What should you eat after a cancer diagnosis? Should you try the keto diet? Does cannabis change cancer? Can stress make cancer worse?

🎧 ABOUT Dr. Donald Abrams

In this episode of What I Wish I Knew, we sit down with one of the country's leading integrative oncology experts, Dr. Donald Abrams, integrative oncologist at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine and Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco. He was the immediate past Chief of Hematology-Oncology at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, Professor of Medicine at UCSF, former President of the Society for Integrative Oncology, and Executive Director of the Weil Foundation. He edited the textbook Integrative Oncology with Dr. Andrew Weil and has spent 40+ years treating patients living with cancer.

Dr. Abrams breaks down everything newly diagnosed patients wish they had asked their oncologist, from the best anti-cancer foods to why organic produce is more potent than you think, the truth about the ketogenic diet, intermittent fasting, fruit juice, sugar and insulin, cannabis for symptom management, acupuncture, stress, physical activity, and how to take back control of your healing.

🌿 IN THIS EPISODE:

- The 5 questions every newly diagnosed patient should ask their oncologist

- Anti-cancer foods: cruciferous vegetables, sulforaphane, DIM & why organic matters

- Why sugar, fruit juice & the keto diet are not what you think

- Dr. Abrams' actual daily meal plan

- What cannabis really does (and doesn't) do for cancer

- The "woo" practices with real data: acupuncture, yoga, massage & meditation

- What most people get wrong in the first 30 days and how to take back control

🎥 WATCH DR. ABRAMS' FREE 4-PART VIDEO SERIES ON INTEGRATIVE CANCER CARE:

https://osher.ucsf.edu/resources/dr-donald-abrams-four-part-video-series-integrative-cancer-care

📖 Book mentioned: Integrative Oncology Edited by Dr. Donald Abrams & Dr. Andrew Weil

🍽️ Book mentioned: The Cancer Fighting Kitchen by Rebecca Katz

📗 Book mentioned: The First Cell by Dr. Azra Raza

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🌐 FIND US AT: https://www.whatiwishiknew.org

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wiwikpod

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatiwishiknewcancer

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wiwikpodcast

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/what-i-wish-i-knew-podcast

📌 Chapter Overviews

Chapter 1: Why He Chose Oncology (0:00–2:42)

Chapter 2: How AIDS Led Him to Integrative Medicine (2:42–4:19)

Chapter 3: Alternative vs. Complementary vs. Integrative — Explained (4:19–13:29)

Chapter 4: Questions Every Cancer Patient Should Ask (13:29–18:27)

Chapter 5: Making Your Body Inhospitable to Cancer (18:27–22:07)

Chapter 6: Fad Diets to Avoid After Diagnosis (22:07–26:40)

Chapter 7: His Exact Daily Meal Plan for Fighting Cancer (26:40–31:01)

Chapter 8: Why Organic Food Is More Potent Medicine (31:01–32:56)

Chapter 9: Sugar and Ultra-Processed Foods Fuel Cancer (32:56–35:05)

Chapter 10: Supplements vs. Whole Foods, What Actually Works (35:05–38:01)

Chapter 11: How Exercise Fights Fatigue and Improves Outcomes (38:01–44:04)

Chapter 12: The Biochemical Link Between Stress and Cancer (44:04–49:29)

Chapter 13: The Truth About Medical Cannabis for Cancer (49:29–59:49)

Chapter 14: The "Woo" Therapies Backed by Real Data (59:49–1:03:05)

Chapter 15: How to Advocate for Yourself With Your Doctor (1:03:05–1:09:54)

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. Always consult your medical team before making any changes to your treatment, diet, or supplement routine.

What I Wish I Knew: Get a second opinion after a cancer diagnosis and it can save your life.

She was healthy. She was an athlete. She was in her 20s planning a wedding and starting medical school.

And she had a tumor the size of a potato in her chest.

In this episode, What she shares in this conversation is the kind of stuff that only comes from actually going through it. Not reading about it. Not treating it. Living it.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Dr. Maggie Boomgaarden earned her BS from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University. She completed her residency at UC Irvine, the only naturopathic medicine residency inside a conventional medicine setting in the country. Her clinical focus includes hormone health, metabolic function, GI health, and longevity. She and her husband Travis recently launched their own private practice.

And she did all of that after surviving stage 3 Hodgkin's lymphoma.

📩 Reach Dr. Maggie: @drmaggieboomgaarden on Instagram

In this episode you'll learn:

Why her symptoms were dismissed for over a year before anyone ordered imaging

What finally led to the chest X-ray that changed everything

Why getting a second opinion literally changed her treatment plan and possibly her life

What she did naturally alongside chemotherapy that shocked her oncologist

The fertility preservation process nobody warns young cancer patients about

How chemo brain, menopause symptoms, and isolation nearly broke her

What the cancer taught her that no textbook ever could

Why "sugar feeds cancer" is more complicated than the internet makes it sound

The role of pesticides, sleep, stress, and trauma in cancer risk

How she defines healing now vs. before her diagnosis

📌 Chapter Overviews

Chapter 1: Life Before Diagnosis (4:20–8:00)

Chapter 2: First Symptoms and Being Dismissed (8:00–14:00)

Chapter 3: Starting Medical School Sick (14:00–18:00)

