"Don't rush the process." In this episode, we sit down with Kim Burket, Executive Director of Goodness Village, to discuss a side of the cancer journey that often goes overlooked: the need for a true home. Goodness Village provides affordable housing in Little Rock, Arkansas, for patients and families traveling for life-saving medical treatment.

Kim shares her 20 years of hospitality experience and how she’s applying it to healthcare to ensure families can stay together, cook their own meals, and find a safe haven during their hardest chapters. Whether you are a patient, a caregiver, or a healthcare leader, Kim’s "sage wisdom" on resilience and accepting help is a must-listen.

In this episode, we discuss:

🏡 The "Basic" needs that hospitals often miss.

📉 Why rushing your treatment timeline can cause more angst.

🤝 How to find your "champions" and actually accept their help.📊 The massive impact of community-based non-profit housing on patient outcomes.

📍 Timestamps:

00:00 – The #1 piece of advice for patients: Don’t rush the process.

01:13 – What is Goodness Village? A unique model for medical housing.

03:10 – The 30-year history of a grassroots mission.

04:14 – Why a hotel isn't enough when you're fighting cancer.

06:50 – The "Little Things": How 26 apartments provided 6,000+ nights of rest.

10:40 – Gaps in the healthcare system and the power of collaboration.

13:14 – A story of resilience: Keeping a family of five together.

15:25 – Advice for Healthcare CEOs and Hospital Leaders.

18:38 – A checklist for patients traveling for care.

About Our Guest:

Kim Burket has served as the Executive Director of Goodness Village for 15 years. Under her leadership, the organization transitioned from a church ministry to an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit, growing to provide 26 affordable, fully furnished apartments for patients and families traveling to Little Rock for medical care. Kim lives in Little Rock with her husband Jim, where their younger son is a senior at Little Rock Christian Academy, and their oldest son is attending college in Fayetteville.

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Enjoyed this episode? Make sure to subscribe, rate, and review! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or Linkedin @MantaCares and visit our website at MantaCares.com for more episodes and updates.

Disclaimer:

All content and information provided in connection with Manta Cares is solely intended for informational and educational purposes only. This content and information is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Rich — a leukemia survivor, nurse practitioner, and longtime oncology clinician — to talk about what it’s really like to survive cancer, rebuild your life after treatment, and live with long-term side effects.

Rich was diagnosed with leukemia at age 28, underwent an allogeneic stem cell transplant at Dana-Farber / Brigham and Women’s, and is now a 29-year survivor. His experience as both a patient and provider offers a rare, honest look at cancer survivorship, prostate cancer side effects, sexual health, mental health, and post-traumatic growth.

In this conversation, we cover:

• What it’s like to be told you have leukemia in your 20s

• Stem cell transplant and long-term survival

• Turning cancer into purpose and becoming an oncology NP

• Common prostate cancer side effects (urination, bowel changes, erectile dysfunction)

• How doctors actually manage these symptoms

• Sexual health after cancer treatment

• Mental health, grief, and post-traumatic growth

• How to rebuild your life after active treatment

  
  

This episode is for patients, survivors, caregivers, and anyone navigating life after a cancer diagnosis.

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00:00 Life gets hard — and it gets better

01:00 Meeting Rich

02:50 Diagnosed with leukemia at 2805:30 Stem cell transplant & early treatment reality

07:20 Complications and emotional toll

08:40 Discovering purpose in oncology care

10:45 From patient to nurse practitioner

13:00 Building virtual survivorship care

16:50 Prostate cancer side effects overview

17:45 Urinary problems after radiation

21:20 Blood in urine & stool — when to worry

23:50 Erectile dysfunction after treatment

26:30 Medications & men’s health options

28:50 Emotional impact of sexual side effects

31:00 Quality of life vs quantity of life

32:10 Post-traumatic growth

33:00 Marriage, fertility, and family after cancer

36:00 Advice for rebuilding life after treatment

38:30 Final thoughts & hope

🔗 Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

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Enjoyed this episode? Make sure to subscribe, rate, and review! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or Linkedin @MantaCares and visit our website at MantaCares.com for more episodes and updates.

Disclaimer:

All content and information provided in connection with Manta Cares is solely intended for informational and educational purposes only. This content and information is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Is Artificial Intelligence actually helping cancer patients, or is it just noise? In this episode of The Patient From Hell, Samira sits down with Dr. Shadi Nabhan to separate the Hype from the Reality in 2026.

We discuss the massive evolution in oncology—from the "library days" of 1995 to the AI-driven diagnostics of today.

Dr. Shadi shares his "Airport Analogy" for navigating a cancer diagnosis, offers a life-changing reframe on how we view advanced disease (it’s not just "curable" vs. "terminal"—it can be "controllable"), and gives his #1 piece of advice for selecting a medical team that will actually show up for you when things get hard.

Key Topics Discussed:

AI in 2026: How doctors use AI to simplify complex terms like CAR T-cell therapy and why patients need to "trust but verify" AI-generated medical advice.

The "Controllable" Reframe: Why treating metastatic cancer like diabetes or hypertension changes the patient experience.

Navigating the "Airport": Why the healthcare system feels like being dropped in a foreign airport without a map.

Advice for the Industry:

What Healthcare Systems and Pharma companies need to change right now regarding clinical trials and drug pricing.

About Today’s Guest Dr. Chadi Nabhan:

Dr. Chadi Nabhan is a board-certified hematologist, oncologist, and the Chief Medical Officer at Ryght, Inc., where he leads the integration of Generative AI into clinical research to accelerate the delivery of lifesaving therapies.

With a career spanning leadership roles at Caris Life Sciences and the University of Chicago, Dr. Nabhan is a prolific researcher with over 300 publications and a prominent author whose work focuses on the intersection of medicine, justice, and technology.

AI Visionary:

Leading the charge in using AI to optimize clinical trials and patient outcomes.

Expert Clinician: Trained at Northwestern and Harvard, with decades of experience in malignant hematology.

Renowned Author: Published three books with Johns Hopkins University Press, including The Cancer Journey and the forthcoming AI and Cancer Care (2026).

Podcast Host: Voice of the popular weekly series Healthcare Unfiltered.

Quotes from the Episode:

"We cure more patients than we have ever dreamt of... Women who are affected by breast cancer today are more likely to be completely cured."

"Availability is key. Are they going to really pick up the phone and talk to you when you need them?"

00:00 - The reality of the cancer journey (It’s not smooth sailing)01:00 - Intro: Dr. Shadi Nabhan & The Fun Factor

01:25 - AI in Healthcare: Hype, Hope, and Reality

04:15 - How doctors use AI to explain complex therapies

06:38 - Warning for patients using AI: "Garbage in, Garbage out"

08:45 - The Evolution of Medicine: 1995 vs. 2026

13:00 - The "Airport Analogy": Why patients feel lost

17:30 - MUST WATCH: Reframing "Terminal" cancer as "Controllable"

21:30 - Advice for Healthcare Leaders: Agility & Patient Involvement

23:50 - Advice for Pharma: Drug Pricing & Accelerating Innovation

26:00 - The #1 criteria for picking your medical team

28:18 - The importance of Second Opinions

28:50 - What to expect in late 2026: AI in Cancer Care Book

🔗 Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

👉 Subscribe and hit the bell to stay updated on future episodes of Patient from Hell.

Connect with Us:

Enjoyed this episode? Make sure to subscribe, rate, and review! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or Linkedin @MantaCares and visit our website at MantaCares.com for more episodes and updates.

Disclaimer:

All content and information provided in connection with Manta Cares is solely intended for informational and educational purposes only. This content and information is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.