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Cancer Survivor: Keri Cronin
47 Plays8 months ago
Dr. Keri Cronin is an internal medicine resident at Mount Sinai Morningside and West in New York City. In 2021, during her second year of medical school, Dr. Cronin was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Listen to Keri talk about her treatment journey, the importance of peer support among cancer survivors and the rising rates of cancer in young adults.
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Transcript
Podcast Introduction
00:00:09
Speaker
You're listening to The Wound Dresser, a podcast that uncovers the human side of healthcare. I'm your host, Jon Neary. My guest today is Dr. Carrie Cronin. Dr. Cronin is an internal medicine resident at Mount Sinai Morningside in West, in New York City.
Cancer Diagnosis Journey
00:00:29
Speaker
She's also a recent graduate of Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. In the spring of 2021, during her second year in medical school,
00:00:37
Speaker
Dr. Cronin was diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Through her grit and determination, Dr. Cronin beat the odds and finished medical school this past May. After her residency, Dr. Cronin looks forward to pursuing additional training in oncology. Dr. Kerry Cronin, thanks so much for joining the wound dresser. Thank you for having me.
00:01:01
Speaker
So can you just walk our listeners through kind of your whole cancer journey and the timeline and how that all went down while you were in medical school? Yeah, of course. So I actually began experiencing symptoms during what would have been kind of like the second semester of my second year of medical school. I'm kind of just like symptoms all over the place that people weren't able to piece together some like
00:01:24
Speaker
bone pain in like my thigh and in my shoulder, um, some abdominal pain. Um, I'm always kind of grew up being an athlete place at hockey in college. And when I went on runs, I noticed that my leg would give out. Um, so kind of just started getting worked up. And at that time I was part of the original COVID class. I was doing med school remote. So I would show up to ALG, which is our small group learning session at Cooper. And every day it was kind of like, there's the case. And then there was the case of what was going on with me.
00:01:52
Speaker
And so I would tell them the myriad of symptoms and it kind of eventually came to the head around April and the symptoms starting in January. And in that time, I kind of woke up one day around my birthday in April and was no longer April, the bare weight in my leg. And so that brought me basically right to emergency attention. The workup that I had gotten, I had gotten abdominal CAT scan for the abdominal pain as well, kind of right around that time. And that kind of showed that there was lytic lesions
00:02:21
Speaker
kind of throughout as well as some abdominal masses. So that kind of quickly brought things to a head and kind of began the real workup process. So getting a biopsy and talking about really bringing cancer into the conversation and the next steps.
Balancing Knowledge and Emotion
00:02:36
Speaker
And unfortunately, because of the timeline of when that happened in my medical school, I had to take time off to complete chemotherapy and recover from chemotherapy, requiring me to take a year off from school.
00:02:49
Speaker
Yeah, as being a medical student, was it kind of like a scary experience where you know a lot of the science of like what's going on? And then you're kind of hearing these terms, these diagnoses, and then was that a very scary feeling during that time? I feel like the way I approached it was kind of like two heads of the coin. There is one point where they thought I had metastatic osteosarcoma.
00:03:14
Speaker
And I even remember like part of that picture was produced when they saw the lytic lesions, which is kind of like a buzzword as well. And I remember hearing those two things and like the alarm bells going off in my head, knowing what that meant in the medical textbooks and the medical videos that we study from. But I feel like once I actually received my diagnosis of lymphoma, I feel like I kind of turn that, you know, the medical student mind off and try to go with the flow.
00:03:41
Speaker
and just kind of take what came before me. Because I feel like beforehand, I just use that to go down a rabbit hole. I feel like sometimes there was times where it was really nice to have a better understanding of what was going on. And there is times where ignorance was bliss. So I feel like it has, I don't know, I feel like it was really interesting to be able to have frank conversations with the doctors where they knew I understood what they were communicating to me. And I feel like that really created a unique patient-physician relationship, which is kind of
00:04:11
Speaker
what I hope to create once I ultimately become an oncologist. But I do feel like I did wear two hats with times where I would get worried because I knew the worst case scenario because we often study the worst case scenario. And there is times where I just like a lot of our patients do sometimes they're like this, you know, take the reins and I'm along for the ride because I just want to focus on keeping my body and my mind healthy through this.
