Kim 00:15
Welcome to The Cancer SIGNAL, a podcast presented by GRAIL where we discuss the impact of early cancer detection, the science behind multi-cancer early detection testing, and insight into how this approach has the potential to shift the cancer paradigm. I’m Kim Thiboldeaux.

I recently shared that I am stepping down from The Cancer SIGNAL podcast to assume the role as CEO of the Northeast Business Group on Health, but I am here today for a special episode as we get to know the new host who will begin hosting episodes next month.

I’m delighted to welcome Susanna Quinn to The Cancer SIGNAL. Susanna is a mother, wife, stepmother, cancer survivor, entrepreneur, writer and philanthropist. She was Founder and CEO of Veluxe, an on-demand fitness and beauty company which she sold to Glamsquad. She
serves on several boards and organizes events with women in media and policy makers.

Susanna was diagnosed with stage III ovarian cancer in March of 2019. She underwent an
aggressive debulking surgery followed by six grueling rounds of chemotherapy. She was declared cancer free in September of 2019.

She lives in Washington, D.C. with her son and daughter.

Welcome, Susanna.

Susanna 01:29
Thank you so much, Kim.

Kim 01:31
So Susanna to kick us off, tell us a little bit more about yourself and what you’re up to these days.

Susanna 01:37
Well, first of all, I’m excited to be taking on this new hosting position and to be here with you today. As you mentioned, I’m a cancer survivor and going through a long illness and an arduous recovery really made me drill down on what’s important to me personally and professionally. As you said, I had built and sold my company right before I was diagnosed and assumed that I would take on another business project. But post-cancer I’ve primarily been focused on my health.

And by that, I do not just mean regular screenings, and exercise and diet, but healthy relationships and doing things that are fulfilling, like the boards you mentioned, and the media dinners that you mentioned. I host these dinners with policymakers and women in media, and it enables both sides to better tell their stories. And sometimes policymakers learn things which affect policy changes.

Kim 02:34
Wow, just fantastic. I love how active you are.

Susanna 02:38
Thank you.

Kim 02:39
You know, Susanna, you’ve been very open about your cancer experience, which is an extraordinary story. I’d love to learn a little bit more. Can you share with us about your diagnosis, what led to you getting diagnosed? And how did you react to that news?

Susanna 02:53
Certainly, I, my husband had a lung disease called hypersensitivity pneumonitis. And so he had a double lung transplant in March of 2019. And I was really focused before his surgery and after his surgery on taking care of him, and I had some significant symptoms, which I attributed to stress.

And finally, about a month after his lung transplant, I thought, “I should go to the doctor”. So I went to the doctor and within 24 hours, I was given an initial stage IV cancer diagnosis. I was told that my cancer was inoperable. I was told that I would be an outlier if I lived more than a year or two. And in terms of how it made me feel, I had a beautiful fulfilling life and in a sliver of a minute I was plunged into absolute despair.

But I have a tremendous group of female friends who I’ve written extensively about, we call ourselves “The Wobbles”, and they sprung into action. “We don’t have enough answers. You need to go to a comprehensive cancer center.” And so within a week, I was at Mass General with a surgeon named Dr. Whitfield Growdon, who is now at NYU Langone. And he was really key to my recovery and being able to say today that I’m cancer free.

Kim 04:25
Amazing. Wow, great news. Susanna, tell us a little bit more about your treatment. I understand it was an extremely difficult experience involving chemo, involving multiple surgeries. How long was your treatment and what did it entail exactly?

Susanna 04:41
Well, I mentioned Dr. Whitfield Growdon. And after being told by multiple doctors that I really was incurable. He said, he looked at my scans and he said, “I’m not seeing what the other doctors are seeing, and I think I can cut this cancer out of you”. And he did.

My first debulking surgery was nine hours and it took 49 words on my medical chart to describe. And while Dr. Growdon was able to remove all of the cancer, it was such a catastrophic, radical surgery. He resected so much of my colon, so much of my intestine. There was so much scar tissue that there have been significant long term complications. I’ve had 14 surgeries since then, and countless procedures.

Post the initial debulking surgery, I had five months of chemotherapy, which was Taxol and carboplatin, and that was incredibly grueling. Look, cancer is hard. Nothing about it is easy. I was bald, I was emaciated, I was in pain, and I was unable to take care of myself. The pain at times was so all consuming, it was hard to remember anything else. I was stripped of my humanity. It’s just not something that anyone should have to endure.

