The Dr. Hyman Show
What Every Cancer Patient Should Know: Lessons from a Survivor | Jace Yawnick
Wed, 27 Nov 2024
When Jace Yawnick was diagnosed with cancer at 25, he could’ve given up. Instead, he built a platform that’s helping thousands of cancer patients. In this inspiring episode of “The Dr. Hyman Show,” Jace opens up to me about his fight and why early detection matters. We also explore the role of metabolic health, personalized care, and the crucial connection between nutrition and cancer treatment. In this episode, we discuss: Jace’s unexpected diagnosis at age 25 with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the symptoms he experienced, and the emotional challenges of facing a life-threatening illness at such a young age The crucial role that family, friends, social media, and even strangers played in supporting Jace emotionally, mentally, and practically during his treatment. Jace’s focus on eating clean, organic, nutrient-dense foods during treatment, and the mixed messages from his doctors regarding nutrition’s role in cancer recovery. Advancements like liquid biopsies and their potential to detect cancer early, empowering people to take a proactive approach to health. Jace’s decision to establish a nonprofit to support other cancer patients, focusing on financial aid and fostering connections between survivors and those currently battling cancer. View Show Notes From This Episode Get Free Weekly Health Tips from Dr. Hyman Sign Up for Dr. Hyman’s Weekly Longevity Journal Which diet really gives you the best shot at optimal health? On Wednesday December 4th, Mark Hyman, MD will answer that question during The Diet Wars, a LIVE digital experience. Joined by Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, they’ll break down the science, debunk the myths, and share their expert perspectives to help you make the best choices for your health. Find out more and get tickets now at https://www.moment.co/markhyman This episode is brought to you by Rupa Health, BIOptimizers, ARMRA, and Our Place. Streamline your lab orders with Rupa Health. Access more than 3,500 specialty lab tests and register for a FREE live demo at RupaHealth.com. Until November 28th, BIOptimizers is offering 25% off sitewide. Go to Bioptimizers.com/Hyman and use code Hyman10. Save 15% on your first order of ARMRA Colostrum and unlock the power of 400+ functional nutrients. Just visit TryARMRA.com/Mark or use code MARK. Upgrade your cookware, appliances and more with Our Place. Head over to FromOurPlace.com and enter code HYMAN at checkout to receive 10% off site-wide.
Chapter 1: What was Jace's unexpected diagnosis at age 25?
I'm lucky to have had such a tremendous support system. And I can recall my oncologist, after he diagnosed me, said, are you close by to family? Because if you're not, you need to move wherever they are right away.
Before we jump into today's episode, I'd like to note that while I wish I could help everyone by my personal practice, there's simply not enough time for me to do this at this scale. And that's why I've been busy building several passion projects to help you better understand, well, you. If you're looking for data about your biology, check out Function Health for real-time lab insights.
If you're in need of deepening your knowledge around your health journey, check out my membership community, hymenhive.com. And if you're looking for curated and trusted supplements and health products for your routine, visit my website, Supplement Store, for a summary of my favorite and tested products. Hey everyone, it's Dr. Mark Hyman.
Ever wanted to ask me your health and wellness questions directly? Well, here's your chance. I have an exciting exclusive event coming up that you can be part of as a thank you for being a loyal listener on The Doctor's Pharmacy. On Wednesday, December 4th, I'm hosting a live digital experience called The Diet Wars, and I want you to join me.
I'll be chatting with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, a board-certified family doc and New York Times bestselling author, as we tackle one of the biggest wellness questions out there. Which diet really gives you the best shot at optimal health? Should you be a vegan? Should you be a carnivore? Or somewhere in between?
From paleo to vegan to carnivore and GLP-1s, we'll break down the science, debunk the myths, and share our expert perspectives help you make the best choices for your health. And here's the best part. You'll be able to interact with me and chat with our amazing community in real time during the event.
