From Flare to Flourish: Alternative Healing for IBD
Episode description:
In this episode, we sit down with Montana Skurka, a Therapeutic Yoga, Meditation & Reiki Practitioner, to explore how holistic therapies can support individuals living with IBD.
Montana shares her expertise and highlights how these approaches can help manage symptoms, reduce stress, and promote overall well-being. From creating a deeper mind-body connection to improving quality of life, Montana explains why alternative therapies deserve a place alongside conventional treatments.
This podcast is brought to you by LyfeMD. Our mission is to help people live happily and thrive while managing their inflammatory disease by providing holistic, easy-to-implement, evidence-based solutions to complement other medical therapies.
Psychosocial Care for Kids, Teens and their Parents Going Through Blood Cancer
The Blood Cancer Experience
In this episode, I speak with Tziona Lugasi, clinical psychologistin the hemato-oncology department at CHU Sainte-Justine. We speak about the emotional and mental health impact of cancer on children, as well as on teens and parents. Tziona and I also discuss the transition from pediatric care to adult health care.
A podcast by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada. This podcast is produced for people affected by a blood cancer. We will speak to experts about current topics such as treatments, diagnosis, and research. We will also hear personal stories from people affected by a blood cancer.
Life after Cancer: Relearning to Live Your Life with Eric and Montana
Being affected by cancer as a young adult often forces various life projects to be placed on hold. The impacts of the disease are numerous, and they can have significant effects on one’s identity. Once remission is pronounced, how is it possible to go back to a “normal life”?
Listen to this latest episode of The Blood Cancer Experience podcast, brought to you by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada to hear Montana and Eric chat about this difficult topic with honesty and humour.
Life after Cancer: A Conversation on Survivor's Guilt with Grace and Montana
It was a surgery for a rare congenital heart defect that lead Grace's doctors to shockingly discovered her stage II Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
In this episode of the AYA podcast series, Montana and Grace discuss the realities of isolation and survivor's guilt that come with achieving remission after a blood cancer diagnosis as a young adult.
The Unspoken Nuances of A Sick Body: Childhood Cancer & Mental Health
Montana was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 7. After three years of chemotherapy, she was declared cured, but began experiencing mental health challenges that grew until, at age 17, she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. This week Montana chats with the fellas all about journey as a woman managing a sick body and how she uses her past experience in order to help others feel connected and whole, no matter what physical or mental challenges they may face, through coaching, yoga + meditation, wellness group facilitation and advocacy work.
It was a true dream come true to chat with the boys of Sickboy Podcast about my health journey and how it has led me to where I’m at today - personally & professionally. Hope you enjoy listening!
Montana was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 7. After three years of chemotherapy, she was declared cured, but began experiencing mental health challenges that grew until, at age 17, she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. This week Montana chats with the fellas all about journey as a woman managing a sick body and how she uses her past experience in order to help others feel connected and whole, no matter what physical or mental challenges they may face, through coaching, yoga + meditation, wellness group facilitation and advocacy work.
No One Left Behind on the Sad Train ~ The Blood Cancer Experience Podcast with Cynthia & Montana
In this episode, Cynthia & I discuss the power of positive thinking, and how goal setting can help you through cancer treatment. We also chat about the role family & friends play in recovery, and how our cancer experiences have shaped our life trajectory.
One in a Million ~ The Blood Cancer Experience Podcast with Amanda & Montana
In this episode, I chat with the radiant & resilient Amanda Saunders, who 13 months after having a heart transplant was diagnosed with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD). We discuss what life is like living with a rare blood cancer while completing university and living through a pandemic.
Can’t Come to Swim Practice... I Have Cancer ~ The Blood Cancer Experience Podcast with Cole & Montana
It was such an honour to chat with Cole Myers about pity versus empathy and how he maintained so much strength through his cancer experience & relapse - all before graduating high school.
Un-slumping Yourself ~ The Blood Cancer Experience Podcast with Mike & Montana
In this special episode of the Blood Cancer Experience podcast for adolescents and young adults, Michael Wark and I chat about blogging through cancer experience, the importance of support networks, the power of spirituality, and how our cancer experiences have changed our lives.
Not Normal, but It's Okay ~ The Blood Cancer Experience Podcast with Samantha & Montana
In this special episode of the Blood Cancer Experience Podcast for adolescents and young adults, Samantha Redsky and I discuss the all things relationships!
We explore how a cancer experience can change the relationship you have with yourself, with your loved ones, and even with your own body.
Transformation on the COVID Ward: Compassion as Medicine with Ariel Lefkowitz
This Life Support podcast episode features a conversation with Dr. Ariel Lefkowitz, an internal medicine doctor who is currently caring for patients on the COVID ward outside of ICU who require hospitalization at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto.
Ariel speaks about how the experience of being at the centre of the world's focus through supporting patients without treatment options has transformed his life and practice.
A theme that comes up throughout our discussion is how this pandemic has exacerbated existing tensions in society. It provides an opportunity for us as individuals and a collective to redefine ourselves and choose a new path that is more supportive of humanity.
