Caregiver Companion-A Guide for the Family Caregiver of Cancer Patients
Episodes
Episode 14 Year End Recap
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This year we covered topics such as friendship and caregiving, with two friends that were both cancer survivors and helped each other through their ca...
Episode 13 Caregiving During The Holidays
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, John and Fran discuss ways to approach caregiving during the holiday season. Caregiving is difficult, challenging and stressful. T...
Episode 12 Mid Year Update and Request
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sorry for the delay in getting this episode out to you all. It's been quite a summer! My new wife and I spent the month of July on the other sode ...
Episode 11 "Losing Mom" A discussion with Dr Fran about Her Book
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When a serious illness affects a parent, oftentimes the young children are overlooked or excluded from the situation. Externally, they may seem fine, ...
Resources
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There are many resources available for family carergivers. Sometimes it's hard to know just where to look. We want to provide access to as many resour...
Episode 10 A Monster Calls....
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When a cancer diagnosis is given, it is given not only to the patient, but to every family member. Like a rock trown into a calm lake, those waves ema...
Episode 9 Caregiving on PBS
22 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, John and Fran talk about the upcoming documentary "Caregiving" to be aired, Tuesday June 24 at 9PM on Public Broadcasting System (PBS...
Season 2 Mid Season Update
15 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's been a while since we published a new episode. There has been a lot going on... with Fran's practice, with John's medical situatiuon, as well as ...
Season 2 Episode 7 Navigating Clinical Trials
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, John and Fran talk with an Oncology Pharmacist with a deep knowledge of the clinical trial world. We heard about the diferent phases ...
Season 2 Episode 6 Caregiving Stress Part 2
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Caregiving is a marathon, not a sprint. The caregiving continuum takes a caregiver through all kind of responsibilties, tasks and pressures. In this e...
Season 2 Episode 5 Dealing with Stress in Caregiving Part 1
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There are many pressures people are dealing with in today's world. Watching the news, one sees wars, famines, natural disasters all around us. In our ...
Season 2 Episode 4 Caregiving with Rare Cancers
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Winston Churchill, in describing the old Soviet Union, once said "it is a riddle wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigmna". When a loved one is diagn...
Episode 3 Handling Medications
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When we become caregiver, we take on many roles and wear many hats. Nurse, advocate, cheerleader, chief paperwork officer, to name a few. One of the...
Season 2 Episode 2 Friendship and Caregiving
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, John and Fran talk with two friends, Laurie and Bonnie, who shared the common experience of breast cancer patients, support group m...
Season 2 - We're Back!!
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's been a while, we know. Holidays, moving, caregiving, and life in general kept us away from the podcast microphone. But we are back! Fran and ...
Episode 18 Wrap Up for 2024 and Thank You
14 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is our final episode for 2024. We will be back in 2025 with more topics and guests. It was a little over a year ago that the idea for this podcas...
Episode 17 Caregiving During the Holidays
03 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The holiday season can be difficult to navigate under the best of circumstances. But trying to manage through the holidays while caring for a loved on...
Episode 16 Cultural Nuances in Cancer Caregiving
02 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We have covered many different topics in family caregiving over the course of our episodes. These issues are universal to all caregivers across age, g...
Episode 15 Palliative Care.....Myths and Misconceptions
28 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Palliative care is a compassionate approach to healthcare that focuses on enhancing the quality of life for patients facing serious illness, at any st...
Episode 14 Mentoring
14 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It is often said we cannot control the twists and turns life brings us, but we can control how we react to them. Today, John and Fran speak with someo...
Episode 13 Confronting Cancer as a Couple
01 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
All relationships will face challenges over the course of time. Whether its money, jobs, kids, in-laws, couples will face diffuculties. Learning how t...
Episode 12 Caring for Your Child
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As a parent, we are instinctively in the role of caregiver for our children. When our child is faced with a life threatening illness, our caregiving g...
Episode 11 Communicating with Family and Friends
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, John and Fran start the conversation discussing the news that the Princess of Wales announced she is being treated for cancer. In a...
Episode 10 Communicating with Health Care Providers
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, John and Fran talk about the elements and strategies for communicating with the medical team. As a caregiver, you are a vital part of...
Episode 9.. Communicating with Your Loved One
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we talk about the importance and necessity of good communication. There are multiples points of communication for the caregiver...
Episode 8 Nutrition...Food for Thought
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Food can be a powerful force. Not only does it fuel our bodies, and provide essential elements for our well being- how we approach it, how we consume...
Episode 7 Music To My Ears
03 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this Episode, John and Fran explore music therapy as not only a form of self-care for caregivers, but as a therapy for your patient. We speak wit...
Episode 6 Caregiver as Collaborator
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When we take on the role of family caregiver, we become part of and and extension of the medical team. Actually, we are a vital part of the medical te...
Episode 5 Self Care is not a four Letter word
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Fran and John talk about the emotional and physical toll caregiving can generate. Fran explains the physiological and emotional strai...
Episode 4 Psycho-oncology...what the heck is that?
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fran and John discuss the sub-speciality known as psycho-oncology. Cancer is overwhelming-no question about it. It can take over every aspect of y...
Episode 3 In Case of Emergency.....
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As a caregiver, we are entrusted with the well-being and care for our loved one. It on our minds all day every day. We have talked, in the prior episo...
Episode 2 Breathe
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You and your loved one received the diagnosis. now the journey begins. a flood of thoughts come into your mind all at once. 1000 questions you nev...
Episode 1 The Hinge
26 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Caregiver Companion, a guide for the family caregiver of cancer patients. My name is John Razzano. I became the caregiver for my wife, Mary...