The young adults living with cancer

Summary

Post Reports: The Young Adults Living with Cancer Episode Release Date: June 12, 2025

Hosts: Martine Powers and Elahe Izadi
Reporter: Drea Cornejo, Video Journalist, The Washington Post

---

Introduction

In this poignant episode of Post Reports, The Washington Post delves into the lives of young adults grappling with cancer, highlighting the unique challenges they face. Hosted by Martine Powers and Elahe Izadi, the episode features intimate stories from individuals within the "Generation C"—a term now used by doctors to describe the surge of cancer cases among younger populations.

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Personal Stories: Tanner and Shay Martin

Meeting and Marriage

Tanner Martin, a 30-year-old living with stage four colorectal cancer, and his wife Shay share their journey of love and resilience. Diagnosed in November 2020, Tanner reflects on his life before cancer:

"Life was awesome. I was on my way to graduate and to apply to a grad program. I was working a lot and I was doing pretty good in it."
(00:39)

Shay, a mental health therapist, discusses their relationship:

"I think what first drew me to Tanner was his smile. It's very big."
(12:29)
They met as teenagers through church activities and reconnected as adults, eventually marrying and envisioning a future together filled with career aspirations and family life.

Facing Cancer Together

Tanner and Shay decided to bank Tanner's sperm and pursue IVF to have a child despite his terminal diagnosis. This decision was fraught with emotional and ethical complexities:

"At first, I really struggled with the idea of having kids because I wasn't sure how I got cancer. Like, what if it's a gene and I'm passing it on?"
(15:02)

Their commitment culminated in the birth of their daughter, Amylou Madrea, affectionately nicknamed Jouza. The joy of their daughter's arrival contrasted sharply with Tanner's deteriorating health:

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm so excited to meet you."
(32:33)

Despite the challenges, the couple maintains a spirit of humor and determination. Shay describes Tanner’s unwavering positivity:

"I just want to be there for her."
(03:07)

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Reporter’s Personal Journey: Drea Cornejo

Drea Cornejo, the episode’s reporter, shares her own battle with stage four metastatic lung cancer, diagnosed at 26. Her story provides a dual perspective, intertwining her journalistic narrative with her personal experiences:

"For a lot of young people, it's a struggle to get to that diagnosis, especially if they don't fit the exact mold of what sick may look like."
(06:44)

Drea emphasizes the isolation felt by young cancer patients and her mission to amplify their voices:

"I just want to make the experience a little less isolating."
(06:17)

Her bond with Tanner and Shay offers mutual support and insights into managing life-threatening illness while striving for normalcy.

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Generation C: Redefining Cancer Demographics

The episode sheds light on the shifting landscape of cancer demographics, with cases rising among Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X:

"For a long time, people have thought of cancer as a disease that comes in old age, but that's changing."
(05:24)

With over 2.1 million Americans living with a cancer diagnosis acquired at a young age, the narrative around cancer is evolving. The stories of Tanner, Shay, and Drea illustrate the profound impact of cancer on personal relationships, career trajectories, and mental health.

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Navigating Emotional and Practical Challenges

Decision-Making and Quality of Life

A significant portion of the episode focuses on the difficult decisions young adults must make regarding treatment and family planning. Shay urges Tanner to consider his quality of life over merely extending it:

"I am asking you to consider your quality of life more than you do."
(24:41)

Tanner grapples with the fear of leaving his child without a father, yet remains determined to cherish the time they have:

"I'm just gonna do anything I can to make memories, and I can still do everything else that other alive people can do."
(25:15)

Support Systems and Coping Mechanisms

The Martins rely heavily on their supportive families and each other to navigate the tumultuous journey of cancer treatment and impending parenthood. Drea reflects on the importance of community and open dialogue in coping with the disease:

"I just feel like this is a way for me to connect with another human being who's going through this very similar thing that I'm experiencing."
(30:26)

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Moments of Vulnerability and Strength

The episode features raw and heartfelt moments, such as Tanner’s first encounter with his newborn daughter amidst his declining health:

"Eyes up. You don't have to. You can go to sleep, sweetheart. I love you so much."
(33:15)

Additionally, Drea shares a profound personal reflection after Tanner’s condition worsens and her own cancer progresses:

