Category: In the Midst of It All

Life is challenging and sometimes life is “stage IV metastatic cancer” challenging. So how can we make it through all that life throws at us? Jane Jeuland is the Chaplain in the Palliative Care Clinic at Yale New Haven Hospital and Smilow Cancer Hospital. Since 2011 she has listened as people with life-limiting cancer have processed their living, dying, healing and not healing and their faith, spirituality, and beliefs. Over the years, Jane has been so impacted by her patients’ profound, unique, and important perspectives on how to thrive through all that life brings and has often thought that these incredible nuggets of truth should be available for other patients, caregivers, clinicians, and really any human making their way through life. In this podcast, some episodes will be patients, caregivers, or clinicians reading their stories that they have carefully and thoughtfully crafted. Other episodes will be interviews that will welcome you into the lives of these beautiful individuals and the strategies and resources they have used to survive and even thrive in the midst of it all.

The Definition of Resilience

The Definition of Resilience

In this episode you will hear from Hope Pelkey as she describes all that she has been through and how she had the resilience to make it through with faith, trust, and generosity. Hope learned to put her trust in God at a young age and then when she was faced with cancer, she was able to put her trust in God and her treatment team at Smilow. Throughout her life and her cancer journey, Hope again and again found ways to help others. In this interview she describes how faith, trust, and helping others in turn helped her.

Self-Discovery

Self-Discovery

In this episode you will hear from Ellen Silver as she describes difficult messages she received as a child and how she overcame these messages as a young adult. Ellen also describes the details of the five cancers she has and how she has discovered more of who she is throughout her treatments. Ellen speaks of the past few years of her cancer journey as some of the best years of her life.

My Faith

My Faith

In this episode, Ellen Silver reads her story of being diagnosed with five cancers over the course of 25 years. She describes her ability to overcome the challenges she faced in her childhood and the faith that has helped her through all her cancer treatments.

A Veteran’s Journey

A Veteran’s Journey

In this episode, you will hear from Moe Armstrong, a Vietnam Veteran and a Catholic and Buddhist-informed believer. In his conversation with chaplain Jane, Moe share how he reinvented himself after serving in Vietnam and how he has reinvented himself again after a different war – his battle with cancer.

Faith, Friends, and Family

Faith, Friends, and Family

In this episode, you will hear Lynsey discuss how she balanced work, treatment, and family. Lynsey talks candidly about how hard treatment has been and how her friends and family have offered her real support, offering some guidance and encouragement to those looking to support a friend with cancer.

Life’s Journey

Life’s Journey

In this episode, Lynsey Eno reads her story of being diagnosed with breast cancer 7 years ago when her second son was just a newborn and how she got her degree in social work in the midst of hospitalizations and chemo treatments. Lynsey is a Congregational Christian and credits God, her friends, and family with giving her the strength to make it through all that she has been through.

Creative Genius: Rodney Staggers

Creative Genius: Rodney Staggers

In this episode you will have the opportunity to listen to Rodney Staggers share his story of growing up and living with Cerebral Palsy. Rodney helped begin this project and has been a huge creative motivator for me. Rodney is a Pentecostal prophet. He is so full of life and joy and one of the most generous people I know despite all the limitations and ongoing pain he endures on a daily basis. This episode is so impactful and will leave you with a little more joy in your life.

In the Midst of it All Trailer

In the Midst of it All Trailer

Life is challenging and sometimes life is stage IV metastatic cancer challenging. So how can we make it through all that life throws at us? Jane Jeuland is the Chaplain in the Palliative Care Program at Smilow Cancer Hospital. Since 2011 she listened as people with life-limiting cancer have process their living, dying, healing and not healing and their faith, spirituality, and beliefs. Over the years, Jane has been so impacted by her patients’ profound, unique, and important perspectives on how to thrive through all that life brings and has often thought that these incredible nuggets of truth should be available for other patients, caregivers, clinicians, and really any human making their way through life. In this podcast, some episodes will be patients, caregivers, or clinicians reading their stories that they have carefully and thoughtfully crafted. Other episodes will be interviews that will welcome you into the lives of these beautiful individuals and the strategies and resources they have used to survive and even thrive in the midst of it all.