Episodes

HOST: Hildy Grossman PRODUCER: Jordan Rich GUESTS: Wade Iams, MD and Misty Shields, MD, PhD. What if sudden leg weakness or severe fatigue wasn’t just stress or aging—but your body’s immune system sounding an early alarm for a hidden lung cancer? Joining us to solve this medical mystery are two outstanding thoracic oncologists, Dr. Wade Iams, director of lung cancer research at Tennessee Oncology in Nashville, and Dr. Misty Shields, Assistant Professor at Indiana University School of Medic...

HOST: Hildy Grossman CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUESTS: Melina Marmarelis, MD What if the secret to defeating lung cancer is already hidden inside our own cells? In this episode of Backstage @ Upstage, we explore the cutting edge of cancer care and how tiny biological clues are completely revolutionizing how we detect, understand, and treat lung cancer. We are joined by Dr. Melina Marmarelis, a leading thoracic oncologist and researcher at Penn Medicine (University of Pennsylvania). Dr. Marmarelis ...

HOST: Hildy Grossman CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUESTS: Sahil Patel, MD, Pulmonologist Inflammation is a brilliant lifesaver when you twist an ankle—and a silent danger when your body forgets how to turn it off. In this eye-opening episode of Backstage @ Upstage, host Hildy Grossman sits down with pulmonologist Dr. Sahil Patel to demystify the hidden biological forces shaping our health. Together, they translate complex cellular science and modern environmental hazards—from microplastics and smog t...

HOST: Hildy Grossman CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUESTS: John Lamb, Taylor Kirkwood, and Hildy Grossman What does it take to build a musical—and turn personal tragedy into a mission? Join hosts Hildy Grossman & Jordan Rich with guests John Lamb and Taylor Kirkwood. Together, they pull back the curtain on the 20-year journey of Ziegfeld! What started as a Broadway tribute grew into a story of ambition, glamour, and grit. When Hildy faced an unexpected lung cancer diagnosis, the show took on a new purp...

HOST: Hildy Grossman CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUESTS: Joan H. Schiller, MD and Francine Jacobson, MD, MPH In 2021, the World Health Organization issued a stark warning: climate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. And yet, the public often perceives climate change as an abstract concept or a political debate, not a health problem. It’s time to change this perception. Alarmingly, lung cancer deaths have surged by nearly 30% since 2007. Every year we experience accelerating h...

HOST: Hildy Grossman CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUESTS: Kyle Concannon, MD, Samantha Murrell, Bianca Bye and Leah Phillips The face of lung cancer is changing. No longer viewed simply as a “smoker’s disease” that only impacts older adults, there is a rising and concerning trend of younger adults and non-smokers being diagnosed with advanced disease. Our guests today have so much light to shine on this issue. In this powerhouse episode, we hear from Samantha Murrell, diagnosed with Stage 4 with a HER...

HOST: Hildy Grossman, CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUESTS: Lecia Sequist, MD and Allison Chang, MD, Ph.D. We are building on our previous "All in the Family" episode, with Jaclyn Lo Piccolo, MD, Ph.D., Pasi Janne, MD, Ph.D., of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Jill Feldman from EGFR Resisters. To look deeper into how a family history of lung cancer might increase the risk for other members, we invited Drs. Lecia Sequist and Allison Chang from Mass General Hospital to discuss their la...

HOST: Hildy Grossman CO-HOST, Jordan Rich Guests: Sachi Badola and Lauren Coye Think you’re too young for lung cancer? Think again! This week, we’re joined by two incredible young women who are highlighting the realities and breaking the stigma. Our first guest, Lauren Coye, shares her grueling journey to finally being diagnosed with lung cancer. After being told she had recurring upper respiratory infections, starting at age 14, Lauren’s persistence led to the discovery 10 years later th...

HOST: Hildy Grossman, CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUEST: Sumati Ram-Mohan, Vice President of Upstage Lung Cancer Why did singer and cabaret performer Hildy Grossman launch Upstage Lung Cancer 18 years ago? In this episode, Hildy describes how a fluke accident resulted in early detection of her lung cancer and put her on a life-changing path. When faced with an early diagnosis, Hildy didn’t just ask "Why me?"—she asked, "What now?" She realized that while anyone with lungs can ...

HOST: Hildy Grossman CO-HOST, Jordan Rich Guests: Justin Gainor, MD, Director of Targeted Immunotherapy at the Massachusetts General Hospital and David Barbie, MD, Director of the Barbie Lab at Dana Farber Cancer Institute Targeting Innate Immunity in Cancer Lung cancer has long been one of the most complex and difficult cancers to treat. But what if we could outsmart it—not just with surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation, but by training the immune system itself? This episode explores a revolut...

HOST: Hildy Grossman, CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUESTS: Jessica Lin, MD., Sarah Craig, Frank Marotta Hearing the diagnosis of Stage 4 can be devastating, but today, it is no longer the final word. More people are living with Stage 4 lung cancer than ever before, thanks to a revolution in innovative treatments, immunotherapy and precision medicine. Join us for a profoundly moving and informative episode. Sarah Craig, 31 years old with a cough and Frank Marotta, reporting to his geriatrician concern...

How a silent killer invades our homes and our genes HOST: Hildy Grossman, CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUESTS: Jackie Nixon, Citizens for Radon Reduction; Jane Malone, National Policy Director Indoor Environments Association; Khadijah Mitchell, Ph.D., Temple University, School of Public Health Your DNA is not a fixed blueprint. Dr. Khadijah Mitchell elucidates epigenetics, showing that our environment and behaviors can “flip switches” on our genes, turning them on or off. But what happens when that ...