"It still feels like a gut punch. I don't think either of us have fully wrapped our heads around it yet."
(28:08)

---

Reflection and Growth

Drea concludes the episode by reflecting on her growth through the connections forged with Tanner and Shay. She acknowledges the ongoing battle with cancer and the necessity of living with intention:

"Sometimes you just have to find ways to live within it and just stay in the present as best as you can and live with intention as best as you can."
(36:49)

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Conclusion

Post Reports offers a deeply moving exploration of young adults living with cancer, highlighting their resilience, the complexity of their decisions, and the importance of support systems. Through the intertwined narratives of Tanner, Shay, and Drea, listeners gain a comprehensive understanding of the emotional and practical challenges faced by Generation C. The episode underscores the necessity of visibility and open conversations to diminish the stigma surrounding young cancer diagnoses.

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Notable Quotes:

• Tanner Martin (00:16): "I have stage four colorectal cancer."
• Shay Martin (15:46): "Deciding to have a kid during Tanner's cancer treatment was a really challenging decision."
• Drea Cornejo (28:08): "With metastatic disease, it's only a matter of time before your cancer outsmarts your treatment."

Further Resources:

• Video Documentary: Available on The Washington Post’s website (link in show notes).
• Special Comic: Detailing Drea’s diagnosis journey (link in show notes).

---

Produced by Alana Gordon, mixed by Ted Muldoon, and edited by Renita Jablonski with additional editing by Lynn Bui, Mary Ellen Dyle, and Dan Keating.

Transcript

[Drea Cornejo]

There are so many different ways we could tap into this story. I have really gotten to know Tanner Martin over the past six months. I just want you to hear his voice.

[Tanner Martin]

My name is Tanner Martin. I just turned 30. I have stage four colorectal cancer. I was diagnosed when I was 25. In the year. Was it 2020? Yeah, in 2020. November of 2020.

[Drea Cornejo]

What was life before cancer?

[Tanner Martin]

Life was awesome. I was on my way to graduate and to apply to a grad program. I was working a lot and I was doing pretty, pretty good in it. And just in most aspects of my life, I was very pleased with how it was going.

[Drea Cornejo]

You know, in a lot of ways, he's just your average 30 year old. He's obsessed with Star wars and he loves video games and, you know, really cherishes quality time with his family and his wife Shay.

[Shay Martin]

You know, we're home a lot cause Tanner's sick, but we've also done a lot together. We've renewed our vows in Ireland and we've traveled to Italy.

[Tanner Martin]

I think sometimes when people get told they're gonna die, they stop living like right then, you know, So I don't let cancer control me.

[Drea Cornejo]

This is a story about young people grappling with cancer. And I also happen to be one of them.

[Elahe Izadi]

Dreya, how old were you diagnosed and what were you diagnosed with?

[Drea Cornejo]

I was 26 when I was diagnosed with stage four cancer, which is definitely not what I was expecting to hear when I was supposed to be at the prime of my life.

[Elahe Izadi]

It was lung cancer, right?

[Drea Cornejo]

Yes. Diagnosed with lung cancer. I didn't think that a late stage cancer diagnosis was even in the realm of possibilities for someone my age. My first oncologist told me I had a three month expiration date and I should probably start getting my affairs in order. Oh my gosh, it was awful. I, you know, very early on told myself that the second that I was in a better place, mentally and physically, that I will make something meaningful out of this dumb disease that I've been forced to reckon with. I wanted to report on the young cancer community and help share their stories and help make, you know, their, my, you know, our experiences more visible to the rest of society that is still catching up to the fact that young people can get cancer too.

[Tanner Martin]

I just understand that my life is different. You know, sometimes the thing that bothers me the most is just not knowing, like, exactly how much time I have left. You know, I worry a lot about like, time spent with family and especially our future daughter Galza. I just really want to be there for her.