00:04:34
Speaker
Can you remind our listeners who might not be familiar what non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is and how that kind of works physiologically in your body? So there's two types of lymphoma. There's Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's. Mainly what the diagnosis is based off of is the pathology really when they look under under the slide and some of the genetics behind what they see. And within Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's there's a myriad of different types.
00:05:01
Speaker
So for I had non-Hodgkin's, I had the pusal or B cell lymphoma, which once again is just kind of something they see based on stains when they're doing pathology from a biopsy. And so once you got this diagnosis, you got the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosis, you were in consultation with your physicians and your treatment team.
Community and Support Programs
00:05:24
Speaker
Could you just kind of describe your, your recovery and how, uh, I know you said you took a year off, but kind of like what that looked like, um, throughout that time. Um, so my treatment consisted of basically six cycles of infusion, chemotherapy over the span of, I think what ended up being roughly two months. Um, so it was more often in the hospital than out, um, but went through intensive chemotherapy, which at the time was recently approved and only offered in two centers in the Northeast.
00:05:51
Speaker
And I also receive rituximatous immunotherapy as well. So I would go through the chemo chest sessions. I would go home. And then when I got home, because my white blood count would be so low, I'd have to give myself injections to help boost my white blood count. I would often need platelet and packed blood cell transfusions as well. So kind of the work wasn't done once I left the hospital. And unfortunately, after finishing treatment,
00:06:18
Speaker
One week after my final cycle, I ended up going back to the hospital for a neutropenic fever, meaning my white blood count was basically so low that I spiked a fever and it's basically an emergency for a cancer patient to go through that kind of situation. So basically all of that and summation that two months, along with the fact that my femur was significantly damaged by the cancer, just because it was not dormant, but so active, but not
00:06:47
Speaker
it dormant in the sense that nothing was being done to address it, that the damage was so severe that I was not allowed to bear weight in my right femur for like six to eight months. So between the side effects of the drugs knocking down my cell counts and the effects of the cancer on my, you know, the actual, my actual body, it took some time after treatment to recover. Fortunately, it was just basically, fortunately and unfortunately, because I feel like
00:07:15
Speaker
It's hard sometimes to be patient in medicine and just to, you know, watch and wait. But my recovery was largely just being patient and letting my body heal itself and recover from, you know, the toxins that is chemotherapy. And kind of alongside that was, you know, the mental recovery because when you're going through something like cancer and you're going through an intensive treatment like that.
00:07:36
Speaker
you don't have time to process what you're going through. So a lot of it was being patient with my body to recover, but also mentally processing what I went through and what that meant for me and what that meant for me going forward as a physician. And for me, one of the things that was really important during my treatment journey and what I took advantage of with my ear off, I had a number of friends and peers who were also young cancer survivors and they really got me through my journey.
00:08:03
Speaker
really supported me and answered some of the questions that sometimes harder to ask positions or positions are not as aware of because, you know, fortunately, most people are treating diseases they have not experienced.
Mental vs. Physical Strain
00:08:14
Speaker
And I really leaned on a lot of these girls and getting through my journey. So I started
00:08:19
Speaker
volunteering with a number of programs where I was a peer support mentor for young adults that were recently diagnosed, going through diagnosis or survivorship. And to me, that was really valuable to give what I learned back to someone else and knowing how valuable it was to me and seeing it help someone else as well and kind of paying it forward in that regard.
00:08:39
Speaker
You talked about like the mental recovery. Do you feel like kind of throughout the cancer journey, your mental health and your physical health, they kind of just like, you know, ebb and flow together. Like if you have like a tough chemo treatment, you're, you know, it's very hard mentally as well. Is that, is that something that kind of like, you know, go, go hand in hand? I feel like it depends. I feel like a lot of the time for me, they were polar opposites because physically we would get so challenging at times that all of my energy had to go towards
00:09:08
Speaker
accomplishing that physical task, that there is no space mentally for it. Um, but by the end of chemo, I feel like just, you know, the frustration of spending like basically almost two months straight in a hospital. And like I said, like kind of taking a backseat, you have no control over the situation you're in. I wasn't like, um, independently mobile. So being so dependent on other areas when I was previously living alone and independent, I feel like a lot of that frustration started to mount towards the end.
00:09:36
Speaker
that I was just like, I want, you know, I saw my friends going on to starting third year and, you know, figuring out what programs they're applying to for residency. And I'm stuck, you know, being this, you know, not a guinea pig, but stuck at the mercy of this disease. And it's forced with, you know, my body. So I feel like there was a lot of frustration. I feel like mentally that was tough, but I feel like usually during the whole process, it was,
00:10:03
Speaker
The physical and mental nature of the disease often came at separate times because they were also individually taxing.
