Ep. 278 | Trauma-Informed Cancer Care: Christine Fader Artwork

Widow We Do Now?

Widow We Do Now is a podcast created by two young widows, Anita and Mel. Through humor, authenticity, and empathy, they address topics related to grief, death, bereavement, and moving forward through the inescapable pitfalls of young widowhood. They also love cheese.

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Widow We Do Now?

Ep. 278 | Trauma-Informed Cancer Care: Christine Fader

May 12, 2026 • Anita and Mel

0:00 | 58:58

Christine Fader joins Anita and Mel from Canada to talk about the death of her husband, Michael, and the reality of living through not one but two cancer diagnoses. In 2018, Michael was diagnosed with the “good” kind of throat cancer. In 2020, he was diagnosed with a completely new and far more aggressive lung cancer. By November 2022, he was gone.

Michael’s terminal cancer was both aggressive and underfunded despite lung cancer being one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers there is. He held onto hope for new treatments as long as he could.

The episode also digs into the trauma that can exist underneath cancer care. Christine shares how Michael’s childhood trauma and later medical trauma shaped his experience as a patient, and why she is now advocating for trauma-informed cancer care and better education for doctors. With a background in speaking, teaching, and advocacy, she’s working to push conversations about cancer beyond survival rates and treatment plans to include the emotional and psychological realities patients and caregivers live through.

Find Christine at https://www.christinefader.com