sniper shot, it’s a grenade” with Guest Dr. Randy D’Amico

    The themes around Episode 9 will have us all reflecting a bit more this holiday season. You wouldn’t know it from the title, but we talk a lot about the act of forgiveness–what it takes to forgive. Not just in forgiving others, but forgiving ourselves.

The title, “Cancer isn’t a sniper shot, it’s a grenade,” is a loaded title. In my conversation with our guest, Dr. Randy D’Amico, he expresses how cancer isn’t a single shot, it isn’t a sniper that has one bullseye–it’s a grenade that scatters everywhere and impacts everyone around you. And I thought that was very powerful, because cancer doesn’t just impact the patient, it impacts all those connected to the patient. It has a ripple effect, and everyone is forced to find a way to deal with the aftermath of the diagnosis of their loved one or friend. This is where forgiveness plays its part.

This episode is full of insight, clarity, forgiveness, love, and fight. 

 

From all of us at The Game On Glio Podcast, have a wonderful, gratitude filled Thanksgiving.

 

Season Sponsor:

GammaTile Therapy

 

Episode Sponsor:

MimiVax LLC

S2 Ep 8: ”Embracing Grief While Being a Mindful Survivor” -with Guest Dave Stevenson

When you're mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience. Trying to be mindful while in the midst of grief can be challenging. However, learning to lean into it while also leaning into love, loss, and moving forward are part of being mindful in grief.

Finding a way to embrace grief while also finding a way to survive in a mindful way is precisely what our guest, Dave Stevenson, has done.

In this episode, Dave opens up about being a widower, the challenges he's faced as a male grieving his spouse, and what it means to embrace grief while also finding a way to mindfully move forward.

Seasonal Sponsor:

GammaTile Therapy

 

Episode Sponsor:

MimiVax LLC