Episodes

Join the After Cancer Email List! Join my email list for episode updates, practical recovery tips, and Season 2 announcements. Join here: https://drwaltke.myflodesk.com/aftercancer What should we cover in Season 2? Send your ideas to: Email: info@waltkeacademy.com Episode 18 Summary: Cancer treatment has an ending date. Recovery often doesn't. In this Season 1 finale, Dr. Leslie Waltke explores why life after cancer may not return to what it once was, why recovery is an active process, and why a...

Cancer misinformation is everywhere—social media, influencers, testimonials, miracle cures, supplement stacks, and conspiracy theories. In this episode, Dr. Leslie Waltke explores why misinformation spreads so effectively, why intelligent people are not immune to it, and how patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals can evaluate claims more thoughtfully. The conversation examines confirmation bias, the appeal of certainty, the power of stories, the influence of social media algorithms, ...

A metastatic cancer diagnosis changes more than a treatment plan. It changes a person's relationship with time, uncertainty, planning, and the future itself. In this episode, Dr. Leslie Waltke explores the often misunderstood reality of living with metastatic (stage IV) or chronic cancer. This is not a conversation about giving up. It is a conversation about building a meaningful life when certainty is no longer available. Together, we discuss scan anxiety, the loneliness of looking well, the ch...

Many cancer survivors reach a point where they no longer trust their bodies. Cancer appeared inside the very body that was supposed to protect them. Treatment changed how their body looks, feels, and functions. It is understandable why so many people describe the experience as betrayal. But what if there is another way to understand the story? In Episode 15, Dr. Leslie Waltke explores the idea that a random cellular error should not define your relationship with your body for the rest of your li...

The Relationship Earthquakes: How Cancer Changes Marriages, Friendships, Families, Intimacy, Parenting, and the Invisible Expectations Between People Cancer does not just change bodies. It changes relationships. In this episode of The After. Cancer Podcast, Dr. Leslie Waltke explores the often-unspoken ways cancer can reshape marriages, friendships, family dynamics, parenting, intimacy, communication, and support systems. While many people expect the physical challenges of cancer, few are prepar...

The Relationship Earthquakes: How Cancer Changes Marriages, Friendships, Families, Intimacy, Parenting, and the Invisible Expectations Between People Cancer does not just change bodies. It changes relationships. In this episode of The After. Cancer Podcast, Dr. Leslie Waltke explores the often-unspoken ways cancer can reshape marriages, friendships, family dynamics, parenting, intimacy, communication, and support systems. While many people expect the physical challenges of cancer, few are prepar...

What if being exhausted all day does not actually mean your body is getting stronger? In this episode of The After. Cancer Podcast, Dr. Leslie Waltke breaks down one of the most misunderstood topics in cancer survivorship and recovery: the difference between activity, exercise, and rehabilitation. Many cancer survivors spend their days physically and emotionally exhausted, yet still feel weak, deconditioned, stiff, or unable to fully return to life after treatment. Why? Because movement is not a...

Radiation therapy is one of the most common cancer treatments in the world, yet many people begin treatment without fully understanding what radiation actually does inside the body. In Episode 12 of The After. Cancer Podcast, Dr. Leslie Waltke explains radiation therapy in clear, compassionate language—breaking down how radiation works, why side effects occur, and how the body heals afterward. This episode explores: • How radiation damages cancer cells • Why healthy tissue can also be affected •...

Chemotherapy is one of the most recognized—and most feared—cancer treatments. But what actually is chemotherapy, and why does it affect so much more than cancer itself? In Episode 11 of The After. Cancer Podcast, oncology physical therapist Dr. Leslie Waltke breaks down chemotherapy in plain language so people can better understand what is happening inside their bodies during treatment. This episode explores: • How chemotherapy works • Why chemotherapy affects healthy cells too • Why side effect...

For many people, cancer surgery feels like the moment everything will be “fixed.” The tumor is removed. The cancer is gone. Problem solved. But the reality is far more complex. In this episode of The After. Cancer Podcast, Dr. Leslie Waltke breaks down what cancer surgery actually involves—and why hearing “we got it all” is not the same as hearing “you’re done.” This episode walks you through: • What cancer surgery really is (and what it isn’t) • How surgeons decide what to remove—and what to pr...