00:10:11
Speaker
Interesting. Okay. I would have like kind of thought the opposite where like, you know, you would have like a tough day and it would kind of take a toll mentally, but yeah, what you're saying totally makes sense that like each of those things is so taxing that you, you literally don't have energy to like both like do a chemotherapy treatment and like feel depressed or something. Right. Yeah. Like I feel like, um, cause I know that wasn't the case for a lot of the young adults I was friendly with, but for like one example, I feel like when I.
00:10:38
Speaker
I was never someone super attached to my hair, but you know, knowing you're going to be bald is pretty like, that's a pretty dramatic change. You're like, you know, from everyone's memory, as long as you can remember, usually you think of yourself as this person with hair. So I feel like for me, that was something that I wasn't expecting to be so traumatized by, but I remember like, just knowing I'm going to do chemotherapy, I'm going to lose my hair and how shocking that was to me. But then when I actually lost my hair, I was just like, oh, whatever. This is just, you know, just part of the process.
00:11:09
Speaker
So I feel like it was just kind of like permit. It was just kind of one step at a time. And I feel like you process things in bits and pieces. And I feel like because of that, you kind of separate out what might have seen something that would have come in tandem naturally. What are, what are some of the things that, uh, those fellow cancer survivors were telling you, you said that they really like helped you get through this. Um, and then you kind of pass that on to other people who are going through the same thing. Like what are those, what are those discussions look like in terms of support?
00:11:38
Speaker
Um, some of it was just like simple stuff. Like I think a couple of my first conversations were like, this is where to buy a wig or like a head wrap. This is what to put on your port to make it not painful when they're accessing it for the chemo. This is what to do about X, Y, and Z side effects. Um, like this is what they, like if they have to do blood draws, this is the needle they should use. Um,
00:12:04
Speaker
Like it was just like a lot of, I feel like a lot from the get go, just like logistic stuff. Like you're going into this battle. This is what you need to survive. And then I feel like the further I got in, um, like, especially towards the end, I remember like during recovery, I was like, did you, did you notice when you, cause you're isolated for so long, you have no immune system. You're not like, you're barely allowed to see your family and friends. And then all of a sudden you're throwing back into reality and you're supposed to be normal again. And I just remember that transition being pretty jarring, especially
00:12:33
Speaker
kind of being a cancer patient during COVID as were some of my peers and that making it even harder to transition back and being like, was it so overwhelming for you to then go back to being in social situations and like to be able to have those conversations with them was really important. And then a lot of,
Acceptance and Living in the Present
00:12:50
Speaker
I think one of the other biggest things too was a lot of survivors I talked to were all women. So fertility being like a huge thing that is, it's like very overwhelming and very emotional.
00:13:03
Speaker
I feel like that's one of the hardest things to process, but just for them, like helping each other find the right doctor and then find grants to get it covered because insurance doesn't usually cover it. And then just kind of just being there to support each other to know that you're a young, you know, reproductive age female, and now you might not be able to, you know, have a family one day or not be able to have a family in the quote unquote traditional way.
00:13:28
Speaker
and sometimes just being a peer support or a sounding board for someone that's stressed or going through processing that.
00:13:37
Speaker
Yeah. How do you as like a group of survivors, um, like cope with that? I know there's, there's probably the fear, like you said of, of the, like having fertility issues or the fear of maybe getting cancer again or, or fears in general. So how, um, you know, do you, as a core group of, you know, young female survivors, uh, work through those, that, that uncertainty in the future?
00:14:03
Speaker
I feel like I've seen, everyone's different. So like, for example, I know a girl that had melanoma and she is now very diligent about checking her moles and is always afraid that she has a new freckle and it's going to be melanoma again. I have one friend who survived breast cancer and I think she is officially, I think she's five or seven years out of treatment and she's just started a process like what she went through emotionally for her partner.
00:14:33
Speaker
So I feel like there's different people handle it in different ways. I feel like for me, yeah, there's like, you know, everyone talks about skin anxiety. I feel like there's always a little bit, like they just change my scans from six months to one year. I feel like there's always like a little bit of sense of what if, like what if, you know, this lymph nodes, not just a cold. What if it is something more? What if this pain in my knee is once again, like the cancer or not just me, you know, overusing it while I'm running.