[Elahe Izadi]

From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports. I'm Elahe izadi. It's Thursday, June 12th. For a long time, people have thought of cancer as a disease that comes in old age, but that's changing. Cancer cases among older adults are dropping, but they're rising among young people. Gen Z, millennials, Gen X. Maybe you know someone who's been affected or maybe you've been affected yourself. 2.1 million Americans are living today with a cancer diagnosis they got when they were young. This year alone, the Post estimates another 200,000 younger people will get this diagnosis. The age range we're talking about is 15 to 49. Most younger adults do survive their cancer diagnosis, but no matter the outlook, life is often never the same. Career, relationships, finances, whether to have a family, which is one decision we're going to get an up close look at today from Tanner and Shay Martin. The Post's Drea Cornejo has been documenting their lives since the beginning of the year. The ups, the downs, and how humor and directness have helped them. This is an intimate view of what it can mean to belong to generation C. Generation cancer, that's what doctors are calling it now. And Drea, as you heard, is also part of it. Her lung cancer is metastatic, which means it's spread beyond the lungs. Drea is a video journalist on the health desk at the Post.

[Drea Cornejo]

Man being behind the camera for what, like nine, ten years of my career and telling other people's stories and then being put on that other end in a way is, yeah, I'm still warming up to it.

[Elahe Izadi]

It's really vulnerable. Right.

[Drea Cornejo]

It's been very eye opening.

[Elahe Izadi]

Well, tell me, Dreya, can you tell me a little bit about that? Because I think what you are doing with this project and this reporting is an unusual experience for any journalist because usually journalists are the ones telling other people's stories. And here you're telling other people's stories, but you're also telling your own story.

[Drea Cornejo]

Yeah, yeah. And I guess, like through this project and this story, I, at the core, like, I just want to make the experience a little less isolating.

[Elahe Izadi]

Yeah, yeah.

[Drea Cornejo]

You know, for the next young person that gets diagnosed with cancer, it is just such a different beast when you're young.

[Elahe Izadi]

Dreya, when you were talking about, you know, your process to becoming like getting more public and then wanting to make something good out of this, like, very dumb disease, just to rewind a little bit, can you tell me about your diagnosis and how you learned about it.

[Drea Cornejo]

Yeah, it was the beginning of 2022. I was experiencing a wide swath of really strange symptoms that weren't making sense. I experienced significant weight loss. I was struggling to even walk my dogs down the street. I was covered in bruises and just had this deep feeling inside of me that something was not right here. And while this is all happening, I'm seeing urgent care doctors, I'm seeing specialists, and everyone's telling me, oh, it's probably stress or you're too young to be seriously ill or to have anything more sinister. Go get some more sleep. And I think in a way, like finally getting to that diagnosis in May of 2022, it brought forth, like, a sense of relief, because in that moment, I knew that what I was feeling was real and I wasn't losing my sanity. I just wasn't being listened to. For a lot of young people, it's a struggle to get to that diagnosis, especially if they don't fit the exact mold of what sick may look like. Hmm.

[Elahe Izadi]

So you started to interview people in their 20s and 30s and 40s, people from all over the country. Tanner and Shay were among them. They live in Utah. Why Tanner and Shay?

[Drea Cornejo]

I knew that I wanted to do a story that featured the perspective of a metastatic cancer patient that has given it his all to live as fully as possible. And that is what I found in Tanner Martin.

[Elahe Izadi]

How did you come to connect with them?

[Drea Cornejo]

Yeah, so I was actually just lying in bed doing a little doom scrolling, as one does. Yes. During one of those scanxiety filled nights.

[Elahe Izadi]

Sorry, and what is scanxiety?

[Drea Cornejo]

Oh, it is super fun. Usually a lot of patients will experience, like, this increased sense of doom. Sorry to be so dark. Or just overwhelming feeling of anxiety surrounding scan times, which is like routine imaging that shows if your cancer has shrunk, if it's progressed, if it's stable. So, yeah, I was, you know, just lying in bed doing a little doom scrolling during one of those nights when I first stumbled upon their TikToks, and they were talking with raw honesty and this surprising humor about things that I hadn't been able to really say to the people closest to me.

[Shay Martin]

Continuing the series of planning our funeral in our 20s, they were just, I.

[Drea Cornejo]

Don'T know, like, they. Here they were, like, in front of millions of strangers.

[Tanner Martin]

Hello, it's me, Tanner, in a voiceover, Just calling to let you know that we do have an Instagram and YouTube account. The handle is just Tanner and Shea, and we need you desperately to follow it. So the cancer doesn't win.

