Empower TV

Mel sits down with friend Nick Sadler to see how his documentary film Times Like These is coming along. Nick was on the show in 2013 with Bob Devito and Bill Becker, who are featured in the film. Times Like These is a film about Male Breast cancer. Nick needs our help to complete post production of the film to get it to the festival circuit. Nick talks about how the film has progressed, about the aspects of post production, (something that Mel knows about, she worked in post in LA for 10...

Mel sits down with colon cancer survivor Emily Reese. Emily is a mother of three with colon cancer that has spread to her lungs, but she doesn't let the disease stop her! Emily talks about being your own best advocate. She has done a Ted talk about her spouse coming out to her as gay, you can read her blog Same Sides Support For Straight Spouses. We talk about the RV trip she is taking with her family and how important it is to live life to its fullest. She has set up a go fund me account to...

Mel sits down with friend and survivor Sean Swarner. Sean is on a Mission of Hope. Sean is climbing The North Pole and he wants to bring people touched by cancer with him. For a small donation of $5 you can add a name of a person touched by cancer. Sean wants to bring as many people with him to be close to his heart, that is where he will be carrying the flag. Once he completes the summit he will have completed the Explorer's Grand Slam ( 7 Summits plus the North and South Poles ). The...

Mel sits down with friend Joshua Dawson. Joshua has been on the Cancer Survivor before chatting about "I am Genie". Joshua now joins us to chat about a book he wrote called the "Tiny Book of Magic". The book has seven chapters to guide you to live a fulfilled existence. We also discuss Joshua's day helping the LA Kings grant wishes for some of their great employees. It's all about living a fulfilled life, following your dreams and we talk a little hockey!

Mel sits down with friend and Culinary Translator Rebecca Katz. Clean Soups is Rebecca's new book. Mel and Rebecca talk about the great recipes in the book, how you can make your own stock and store soup in your freezer for a later meal, and a soup cleanse! Rebecca also has a new online course The Cancer Fighters Kitchen course, it is self paced and for anyone wanting to learn culinary techniques that will nourish the participant during cancer treatment and beyond.

Today's show is a special one honoring the life of survivor Barb Miller. I met Barb at the Lungevity HOPE Summit where everyone called her mom. She quietly helped many people through her advocacy and her love of life. Her daughter and my friend Tracy Miller Murphy talks about this amazing woman, which made me think I have met many survivors doing this show, but I didn't realize how much Barb meant to me until she was gone.

Mel sits down with Cancer Survivor David Dachinger and his wife licensed psychotherapist Tamara Green, creators of Loving Meditations. Loving Meditations is an app that helps cancer survivors and caregivers use mindful based meditation to help in their healing process. Effective guided audios and videos use mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) practices, contributing to a balanced, integrative approach to cancer therapies. If Mel had this app when she was going through her cancer...

Mel sits down with two time melanoma survivor David Stanley. David talks about his book Melanoma: It Started With A Freckle, which was just published this past April. He also talks about easily preventable melanoma is, (we should all put on that sunscreen before we go outside, and definitely skip the tanning bed) how just 5 bad sunburns in your lifetime increases your melanoma risk, and shares his story about how his wife saw the spot on his face that would eventually be diagnosed as...

Mel sits down with friend and endurance athlete Stephen Brown. Stephen was a prior guest on the show and contacted Mel about his Chronic Lymphocitic Leukemia. It had returned. Stephen talks about his warrior spirit and how his training for triathlons and endurance events kept him going and positive during treatment. He even competed in a duathlon while getting chemo. Its all about being positive and keeping healthy on an all new episode available on demand now.

Mel sits down with lung cancer survivor Amanda Kouri. She had her right lung removed due to a carcinoid tumor at the young age of 24! Now cancer free, Amanda tirelessly advocates for lung cancer survivors and caregivers. She shares her story on her blog onelungdiary.wordpress.