Plus, if you're a VIP ticket holder, you'll get to join an exclusive Q&A after party where you can ask us all your questions directly. The Diet Wars is a one-time only experience that you don't want to miss, including limited edition merch. It's all happening live on Moment by Patreon. So mark your calendars for Wednesday, December 4th at 9 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m.
Pacific and head over to moment.co forward slash Mark Hyman to get your tickets. I can't wait to see you there. Welcome to Doctors Pharmacy. I'm Dr. Mark Hyman. That's pharmacy with an F. This is a place for conversations that matter. And if you have cancer, I've had cancer, know anyone with cancer, which pretty much covers almost all of us, I think you're going to find this conversation with
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Chapter 2: How did a support system help during treatment?
This young, brave, 26-year-old man, Jace Yannick, who is right now in the middle of his own journey in cancer. He's got non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He just finished chemo and radiation, and he's waiting for his next scan. And we go deep into his story about... how he navigated this condition, what he learned, and how he's actually become a dedicated advocate and leader in the fight against cancer.
He's actually now focusing not just on himself, but he's literally in the middle of getting treated, and he's turned his attention to help others, which is so moving and profound. He's committed to improving the lives of those affected by cancer through support, education, community engagement. He's such...
a deep thinker even at the young age of 25 he's built an incredible network of volunteers and supporters making a huge impact in the cancer community and his vision is really to inspire others through community engagement and content fostering hope and resilience for cancer patients and their families so we're going to dive right into this conversation i i literally was in tears much of the conversation was just overwhelmed by the wisdom and intelligence and compassion of this young man
who has been through hell and has turned that into something beautiful. I think you're gonna love this conversation. Let's jump right in. Well, Jace, welcome to the Doctors Pharmacy Podcast.
I'm really honored that you've decided to join and tell your story, which is compelling, it's moving, it's inspiring, and it's courageous that you've taken the opportunity to actually tell your story publicly through social media, through other avenues that you've basically
created a whole movement to try to raise awareness around how to help people with cancer um and you know you're now 26 right and you know you were vigorous healthy energetic you know you were kind of ripped i saw you on instagram before you got cancer and and then you were 25 and
Boom, out of nowhere, you got a bunch of weird symptoms that were initially misdiagnosed and turned out to be a B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. And for those who are listening, that's a lymph cancer that is not uncommon. And in fact, my sister had it.
it really is one of those sort of things that can hit younger people but we're also seeing a rise in cancer among younger people in general across other cancers so jason i just want to sort of honor you and also kind of invite you to start by sharing kind of the story of how this happened what was going on in your life and and um and then how you began to kind of metabolize this experience and
actually metamorphose into something good?
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Chapter 3: What role does nutrition play in cancer recovery?
I was almost becoming sick, almost vomiting from how aggressive the cough was. And that was towards late 2023. But mix that in with I had shooting pains throughout my back and my arms, all of which very strange and all of which eventually led to me being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Yeah. And you know, you had, you know, you, you had otherwise, a great life, things are going great. And then just it sort of knocked you down. And in some ways, you know, for most people, would just sort of knock them off their feet. And I imagine it did for you for a while.
But what was it that kind of made you take this experience and then transform it into something that could be useful to other people?
I honestly, it wasn't, you know, I got diagnosed and the first thought in my mind wasn't, I'm going to turn this into something great. It was... You know, I want to call my mom. I want to call my dad. And I want them to tell me that everything's going to be OK. I was terrified. And you're right. I had a great life. I still have a great life.
And this just felt like it felt like a means to something that could be the end to my life. And it's just it was terrifying. And so it wasn't until after I talked to them and started going through the process that I really transformed this into what it is now. And it happened organically.
I didn't say I'm going to document this journey with the intention of sharing it with the world so that I could become viral or a public figure. It was so that people that were close to me could follow the journey and hear about what I was going through every day because I wasn't able to text everybody or call everybody and give them an update on where I was at.
Yeah. And so you just kind of naturally started sharing and then it kind of, people started paying attention and all of a sudden you've got like almost a million Instagram followers, right?
