Guest: Lisa Simms Booth, Executive Director, Smith Center for Healing and the Arts

In this episode of the Beyond the Clinic, Living Well with Melanoma Dr. Sam Siegel welcomes Lisa Simms Booth, Executive Director of the Smith Center for Healing and the Arts—an organization dedicated to whole-person support for people with cancer, their families, and caregivers.

Lisa shares the deeply personal story that shaped her nearly 30-year career in advocacy, public health, and patient-centered cancer work. After her mother’s ovarian cancer diagnosis, Lisa found herself navigating two worlds at once: the complexities of cancer care and the systemic barriers within the research and advocacy landscape. That experience became the catalyst for her life’s mission.

Together, Dr. Siegel and Lisa explore:

• How personal experience can ignite a passion for advocacy

• Why resilience in cancer is a learned skill—not an inherent trait

• The emotional realities of caregiving and survivorship

• Smith Center’s “healing basket” approach to integrative support

• Practical ways people can manage stress, find community, and cultivate tools for emotional and spiritual well-being

• The importance of accessible, no-cost cancer support programs

• How patients can weave integrative practices into their medical care

Lisa also offers a grounded, compassionate look at the nuances of topics like nutrition, mindfulness, emotional support, and how even a few minutes of intentional rest can change the trajectory of a day.

Whether you’re a patient, caregiver, clinician, or advocate, this conversation offers wisdom, comfort, and a reminder that no one has to walk the cancer journey alone.

Guest Bio

Lisa Simms Booth joined Smith Center for Healing and the Arts following a nearly thirty year career in media, politics, community organizing, and advocacy. Lisa has always had a servant’s heart and has aspired to do work that improves the lives of others or empowers them to advocate for positive change. She has previously worked at FasterCures, a center of the Milken Institute, Biden Cancer Initiative, LISTEN, Inc., The Alliance for Justice, Children’s Defense Fund, and the National Rainbow Coalition.

  As Executive Director, Lisa is responsible for strategic oversight, fund development, administrative and financial management, and community building. In addition to her work at Smith Center, Lisa is a member of the Professional Oncology Navigation Task Force (PONT), the American Cancer Society’s Leadership in Oncology Navigation (ACS LIONTM) Advisory Council and Cancer Support Community’s Cancer Policy Institute Advisory Board. She also serves on the Boards of Commonweal, the Microbiome Alliance for Disease Prevention and the National Organization of Arts in Health.

In this episode, we sit down with Vanessa Tompkins, wife and caregiver to Mike, who has been battling Stage 4 metastasized ocular melanoma. Over the past five years, Vanessa has supported Mike through weekly immunotherapy, four major surgeries—including the removal of his left eye, liver surgery, triple hernia repair, and open-heart surgery—and countless challenges along the way.

A registered nurse, former hospice nurse, and current Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner, Vanessa brings professional expertise, personal experience, and unwavering compassion to her role as a caregiver. She is also a mother of three, grandmother of four, and devoted owner of her golden lab, Romeo. Guided by her motto, “One day at a time,” Vanessa shares insights into the realities of caregiving, the emotional resilience required, and the lessons learned in supporting a loved one through a complex and ongoing cancer journey.

Tune in to hear her story, practical tips, and heartfelt reflections on the challenges and rewards of being a caregiver.

In this episode of Beyond the Clinic: Living Well with Melanoma, Dr. Samantha Siegel is joined by Katie Ostrovsky and Cheryl Marker from the MelaHomies community.

Cheryl, diagnosed with Stage I melanoma in 2023, shares how she turned to online groups for education and support when her medical team left her with more questions than answers. Katie, a Stage IV survivor now, 11 years cancer-free, reflects on the emotional and practical challenges of survivorship — and how building the Mela Homies helped transform isolation into connection.

Together, they explore the power of peer support, the gaps in survivorship care, and why community is just as vital as treatment.

👉 Tune in to hear their stories and learn how the MelaHomies are making sure no one faces melanoma alone.