00:15:03
Speaker
Um, so there's always that kind of what if sense, but I feel like to me, the biggest thing that I learned from it is that it's probably going to come back. And I feel like, unfortunately, this is me knowing too much. Um, like when I came back to Cooper and explored my interest in oncology and seeing the number of people that have had three different types of cancers in our lifespan, like it's going to come back or you're going to get a new type and that's life.
00:15:26
Speaker
Unfortunately, that is life. But I feel like you just have to make the most of the days where you feel good and you're healthy because it could be all taken away again. So that's kind of how I process that. But everyone is very, very different in how they approach it. And I feel like it's probably in part maybe how the cancer was discovered, how their treatment team helps support them through the emotional times, how isolated they were from loved ones, how supportive their loved ones were.
00:15:54
Speaker
I think there's so many different variables, but for me, it's just making the most of every day, knowing that, you know, there might be a day again where I will be less fortunate and not be able to do the things I love. Yeah. That sounds like that takes like a lot of courage just to kind of seize the day and just be in the moment and, you know, let the future be the future, right? Just kind of live here and now. Exactly.
00:16:18
Speaker
You know, we talked about like positive sources of support. Um, I'm sure like family and, and fellow cancer survivors, was there any like support along the way that like people were trying to be helpful, but it just like wasn't helpful. Uh, I mean, I feel like with anything that's always that I feel like sometimes I've even said to patients things that I'm like, I don't know if this is, cause it's hard to know with anyone what, what they need to hear at a given time. Cause everyone is different in how they need support.
00:16:46
Speaker
Um, like for example, when I spoke at Cooper about my experience to, uh, my class, they, someone asked, what was, um, what was the, what was your favorite, like gift or something that someone said to you during treatment? And to me, what stood out was one of my friends from college had sent me a text and basically just said, Hey, just know that I'm thinking of you. Um, and you like, you're in my prayers. I know you're going through a lot. Don't even worry about replying to this. Just know that I'm there.
00:17:15
Speaker
And to me, I feel like that was like hit the nail on the head. Like I felt like, I feel sometimes going through something and you have a lot of people reaching out and trying to support you, that can almost feel like a job, especially when you're fatigued from chemotherapy and for someone to just be like, I'm there for you and I know you're going through a lot. If you need me, let me know, but otherwise don't feel obligated. And, you know, using your little bit of energy to like make me feel good about reaching out.
Impact of Healthcare Team
00:17:44
Speaker
And I feel like that,
00:17:46
Speaker
was really meaningful to me. It was like little things like that or my neighbor actually was a cancer survivor and I feel like she would always make me get baskets for every cycle of chemo. So it was things that like I would want warm socks because I would have like neuropathy or my feet would get really cold from the anemia. She would get me just like different things that like were exactly kind of what I needed. And I feel like it was sometimes the people
00:18:15
Speaker
that really took the time to listen or put themselves in my shoes. That really like was the extra step that felt really supportive. But there's definitely been people that have said things that were well intentioned, but were very insensitive. And I know that it came out of the kindness of people's hearts, but sometimes just, you can't always say the right thing is what I've learned.
00:18:40
Speaker
Yeah, that's super hard. I think it's like somebody who's supporting somebody going through cancer or some other illness or hard life situation, you like want to say the right thing. But yeah, you know, hats off to the two people you mentioned with the gift baskets and the text, like just showing up for somebody and like kind of putting yourself in their shoes saying.
