It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right?! This may not be the case if you’re in the midst of a cancer battle. How do we still wring some goodness out of this season if we are having challenging physical and/or emotional battles? Maybe you’re waiting for diagnosis, in treatment, or missing loved ones. Glynn shares three bits of wisdom about how he will be doing Christmas differently this year, his first Christmas with cancer, as he stares down his next chemo infusion session on December 27th.

We talk about the need to be clear and compassionate regarding our expectations for ourselves on Christmas Day, so we don’t make any suffering worse. We discuss the need to keep up our self-care routines. We look at the power of truly connecting with the present moment to induce positive emotions to come alongside our hard feelings. We also muse on the notion of the perspective we can take on Christmas - do we view it through the lens of having cancer, or can Christmas be viewed as it is with cancer on the side.

As always, we dive into Glynn’s multiple spoons full of sugar - family and Christmas feasts.

We would love to hear from you if this episode resonated with you, if you have questions, or if you just want to let us know you’re listening. You can email us at hello@chemotionalrollercoaster.com

New episodes of Chemotional Rollercoaster are published weekly, on Wednesdays, Australian Eastern Time.

Lastly, Chemotional Rollercoaster is not a substitute for seeking one’s own professional advice. The strategies and skills discussed in all Chemotional Rollercoaster episodes are either what has worked for Glynn or his guests, specifically, or are things discussed in a general way. Anyone who is dealing with their own health issues, mental or physical, should seek their own professional advice on what may help to support them, uniquely. If anyone is struggling, and needs to talk, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Chemotional Rollercoaster is presented by Glynn Chambers

Production, sound and editing by Rose Paton

Music by Rory Chambers ©2024 info@rorychambers.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cancer, not in your body, so not your problem? Sadly, not when you’re the spouse. In this episode we hear from the very lovely Jaz, who is married to Glynn. We dive into what it is like to be on the sidelines, supporting, caring, and cheering him on.

In truth, cancer happens to individuals and it also happens to their families. It’s just that the paths through it look differently for each person. Jaz discusses with us her story of how this cancer journey has affected her so far. She talks of how hard it is to feel helpless and how she copes, sometimes, by rage cleaning, researching, and having sneaky shower cries. Jaz shared with us her wisdom of what she wished she had known way back at the start of the journey, in the hope that this makes things easier for the next spouse running alongside their own cancer warrior.

As always, you’ll hear Glynn’s update on how he’s travelling. Things got a bit wild in the last little while, with an immune system bottoming out and chemo being delayed. We’ll also look at the great things that are getting him through - his spoon full of sugar - which this week comes in the form of his own phone betraying him. Our Chemotional Intelligence this week is pretty much spread throughout the episode; looking at the power and benefits of sharing the burden and journey with one’s partner.

We would love to hear from you if this episode resonated with you, if you have questions, or if you just want to let us know you’re listening. You can email us at hello@chemotionalrollercoaster.com

New episodes of Chemotional Rollercoaster are published weekly, on Wednesdays, Australian Eastern Time.

Lastly, Chemotional Rollercoaster is not a substitute for seeking one’s own professional advice. The strategies and skills discussed in all Chemotional Rollercoaster episodes are either what has worked for Glynn or his guests, specifically, or are things discussed in a general way. Anyone who is dealing with their own health issues, mental or physical, should seek their own professional advice on what may help to support them, uniquely. If anyone is struggling, and needs to talk, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Chemotional Rollercoaster is presented by Glynn Chambers

Production, sound and editing by Rose Paton

Music by Rory Chambers ©2024 info@rorychambers.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode four is a little early for a bonus episode, don’t you think? Well, you could say that, but there’s no rules!

Rose was interested in talking through Glynn’s weird and wonderful career progression, and how it informs his current mindset. This is a career that has spanned four countries and has not followed a common trajectory for the average psychologist. Glynn’s career has seen him working in refugee camps, being in private practice, running summer camps for at-risk youth in the USA, overseeing a multi-million dollar building project, working to help rehabilitate offenders in prison, and now counselling teenagers in a school. This all adds up to a broad view of humanity, and the world, that sees just how amazing and resilient humans can be.

We would love to hear from you if this episode resonated with you, if you have questions, or if you just want to let us know you’re listening. You can email us at hello@chemotionalrollercoaster.com

New episodes of Chemotional Rollercoaster are published weekly, on Wednesdays, Australian Eastern Time

Lastly, Chemotional Rollercoaster is not a substitute for seeking one’s own professional advice. The strategies and skills discussed in all Chemotional Rollercoaster episodes are either what has worked for Glynn or his guests, specifically, or are things discussed in a general way. Anyone who is dealing with their own health issues, mental or physical, should seek their own professional advice on what may help to support them, uniquely. If anyone is struggling, and needs to talk, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Chemotional Rollercoaster is presented by Glynn Chambers

Production, sound and editing by Rose Paton

Music by Rory Chambers ©2024 info@rorychambers.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Radiation, who knew it was tricky? Glynn sure didn’t. This episode looks at Glynn’s radiation experiences; how he took it cheaply and thought it was an easy process, only to find it was more difficult than he expected.