Mel sits down with cancer survivor Sherri Romanoski creator of BAG IT. BAG IT was designed to help survivors and caregivers keep the vital information they need as soon as they are diagnosed. The information is designed to help them cope with their diagnosis, move more competently through the treatment process, empower them to become an active member of the treatment team, and transition to follow up care. Sherri also has an amazing retreat for cancer advocates at the world famous Miraval...

Mel sits down with #HCCHAT leaders Amy, Ellen and Georgia to talk about the upcoming Moonshot and what it means for Hereditary Cancer. The #HCCHAT #Moonshot tweetchat on June 29th at noon will feature Vincent T Devita Jr. MD, Head of the NCI during Nixon's Cancer Act. Don't miss this episode and make sure you are a part of history during the #HCCHAT on June 29th.

Mel sits down with two time cancer survivor Pete Campbell. Pete was shown a video of fellow cancer survivor Sean Swarner, who was the first cancer survivor to summit Mount Everest. The video of Swarner inspired Campbell to endure and overcome the hard chemo treatments that he had to endure. Sean invited Pete to climb with him on his yearly Kilimanjaro climb. Seeing Pete's passion, Sean hired Pete as his executive director of his non profit Cancer Climber. Inspired by the Kilimanjaro climb...

Mel sits down with friend Jessica Carmel to talk about her book The Hearts of a Girl: The Journey Through Congenital Heart Disease and Heart Transplant. Jessica talks about what it is like to be not only a heart transplant recipient at 16 and also a kidney transplant recipient 10 years later. Jessica has spoken to organizations about her double transplant and is in the process of getting her Masters in Health Communications from DePaul University. She will use her education to help other...

I bet you are on your phone right now, on Facebook, playing a game or reading email. What if you could use your phone to learn about cancer while playing a game. Tumorman is that game. Ankit Kansagra, MD is the creator of the game. Dr. Kansagra explains how you can use the game to learn about your cancer, how when you play Tumorman you can donate to your favorite charity, and if you donate to the kick starter campaign you can become a character in the game. It's all about playing for a...

Mel sits down with Alfredo Axtmeyer, cancer survivor and founder of Remission Ball. Remission Ball started when founder and cancer survivor Alfredo sent a ball to his friend, Ethan Zohn, winner of Survivor Africa, who was in the midst of a battle with cancer. He used the ball to visualize himself getting stronger and stronger. He inspired Alfredo to create Remission Ball so that everyone could draw strength from their own Remission Ball. Alfredo tells us about how he drew strength from...

Mel sits down Kelly O'Donnell, executive director of One Summit, an organization that pairs a Navy SEAL with a child battling cancer. Kelly explains how founder and former SEAL Adam La Reau started One Summit after seeing his mother go through breast cancer. You will find out about the Climb for Courage and how one rock wall a day with a Navy SEAL can change the lives of children with cancer.

Mel sits down with the Chemochicks Nancy and Holly. Nancy is an ovarian cancer survivor and Holly, who is her niece, is a breast cancer survivor. Nancy and Holly talk about what it was like for both of them to go through treatment (Nancy is still in treatment) why they started Chemochicks and how their faith in God helps them everyday.

Mel sits down with her friend and four time cancer survivor Ryan Hamner, Ryan talks about his book: "You'll Be All Right Buddy: A storybook for young children with cancer" which is available on Amazon Kindle. When Ryan originally wrote the book a few years ago, many people didn't think kids would need a book about cancer, but survivors know that it is important for children to understand what is going on when they have cancer.

Mel sits down with friend Sean Swarner a two time cancer survivor and the only survivor to summit Mount Everest with one lung. Sean talks about his yearly Killiminjaro climb for survivors and non survivors alike. (if you are a cancer survivor, there is an opportunity for a grant for this amazing adventure.) Sean also talks about his new E-book: EVEREST, 7 Summits to Success Series. A must read for anyone who wants to make their dream a reality. It's all about living life to your fullest on...