For patients, becoming cancer-free is the moment they've been hoping for since the day they were diagnosed. The scans are clear, the cancer is gone, and everyone expects life to return to normal. But for many survivors, that's just not how the story goes.

In this episode, Hajar explores what it means to live beyond cancer. She looks at the physical and emotional challenges that can linger long after treatment, from anxiety about recurrence and lasting side effects to the complicated process of rebuilding a life after diagnosis. Along the way, she asks a question many survivors wrestle with: when cancer is gone, can life ever truly go back to the way it was before?

Keep up with all things Smarter Than Cancer and let us know what you think of the show at https://www.roswellpark.org/smarterthancancer

First responders spend their careers running toward danger to protect their communities. The risks they face in the moment are obvious: raging fires, smoke inhalation, collapsing buildings. But another danger has only come into sharper focus in recent years: cancer.

Researchers now know that repeated exposure to smoke, toxic chemicals, and contaminated gear can increase cancer risk. In fact, cancer is now the leading cause of death among retired firefighters.

In this episode, Hajar and David learn about the growing evidence behind firefighter cancer risk, what's being done to better understand it, and how fire departments are working to make the profession safer for future generations.

Keep up with all things Smarter Than Cancer and let us know what you think of the show at https://www.roswellpark.org/smarterthancancer

Nurses are burning out, and not because they can’t handle the job. In this episode, David explores the mounting pressures facing nurses today, from chronic understaffing to a workplace culture that often treats emotional exhaustion as part of the job.

With insights from Roswell Park’s Pamela Pichon (MS, BSN, RN) and Amy Gallagher (PsyD, MSHCT, Resiliency Program Leader), we look at what burnout actually feels like on the ground and what hospitals can do differently to better support the people holding the healthcare system together.

Keep up with all things Smarter Than Cancer and let us know what you think of the show at https://www.roswellpark.org/smarterthancancer

For many patients, a cancer diagnosis doesn’t just raise medical questions. It raises existential ones, too. Questions about meaning, belief, and what comes next. In this episode, Hajar and David explore the role of faith and spirituality in the cancer journey, and what it looks like to search for comfort, certainty, or understanding when so much feels out of your control.

Keep up with all things Smarter Than Cancer and let us know what you think of the show at https://www.roswellpark.org/smarterthancancer

Cancer is, at its core, a disease of genetics, so it’s no surprise it can run in families. As we start to understand these hereditary risk factors, how can we use that knowledge? In this episode, David explores ways that forward-thinking researchers and clinicians are working with families across generations to find and treat cancer and build better treatments for the future.

Interested in learning more about Roswell Park Center for Family Genetics and Cancer Prevention? Visit RoswellPark.org/genetics

Keep up with all things Smarter Than Cancer and let us know what you think of the show at https://www.roswellpark.org/smarterthancancer

What does it really mean to meet a community where they are? In this episode, David explores the nuances of community outreach in cancer care, and why a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t always work.

Focusing on Indigenous communities in and around Buffalo, they speak with Dr. Rodney Haring and community outreach coordinator Will Maybee about the deep-rooted health disparities facing Native populations—and the historical trauma that helps explain them. From mistrust in the medical system to barriers in access and cultural understanding, they unpack the complex realities behind the data.

Keep up with all things Smarter Than Cancer and let us know what you think of the show at https://www.roswellpark.org/smarterthancancer

What if lifesaving cancer screenings could come directly to the people who need them most? In this episode, David and Hajar introduce us to EDDY — a mobile cancer screening unit bringing early detection to communities across Western New York. They talk about why lung cancer screening is so important, the stigma that still surrounds the disease, and how meeting people where they are can make all the difference. It’s an inspiring look at how innovation, outreach, and a big blue bus are helping make cancer care more accessible for everyone.

Keep up with all things Smarter Than Cancer and let us know what you think of the show at https://www.roswellpark.org/smarterthancancer

Cancer is often thought of as a disease of older age. But tens of thousands of people are diagnosed each year in their teens, twenties, and thirties. And for them, this diagnosis arrives right in the middle of building a life. In this episode, Hajar and David explore what it’s like to face cancer as a young adult, when careers are just beginning, relationships are still forming, and questions about family, identity, and the future are far from settled. They look at why cancer is often harder to recognize in younger patients, how diagnoses can be delayed, and the loneliness of going through cancer when no one around you can relate.

Keep up with all things Smarter Than Cancer and let us know what you think of the show at https://www.roswellpark.org/smarterthancancer