We look back at the radiation process, and how thinking about Wayne’s World helped Glynn get through. We discuss the process of making Glynn’s radiation mask and the challenge of wearing it day in and day out for treatment. There was some panic to contend with, but things got easier with some experience, good skills and strategies from Glynn’s psychologist brain. We deep dive into what Glynn did to make this experience easier for himself to navigate.

As always, you’ll hear Glynn’s update on how he’s travelling - pretty darn well at this point. We’ll also look at the great things that are getting him through - his spoon full of sugar - which this week is in the form of some cheeky teenage behaviour, and his daughter expressing herself to the full. Lastly, we look at some Chemotional Intelligence - the power of our mindfulness practice.

We would love to hear from you if this episode resonated with you, if you have questions, or if you just want to let us know you’re listening. You can email us at hello@chemotionalrollercoaster.com

New episodes of Chemotional Rollercoaster are published weekly, on Wednesdays, Australian Eastern Time

Chemotional Rollercoaster is presented by Glynn Chambers

Production, sound and editing by Rose Paton

Music by Rory Chambers ©2024 info@rorychambers.com

Lastly, Chemotional Rollercoaster is not a substitute for seeking one’s own professional advice. The strategies and skills discussed in all Chemotional Rollercoaster episodes are either what has worked for Glynn or his guests, specifically, or are things discussed in a general way. Anyone who is dealing with their own health issues, mental or physical, should seek their own professional advice on what may help to support them, uniquely. If anyone is struggling, and needs to talk, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Diagnosed with cancer, eh? Yeah, it sucks. In this episode, we discuss how all this happened for Glynn. The process took some months, and was full of unknowns. We talk about ultrasounds, fine needle biopsies, CT scans, surgeries, and the day the surgeon drops the news on Glynn that he has cancer….whilst he has his four year old in the room. Yikes!

Perhaps more importantly, we discuss how this played out in Glynn’s mind and life. How he reacted (spoiler, he was blindsided!) and coped in those early days, turned into an emotional zombie, and where he is sitting with it all now, 8 months on.

You’ll hear a little update on where Glynn is up to treatment-wise, and why he is wearing two hoodies at once. You’ll also hear what is making all of this journey easier - his spoon full of sugar - which this week is in the form of some unique hugs.

In this episode, Glynn gives some Chemotional Intelligence about the benefits of being outside. This article, by the American Psychological Association, can be found here:

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/04/nurtured-nature#:~:text=From%20a%20stroll%20through%20a,upticks%20in%20empathy%20and%20cooperation.

We would love to hear from you if this episode resonated with you, if you have questions, or if you just want to let us know you’re listening. You can email us at hello@chemotionalrollercoaster.com

New Episodes of Chemotional Rollercoaster are published weekly, on Wednesdays, Australian Eastern Time

Lastly, Chemotional Rollercoaster is not a substitute for seeking one’s own professional advice. The strategies and skills discussed in all Chemotional Rollercoaster episodes are either what has worked for Glynn or his guests, specifically, or are things discussed in a general way. Anyone who is dealing with their own health issues, mental or physical, should seek their own professional advice on what may help to support them, uniquely. If anyone is struggling, and needs to talk, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Chemotional Rollercoaster is presented by Glynn Chambers

Production, sound and editing by Rose Paton

Music by Rory Chambers ©2024 info@rorychambers.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever wondered what it’s like to have chemo? Maybe you are going through it right now, and want to hear someone else’s experience. In this episode, the very first Chemotional Rollercoaster episode ever, Glynn tells us all about it. He had chemotherapy just before hitting record.

We first discuss who we are, Glynn and Rose. Glynn's a psychologist with cancer, and Rose is a producer for a national broadcaster in Australia (which is absolutely the recipe for a podcast). We look at why we are doing this podcast, what it is all about, and what segments you can expect to hear in each episode.

We then move on to discuss the chemo experience: what chemo is. Glynn’s weird and scary reaction to the drugs today that saw him turn varying shades of red and yellow. His expectations of chemo that were so wrong. His desire to quit. And, ultimately, we discuss the mind bending rollercoaster that the chemo journey can be. Just when you think you have it nailed, things seem to change…like many other things in life.

We would love to hear from you if this episode resonated with you, if you have questions, or if you just want to let us know you’re listening. You can email us at hello@chemotionalrollercoaster.com

New Episodes of Chemotional Rollercoaster are published weekly, on Wednesdays, Australian Eastern Time

Lastly, Chemotional Rollercoaster is not a substitute for seeking one’s own professional advice. The strategies and skills discussed in all Chemotional Rollercoaster episodes are either what has worked for Glynn and his guests, specifically, or are things discussed in a general way. Anyone who is dealing with their own health issues, mental or physical, should seek their own professional advice on what may help to support them, uniquely. If anyone is struggling, and needs to talk, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Chemotional Rollercoaster is presented by Glynn Chambers

Production, sound and editing by Rose Paton

Music by Rory Chambers ©2024 info@rorychambers.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.