Ariel’s account of his momentous experience as a physician on the COVID ward was also recently featured in Toronto Life magazine. Photograph courtesy of Christopher Wahl.
Disentangling the Knot of Trauma and PTSD with Anne Wagner: How Meaning Making, Facing Fears and the Use of Psychedelics Can Help Us Heal
The vast majority of us are going to experience something that is traumatic during our lifetime. This does not need to be something that we fear or turn away from.
My friend Anne Wagner, esteemed psychologist and founder of Remedy, joins me this episode where we discuss topics that have been stigmatized for decades: trauma, PTSD, and the use of psychedelics in treatment for mental health challenges.
It is up to us all to become trauma-informed so we can better care for ourselves and our loved ones, particularly at times such as these.
Episode 5: Putting the Humanity Back into Addiction Treatment with Ashok Krishnamurthy
This episode features a fascinating conversation with Addiction Medicine Specialist, Dr. Ashok Krishnamurthy, where we discuss the corrosive impacts of stigma on individuals struggling with an addiction. We speak about how our health care system could better care for those attempting to overcome a substance abuse disorder, and the importance of treating people holistically. This conversation is a deep dive into some of the issues that we are facing in the field of addictions - systemically, socially, politically and psychologically. We also talk about how we can work together to build a more integrative system that puts the humanity back into addiction treatment!
Episode 4: Coaching Our Way to Wellness with Marla Warner
What is health coaching, and how do we use the science of positive psychology to enhance our well-being in the face of overwhelm?
This episode features a conversation with Health and Resilience Coach Marla Warner, where we discuss what common issues her clients approach her with, and tangible tools to mindfully overcome these concerns.
We talk about how to approach stress on various levels: physically, mentally and through learning more about the way our mind operates.
Guts and Glory Podcast: Resilience (Part 2) with Montana Skurka
In part two of this interview I did for the Guts and Glory podcast, I continue to share my personal experiences with childhood cancer, ulcerative colitis, and the inevitable mental health challenges that accompany those struggles. The hosts and I speak about how we often feel the need to “be strong” and continue with life’s responsibilities, even when it’s not expected of us. We also talk about how chronic illness directly impacts mental health, and how our medical system is set up in a way that does not support people with the mental health struggles that come with being hospitalized and living with chronic or long-term illness.
Guts and Glory Podcast: Resilience (Part 1) with Montana Skurka
Last month, I had the pleasure of being interviewed for the Guts and Glory podcast. In this chat, I open up about my personal health struggles. We discuss some of the shortfalls of our medical system that we have experienced, especially surrounding chronic illness and trauma and its impacts on mental health.
Episode 3: Recovering Resilience in the Face of Mental Illness with Augustina Ampofo
Today's episode is with Augustina Ampofo, a mental health advocate who has been diagnosed with Bipolar II Disorder and speaks openly about her experiences with psychosis.
During this conversation, we discuss why she became a mental health advocate and our complicated relationship with health-related labels. We also talk about the importance of creativity in her recovery process; specifically, how journaling, art therapy and dancing have been an integral part of her healing journey. Throughout the conversation, we break some misconceived notions about mental illness.
Episode 2: The Patient's Perspective from the Doctor's Perspective with Ariel Lefkowitz
Today’s guest is my friend Ariel Lefkowitz, someone who I met a few months ago and has been instrumental in the creation of this podcast.
Ariel is an internal medicine physician and medical educator at the University of Toronto. He has a background in theatre, improv, and creative writing, and his research focuses on ethics, improving physician communication, person-centred care, and the doctor-patient relationship.
We often go to doctors when we are at our most vulnerable - from the joy of giving birth to the devastation of our death. When there is something wrong with our bodies or minds, that can be incredibly scary and traumatic. Within this context, the relationships between doctors and their patients can be quite significant; particularly if we are being diagnosed with a chronic or terminal illness.
So how do we build healthier and more equitable relationships between healthcare providers and their patients that promote healing while mitigating the effects of burnout? That is what we discuss in the conversation you are about to hear, along with topics such as improving communication between patients and doctors, the importance of advocacy for changes in the system, and how to create a more integrated healthcare system.
Episode 1 : Relational Healing with Aaron Stern
This episode features a conversation I had with my friend and relational psychotherapist (qualifying), Aaron Stern.
The idea of this podcast arose out of conversations I have been having with Aaron and others over the last several months around ways to reduce the shame and stigma of facing mental and physical health challenges.
This whole journey began when I started speaking out about my personal struggles as a patient. I hope others can feel empowered through these conversations to know that they are not alone and there is support available, no matter what you are going through.
Over the course of this conversation, Aaron and I discuss the importance of healthy relationships and community in the face of physical and mental health challenges, the importance of viewing a patient in a holistic and personalized way, how his training as an actor impacts his work as a therapist, and how to provide patients with a feeling of agency and empowerment through changing the stories we are told and tell ourselves about our issues and challenges.
