Putting Everything on the Table

By Sonia Yee

Jo McKenzie-McLean describes herself as a chronic over sharer, an ‘open book’ who has spent more than 20 years in the media “trying to convince people to tell their stories in the midst of extreme grief and trauma”.

Colleen O’Hanlon (left) and Jo McKenzie-McLean, hosts of Jo Vs Cancer. Image supplied by Stuff

But last year, she became the focus of the story in Jo vs Cancer a Stuff podcast co-presented with best friend and colleague Colleen O’Hanlon. And this year, the podcast was shortlisted at the New York Festivals Radio Awards.

Jo vs Cancer is an up-close-and-personal look at McKenzie-McLean’s experience of being diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer and going through treatment, to what it means for her relationships and what she sees for herself in the future.

For McKenzie-McLean, making the podcast meant coming face-to-face with her own trauma.

“My story is painful, it aches [and] drops me to my knees in tears,” she says of living through each and every moment.

Jo says making the podcast involved facing her own trauma. Image courtesy of Stuff.

But it was her desire to make a difference that has empowered her to push through and get her story out.

“I wanted it to be raw, real, relatable, revealing and informative. It was important to be transparent and vulnerable to show the real, human side to my experience [and] what cancer does to someone’s world,” she says.

But that process was also about a fine balance between the emotional, human aspect of the storytelling, and looking at the facts around cancer through “a first-hand account of the healthcare system, its shortcomings and successes”.

“I found myself thrust into a world that journalists often get blocked from because of strict communications teams, privacy laws, and bureaucracy,” she says about wanting to make an impact and giving voice to other aspects of cancer that nobody talks about.

“Whether [it’s] one person not feeling so alone, someone pushing their GP for a colonoscopy, or at a higher healthcare level - getting the age limit dropped for early detection screening tests or increasing funding for drug treatments,” she says.  

But even as a self-confessed ‘open book’, the process was confronting and raw, putting her in a vulnerable position where she sometimes worried about how she would be perceived. Added to that, sitting behind the mic might look easy from the outside, but hosting a podcast requires a huge amount of energy in order to be ‘present’.

“Some practical challenges were simply finding the strength to walk back into the office and
record for hours on end [after] having had chemotherapy,” she says.

Dealing with brain fog, fatigue, and other side effects, she had to accept that it was all part of her story and highlighted the struggle of going through chemotherapy and trying to get through a normal day.

Having best friend and colleague Colleen O’Hanlon by her side, helped her to get through it. Both women agree that the experience has opened the lines of communication in their friendship.

Stuff reporter and co-host Colleen O’Hanlon. Image supplied by Stuff

“There is beauty in that kind of raw human connection and there were some unexpectedly intimate moments, which humbled me,” O’Hanlon says.

But there were also hysterical moments too: “I've never laughed and cried so much at work - it was an absolute roller coaster and an unforgettable, precious experience to share with her - everyone deserves a Jo in their life,” she says.

According to the Cancer Foundation approximately 25 thousand people are diagnosed with cancer every year. Many of us know someone who has had cancer, whether it be a colleague, a friend, or a family member.

“We've had so much feedback from listeners who were truly thankful to have [listened to the podcast],” O’Hanlon says.

And while some of it might be hard to hear, O’Hanlon says the overriding message is about hope and optimism.

Producer Chris Reed worked closely on the series with the pair and says its biggest and most defining strength is in the relationship between the two hosts.

“Although the podcast is most definitely Jo’s story, it wouldn’t have worked without the dynamic between [them]. They are friends and colleagues - they have a rapport that’s impossible to manufacture,” he says.

Producer Chris Reed says the podcast’s strength is in the friendship between Jo and Colleen. Image courtesy of Stuff.

Two of the biggest misconceptions illuminated for Reed about cancer was that being physically healthy protects you, when in fact, McKenzie-McLean had been fit and active before the diagnosis. The second misconception is that if you are diagnosed with cancer you’ll have guaranteed access to treatment.

“We can take nothing for granted, [and] given the chilling ramifications of a cancer diagnosis, most people imagine they’re pretty much guaranteed fast and easy access to local, high-quality treatment. To hear that Jo has to drive for hours each way and arrange overnight accommodation to attend chemo appointments was a real shock,” says Reed.

There are numerous ways to tell a story, and Reed says this simple conversational format allowed the pair to go deep, rather than being dictated by short soundbites and attention grabbing headlines often associated with modern media.

“A conversation between two people over several hours meant we could go into great detail … we wanted to do something different, to offer hope and comfort, and felt that [anyone] listening would find something that resonated with them,” he says.

The Jo vs Cancer team were delighted with the news of being shortlisted in the New York Festivals Radio Awards, but it also came as a surprise.

“Truly, my first thought was how great this is for Jo [because] I know it's been so meaningful for her to have a vehicle to tell her story. Recording the podcast was taxing on her limited energy resources, so I'm chuffed that it turned out to be time well spent for her,” O’Hanlon says.

Since the launch of the podcast, McKenzie-McLean has been inundated with supportive messages from strangers and friends alike, including at the supermarket. She says being nominated for an award was the furthest thing from her mind.

“To find out I was nominated was really emotional [because] it validated the work [we] put into this, and the messages we tried to get out there,” McKenzie-McLean says.

Listen to the first episode above, or head to the full series.

Production Team
Hosts: Jo McKenzie-McLean and Colleen O’Hanlon
Audio Engineer: Connor Scott
Associate Producer: Jen Black
Producer: Chris Reed
Special thanks to Kamala Hayman