[Shay Martin]

Drive with us to go shopping for cemetery plots. Smile so big.

[Drea Cornejo]

It's a video talking about headstones, talking about burial plots and legacies.

[Tanner Martin]

But yesterday, when I was getting admitted to the hospital, they asked me about my dnr.

[Drea Cornejo]

All the sort of impossible decisions you have to make when you're young and living with a terminal illness while also showing what cancer can and cannot take from people. To this day, I am three years into survivorship, and I can't even bring up the word death around my family. And as a country, like, it is just so taboo to talk about death or end of life planning or getting your affairs in order. So meeting them and seeing just how candidly they were talking about this very taboo thing, it was surprising.

[Elahe Izadi]

Yeah.

[Drea Cornejo]

And, you know, the first time I walked into their apartment, they gave me a little tour. And there on their fridge, for instance, was a pamphlet with their hospice service info. And it also happened to be right next to an ultrasound photo of their baby that they were expecting.

[Elahe Izadi]

And, yeah, we heard that Tanner, he said he was 25 when he learned he had stage four colon cancer, and he's now 30. Draya, what else should we know about him?

[Drea Cornejo]

Tanner takes a lot of pride in his native heritage. I've gotten to join him and his family over Navajo tacos, and I got to hear about what he was like as a kid. And he's always been the type of person that waves at strangers and has a big, goofy grin on his face. And. And that's something that, you know, Shay has said drew her to him.

[Elahe Izadi]

And how did he and Shay meet?

[Drea Cornejo]

So they actually met as teens through church activities.

[Shay Martin]

Tanner and I first met when he was a Christian religious missionary in Mesa, Arizona, where I'm from.

[Tanner Martin]

Shay and I are both members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

[Shay Martin]

I think what first drew me to Tanner was his smile. It's very big.

[Drea Cornejo]

And they ended up reconnecting as adults.

[Shay Martin]

And then after about five years, we reconnected, and I came up to Utah to hang out.

[Drea Cornejo]

They tried being friends and obviously.

[Elahe Izadi]

Saw.

[Drea Cornejo]

That there was something more. It did not take.

[Elahe Izadi]

Yeah.

[Shay Martin]

And then we made out, and then we started dating, and then we got married.

[Tanner Martin]

Shay has a really powerful personality. She's not afraid to ask for what she wants, but she's also not afraid to, like, work. She's basically everything I'm bad at, she's really good at.

[Drea Cornejo]

So you guys complement each other very well.

[Tanner Martin]

I think so.

[Elahe Izadi]

So then they're together as a couple, and then he Gets this diagnosis.

[Drea Cornejo]

Yeah, it was devastating for them. They wanted to open a therapy practice together. They always envisioned themselves having a couple kids and getting their own home. But cancer put them in this holding pattern for a while, especially the first couple years. Those were a blur for them. Doctors didn't give him an exact timeline, but they did make it clear that his condition was incurable.

[Elahe Izadi]

Well, can you tell me, how did Tanner and Shay navigate the family planning question for them?

[Drea Cornejo]

Yeah. So after Tanner's diagnosis and the severity of his illness and all the harsh treatments that he was going to have to endure, they decided to bank his sperm and try IVF down the road if his health ever stabilized. And it was too touch and go for them for the first couple years. But last year, when his health seemed to stabilize and his oncologist was optimistic about the treatment, they finally decided to go through and plan for a baby.

[Tanner Martin]

I think a lot of people have questioned mine and Shay's choice to have a child. While I'm going through this, that was.

[Shay Martin]

A really hard decision. Deciding to have a kid during Tanner's cancer treatment was a really challenging decision. I mean, he's been diagnosed for four years. We took at least two years. The past two years. Think about having a kid just because I'm a mental health therapist and there's a lot of statistics about single parent and, you know, losing a parent and stuff like that. So we took a lot of really intentional time to think about it because we obviously want to give our daughter the best chance and the best opportunities. So we had a lot of discussions. I did a lot of personal research. We had a lot of conversations with our family.

