September 19, 2025 • 4 mins
This week, we're taking a little departure from our typical entertainment news to talk about National Blood Cancer Awareness Month.
Millions of Americans are part of the Sandwich Generation, people who are raising children while also caring for aging parents. For KFI's Heather Brooker, that role became deeply personal when her mother, Barbara, faced lymphoma not once, but twice. For National Blood Cancer Awareness Month, Heather shares her family’s story of cancer survival, resilience, and the everyday challenges of balancing life in the middle. With insights from a City of Hope lymphoma specialist Dr. Tycel Phillips and author/Sandwich Generation expert Christy Byrne Yates, this conversation sheds light on the stress, strength, and hope that define the Sandwich Generation.
Follow Heather on Instagram @theheatherbrooker and make sure you subscribe to Entertain Me!
Millions of Americans are part of the Sandwich Generation, people who are raising children while also caring for aging parents. For KFI's Heather Brooker, that role became deeply personal when her mother, Barbara, faced lymphoma not once, but twice. For National Blood Cancer Awareness Month, Heather shares her family’s story of cancer survival, resilience, and the everyday challenges of balancing life in the middle. With insights from a City of Hope lymphoma specialist Dr. Tycel Phillips and author/Sandwich Generation expert Christy Byrne Yates, this conversation sheds light on the stress, strength, and hope that define the Sandwich Generation.
Follow Heather on Instagram @theheatherbrooker and make sure you subscribe to Entertain Me!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Nineteen, I got twenty oohoo, tweeting that wrong would be
good today.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
This is Barbara. She's seventy nine, has strong opinions, loves gambling,
blackjack is her favorite. What do you like about gambling?
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Winning money?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Okay, me too, and spending time with her twelve year
old granddaughter channing.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
What do you take in watotic horses? English man, I'm
taking marmal horses.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
And then she also happens to be my mom, and
with her permission, I can share this. She's faced be
cell lymphoma or non Hodgkins lymphoma not once, but twice.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
They told me in all October of twenty twenty three
that uh, I was it was gone. I was in remission,
but I was glad it was over.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
The first time, her years as a nurse and her
grit as a single mom carried her through. But the
second time, that confidence gave way to something I hadn't
seen before, doubt. When it came back this second time,
you initially didn't want to pursue treatment. Why not?
Speaker 1 (00:57):
I just didn't want to go through chemo anymore.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Is National Blood Cancer Awareness Month. Blood cancers include leukemia, lymphoma,
and my looma.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Probably fall somewhere. Is probably the fourth or fifth most
common of cancer within the US. You know, Fortunately, blood
cancers don't get as much claim as breast cancer, prostate cancer,
or lung cancer. It's a situation where I think a
lot of people have very little knowledge of it.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Doctor ty Sell Phillips, olymphoma specialists from City of Hope,
says blood cancers are the fourth most common cancers in
the US that many people aren't aware of the warning
signs or available treatments.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Unfortunately, there's no easy screening tool that we can have
for these blood cancers, so we don't typically find them
in most patients until they actually present with a problem.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society says an estimated one point
six million people in the US are living with or
in remission from blood cancers. Phillips says researchers have made
great progress in treating lymphoma, but could do more if
there was greater awareness.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
The marches of the walks are bar far for more
for breast cancer. You can see a couple walks of
prostate cancer, even though almost every man who lives will
get prostact cancer, but all the attention seems to go
to breast cancer doesn't give as much attention, even though
it is more common what people would.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Think when it became clear she couldn't take care of
herself anymore because of the cancer and other health issues.
I move my mom from Oklahoma to Los Angeles so
I could help. Where do you want to go? Like
the beach?
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Now? I want to go to Beverly Hills, and I
want to go to Malibu and.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
The casino.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
They could see, no, definitely.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
What I didn't expect was how quickly the rolls would shift.
Suddenly I was the caregiver, the mother, the daughter, all
at once, that constant tug of war. It's what experts
call the Sandwich generation, and millions of people are right
smack dab in the middle of it.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
The Sandwich generation is typically people who are raising children
under the age of eighteen in their home, and now
they're also managing the care of an aging parents or
an aging elder.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Christy burn Yates is an author and expert on the
Sandwich generation, the group of people, typically women ages forty
to fifty nine, who are raising children while caring for
an aging parent or loved one.
Speaker 5 (03:08):
You're checking on them daily about their medication, or you're
contacting the insurance company, or you're going to the doctor
with them, or you're helping them with the bills or
what have you. This is caregiving.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
She says. One way to manage the Sandwich generation is
to be honest with your kids about the challenges you face.
Have you felt like I have not been around as much.
Speaker 6 (03:27):
It definitely makes me realize that you're a lot more
busy than usual. You always say, oh, hold on, I
need to get the story, to get something for grandma
real quick, or I need to check up on grandma.
I understand that and respect that you fully need to
check on your mom. I mean I would too when
you're old, I'd.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Be like, is my mom okay?
Speaker 6 (03:45):
So I totally understand that.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
I can tell you our kids are watching us, and
when they see us stressed out and they don't know
what it's about, that's scarier for them than if we
were just clear with them, like this is what's happening.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
After some convincing, in another nine months of chemo.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
They told me I was in remission again. I'm feeling
better and I'm getting I'm doing more activities.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
And how does it feel to have your daughter taking
care of you. Most of the time.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
I'm glad you do because I feel safe when i'm
with you. I trust you to not let me fall
and help me with things, and.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
I buy you snacks that you're not supposed to have.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Yeah, snacks are always good.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Here's the truth. Life in the Sandwich generation is a gamble.
It's messy, stressful, and sometimes it hurts. My mom has
beaten cancer twice. Proof the odds don't always win. The
real victory is staying in the game.
Speaker 5 (04:42):
Cat Dog twenty one oh my daughter Birthday, Good
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Life, Heather Brooker, KFI News
Nineteen, I got twenty oohoo, tweeting that wrong would be
good today.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
This is Barbara. She's seventy nine, has strong opinions, loves gambling,
blackjack is her favorite. What do you like about gambling?
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Winning money?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Okay, me too, and spending time with her twelve year
old granddaughter channing.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
What do you take in watotic horses? English man, I'm
taking marmal horses.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
And then she also happens to be my mom, and
with her permission, I can share this. She's faced be
cell lymphoma or non Hodgkins lymphoma not once, but twice.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
They told me in all October of twenty twenty three
that uh, I was it was gone. I was in remission,
but I was glad it was over.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
The first time, her years as a nurse and her
grit as a single mom carried her through. But the
second time, that confidence gave way to something I hadn't
seen before, doubt. When it came back this second time,
you initially didn't want to pursue treatment. Why not?
Speaker 1 (00:57):
I just didn't want to go through chemo anymore.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Is National Blood Cancer Awareness Month. Blood cancers include leukemia, lymphoma,
and my looma.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Probably fall somewhere. Is probably the fourth or fifth most
common of cancer within the US. You know, Fortunately, blood
cancers don't get as much claim as breast cancer, prostate cancer,
or lung cancer. It's a situation where I think a
lot of people have very little knowledge of it.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Doctor ty Sell Phillips, olymphoma specialists from City of Hope,
says blood cancers are the fourth most common cancers in
the US that many people aren't aware of the warning
signs or available treatments.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Unfortunately, there's no easy screening tool that we can have
for these blood cancers, so we don't typically find them
in most patients until they actually present with a problem.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society says an estimated one point
six million people in the US are living with or
in remission from blood cancers. Phillips says researchers have made
great progress in treating lymphoma, but could do more if
there was greater awareness.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
The marches of the walks are bar far for more
for breast cancer. You can see a couple walks of
prostate cancer, even though almost every man who lives will
get prostact cancer, but all the attention seems to go
to breast cancer doesn't give as much attention, even though
it is more common what people would.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Think when it became clear she couldn't take care of
herself anymore because of the cancer and other health issues.
I move my mom from Oklahoma to Los Angeles so
I could help. Where do you want to go? Like
the beach?
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Now? I want to go to Beverly Hills, and I
want to go to Malibu and.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
The casino.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
They could see, no, definitely.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
What I didn't expect was how quickly the rolls would shift.
Suddenly I was the caregiver, the mother, the daughter, all
at once, that constant tug of war. It's what experts
call the Sandwich generation, and millions of people are right
smack dab in the middle of it.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
The Sandwich generation is typically people who are raising children
under the age of eighteen in their home, and now
they're also managing the care of an aging parents or
an aging elder.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Christy burn Yates is an author and expert on the
Sandwich generation, the group of people, typically women ages forty
to fifty nine, who are raising children while caring for
an aging parent or loved one.
Speaker 5 (03:08):
You're checking on them daily about their medication, or you're
contacting the insurance company, or you're going to the doctor
with them, or you're helping them with the bills or
what have you. This is caregiving.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
She says. One way to manage the Sandwich generation is
to be honest with your kids about the challenges you face.
Have you felt like I have not been around as much.
Speaker 6 (03:27):
It definitely makes me realize that you're a lot more
busy than usual. You always say, oh, hold on, I
need to get the story, to get something for grandma
real quick, or I need to check up on grandma.
I understand that and respect that you fully need to
check on your mom. I mean I would too when
you're old, I'd.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Be like, is my mom okay?
Speaker 6 (03:45):
So I totally understand that.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
I can tell you our kids are watching us, and
when they see us stressed out and they don't know
what it's about, that's scarier for them than if we
were just clear with them, like this is what's happening.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
After some convincing, in another nine months of chemo.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
They told me I was in remission again. I'm feeling
better and I'm getting I'm doing more activities.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
And how does it feel to have your daughter taking
care of you. Most of the time.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
I'm glad you do because I feel safe when i'm
with you. I trust you to not let me fall
and help me with things, and.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
I buy you snacks that you're not supposed to have.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Yeah, snacks are always good.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Here's the truth. Life in the Sandwich generation is a gamble.
It's messy, stressful, and sometimes it hurts. My mom has
beaten cancer twice. Proof the odds don't always win. The
real victory is staying in the game.
Speaker 5 (04:42):
Cat Dog twenty one oh my daughter Birthday, Good
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Life, Heather Brooker, KFI News
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