HOST: Hildy Grossman, CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUEST: Chi Fu Jeffrey Yang. MD, Thoracic surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, Professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School For any cancer patient facing surgery, there are always questions and worries. Hildy interviews an outstanding thoracic surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, Chi Fu Jeffrey yang, MD. They discuss the current trends in lung cancer surgery, particularly the movement from taking as much tissue as possible to taking as li...

From Lung Cancer Patient to Full Time Advocate HOST: Hildy Grossman, CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUEST: Dusty Donaldson, Lung Cancer Patient Advocate, LiveLung Founder At fifty-one, Dusty’s life was a whirlwind. A mother of three, she was also juggling a full-time career and graduate school when a lung cancer diagnosis stopped everything in its tracks. Her treatment included the surgical removal of two lobes of her lung and adjuvant chemotherapy. Now, twenty years later, with no recurrence, Dusty ha...

HOST: Hildy Grossman, CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUEST: Jacy Dawn Valeras, Award-winning Television Host, Producer, Podcaster and Music Business Executive Hildy welcomes Jacy Dawn Valeras—television host, producer, music business executive, and podcaster with over 25 years of experience in the industry. Jacy shares her life-long dream of becoming a country music singer. With her father’s encouragement, family’s support, and her own determination and talent, she succeeded in sharing the stage with so...

Voicing New Reasons for Optimism HOST: Hildy Grossman, CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUEST: Maida Mangiameli, Dusty Donaldson, Misty Shields, MD, Ph.D., and Ann Steagall Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly aggressive form of lung cancer with a 5-year survival rate of just 7%, a disheartening statistic. Despite this, survivors, researchers, and the medical community are actively working to create a more hopeful future. In this powerful podcast episode, we bring together a diverse team of guests t...

HOST: Hildy Grossman, CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUESTS: Jaclyn LoPiccolo, MD, Ph.D., Pasi Janne, MD, Ph.D., Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Jill Feldman, EGFR Resisters Hildy opens with a powerful anecdote about an early Upstage Lung Cancer Board member whose mother, grandmother, and aunt all had lung cancer. She endured months of allergy and antibiotic treatments for a persistent cough, only for a CT scan a year later to reveal Stage 3 lung cancer. Our guest, Jill Feldman, brings a unique perspec...

A Biomarker Dialogue Between Patient and Scientist HOST: Hildy Grossman, CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUEST: Marc Muskavitch, PhD, ALK+ & Zachary Rogers, PhD, Research Fellow, Koch Institute at MIT This episode features a powerful conversation between two scientists, one now navigating life as a Stage 4 ALK+ lung cancer patient. Most lung cancer patients only learn the significance of biomarkers like ALK+, soon after their diagnosis. Our guest Marc Muskavitch, however, arrived at this knowledge with ...

HOST: Hildy Grossman, CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUEST: Zachary Rogers, Ph.D. Postdoc at MIT | American Cancer Society Fellow Lung cancer treatment is undergoing a revolution. In the last 15 years, we’ve transitioned from broad chemotherapy to precision medicine, targeting the specific genetic drivers of each patient’s cancer. This shift, along with the rise of immunotherapy, offers unprecedented hope. Today, we speak with Dr. Zachary Rogers, a post-doctoral researcher at MIT’s Koch Institute, whose...

HOST: Hildy Grossman, CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUEST: James Hiter, Streak for A Cure James and Hildy had a similar experience in having their lung cancer found by accident. James, a “streaker” who runs daily, epitomized health. So, a lung cancer diagnosis—discovered accidentally during a bout of the flu—came as a devastating shock. A routine X-ray revealed a tumor of the size of a tennis ball. This unexpected twist led James to uncover a family history of the disease: his grandmother and great-unc...

HOST: Hildy Grossman, CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUEST: Zofia Piotrowska, MD, MHS, Massachusetts General Hospital This podcast delves deeper into the evolving understanding of the HER2 biomarker in lung cancer, twenty years after its discovery. We’re joined by Dr. Zofia Piotrowska, renowned oncologist and researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital, to build on our previous discussion, “HER2 Isn’t Just About Her!” Dr. Piotrowska explores the intricate nuances of HER2 in lung cancer, explaining how ...

HOST: Hildy Grossman, CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUEST: TERRI CONNERAN, Founder of KRAS Kickers Imagine facing five recurrences of cancer in seven years. Terri Conneran did, and she turned her adversity into a powerful force for change. Terri embodies the strength of the will to defy the odds of a cancer diagnosis and emerges as a beacon of hope for lung cancer patients. Despite multiple recurrences and navigating a challenging diagnostic journey, she remains resilient and determined to gather infor...

HOST: Hildy Grossman, CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUESTS: Carl Gay, MD, MD Anderson, Misty Shields, MD, Ph.D., Indiana University Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. Hildy shares her experience of losing a friend who was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumors of the gastrointestinal system. Knowing that neuroendocrine cells are present in the lungs prompted Hildy to wonder if lung cancer drugs would possibly be viable in treating her friend’s condition. This podcast looks at small cell lung cancer which...

HOST: Hildy Grossman, CO-HOST: Jordan Rich GUESTS: Jaime Cheah, Ph.D., Director of Collaborative Screening in the Center for the Development of Therapeutics at the Broad Institute and Jane Wilkinson, co-founder and president of CANCollaborate Our guests, Jane Wilkinson and Jaime Cheah join the conversation to tell us about some incredible work to expand the use of a drug beyond its original treatment target. Jane Wilkinson discusses why this is not only important for lung cancer, but particula...