[Tanner Martin]

At first, I really struggled with the idea of having kids because I wasn't sure how I got cancer. Like, what if it's a gene and I'm passing it on? And that doesn't feel super fair. And also the idea of like almost intentionally putting someone in a one parent household. Ultimately, Shane and I decided to pray and to talk about it. And my prayers were very much like, I would love to have a kid, but I'm also scared of what if I leave this kid with illness or, you know, what if I do this or that? And I just felt peaceful about it.

[Drea Cornejo]

They had to have a lot of difficult conversations. And at the end they were comforted by the fact that, you know, they could check via IVF that his cancer wasn't something that could be passed down to their kids. There wasn't any gene he could pass down. And they were able to make sure that the embryo was healthy, and they were comforted by the fact that they could choose the sex of the baby. Also because they both come from the therapy world, and they decided to choose a girl because research showed that children in single parent households, they do better if they're the same sex as the one parent. And then they were also comforted by the fact that they have such a big, supportive family. So last year, after, you know, thinking about whether or not they have a baby, they decided to go through with it and they went to a fertility clinic.

[Shay Martin]

Guess what?

[Tanner Martin]

Hmm.

[Shay Martin]

Look.

[Drea Cornejo]

There'S this really heartwarming video that they actually uploaded on TikTok that shows the moment that Shay shows Tanner the pregnancy test. I think he was just waking up from a nap. It was a chemo week, if I recall correctly from what they've shared, which.

[Elahe Izadi]

Means he was, like, getting treatment and is really tired.

[Drea Cornejo]

Yes, very, very tired. And just seeing his face light up and, you know, the excitement.

[Tanner Martin]

Hey, there's two lines. You got the bun in the oven.

[Elahe Izadi]

After the break, awaiting the baby's arrival as Tanner's health takes a turn. We'll be right back.

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[Elahe Izadi]

So, Drea, you started spending time with Tanner and Shay at the beginning of this year, and by that point, Shay is four months pregnant. So when you met them, what was life like for them?

[Drea Cornejo]

Things were going well for them When. When I first met them, it was January. They were still trying to pack as much life into their non chemo weeks as they could. They were making TikTok videos. They were really showing people the dichotomy of what it's like to plan to bring in a new life while also planning for the end of your life.

[Shay Martin]

Come with us as we shop for and design our headstone.

[Drea Cornejo]

Things like picking out a headstone and.

[Shay Martin]

And then we also included, of course, Star Wars. Never tell me the odds quote.

[Tanner Martin]

Oh, day we're at the mortuary. This is where you go pay money when you die. Let's go pay the money.

[Elahe Izadi]

Let's go pay the money. It's just like this sort of irreverent bluntness of just like all these moments.

[Drea Cornejo]

And I think that's what really has drawn me to them and, you know, thousands of other strangers across the world. You know, part of this video, they also show snippets from their celebration of life, which was this huge event that their loved ones organized for them. And we see Tanner and Shay walk out on a red carpet dressed to the nines. It was a really touching day for them. Like old classmates. Their oncologist even showed up.

[Elahe Izadi]

Yeah, I mean, this looks like quite the party. But at the same time, you know, looking at Tanner in this video, he does look a lot different than he did a couple years ago. He's lost so much weight. And, you know, you spent a lot of time with Andrea, so I'm wondering, what else did you learn about what was going on in Tanner and Shay's lives that is not on social media?

[Drea Cornejo]

Tanner and Shay have been really gracious with their time, and they've really allowed me into some of their most intimate moments. You know, not just the joyful ones, but also the heartbreaking ones. And also these quiet moments that, you know, weren't captured for TikTok or Instagram. For instance, there was this one remote visit with their oncologist that I was there for. Had to happen right After a photo shoot that they had done poking fun at all the things insurance wouldn't cover. But after that wrapped up, they had this consult visit. And so they pulled out their phone to hop on a remote visit with Nick Thompson, who is the oncologist that Tanner has been with from the get go at Revere Health out in Utah. Looks like you're in the car.

[Shay Martin]

Yeah, we're parked.

[Drea Cornejo]

There was this really interesting moment where Dr. Thompson just asked Tanner, you know, Tanner, how are you doing, man? How are you doing? How are the side effects?

[Tanner Martin]

I'm all right.

[Drea Cornejo]

And Shay just quickly shot him a look and just said, be honest. And Tanner conceded.

