Summits Podcast
What's your cancer story?
Displaying 6 items of Summits Podcast with the tag "braincancer".
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Epi 104: Thriving Through the Storm: Elissa Kalver on Living Fully with Stage 4 Cancer and Building We Got This
March 31st, 2026 | 55 mins 7 secs
apple, babsoncollege, beatcancer, boston, boxing, braincancer, breastcancer, bschool, businessschool, california, cancer, caregiver, clinicaltrial, collaboration, community, daughter, dothingstogether, family, fcancer, gofundme, hero, heroesfoundation, indiana, indianapolis, indy, inspiration, lesions, los angeles, metastatic, motivation, mtv, networking, nonprofit, prevention, research, rhoback, showursummits, speaker, stage4, story, summit, summits, summits podcast, summitspodcast, support, tech, terminal, ucla, unitinginagainstcancer, wegothis
What does it look like to not just survive cancer — but truly thrive through it? In this inspiring episode, cohosts Vince Todd, Jr. and Daniel Abdallah sit down with Elissa Kalver, a force of nature who is living with stage 4 breast cancer and channeling that experience into something extraordinary.
Elissa is the founder of We Got This, a nonprofit organization reimagining what support looks like for the cancer community. Through thoughtfully curated gift registries, trusted product and resource recommendations, and a growing library of essential tools, We Got This is helping patients and their loved ones feel seen, equipped, and empowered at every stage of the journey.
But Elissa didn't stop there. She's also the author of the We Got This book, the host of the We Got This podcast, and the creator of her personal podcast Live Like It Matters — a testament to her belief that every single day is worth showing up for.
In this conversation, Elissa shares the story behind the mission, what she's learned about resilience and purpose in the face of a stage 4 diagnosis, and how she's building a community that refuses to be defined by fear.
This is an episode about courage, impact, and living with intention. You don't want to miss it.
Learn more about We Got This at wegotthis.org.
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Episode 103: A Family's Fight Against Breast Cancer with Liz Childers & Norma Unser
March 4th, 2026 | 59 mins 52 secs
alunser, beatcancer, braincancer, breastcancer, cancer, cancervaccinecoalition, caregiver, carmel, comingtogether, community, cvc, doz, evansville, fcancer, fixin26, fundraising, hero, heroesfoundation, hoosier, indiana, indianapolis, indy, indycar, inspiration, lizchilders, lizzielu, lymphnode, lymphoma, marketing, mastectomy, metastasis, midwest, mom, nbc, nonprofit, normaunser, npo, prevention, pwc, racing, recurrence, research, selfexam, showursummits, sisters, story, summit, summits, summits podcast, support, thyroidcancer, twinning, twins, unitingindianaagainstcancer, universityofsouthernindiana, whyheroes
In this heartfelt episode of The Summits Podcast, cohosts Vince Todd, Jr. and Daniel Abdallah sit down with twin sisters Liz Childers and Norma Unser to share an inspiring and deeply personal conversation about their family's journey with cancer.
Liz and Norma open up about how cancer has profoundly impacted their lives, with their mom, Liz, and Norma all facing breast cancer diagnoses. They discuss the emotional and physical challenges of their battles, the critical role of routine screenings in early detection, and the strength they’ve found in each other.
The conversation also highlights the groundbreaking work of the Cancer Vaccine Coalition and the hope it brings for the future of cancer outcomes and prevention. Liz and Norma’s story is a powerful reminder of resilience, the importance of advocacy, and the strides being made in the fight against cancer.
Learn more about the Cancer Vaccine Coalition: https://cancervaccinecoalition.org/
Shop Lizzie Lu’s Crew hats! https://lizzielucrew.com/
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Epi 93: Pediatric Cancer Research with IU School of Medicine’s Dr. Nur Damayanti
September 9th, 2025 | 58 mins 47 secs
apxa, bali, beatcancer, braincancer, cancer, cancertreatment, caregiver, community, funding, hero, heroesfoundation, indiana, indianacancercommunity, indianapolis, indonesia, inspiration, japan, lab, masters, oncologyresearch, pediatriccancer, pediatriccancerawareness, pediatriccancerawarenessmonth, pediatriconcology, phd, podcast, prevention, purdue, quantumchemistry, rarecancer, research, showursummits, story, summit, summits, summits podcast, summitspodcast, support, taiwan, tumor, unitinginagainstcancer, whatsurcancerstory, whyheroes
In episode 93 of the Summits Podcast, co-hosts Vince Todd, Jr. and Daniel Abdallah are joined by Dr. Nur Damayanti, cancer researcher at IU School of Medicine. Tune in as Dr. Damayanti shares the personal cancer diagnosis that changed the trajectory of her career and the Heroes Foundation funding that is supporting her project to study new treatment methods for children with rare brain cancers.