Kim 06:03
How is your health today? Susanna? How are you? And are you still in treatment or just in surveillance? Tell us about that.

Susanna 06:11
Thank you for asking, I feel great. My health is great. I’m five and a half years cancer free. I’m active. I’m playing tennis. I’m skiing. I’m on my Peloton every day, eating healthy. And I think one of the most significant things that I try and do for myself is stress management and figuring out ways to manage stress and have healthy relationships. And do what I’m interested in personally and professionally.

Kim 06:41
That’s great. That’s great. So, what are you doing now for regular surveillance, keeping an eye out for things? What is your sort of, surveillance regimen, with your doctors?

Susanna 06:52
I have screenings every three to four months. I really…screening is very important to me. Regular screenings are very important to me, and I have great doctors.

Kim 07:15
That’s terrific. That’s terrific that you’re keeping on top of all of that.

Susanna, during your cancer journey you had genetic testing done and you discovered that you carry a mutation for the BRCA gene which increases the risk for several cancers, including ovarian cancer. And I just want to mention a quick note for our listeners. We did a two part episode all about the BRCA gene and hereditary cancer, so check out episodes 16 and 17 in your feed, if you want to hear more about that. So, did cancer run in your family, Susanna, or was that a surprise? How did knowing you carry the BRCA mutation affect your experience and your healthcare decisions?

Susanna 07:53
Yes, cancer ran in my family and Dr. Growdon suggested that I do the test for the BRCA mutation. I did, I was shocked when it came back positive. Now, while it was likely the cause of my cancer, the silver lining in that is that post my initial chemotherapy with the carboplatin and Taxol, they were able to put me on a targeted chemotherapy, which is specific to BRCA gene mutations.

So for two years, post my last chemotherapy, last carboplatin, Taxol chemotherapy, I was on a drug, which it’s, it’s much easier to, your chances of recurrence go down tremendously if you have the BRCA gene and you go on this drug which targets that mutation.

Kim 08:37
I see. I see. So, tell me a little bit, Susanna, about how your experience with stage III cancer influenced your perspective on early cancer detection and screening.

Susanna 08:51
Well, we don’t have a cure for cancer. The best tool that we have is early detection. My cancer, I was initially diagnosed with stage IV cancer, and later re-diagnosed with stage III-D, but my chances of living more than two to five years after a stage III-D ovarian cancer diagnosis were like 30%. And thank God, you know, as, as each year goes on, my chances of recurrence go down.

And listen, we’re all going to be touched. Everybody is, is touched by cancer in some way or another. And so that’s why early detection is so important. It is really our only tool at this point in fighting cancer. Aside from, you know, the cancer treatment itself.

Kim 09:38
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Susanna, you’ve written about how important the support of your friends and community was, after your cancer diagnosis. What advice would you give to people supporting loved ones on their own cancer journeys?

Susanna 09:52
Listen, the most important thing for a patient facing cancer is to be positive. And to have encourage– and in order to be positive, you need the encouragement and the support of your family and your friends. You know, I always said during my cancer treatment, I had a family member say to me years ago, “Worry is misuse of the imagination”. And so, through my cancer treatment, I would think to myself, you know, if this is going to get worse, if I’m not going to survive, I don’t want to spend the remaining days, weeks, months that I have, worried. It’s not going to change the outcome.

So, I think the most important thing is to be positive. And then to surround yourself with people who will encourage you and support you. There were times when I really did, especially that first month in the hospital, where I really did not think that I could go on. And if it weren’t for my family and my friend group saying, “You will ski again, you will play tennis again, you will read a Magic Treehouse book with your son, you will swim in the ocean”. If I didn’t have those friends supporting me, I really think that my will to live would have been diminished. And you know, for those patients who really don’t have a positive prognosis, it’s still the same. Being surrounded by people who are loving and supportive, it really can be the difference between life and death. It absolutely was for me.

Kim 11:24
Wow, very powerful words, Susanna. I want to thank you so much for sharing your story with us and I can’t wait to listen to new episodes with you and all of the incredible guests that you’ll be connecting with. So why don’t I let you close out this episode?

Susanna 11:40
Aw, well, thank you so much, Kim.

This is The Cancer SIGNAL presented by GRAIL. I am your new host, Susanna Quinn. Please give our podcast a five star rating. This helps more people find it and hear the stories behind early cancer detection. And be sure to hit subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. See you next month!