It was shocking. I mean, the way it truly went was I posted initially on my personal Instagram, which just captured my close family, friends, acquaintances that I'd met over the years, high school, college.
and when i was diagnosed i was super overwhelmed i did not know what to do so i posted that i went on my instagram and i posted i was just diagnosed with cancer i normally wouldn't share this kind of information but i need support and i just that was it just in text
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Chapter 4: What advancements exist for early cancer detection?
And I started to get all these people reaching out to me, some of whom had been going through cancer themselves, which was a shock to me because these are people my age. Some of them had family members that were going through cancer. And what emerged from that was every day I would get phone calls and text messages. What's the update today? How are you doing?
And as I was tackling all of this, that became overwhelming. So I resolved to form what today is Jace Beats Cancer. And I posted it on my personal Instagram and I wrote, if you want to follow along as to my daily updates, I'm going to be posting them. I promise to be open and honest on them. And here's the account and go ahead and follow.
So for a while, it was, you know, me and a couple hundred of my, you know, family, friends, acquaintances and, you know, people that I knew. And I remember I was in the hospital as I was getting chemo, posting the updates as I normally would. And I woke up one morning and I opened my social media apps and And there was 20,000 followers on one of them and 40,000 on Instagram. And I was blown away.
I said to myself, I don't know what's going on here. What's happening? People want to watch this.
So it was great. And one of the kinds of things that people were responding with, because cancer is one of those things that's a little bit taboo, right? It's scary to talk about. People don't know how to talk to people with cancer or about cancer. It's got a stigma to it. And there's often not an outlet for people to actually have a conversation about it who have it. And you touched a nerve.
So what were the kinds of things that people were sharing that had had already had cancer and gone through it or they were maybe experienced this their family like what were the kinds of things you started to hear about I I heard so much I mean my DMS were on Instagram were filled with cancer survivors sharing everything about their experience it was
details of what you should be doing. Make sure you're drinking enough water. Here's something that helped me reduce bone pain that came from my white blood cell booster shot. Here's something to prevent the mouth sores that you'll get. And then there were things that were just from the heart, which were, you're going to make it. You're going to be okay.
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Chapter 5: How did Jace create a nonprofit for cancer patients?
Or it's okay that you're upset or angry right now. Or if you need me, I'm here for you. And they would share their story. They would say, I was a stage four cancer survivor, or I was supposed to only have a year left to live, and I'm still alive 40 years later. Just the most incredible, invigorating, educational, just everything you can imagine. And I was
I mean, it's a huge reason why I was able to have the mindset that I do just all these people willing to help each other.
So just in the in the process of just sharing your story from a vulnerable place, it actually brought out all these people who then started offering you gifts and being a support system and sort of helping you actually navigate the process from everything from how to deal with the physical challenges of getting chemo and radiation to
How do you deal with the psychological and emotional and spiritual aspects of like having this diagnosis at 25 years old?
Yeah, it was the most incredible thing. And coming from a place where, you know, growing up, I was consuming content and a lot of the stuff out there can be negative or you see people online and they're maybe not being so nice to have so many people online.
come to my profile and just showcase the love that people in this world have for each other was super eye-opening and a testimony to the goodness that exists. And again, just I feel was a crucial part of my recovery and me beating cancer.
And just for people listening, we're recording this podcast in this really vulnerable window where you've finished radiation and chemotherapy, which was what, a six-month process?
Yeah, just about six, seven months total.
Yeah, it's a lot. It's a lot to go through. You lose your hair. You get sick. It's not fun. And you're done. You did the hard stuff. And now you're in this window of six to eight weeks waiting until you get your scan to tell you whether or not this is completely gone or if there's still work to do, right? So can you tell us about what that experience is like being in this?
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Chapter 6: What emotional challenges did Jace face during treatment?
