The Game On Glio Podcast

  In the United States, there are more than 3 million women widowed! But, of that number, only 12% are under the age of 50. Let that sink in for a minute. That means that 360,000 women in the U.S. are widowed before they ever hit 50 years old. You know what else it means? It means 3 million of us loved and loved fearlessly! When your partner dies, you ache- you ache because you loved them. It means you are human.

It might sound lik...

Every once in a while you get a perspective that changes the way you see a certain view of life. Ty Ferrell is not just a cowboy. There's so much more beyond the hat. He's a dad, a farmer, a photographer, a rodeo rider (retired), and an insurance adjuster. He's also single.

We aren't talking about "let's get this guy a date" single. We are talking, hardship in our 40's and living single.We are pulling back the curtain on relationsh...

There is no training manual for how to move through grief. When you become widowed, there are no guidelines that you can turn to. As adults, our brains want to hold onto grief like a weed. Constantly growing back, we replay and run through the death over and over again. The brain processes grief differently than the heart does. But for those who have children, grief is seen through a completely different lens--and sometimes, it cha...

Outcome-death, emotion-darkness and grief. How do we move through one of the hardest things that happens in life? The movie, The Color of Rain happened to be airing on Hallmark three or four months after Mike's death. I remember thinking, "Why is this really sad movie on the regular Hallmark channel?" I tried watching 30 minutes of it, I couldn't do it. I was transported back to Mike's death. However, like a sign from the Universe,...

Imagine life trucking along, young healthy children, pursuing a dream career, a wonderful marriage, a beautiful home. When you are in your 30's, you don't think that life can change so rapidly. But that's the tricky thing about life, it doesn't matter how old you are, life has a way of veering us of course and onto a whole new path.

Today's guest, Ellen Duncan knows this experience all to well. Her late husband's life was cut short...

We are all guilty of it; something overwhelming happens or a trauma and we try to bury our grief, our stress, our feelings over what's happened. But, we can't outrun our grief or trauma. Eventually it manifests in other ways, sometimes physically.

In today's episode, I talk with Grief Coach Kelci Jager of Rise with Grief, & author of A Millions Miracles and the One That Didn't Come. 

Kelci's journey through her own grief start...

There is a Chinese proverb- "The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed." We never know what we are on the cusp of until we finish the journey. And, while failing teaches us many things, we don't have to be scared of failing. We should only be scared of walking away.

In today's episode, our 50th episode of The Game On Glio Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Sheri Dewan, a board certified Neurosurgeon wi...

Compassion and creativity are vitally important these days in cancer care. The old rule of thumb, especially in brain cancer, of standard of care just isn't enough anymore. Patients and families need a voice, and need to know that they are heard when asking questions about clinical trials, supplements, holistic options, and cross-collaboration across neuro-oncology care.

Enter Dr.'s Soma Sengupta and Dominique Higgins of UNC School...

Grief is a reflection of love. It's a natural part of life, and the more we love, the more profound our grief will be when that love is lost. If we think about the fact that grief is grounded in love, it does help us move through the journey.

This is part of the work that grief coaches like Emily Bingham do. She helps people navigate significant life traumas. But this isn't just Emily's profession. She has personally walked through...

Dr. Horbinski sits down with me to discuss the complexities of brain tumors and how his work in the Feinberg School of Medicine lab is looking into mutIDH1 and how it dramatically alters the glioma’s micro-environmental landscape by preventing the thrombosis-necrosis phenomenon that is characteristic of IDH1 wild-type gliomas. Furthermore, mutIDH1 increases the risk of seizures in patients. He explains why his team's work may impro...

For all of Scott Hamilton's successes, there has also been sacrifice, fear, and loss. He has battled health issues that truly put death in front of him and has made him confront very hard truths. And, it was through his wife that he learned and felt the power of faith in God's word.

Scott doesn't see his life as lucky-he sees his life as a road map. All of his experiences teach him and have helped him navigate 4 pillars that are at...

Robert and Melanie Ham were young, with two young children when Melanie was diagnosed with an incurable rare form of Sarcoma in 2020. Robert, an award winning film maker and military veteran, decided he wanted to document her journey, their love, to help others.

The documentary aired in 2022 after Melanie's death and has been viewed more than 1 million times on YouTube.

Robert knew that a part of his grief journey included finding ...

Having glioblastoma doesn't mean life is over. In fact, it can be viewed as an opportunity! Tara McCaughan from Northern Ireland has been living with gbm for nearly five years.

Her story shows us how human resilience and internal cognitive reshuffling can be our biggest weapon in battling such a formidable disease. But she doesn't do it alone, her partner Stephen is her rock.

We need stories like hers! I sit down with Tara and Step...

There are so many facets of the grief and loss journey. One that many don't think of is financial understanding.

Whether it's starting a non-profit organization after a loss or trying to navigate investing from money left to you after a death, it's vital to know how to advocate for your own best interests. Self advocating is important in in all areas of life, not just in caregiving or physical health.

Today, I sit down with Frank R...

Grief is something that crashes into us. It takes a toll on us emotionally and physically. But when it does, it also teaches us. We grow from our journeys in life--the good and the bad.

Emily Peterson, CEO of Saranoni Luxury Blankets, knows this journey all to well.

Emily's husband Nathan was diagnosed with glioblastoma brain cancer just 3 months after launching their Saranoni Cares initiative for cancer patients, including brain c...

Love is infinite. You don't run out of love. You don't stop loving your late spouse just because a "new and different love" introduces itself. Your heart grows around what was to make room for what is.

Annie and Matt teach us just that. In this episode, we sit down with the two to talk about finding love again after loss, and what it truly looks like to live life in the transitions.

Annie and Matt both have children and lost their ...

Big Tree Memorial Fund, a 501c3 was started in honor of Erik Knapp who died from glioblastoma in his early 30's.  The fund is unique in that it doesn't just focus on brain cancer, but any family suffering from hardship due to a cancer diagnosis. The fund helps supports families and caregivers through resource and financial assistance.

Erik was Lauren's best friend, and to honor his memory and the man he was, she could think of noth...

There are people you meet in life, whether through words, groups, from a community or work that redefine how you interact with and see life. For me, it started with words; a little book I found one rainy Sunday morning at the bookstore-- Be Like Water. I flipped through this tiny paperback, it's first sentence reading, "More than 70% of the Earth's surface is water. Every living thing is composed of water." I was intrigued so I bou...

How can you comprehend become a widower at 35 years old after 16 years with the one you love? How do you make sense of losing that spouse (only 33) 11 months after giving birth to your first child?

This is exactly what Alan Johnstone faced when his young 33 year-old healthy wife Anneka was diagnosed with glioblastoma five months after giving birth to their daughter Sienna. Six months after diagnosis, Anneka was gone. Sienna not eve...