00:18:59
Speaker
like what do they actually need like right now I think is huge so that's really cool that you had like some people like that who could kind of empathize with you and be there for you in that way. I think it might be a good time now to talk about we've talked a lot about your experience with the illness but maybe you could just like reflect on like the care you receive throughout like what
00:19:24
Speaker
Like what was that whole from, from like a 10,000 foot view, like, like who were the people in your, your care that really made a difference? That's a good question. I feel like for us, cause my mom was with me during like the whole diagnosis process and we unfortunately had to go to a number of hospitals to get everything done in a timely manner. And unfortunately I feel like some of the physicians we spoke with initially, uh, we're not very empathetic or, um,
00:19:54
Speaker
they basically just did not have the best bedside manner in that I feel like made the start of the journey really, really scary for us. And I feel like I just remember the first time we met the oncologist that ended up treating me, he like came in the room and you know, heard the whole story and he's like, we're gonna cure you. And just like, it was just like a simple thing. I don't know if like, I feel like some people would have been like, you know, he's playing God to say a statement like that. But I feel like just the calm confidence
00:20:24
Speaker
And, you know, I don't know, I feel like to us something that was grounding and made us feel like, all right, we have a chance against this versus I feel like a lot of other people made us feel like I kind of needed to get my affairs in order. So that I feel like made a huge difference. And his nurse practitioner was absolutely amazing and guiding us through the journey and all the nurses that I had for chemotherapy. Because when you're in the hospital that often, like the oncologist on service would rotate kind of once a week
00:20:53
Speaker
So I would see, like, you know, I saw every member of the team and I like, they were all terrific. Um, but it was like really the nurses that you saw throughout the day and how, you know, mindful they were of what we were going through and how they would always try to come in the room and like cheer me up. Like, I feel like it was just, it felt like we became friendly with them and it was, it was nice when it was, I couldn't really have visitors outside my mom.
00:21:18
Speaker
that it kind of felt like when we would go back to the hospital, like it was kind of seeing familiar faces and the closest things I could have as, you know, visitors when I was in the hospital. So I feel like it was just really like we got, we were really fortunate with the team we ended up with. And I feel like without, I don't know, I just very, very grateful for everything they did after what I saw could have been the alternative.
Holistic and Tailored Care
00:21:41
Speaker
Yeah, well, we'll get back to the that just the dynamic of the health care team in a second. But to go back to your initial state, right, you said, you know, you got this diagnosis and then you were kind of looking for a treatment team. You encountered some people who some some providers that maybe weren't the best fit for you like.
00:21:57
Speaker
Just being with a serious illness, I feel like you want to get the best care possible. I feel like there's so many options. I'm sure some people get cancer and immediately go down to MD Anderson in Texas or up to Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York or wherever. But I'm sure there's so many good places to get cancer care. What was that thought process in trying to find the best fit?
00:22:25
Speaker
Oh, I mean, I feel like a lot of it was proximity. So for us was kind of wanting to be close to home. And since I will chair Walker bound that I had to be back with my parents. So I had to be somewhere near Northern New Jersey. Um, so that was kind of like a big part of it, but it was also knowing that it was going to be a long journey. Um, being with a team that we really, like we trusted and felt like they were going to give me the best chance of survival. Um, and I feel like.
00:22:55
Speaker
I'm very fortunate in having been able to, you know, have the opportunity to meet several providers. Cause I feel like you said, there's some people that are going to automatically go to one place, but I feel like there's like, especially in Camden and I know for residency, there's going to be unfortunately patients that at the hospital in Harlem have no other choice. They just have to go to this hospital. And I feel like to have been given the opportunity, like my, my provider ran the cancer center and he is like one of the best in the region. And I know a lot of people wouldn't have
00:23:25
Speaker
been given that same privilege. Like it was very fortunate that my primary care doctor knew him. And I feel like sometimes I would see patients in the hospital and just know it's like, well, maybe they would have benefited from a clinical trial, but they don't have the right access. They're not at a big academic center where they can get enrolled in the trial. And I feel like to me, that's always really hard.
00:23:46
Speaker
The biggest thing at the end of the day too is besides liking your care team is being near your family. So I just, I feel like proximity as well. Like I know that was a big thing for me, but I feel like the most patients as well.
00:23:58
Speaker
With your care, you mentioned that the nurses were really important pieces of that. Were there also other folks as part of the care team that really kind of helped complete your care to give you a more holistic treatment, whether that be a social worker, a chaplain, anybody like that throughout your cancer journey? I'm trying to think. It was also still COVID time in the hospital, so it was kind of limited. I think the chaplain came in once.
00:24:28
Speaker
We didn't really have a relationship with them. Social work, we didn't work with, but this is really random. And I feel like I did actually enjoy it. It was like one of the few things they offered. They're like, we have Reiki therapy or like the heck is Reiki therapy. And I feel like I got into yoga actually in college, but I was never able to do like the Shavasana. I've never been able to meditate. I feel like everyone praises it for being able to relax and de-stress and I've never been able to do it.
00:24:57
Speaker
And until I basically went into the hospital and met these Reiki therapists and it was always the same woman and she would like play this like relaxing music. And I feel like basically they are supposed to realign your energy and they basically like move their hands over you. And it just like was kind of a really odd thing, but I just remember it being a time where my room wasn't like, all of the alarms weren't going off. There was not like five people running in and out.
00:25:26
Speaker
And it was just quiet. And I felt like this woman just had a very soothing presence. So to me, I feel like it was, it was, it would be the time in the day or during the treatment where I would just have finally a minute to myself. And like, we really got to know her. We got to hear all about her family and her sons. And I feel like she was like kind of an unexpected, pleasant surprise in the journey. And something that just, you know, I was very grateful for and like physical therapy,
00:25:56
Speaker
I couldn't really work with them, but they would bring me exercise bands so I could do like bicep curls and stuff in my bags. They knew I was active and that I couldn't really do much, that they would try to accommodate me and bring me little things to do to stay active. So everyone I feel like always try to help out, but those were two things that I feel like kind of stuck out to me. That's cool. Yeah. I know Ricky's gaining like a good amount of steam. I did a Ricky, an episode with a Ricky practitioner not too long ago.
00:26:25
Speaker
Yeah, it seems like the evidence-based for it is growing and that it can be you know appropriate in some settings So I'm glad that that was like a pleasant surprise for you during your your cancer journey I think yeah in general like there's a lot of Eastern modalities that are like really growing I think just like the evidence base like that the research as it gets will become more accepted kind of in the clinical setting so I
00:26:52
Speaker
Now that you've talked about your care, your illness experience, you've said that you want to move forward and obviously get your internal medicine residency and then I guess a fellowship in oncology. So what are some of the changes you would make in the whole continuum of cancer care once you become an oncologist, if you became a leader in that field? So I actually had dinner with one of my friends that's a survivor recently.
00:27:22
Speaker
And we were talking about it because the cancer rates for young adults are like significantly increased over the last few years, probably as a result of like, you know, microplastics and pollution. But originally I feel like young adults never had a spot in the cancer space. And I feel like as that group grows and as you have a larger group of people that are growing full on into like adulthood as survivors and bringing that with them the rest of their lives or bringing with them the side effects of chemotherapy.
00:27:50
Speaker
And I feel like even like our conversations together, her and I, you go into like the transfusion suites or you're in the hospital and you are the youngest person in there. And it is a very isolating space to be in. And now that that group is growing, I feel like one of the biggest needs is to address that is how to improve access to, you know, mental health support, physical therapy, whatever you have it for survivors of cancer that are young adults.
00:28:19
Speaker
and to be able to create more of a tailored space for them. Because I feel like they're fair with the statistic is as well, but not every cancer survivor that is diagnosed during young adulthood or childhood is aware of the fertility side effects. That is not often a conversation that has had. So I feel like that too is part of it is how it is addressed when someone is diagnosed with cancer, like what protective steps
00:28:44
Speaker
do we need to do before we start chemotherapy or before we start radiation or surgery? It is just like, I feel like a new space in the field of cancer. And I feel like that is something untapped and having been a young adult with cancer and knowing so many others, I feel like it is something that I hope to bring to the field and that I hope to make that change as I, you know, as I move forward in my career.
Empathy Through Experience
00:29:07
Speaker
So you, you feel like there's kind of just been like an established, you know, focus on pediatric cancer and established focus on, you know, middle-aged slash elderly cancer, but there's this kind of just this window of people who are kind of left out of that, that treatment picture. Am I hearing that like kind of correctly? Yeah. Cause it's like, even like, I mean, you see statistically, if you're looking at a textbook, you usually see like this cancer is in like, you know, young children or much older individuals. Like there's not really, I feel like it's pretty new to see cancer.
00:29:36
Speaker
hearing as often as it is in that age group, which is why I feel like it's so intact because statistically it was never something really to address because it was never a problem that age group. I feel like it's usually pretty, pretty healthy or released in the cancer space. And you're saying microplastics and pollution, those are things that you've heard tossed around as, as potential indicators of why this might be the case. Yeah. Okay.
00:30:00
Speaker
Yeah. I know one other thing I've heard too a lot is like, especially colon cancer, uh, in, uh, like young men is becoming like a bigger thing. And one of the things I've heard is microplastics and pollution, which makes sense. I think it's part of this like bigger discussion of, of climate health and climate change and, uh, everything that's going on with that and how do you know, limit our environmental exposures to keep us as healthy as possible.
00:30:26
Speaker
You know, let's say you're, you're going to be a physician. Uh, you're going to be a caregiver for a cancer patient. Um, you mentioned the, the, the one physician before who took care of you said, I'm going to, I'm going to cure this cancer. How do you feel like in your style, like how are you going? Do you feel like you want to like set expectations for cancer patients given like the experiences you've had? Yeah, I feel like I would be, um, relatively upfront. I mean, uh, there's certain people, I feel like that kind of need it, uh, more.
00:30:56
Speaker
gradually explained to them, just in terms of how they're processing the information. But I feel like sometimes for me, as a patient, there would be things that kind of came across as a surprise. And that would be very frustrating to us. So I feel like I would rather have the patient prepared and aware of what possibly lays ahead rather than there be anything that seemed like a surprise.
00:31:20
Speaker
And when you started interacting with cancer patients as a physician, do you feel like these experiences are things you want to share with them? Do you feel like, or are they more personal? You want to keep them to yourself? How do you think you're going to bring everything you've been through to work every day? I feel like in certain situations, as a sub-I, I would share if I felt that the patient would benefit from knowing that I was also a cancer patient at a point in my life.
00:31:50
Speaker
So I kind of just use my judgment to know which people would benefit from that. I've spoke with a couple other physicians that were cancer survivors as well and kind of how they broach it. And I feel like it's just usually kind of something you just feel out. It's just something you kind of have a sense where like this patient really benefit knowing this. I feel like it's usually someone that's struggling with coping with it or trying to handle the weight of it with the rest of life's daily burdens.
Personal Insights and Closing Q&A
00:32:18
Speaker
And I feel like usually
00:32:21
Speaker
I feel like sometimes people just ask questions about when are my eyebrows going to grow back. But I feel like a lot of the times people, I feel like it makes them feel more heard and more understood knowing that I understand a part of their journey, having gone through it with myself. Awesome. So with that, it's time for a lightning round, a series of fast-paced questions that tell us more about you. So real quick, just to recap, like what do you feel like was your highest high and lowest low throughout everything that's happened? Ooh.
00:32:50
Speaker
Um, cancer specific, um, highest high. Ooh. So my sister, uh, we're big queen fans, my family. So I was, when I was in a wheelchair, I did a lot of my treatment that we would stay at the shore and my sister would take me on walks in my wheelchair on the boardwalk and we'd play queen. So we called it rock and rolls. Um, so that was, that was a pretty good, uh, highlight, um, low. Oh.
00:33:20
Speaker
I don't know. I think it was just being, it was just really being away from, you know, loved ones. I feel like that was the hardest part. Um, and especially at a time when you really want to be around them. What's your favorite fast food restaurant? Oh, probably In-N-Out. In-N-Out?
00:33:40
Speaker
I've only been once, but I feel like it's so much better than the competition. Yeah. Yeah. I guess you can't really get, uh, you know, door dash for that, right? Being here on the East coast, but it would be a really expensive delivery. Who's your celebrity crush? Ooh. Um, I feel like right now I love Barry Keown.
00:34:03
Speaker
I don't know why my boyfriend finds it very weird, especially since I like had the biggest crush on him because I thought he was so good in salt burn, which is a really weird movie. Um, but he's really good in masters of air as well. And I think he's going to be a rainbow star in the new Beatles movie. So excited about that. What's a one hobby you'd like to try? I feel like, so I've been down the beach recently and I feel like I've seen them doing like the kite surfing, which is, I feel like really cool.
00:34:31
Speaker
but I feel like windsurfing would be a little bit more manageable. I'm a big beach person. So I feel like maybe like windsurfing or surfing would be even more simple or something just, you know, water sport wise would be really cool. Yeah. Or you could become a Reiki practitioner. I know how much. And lastly one change you'd like to see in healthcare. Oh, there's so many. You can only choose one. I think access to
00:35:00
Speaker
medications, I feel like the biggest thing, like I even have a heart attack when I think of my allergy medication. And it's like, you see all the birth control access stuff now or there's chemotherapy shortages. It would just be really amazing if everyone could afford and be able to access the medications they need to feel the best they can every day. All right, Dr. Kerry Cronin, thanks so much for joining the wound dresser. Thank you for having me. It was really nice to be here.
00:35:35
Speaker
Thanks for listening to The Wound Dresser. Until next time, I'm your host John Neery. Be well.