Your Stories 2025: Celebrating a Year of Inspiring Voices
The cancer community is full of incredible people sharing their stories, from the people living with cancer and their loved ones to the professionals treating it. In this article we recap the inspiring people who were guests on Conquer Cancer’s Your Stories podcast this year.
At Conquer Cancer, we’re fortunate to have the opportunity to speak with truly amazing members of the cancer community. From survivors to physicians and researchers, the cancer community is full of bright minds and powerful stories that remind us why cancer research and treatment breakthroughs are so important. As 2025 draws to a close, we’re looking back on a year of incredible conversations through Your Stories, Conquer Cancer’s podcast highlighting the people conquering cancer, their experiences, and the lessons they learned.
January: Two Cancers, One Lung, and Seven Summits: Sean Swarner Inspires as a Climber and Cancer Survivor
In January, podcast host Dr. Mark Lewis spoke with Sean Swarner, an accomplished climber who has summitted the tallest mountain on each continent and trekked to the North and South Poles. Sean is a two-time pediatric cancer survivor who was treated for an Askin sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that eventually left him with only one functioning lung. In this episode, Sean and Dr. Lewis talked about his experience with cancer, his decision to pursue such impressive physical feats, and his hope of inspiring other cancer survivors to focus on what’s possible.
February: Misinformed: Dr. Stacy Loeb on Accessible Medical Information
Dr. Stacy Loeb is a urologist at New York University’s Langone Health. She treats a variety of urological conditions, including prostate cancer, and received a Conquer Cancer grant in 2009 to support her oncology research. In February’s episode, Dr. Loeb joined ASCO’s Sybil Green to talk about the rise of medical misinformation online and what professionals can do to make sure their patients have what they need to make good decisions about their health.
March: The Comeback: Pediatric Cancer Survivor Emma Lande on Life After Her Diagnosis
April: Emma Lande is a two-time cancer survivor who was diagnosed before she turned 22 years old. She received treatment from Dr. Molly Taylor, a recipient of Conquer Cancer’s Young Investigator Award who specializes in care plans for young people with cancer. Dr. Taylor hosted this heartfelt episode, where she and Emma talked about resilience, the importance of a strong support system, and making the most of life after cancer treatment.
May: The Bell: Jace Yawnick Shares His Journey and Finds Community Online
Jace Yawnick posted his cancer treatment updates on social media in hopes of finding people to share his experience with, only to find himself posting for an audience of 700,000 followers. Jace was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2023 and decided to share his experiences publicly and candidly to help process his diagnosis. In April, Jace joined Dr. Lewis to discuss his experience sharing his cancer story so publicly and the value of having a supportive online community through the highs and lows of treatment.
June: Conquering Cancer with Soap and Science: Heman Bekele’s Childhood Experiences Inspire His Cancer Research
Heman Bekele is a young scientist named Time magazine’s 2024 Kid of the Year and who won the 3M Young Scientist Challenge in 2023. He gained recognition for developing a prototype bar of soap that could be used to treat skin cancer. Heman joined our podcast host Dr. Don Dizon in May to talk about the importance of affordable skin cancer treatments and the obstacles he overcame to conduct his research despite his age.
July: The Doctor is in...and on Instagram: Dr. Eric Singhi Combines Personality and Experience to Explain Cancer Care Online
Dr. Eric Singhi goes by @lungoncdoc on Instagram, where he uses his online presence to explain the ins and outs of cancer to people in a personable and accessible way. An oncologist who sees how many people turn to the internet for vital information on cancer care, Dr. Singhi hopes to use his expertise to provide an alternative to online misinformation about medicine. He and our podcast host Dr. Dizon discussed how oncologists can make cancer care make sense to everybody through research and public presence alike.
August: From a Life Saved to Saving Lives: Oncologist Dr. Yelena Janjigian Discusses Her Journey to ASCO’s Annual Meeting
Dr. Yelena Janjigian is a gastrointestinal medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she specializes in esophageal and stomach cancers. A four-time Conquer Cancer award recipient, she presented research on her gastric cancer clinical trial to a crowd of fellow experts at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting. Dr. Janjigian joined our podcast host Dr. Lewis to reflect on her beginnings as an oncologist, the role of Conquer Cancer in launching her career, and what conquering cancer means to her.
September: Life is a Reason to Celebrate: Molly Hones on How Rare Cancer Research Gives Her Hope
Molly Hones lives with fibrolamellar cancer, a rare form of liver cancer that she’s received two separate diagnoses for. She participates in clinical trials headed by Conquer Cancer grant recipient Dr. Marina Baretti of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland. In September’s episode of Your Stories, Molly and our podcast host Dr. Lewis discussed the importance of clinical trials and rare cancer research, in addition to her hopes for a world where every person with cancer has the support they need.
October: Getting Back on the Board: Snowboarder Kimmy Fasani Brings Lessons from Her Career to Her Cancer Journey
Professional snowboarder Kimmy Fasani has broken records in her sport while advocating tirelessly for equal treatment of women in the snowboarding space. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after the birth of her second child, she found strength from the lessons she’s learned from years in the mountains—adaptability and finding joy in life’s challenges. Kimmy spoke with our podcast host Dr. Lewis about self-advocacy, the importance of showing up and supporting loved ones, and the feeling of snowboarding again after treatment.
November: At the Patient’s Side: Kristin Flanary Returns to Your Stories to Reflect on Her Co-survivorship Journey
Kristin Flanary is a writer, podcaster, and healthcare advocate who goes by Lady Glaucomflecken online. She supported her husband Will, or Dr. Glaucomflecken, through two testicular cancer diagnoses and a sudden cardiac arrest—experiences that changed her life just as much as they changed his own. In November, Kristin joined the Your Stories podcast for the third time to discuss the term co-survivorship, how her relationship to her experiences has changed, and what people can do to ease the strain of co-survivors like her.
Learn more about Your Stories and check out our full catalog of episodes here.