Chapter 4: The Chest X-Ray That Found the Tumor (18:00–22:00)

Chapter 5: Getting the Diagnosis in the Hospital (22:00–28:00)

Chapter 6: The Case for Second Opinions (28:00–36:00)

Chapter 7: Fertility Preservation and the Hidden Costs (36:00–44:00)

Chapter 8: Going Through Chemo (44:00–56:00)

Chapter 9: What She Did Naturally Alongside Treatment (56:00–1:02:00)

Chapter 10: Isolation, Identity, and Mental Health (1:02:00–1:14:00)

Chapter 11: What Not to Say to Someone With Cancer (1:14:00–1:22:00)

Chapter 12: Cancer Prevention. What We Can Actually Control (1:22:00–1:36:00)

Chapter 13: Diet, Fasting, and Ketogenic Diets in Cancer (1:36:00–1:50:00)

Chapter 14: Integrative Therapies. Vitamin C, Mushrooms, Mistletoe (1:50:00–2:02:00)

Chapter 15: Genetics vs. Epigenetics. Are Our Genes Our Destiny? (2:02:00–2:14:00)

Chapter 16: What Cancer Taught Her That Textbooks Never Could (2:14:00–2:28:00)

Chapter 17: How She Defines Healing Now (2:28:00–2:45:00)

If you know someone going through cancer or supporting someone who is, this is the episode to send them.

Visit us at https://www.whatiwishiknew.org

If this episode helped you, please like, comment, hit subscribe, and turn on notifications. The next conversation might be the one that changes how you see your diagnosis, your body, and your healing.

Follow us on social media:

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/what-i-wish-i-knew-podcast/

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your physician or qualified healthcare provider before making any treatment decisions.

What if a cancer diagnosis didn't have to take your future family away from you?

In this episode of What I Wish I Knew, we have a deep conversation with Tracy, a cervical cancer survivor and founding board member of The Chick Mission. She now serves as Chief Communications Officer and shares her experience with fertility preservation, patient advocacy, and what it really means to keep your options open when everything feels out of your control.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Tracy was 30, newly married, and working in entertainment when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer after months of being dismissed by doctors. What followed was a crash course in egg freezing, a $17,000 bill her insurance called "elective," and a journey that would eventually lead her to help build one of the most impactful oncofertility nonprofits in the country.

In this conversation, we learn

→ Tracy's diagnosis story - the symptoms doctors ignored, the bathroom breakdown, and what finally got her answers

→ Why fertility preservation wasn't even the standard of care when she was diagnosed in 2010

→ How The Chick Mission provides need-based Hope Grants for egg and embryo freezing to newly diagnosed cancer patients (ages 18+)

→ The real cost of oncofertility - and how Chick Mission has delivered nearly $5M in support to ~800 women

→ Legislative wins in Texas, New York, California, New Jersey, Colorado & more - and what's next for Arizona & Pennsylvania

→ The emotional weight of grieving the family you imagined - and finding peace in choice

→ What to say (and not say) to a friend going through cancer

→ How to advocate for yourself in medical appointments - and why it matters

🔗 Learn more & apply for a Hope Grant: Chick Mission

📩 Contact Chick Mission: hope@thechickmission.org

📸 Follow Chick Mission: https://www.instagram.com/chickmission/

Subscribe - because someone out there is googling "cancer and fertility" at 2am and needs to find this. Be part of the reason they do.

Visit us at https://www.whatiwishiknew.org

Follow us on Social Media to stay updated:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatiwishiknewcancer/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Wiwikpod/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wiwikpodcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/what-i-wish-i-knew-podcast/

📌 Chapter Overviews

Chapter 1: When Your Body Signals Something Is Wrong (0:00–0:16)

Chapter 2: Cancer Diagnosis at 30 and Life Turning Point (0:16–1:12)

Chapter 3: Ignored Symptoms and Delayed Diagnosis Reality (1:12–2:10)

Chapter 4: The Moment Everything Became Urgent (2:10–3:04)

Chapter 5: Facing Cancer While Navigating Fear and Uncertainty (3:04–4:05)

Chapter 6: Fertility Decisions Under Time Pressure (4:05–5:00)

Chapter 7: The Financial Shock of Egg Freezing (5:00–6:01)

Chapter 8: Why Fertility Access Should Not Be Optional (6:01–7:01)

Chapter 9: Turning Pain into Purpose Through Advocacy (7:01–8:49)

Chapter 10: Supporting Women Through Fertility and Cancer (8:49–10:30)

Chapter 11: Changing Laws to Protect Future Choices (10:30–11:55)

Chapter 12: The Emotional Weight of Fertility Expectations (11:55–13:37)

Chapter 13: Losing Control and Reclaiming Choice (13:37–15:16)

Chapter 14: Why Having Options Matters More Than Outcomes (15:16–16:04)

Chapter 15: Life After Cancer and Redefining Identity (16:04–18:03)

Chapter 16: Finding Purpose After Survival (18:03–20:20)

Chapter 17: Navigating Relationships and Tough Conversations (20:20–23:09)

Chapter 18: Real Stories of Hope, Loss, and Resilience (23:09–26:07)

Chapter 19: The Power of Support Systems and Asking for Help (26:07–41:05)

Chapter 20: Advocacy, Voice, and Living Beyond Cancer (41:05–53:06)

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your physician or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment.