It is almost the holidays, which is absolutely my favorite time of the year. We just go all out for Christmas around here and it is so fun! The reason I wanted to bring today’s guest on was for all of you today too realize that even if you have a diagnosis which limits what you normally would eat during the holidays, there are options for you so you can stay on track.

I’m a huge food as medicine person, as you know - and medicine as medicine, which is why I have talked to so many experts - but today I want to introduce you to Maria Emmerich. I think of her as the Keto Queen.

Now full disclaimer Maria Emma Emmerich is not on the show as a cancer expert. She started the ketogenic diet for very different reasons of her own, but I think I think her story is so important as it emphasizes the power of food to heal. And her story is the perfect example of life, when you allow it to be what it is, not what you thought it was going to be, can be so much more beautiful and meaningful.

Also, for any of you considering a ketogenic diet for cancer, you will be so glad to be connected with Maria. She has been creating keto recipes for decades - before it was trendy weight loss diet and certainly before I ever heard of the ketogenic diet as a way to beat brain cancer. Maria has thousands and thousands of free recipes available for you .

I just want all of you to be able to celebrate the holidays with your friends and families eat food that you enjoy food that feels familiar and warm and fuzzy - but that won’t mess up your goals if you’re really trying to stay on a keto path for your brain cancer

I hope you find this helpful and I hope you all have a wonderful safe holiday holidays. I just love all of you and I’m so grateful for all the connections I’ve made this year.

Maria's Website

https://mariamindbodyhealth.com

Buy Maria’s books here (and support GBM):

https://www.amazon.com/shop/thatbrainyblonde/list/FU821IVU34MV?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsflist_SHZD1BJTX892R57FKB1Z

Support the show

I want to thank YOU for taking time of your day to listen. I don’t know if you’re here because you’ve gotten a tough diagnosis or someone you love has - or if you just want to learn more about how to feel empowered to change your story and find purpose in your life. But I’m glad you’re here. If I can beat a universally deadly cancer and live a better, happier life, truly grateful for my cancer wake up call, I know the tools I’ve learned will help you too. Your life is about to get so much better.
Please share the Brainy Blonde Podcast with someone you love. See you soon!
Love you, Rebecca

https://www.instagram.com/thatbrainyblonde/
https://www.instagram.com/brainyblondepodcast

Survivor Series Continues with a story inside a story. Today I’m talking with Justin Johnson. You all know I believe that things happen for a reason - even if the reason isn’t something we understand or fully appreciate at the time. And I’m pretty sure Justin feels the same way. As an Emmy winning documentary filmmaker, Justin lived across the country from his family and got pretty busy with his career, so busy he barely felt connected them, only being pulled back in when his mom was diagnosed with cancer. I bet he never thought he’d be filming a documentary about his own family! But that time together ended up being such a gift. Even more surprising was that shortly after wrapping up his film, Justin was diagnosed with a brain tumor himself. His attitude, his bravery in trying a new treatment, and his remarkable story are so inspiring. I can’t wait for you to listen to Justin’s story. Will we be getting a documentary on Justin’s brain cancer journey? I guess we’ll have to see….

Justin's Film about his parents:

https://www.nipplefactoryfilm.com/

Justin's Treatment:

https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/voranigo

"The Bean Queen"

https://www.karenhurd.com

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I want to thank YOU for taking time of your day to listen. I don’t know if you’re here because you’ve gotten a tough diagnosis or someone you love has - or if you just want to learn more about how to feel empowered to change your story and find purpose in your life. But I’m glad you’re here. If I can beat a universally deadly cancer and live a better, happier life, truly grateful for my cancer wake up call, I know the tools I’ve learned will help you too. Your life is about to get so much better.
Please share the Brainy Blonde Podcast with someone you love. See you soon!
Love you, Rebecca

https://www.instagram.com/thatbrainyblonde/
https://www.instagram.com/brainyblondepodcast

Continuing our Survivor Series with inspiration for young people with cancer and anyone who knows someone facing a scary diagnosis. I used to say I avoided the “tilted head” friends, the ones who looked at me with big eyes and a sad face because they just didn’t know how to act when they saw me. And years later I have much more compassion for that and even recognize my own struggles with knowing exactly what to do and say sometimes when someone you know is going through a hard time.

So today’s episode is going to be so helpful for all of us . Four-year survivor Janice Armbrust was only 25 when diagnosed with GBM and felt very much alone as a younger adult with a terminal illness. While most of her friends considering where they wanted to live, getting settled in their careers, thinking about marriage and starting a family she was unsure of how to move forward. She wrote a book specifically for younger cancer warriors and their friends with clear advice on how best to support someone in this unique situation and I know it will be helpful to so many of you.

Buy Janice's Book

https://amzn.to/4nST9qg

Follow Janice on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/janicearmbrust?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Support the show

I want to thank YOU for taking time of your day to listen. I don’t know if you’re here because you’ve gotten a tough diagnosis or someone you love has - or if you just want to learn more about how to feel empowered to change your story and find purpose in your life. But I’m glad you’re here. If I can beat a universally deadly cancer and live a better, happier life, truly grateful for my cancer wake up call, I know the tools I’ve learned will help you too. Your life is about to get so much better.
Please share the Brainy Blonde Podcast with someone you love. See you soon!
Love you, Rebecca

https://www.instagram.com/thatbrainyblonde/
https://www.instagram.com/brainyblondepodcast

Continuing our Survivor series with a story that will blow your minds. You know I like to say that before cancer I lived on caffeine and cortisol. I may have avoided the bad foods and looked really healthy, but as I got closer to my GBM diagnosis (looking back) I realize just how stressed out I was and what a toll that took on my body, especially my immune system. Jennifer Dickenson was living a similar way - probably times ten - when she was diagnosed with glioblastoma. The good news is she's now a 14 year survivor, living her best life and is here to help all of us chase that same dream, to not only survive cancer but to live even better after diagnosis. Author, Speaker, Cancer Survivor and Outlier, Jennifer Dickenson is an inspiration and I know you'll love her story as much as I do. Please check out her book, A Case for Hope. Because she lost her ability to read and had to relearn it took Jennifer 7 years to write this book, and I cannot wait to read it.

https://www.amazon.com/shop/thatbrainyblonde/list/29B1GJ1R6EVEF?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsflist_2X2H989MK6BZZAPV8MQJ

https://www.instagram.com/jenniferldickenson/

Support the show

I want to thank YOU for taking time of your day to listen. I don’t know if you’re here because you’ve gotten a tough diagnosis or someone you love has - or if you just want to learn more about how to feel empowered to change your story and find purpose in your life. But I’m glad you’re here. If I can beat a universally deadly cancer and live a better, happier life, truly grateful for my cancer wake up call, I know the tools I’ve learned will help you too. Your life is about to get so much better.
Please share the Brainy Blonde Podcast with someone you love. See you soon!
Love you, Rebecca

https://www.instagram.com/thatbrainyblonde/
https://www.instagram.com/brainyblondepodcast

Dr. Saskia Biskup is my hero, the doctor I attribute to my success in beating Glioblastoma for nearly eight years. Many of you know her as the innovator behind the "CeGat vaccine" or the vaccine in Germany. Dr. Biskup will explain in detail how the vaccine works, why she is specializing in GBM now but how she dreams this technology will one day help with many cancers. And she shares the news about the vaccine coming to the US in clinical trial in 2026. Please listen and share and let me know what questions you have afterwards. I will work on getting this into video format with captions as well.

Saskia Biskup, MD/PhD, is co-founder and managing director of Cecava. After inventing the neoepitope vaccine technology, she applied it to patients suffering from tumors of various origins in her doctor’s office in the setting of individual treatment attempts. Building on this experience, she co-founded cecava with her husband, Dirk Biskup (PhD), to conduct clinical trials to ultimately prove the efficacy of this novel therapy and to enable its approval for the benefit of cancer patients.

As a specialist in human genetics, Saskia is head of her own Center for Human Genetics and founder of the Medical Care Center for Diagnostics, Prevention, Oncology, and Gastroenterology (both in Tübingen, Germany). She is also co-founder and managing director of CeGaT GmbH, a leading global provider of genetic analyses for a wide range of demands in medical practice, research, and the pharmaceutical industry. In 2011, she was recognized as one of the ‘100 Women of Tomorrow’ by Germany’s Federal President, and in 2014, she received the Women Innovators Prize from the European Commission.

Between 2012 and 2014, she was medical director at the Institute of Clinical Genetics at the Olgahospital (Klinikum Stuttgart).

Saskia holds an MD and a PhD in genetics from the University of Würzburg.

https://cecava.com

https://rebeccadevine.wixsite.com/thatbrainyblonde/why-germany

Support the show

I want to thank YOU for taking time of your day to listen. I don’t know if you’re here because you’ve gotten a tough diagnosis or someone you love has - or if you just want to learn more about how to feel empowered to change your story and find purpose in your life. But I’m glad you’re here. If I can beat a universally deadly cancer and live a better, happier life, truly grateful for my cancer wake up call, I know the tools I’ve learned will help you too. Your life is about to get so much better.
Please share the Brainy Blonde Podcast with someone you love. See you soon!
Love you, Rebecca

https://www.instagram.com/thatbrainyblonde/
https://www.instagram.com/brainyblondepodcast

Welcome back to the Brainy Blonde Podcast! Wow, you guys it has been quite a week. I am recovering from surgery and it’s a planned surgery as part of my protocol to prevent cancer because I now know my inherited cancer risk. It’s been quite a ride, but I’m sitting here thinking about how incredible the human body is once again and how fragile it can be.

Last week I was doing push-ups with a 15 pound weight between my legs and a few days ago I could barely walk from my bedroom to the bathroom, which is about 15 steps. On the flipside we are so darn strong. It’s amazing how we can come back from something really difficult and thrive!

Today on the podcast I am continuing the Survivor series with Amanda Melby. You are going to fall in love with Amanda. I’m telling you right now. She is sunshine. She is so funny, so warm and so kind. I am so excited to have made a new friend in her. Amanda is an ultra athlete and endurance athlete and while she was training for the most incredible intense endurance event that I’ve probably ever heard of called 29029 Everlasting she found out she had glioblastoma. 16 months later she is coming back and coming back strong.

What is incredible is not only how Amanda could be at the top of her fitness game and still get this horrible diagnosis (because that is how it goes with GBM), but on the flipside how this woman who has limited sensation in half of her body - half of her whole body - she has to tell you the story! - is still running. I’m so inspired by her I just love her to bits and I know you were going to be just as inspired.

Amanda wanted me to note the surgeon she talks about is Dr. Cheng and you can listen to him on Peter Atilla's podcast. I'll link it.

Amanda supports the Outlier Fund if you are looking for a place to donate in her honor as she continues to train.

https://peterattiamd.com/edwardchang/

https://www.theoutlierfund.org/

https://www.instagram.com/theamandamelby/?hl=en

Support the show

I want to thank YOU for taking time of your day to listen. I don’t know if you’re here because you’ve gotten a tough diagnosis or someone you love has - or if you just want to learn more about how to feel empowered to change your story and find purpose in your life. But I’m glad you’re here. If I can beat a universally deadly cancer and live a better, happier life, truly grateful for my cancer wake up call, I know the tools I’ve learned will help you too. Your life is about to get so much better.
Please share the Brainy Blonde Podcast with someone you love. See you soon!
Love you, Rebecca

https://www.instagram.com/thatbrainyblonde/
https://www.instagram.com/brainyblondepodcast

As you know, in season 2 we are shining a light on survivors. And today’s guest is someone you will not forget! She is the most lovely, radiant human. And she exudes gratitude and hope. I just know she’s going to have the same effect on you that she did on me.

First of all…I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve so often heard that it’s weird that I got glioblastoma because it’s “an old man’s disease.” Well, not only am I living proof that is not the case, I have met so many young women who’ve gotten diagnosed over the years - and many who are young mothers who get diagnosed during pregnancy or soon after giving birth. A little dive into the scientific research does not show that women get GBM as often as men or that pregnancy or hormones are related to the diagnosis, but this is an understudied disease and we all deserve better support.

Today I’m excited to introduce you to the lovely Laurie Bing Lopez. Laurie is an extraordinary survivor. What she initially laughed off as “mom brain” during pregnancy turned out to be something quite different. She was hospitalized while 8 months pregnant when doctors discovered an orange sized tumor in her brain. She had brain surgery mere days after an emergency c-section. Laurie credits her survival to faith, family and a decision to support her body’s healing with healthy food, supplements and other wellness tools, some I haven’t even heard of!

Here are some notes from Laurie:

here is the link for “Joani” my chosen navigator 🤍

https://healnavigator.com

This is the link for Dr. Leupnitz
https://www.n4hresearchinc.com

https://cancercenterforhealing.com

Support the show

I want to thank YOU for taking time of your day to listen. I don’t know if you’re here because you’ve gotten a tough diagnosis or someone you love has - or if you just want to learn more about how to feel empowered to change your story and find purpose in your life. But I’m glad you’re here. If I can beat a universally deadly cancer and live a better, happier life, truly grateful for my cancer wake up call, I know the tools I’ve learned will help you too. Your life is about to get so much better.
Please share the Brainy Blonde Podcast with someone you love. See you soon!
Love you, Rebecca

https://www.instagram.com/thatbrainyblonde/
https://www.instagram.com/brainyblondepodcast

Welcome to Season 2 of The Brainy Blonde Podcast. This season is all about YOU, the survivors. The warriors. You inspire me every single day.

I created the Brainy Blonde Podcast to spread hope - and to empower you with the tools I’ve been learning so that you too will be an outlier and beat the odds. In season 1 I connected you with experts on the future of not only medicine but true wellness. I shared my best secrets, some of my favorite humans. I connected you with research, new clinical trials, resources and experts to back it up.

In season 2 I’m going to connect you with some incredible survivors. You’re going to be so inspired listening to these stories. The thing about Brain cancer is it not only tries to steal your health but who you are as a person in the process. I’m obsessed with being the main character in my own life story 0 even if that story looks nothing like I thought it would before getting cancer. And I hope all of you feel the same way. You get to tell the story of your life, the way you want it told, whether or not someone already ruined the ending. None of us knows how long we get to be here, but we all want to live our fullest most authentic lives while we’re alive!

Today we are going to talk to Lou Starzl. Five years ago Lou got an unexpected and unwelcome surprise for Christmas: doctors found a tumor in his brain. And, yes, it was glioblastoma. But Lou was able to process the grief and fear that came with that devastating diagnosis and use to steer him in a new direction, one that not only changed the course of his health, but his life. And now he is helping and inspiring others with cancer. Lou is pedaling 1000 miles to celebrate his strength and raise awareness for Glioblastoma. Follow along on social media and mark your calendars for September 14th when he hits his final mile. We’re all rooting for you, Lou!

https://www.facebook.com/lou.starzl

https://www.facebook.com/breakthroughPHL

https://www.facebook.com/RAGBRAI

Support the show

I want to thank YOU for taking time of your day to listen. I don’t know if you’re here because you’ve gotten a tough diagnosis or someone you love has - or if you just want to learn more about how to feel empowered to change your story and find purpose in your life. But I’m glad you’re here. If I can beat a universally deadly cancer and live a better, happier life, truly grateful for my cancer wake up call, I know the tools I’ve learned will help you too. Your life is about to get so much better.
Please share the Brainy Blonde Podcast with someone you love. See you soon!
Love you, Rebecca

https://www.instagram.com/thatbrainyblonde/
https://www.instagram.com/brainyblondepodcast