Most people hear the word cancer thousands of times in their lives, but very few are ever actually taught what it is. In this foundational episode of The After. Cancer Podcast, Leslie J. Waltke, PT, DPT breaks down the biology of cancer in clear, human language so you can better understand what is happening inside the body. This is Episode 9 and the first in a 4-part Cancer 101 series where we will walk step by step through what cancer is, how it develops, and how treatments like surgery, chemot...

There are millions of people living with and beyond cancer today — far more than most people realize! In the United States alone, there are more than 18 million cancer survivors, and that number continues to grow every year. Advances in treatment mean more people are surviving cancer than ever before. But survivorship is not always the simple “happy ending” people imagine. Episode 8 Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:32 Why Cancer Survivorship Numbers Matter 01:58 How Many Cancer Survivors Are Ther...

“You’re so brave.” “Keep fighting.” “You’re a warrior.” These phrases are everywhere in the cancer world. They’re meant to be encouraging, supportive, and empowering. But for many people living with cancer, those same words can feel complicated, uncomfortable, or even painful. In this episode of The After. Cancer Podcast, Dr. Leslie Waltke explores the language we use to talk about cancer — especially the powerful and sometimes problematic “battle” metaphors that surround the disease. Why do we ...

Many cancer survivors quietly struggle with survivor guilt — the painful question: Why did I survive when others didn’t? In this episode of The After. Cancer Podcast, Dr. Leslie Waltke explores why survivor guilt happens, how it affects cancer survivors, and how people learn to carry loss while still allowing themselves to fully live. In this episode of The After. Cancer Podcast, Dr. Leslie Waltke explores the complicated emotional reality of survivor guilt — the experience of living when others...

For many people, the moment they hear the words “you have cancer” becomes a dividing line in life — the moment everything before and everything after suddenly feels different. But something else often happens in that moment that few people talk about: the brain stops processing information. Patients frequently describe leaving an appointment unable to remember what the doctor said next. They struggle to absorb details about treatment plans, timelines, or next steps. Loved ones may ask questions ...

Many people expect life to return to normal once cancer treatment ends. But for a surprising number of survivors, something else happens instead. Their body stays on high alert. A new ache triggers worry. A routine scan brings overwhelming anxiety. A lingering side effect makes it difficult to trust their own body again. In this episode of The After. Cancer Podcast, I'll explore the experience of living in a hyper-vigilant body after cancer — a state where the nervous system, mind, and body rema...

After a cancer diagnosis, many people find themselves quietly comparing their experience to someone else’s. “My cancer isn’t as bad as theirs.” “They had chemo and I didn’t.” “At least it wasn’t stage IV.” “Other people have it worse.” This pattern is incredibly common in the cancer world, and yet it rarely makes the experience easier. In this episode of The After. Cancer Podcast, oncology physical therapist Dr. Leslie Waltke explores what she calls the cancer comparison game — why so many peopl...

Finishing cancer treatment is supposed to feel like a finish line. The bell rings, people celebrate, and everyone says, “You made it.” But many survivors discover something unexpected on the other side of treatment — life doesn’t instantly feel normal again. In this episode of The After. Cancer Podcast, I'll explore the often-unspoken transition from active treatment into survivorship — a phase that can bring fatigue, lingering side effects, anxiety about recurrence, and a surprising sense of di...

The After. Cancer Podcast explores the real experience of living with and beyond cancer — the side effects, the fear, the identity shifts, the recovery, and the path forward that few people talk about. Hosted by oncology physical therapist Dr. Leslie Waltke, an internationally respected leader in cancer rehabilitation, this podcast bridges the gap between what happens inside the cancer center and the life that follows. Each episode brings honest conversations, survivor perspectives, and medicall...

From whispered stigma to empowering language, this is your life. This is your language. And recognizing your comfort in this space is the first best step in understanding… your after. After a cancer diagnosis, people often hand you a label before they explain anything else. Patient. Survivor. Fighter. Victim. But who decides which of those words fits you? In this episode, Dr. Leslie Waltke explores the complicated role language plays in shaping identity after cancer — and why it’s okay if none o...

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