Learn more about recent Heroes Foundation gifts: https://www.heroesfoundation.org/the-heroes-foundation-has-awarded-nine-exciting-indiana-cancer-projects-with-223500-in-funding/
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Epi 53: Zak Keefer shares his family’s cancer story
May 23rd, 2023 | 27 mins 38 secs
athletic, beatcancer, braincancer, cancer, caregiver, colts, community, communityhealth, dad, dougboles, englishpaper, foundation, gbm, glioblastoma, golf, hero, heroes, hoosier, hse, ims, indiana, indianapolis, indianauniversity, indy500, inspiration, irsay, iu, jimirsay, journalism, journalist, lfgin23, memory, native, nfl, pacers, pga, podcast, showursummits, sports, sportswriter, story, summit, summits, summits podcast, theathletic, therapeutic, tonyhulman, whyheroes
In episode 53 of the Summits Podcast, co-hosts Vince Todd, Jr. and Daniel Abdallah are joined by Zak Keefer, NFL writer for The Athletic, Indianapolis Colts insider for WISH-TV, and adjunct professor of journalism at The Media School at Indiana University. Tune in as Zac shares the inside of being a sports journalist and the cancer diagnosis that changed his family forever. “You can’t change what happened, but you can live every day to make your dad proud.”
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Epi 30: Amy Kirsh and her two-time Melanoma journey
May 31st, 2022 | 31 mins 33 secs
beatcancer, biopsy, braincancer, cancer, caregiver, carmel, carmelhs, chicago, community, hero, indiana, indianapolis, indianauniversity, indy, indy500, inspiration, iu, lungcancer, may, mdanderson, melanoma, memphis, metastasis, northcentralhs, northwestern, petscan, scanxiety, showursummits, skincancerawareness, spf, stage3, stage4, story, summit, summits, summits podcast, summitspodcast, vanderbilt, vandy, whatsurcancerstory, whyheroes
In episode 30 of the Summits Podcast, co-hosts Vince Todd, Jr. and Daniel Abdallah are joined by Amy Kirsh. As we close out Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month, tune in as Amy shares her two-time journey with Melanoma and what she learned through the experience.
As we head into summer months, protect yourself! When it comes to sunscreen – apply liberally and often. Let’s #beatcancer together.
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https://summitspodcast.fireside.fmFind out more about the Heroes Foundation
https://www.heroesfoundation.orgFind out more about The Brookfield Group
https://thebrookfieldgroup.comDiscover Platform 24 co-working
https://www.platform24.coWhat’s your cancer story?
Hosted by cancer survivor and philanthropist Vince Todd, Jr., Chairman and Co-Founder of the Heroes Foundation, and Heroes Foundation Board Member Daniel Abdallah, the Summits Podcast is a place for people to share their stories.
Everyone has a cancer story.
From battling a deadly disease to caring for a loved one, when we rise up and face life’s greatest challenges, we see with a new vision, feel with a greater passion, and think with a deeper perspective.
Along the way, paths cross, journeys intersect, and missions converge.
For Vince Todd, it was his own cancer diagnosis that led him and his wife, Cindy, to launch the Heroes Foundation to provide meaningful support to cancer patients, education to promote cancer prevention, and resources to advance research for a cure.
What started with friends and family grew into a community. The Summits Podcast is an extension of that community.
Our stories are what bring us together.
Artists, athletes, doctors, business people - we’re all family members, community leaders, and activists.
Everyone has a story. Anyone can inspire. No one battles alone.
Join the conversation.
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Epi 28: Melanie Brewer on the importance of community and communication
May 5th, 2022 | 33 mins 39 secs
beatcancer, bendavis, braincancer, braingang, cancer, caregiver, carmel, chrisstapleton, community, fightorflight, gbm, glioblastoma, hero, indiana, indianapolis, indianastate, indy, inspiration, obx, outerbanks, showursummits, story, summit, summits, summits podcast, tennesseewhiskey, westside, whatsurcancerstory, whyheroes
In episode 28 of the Summits Podcast, co-hosts Vince Todd, Jr. and Daniel Abdallah are joined by Indianapolis native Melanie Brewer. Tune in as Melanie shares her and her husband’s journey with glioblastoma. From family and friends who stood by their side in difficult times, to the conversations she wishes she would have had with Marc, Melanie breaks down the importance of communication and community for cancer patients and their loved ones. The experiences she faced push her today to be a strong voice for someone else. “If one day someone needs me, I’ll be there.”