The Cracking Cancer Podcast

In this episode of Cracking Cancer, host Dr. Kyle Concannon sits down with patient advocate and caregiver Max Doppelt to pull back the curtain on national cancer conferences. As we navigate the complex oncology landscape of 2026, this conversation explores whether these high-level medical meetings—like ASCO, AACR, and IASLC—are truly the best use of a patient’s most precious resource: time.

From the intimidating halls of Chicago’s ...

In this highly personal follow-up episode of "Cracking Cancer," host Dr. Kyle Concannon and patient advocate Ashley Holt navigate the "mental hell" that can arise when advanced medical technology outpaces clinical certainty. Ashley, a Stage I lung cancer survivor, shares the harrowing story of her Signatera blood test (a tumor-informed ctDNA test) turning positive on her one-year diagnosis anniversary.

The episode pulls back the cu...

In this moving episode of "Cracking Cancer," host Dr. Kyle Concannon is joined by JJ Singleton and Bill Thach to discuss the "hidden" struggle of the cancer experience: social isolation, specifically among men. Both JJ and Bill share a striking commonality—it took each of them five years post-diagnosis to find a social support group that actually resonated with their needs.

The conversation dives deep into why traditional support g...

In this high-stakes episode of "Cracking Cancer," Dr. Kyle Concannon and Samantha Murrell are joined by Max Doppelt, an engineer-turned-caregiver who transformed his mother’s terminal diagnosis into a mission for systemic change. Max shares the harrowing reality of navigating the "ivory tower" of oncology, where regulatory burdens and institutional silos often prevent patients from accessing the very drugs that could save them. Fro...

In this dedicated episode of "Cracking Cancer," host Dr. Kyle Concannon and co-host Samantha Murrell explore a challenging phenomenon in oncology: histologic transformation. This occurs when a cancer fundamentally changes its "wiring" to evade treatment, essentially transforming from one type of cell (like adenocarcinoma) into another, often more aggressive type (like small cell lung cancer).

The episode is dedicated to the memory ...

In this high-impact episode of "Cracking Cancer," host Dr. Kyle Concannon is joined by patient advocate Samantha Murrell and Dr. James DeGregori, interim director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center. They discuss Dr. DeGregori’s groundbreaking study published in Nature, which explores how respiratory viruses—specifically SARS-CoV-2 and influenza—can act as a catalyst to "awaken" dormant cancer cells in the lungs.

Dr. DeGr...

In this uniquely powerful episode of "Cracking Cancer," host Dr. Kyle Concannon interviews his own mentor and boss, Dr. Ross Camidge, Director of the Lung Cancer Program at the University of Colorado. Dr. Camidge, a world-renowned lung cancer expert, shares the "ironic elephant in the room": his own 2022 diagnosis with Stage IV metastatic lung cancer.

Dr. Camidge provides a rare, dual-perspective look at the oncology system. He rec...

In this revealing episode of "Cracking Cancer," host Dr. Kyle Concannon pulls back the curtain on his role as a physician-scientist at the University of Colorado. Joined by patient advocate Samantha Murrell, Dr. Kyle demystifies the "black box" of oncology research, discussing the intense process of setting up a new laboratory and the personal pivot that reshaped his career.

Dr. Kyle shares the logistical and emotional challenges...

In this essential episode, host Dr. Kyle Concannon and co-host Samantha Murrell break down the science, promise, and limitations of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs)—a class of highly effective, usually pill-form, targeted therapy.

Dr. Concannon explains that TKIs are molecular snipers, designed to attack the root cause of cancer by blocking the signaling from a mutated protein (kinase) that causes cells to divide uncontrollably. T...

In this essential episode of "Cracking Cancer," host Dr. Kyle Concannon, a medical oncologist, is joined by patient advocate Ashley Holt and Dr. Erin Baurle, a Clinical Health Psychologist specializing in oncology. They tackle the emotionally charged question: Does stress or trauma cause cancer?

Ashley, who was diagnosed with lung cancer shortly after a difficult divorce, shares her personal spiral of guilt and the psychological ...

In the conclusion of this vital two-part series, host Dr. Kyle Concannon, Dr. Allie Mungo (Thoracic Surgeon), and post-operative patient advocate Samantha Murrell delve into the risks, recovery, and long-term rationale for surgical resections in Stage IV cancer patients.

Dr. Mungo details the different lung surgeries (wedge, segmentectomy, lobectomy, pneumonectomy) and the critical surgical complexities, including the "stickiness" ...

In this riveting first part of a two-episode series, host Dr. Kyle Concannon, a medical oncologist, is joined in person by Dr. Allie Mungo, a thoracic surgeon, and patient advocate Samantha Murrell, who is just two weeks post-surgery for her Stage IV HER2-mutated lung cancer. They dive into the controversial topic of consolidative surgery—surgically removing residual tumor in patients with metastatic (Stage IV) cancer.

Samantha sha...

In this powerful episode of "Cracking Cancer," host Dr. Kyle Concannon sits down with co-host JJ Singleton, a colorectal cancer patient who has been undergoing continuous treatment for almost 10 years. JJ provides a raw, unfiltered look at the reality of treating cancer as a chronic disease, sharing his journey from a localized Stage II diagnosis to the devastating discovery of metastatic disease that required a decade of ongoing s...

In this revealing episode of "Cracking Cancer," host Dr. Kyle Concannon and co-host Samantha Murrell are joined by Kerry Wentworth, Chief Regulatory Officer at Nuvation Bio, to pull back the curtain on the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. Kerry, a veteran in the field, addresses the common perception that pharmaceutical companies are driven purely by financial metrics, stating that the primary mission is, in fact, patient-cente...

Testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer in men aged 15-35, but nobody is talking about it! Until today that is.

In this crucial episode of "Cracking Cancer," host Dr. Kyle Concannon is joined by Dr. Andrew Johns, a GU Cancer specialist from MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Jon Fox, a testicular cancer survivor. They tackle the vital topic of testicular cancer, shedding light on its biology, treatment, and remarkably high ...

In this crucial episode of "Cracking Cancer," host Dr. Kyle Concannon and patient advocate Samantha Murrell delve into Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs), a revolutionary class of targeted therapy. Samantha, who was treated with an ADC for her HER2 non-small cell lung cancer, shares her real-time experience with the drug's potent effects and cumulative side effects.

Dr. Concannon explains the sophisticated engineering behind ADCs: an ...

In this essential episode of "Cracking Cancer," host Dr. Kyle Concannon, a physician scientist and medical oncologist, sits down with patient advocate Samantha Murrell to demystify the role of the medical oncologist and how they fit into a patient's care journey. They clarify the distinct but collaborative roles of medical, surgical, and radiation oncologists.

Dr. Concannon provides an honest, behind-the-scenes look at the high-sta...

In this episode, Dr. Lauren Groner, a Cardiothoracic Radiologist and Health Services Researcher, demystifies the field of radiology and its critical, often unseen, role in oncology. Dr. Groner breaks down the differences between Diagnostic and Interventional Radiologists, explaining how the former interprets complex images (CT, MRI, PET, X-rays) to diagnose and stage disease, while the latter performs minimally invasive, image-guid...

In this timely episode of "Cracking Cancer," host Dr. Kyle Concannon, a physician scientist, speaks with patient advocate Ashley Holt about the challenges of navigating new, aggressive cancer surveillance technologies. Ashley, a survivor of Stage I non-small cell lung cancer with a ROS1 mutation, chose to go beyond the standard of care by incorporating the Signatera circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) blood test into her post-lobectomy m...