Every moment is different in its own way. But right now I'm in this, I kind of call it, I want to call it a vacation. I'm in this middle world where I just, I can't even put into words how I'm feeling mentally about what I just went through. I think about it and it makes me, I mean, I have,
I don't know if I should call it grief, but I mean, all this time that just I spent fighting for my life and staring death in the face every day and going through procedures and spinal taps. It's a lot to digest. And every time I finish a checkpoint, a major treatment, like when I finished chemo,
And when I just recently finished radiation, a piece of that weight is lifted off my shoulders and it's emotional and it's intense and it just feels like I'm that much closer to being finished. So right now I'm in this middle ground of, I just finished the hard stuff. I just finished, I'm done with the chemo, I'm done with the radiation.
The fatigue is slowly getting better every day that I'm out of radiation, although it's still present. And I'm just enjoying that. And on the other side, I do have this, this anxiety where I have all these what ifs, but I try my best to pay those no, no attention. If I can, I try to steer clear of those and just focus on what I know right now and what I know today.
And when I get to that point where I do the next PET scan and they, They tell me what I need to know. I'll process it then. But for right now, I'm just trying to enjoy the moment and being here and being present.
That's beautiful. I mean, that's very courageous. I mean, it's hard to, you know, stare death in the face and kind of meet it directly. And I'm wondering what that experience was like for you and how it's sort of been through the last months of treatment. Because I'm sure it's been up and down. Like there's moments of...
you know, kind of, I got this and there's probably moments of like, Oh fuck, you know, can you share a little bit about your, your inner journey around this?
Yeah, it's, I, I posted so much of the raw truth of what this looks like, but I wasn't able to grab a camera in every moment and grab my phone. And I had some really dark,
And I've talked about that in a few videos I've posted, but there are days where I was getting chemo and I was so weak and my dad's standing there with me and he's watching his son get another chemo bag hooked up and he's staring and he's just wondering, how can I take care of my son right now? What can I do? you know, to see my dad in that spot where he wants to do everything.
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Chapter 7: How did Jace's journey impact his mental health?
I'll take your word for it. That means the area in your chest around your heart, basically.
Yeah, right here. So they identified. Yeah, right. And I had to go to Google to figure that out.
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Chapter 8: What advice does Jace have for navigating health information?
And anybody who was looking to donate to me, I told them I would love for them to donate so that we could give it to somebody else who needs it. And we've been doing that for ever since I believe my second cycle of chemotherapy. And just been working with hospitals to identify patients that are in need of that financial assistant. And not all of them need financial assistance.
Some of them are looking for a bone marrow transplant match. So, you know, getting it out to the community about their story and helpfully finding them a match. So it's been this growing organic kind of process, but all centered around the ideals of just helping other people with cancer.
It's so beautiful. And it just, it's like how your tragedy is turned into, and in some ways a blessing for, for so many and also for yourself. It's like this sort of, we never know kind of when we go through these challenges and we go through these various issues, you know, how we navigate that. But it's just, it's just beautiful to see how you, how you've done this, how you've navigated it.
Is there anything else you'd love to share about your story, about what you've been through, what you're going through?
Yeah. I mean, there's so much that I could always continue to talk about with this journey. But the biggest thing for me has been this passion to help other people. And I say that because before cancer, I admittingly was very self-focused. I was really focused on progressing my own career and getting to this level and making this much money or something like that and getting the watch or the car.
And I had this experience that I made a video about and my dad, who's my hero, he came over to my home in Florida and he lives in Boston. And this was right before I was going to start my second cycle. And he sat down with me and said, Jace, we need to do some paperwork. And he's always been the responsible, you know, helping me to learn finances and budgeting and
And he said, we need to go through this paperwork where we need to understand some things. I said, okay. So he asked the first question and said, in the case that you're unable to, you're unresponsive, who do you want to be in charge of your medical decisions moving forward? What do you want those medical decisions to be if you had to be put on life support? How long? All these things.
And at this point, I was a wreck. I was crying as my dad was reading to me potential outcomes of what I was about to go through.
And then... That's a conversation you have with a 90-year-old, not a 25-year-old, right? Yeah.
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