[Tanner Martin]

I'm cold. I feel sick. My back hurts.

[Drea Cornejo]

It was just this really interesting, quiet moment where you really see Shay, like, pushing Tanner to consider his quality of life more than he has done.

[Shay Martin]

Thanks, Dr. Thompson.

[Drea Cornejo]

Okay, guys, have a good rest of your day.

[Shay Martin]

See ya. Bye.

[Drea Cornejo]

But right after this appointment, they were driving home. They're talking about the appointment.

[Shay Martin]

It more has to do with the roller coaster of this.

[Drea Cornejo]

It was a very heavy conversation.

[Shay Martin]

I am asking you to consider your quality of life more than you do.

[Tanner Martin]

Okay, I will.

[Shay Martin]

Or than. More. More than what I think you do, because I don't think you consider it. I think you're just, like, I'm just gonna suffer so I could live longer. That's what my. My view is sometimes.

[Drea Cornejo]

Okay.

[Shay Martin]

Or at least that's what it feels like. Yeah, I understand where you're coming from, and that's. That's a really unhealthy view of going on hospice and dying is giving up. That's. That's yucky.

[Tanner Martin]

Well, what's yucky is that for me, it would be right now. That's what I wouldn't be giving up, because I can still go. I'm just gonna do anything I can to meet Jowsa. And then after Jonza is born, I can stop treatment if you want.

[Shay Martin]

I think maybe with the way that you're talking, we shouldn't talk about this anymore.

[Drea Cornejo]

Obviously, she doesn't want Tanner to die. She doesn't want him to stop treatment, but she also doesn't want him to suffer and go through so much.

[Elahe Izadi]

Right? And he also wants to make it to the birth of. Of their child. Who we should add? We heard Tanner call the baby Jouza a couple times. That's been their nickname for the baby. It means dumpling in Chinese. And they've been planning to name her Amylou Madrea. I'm just so struck by how Tanner and Shay Communicate with each other.

[Drea Cornejo]

Yeah.

[Elahe Izadi]

How did things progress after that moment? As Shay's pregnancy gets into the final stages and there are things happening, like baby showers. I know you went to Utah for one of them.

[Drea Cornejo]

Things really went downhill in April. Just days before they got to their book themed baby shower that they were really excited about. Shay had planned it all to the T. He unfortunately got the news that his cancer progressed. Like, how would you describe, I guess, what that feels like?

[Tanner Martin]

Feels awesome. No, I mean, it causes fear, right? What if the drug that they want to give me doesn't work and then my cancer just starts growing out of control and we have no way to stop it? You feel so helpless because it feels like you're getting closer to the middle of the toilet bowl, to the drain, and there's nothing you can do to control your speed. But I'm seeing my therapist. I think next week we'll probably talk about that. And. And I don't know, whenever I get news like that, I like to balance it out with doing something really fun just to remind myself that, you know, I'm still alive currently, and I can still make memories, and I can still do everything else that other alive people can do.

[Elahe Izadi]

And at the same time, I know, Drea, you're also going through your own journey around all this, and you've been recording personal reflections in voice memos on your phone. And there's one memo from that day that I want to listen to because you were just processing so much that day.

[Drea Cornejo]

It's April 11th. Just taking a moment to reflect, coffee in hand. It's been over a month since I last saw Tanner and Shay, and unfortunately, this trip has not started the way any of us had hoped. His treatment has just stopped working. And, you know, with just a couple months until their babies do, the timing just feels especially cruel. And also, in some weird, sad twist, I had also gotten my own scan results the same day that Tanner got his. And unfortunately, they also showed progression. And, you know, I knew this day would come. With metastatic disease, it's only a matter of time before your cancer outsmarts your treatment. It is not a cure. It still feels like a gut punch. I don't think either of us have fully wrapped our heads around it yet. It's been a tough couple days.

[Elahe Izadi]

Drea. That was in April. And I want to continue learning more what happened with Tanner and Shay. But before we do that, can you just tell me, how are you doing today?

[Drea Cornejo]

Yeah, it's been a rough couple months. That April scan had showed some progression in my brain. And so it was just clear that it's, you know, it's time to switch drugs. And that's always terrifying because you don't know, is that drug gonna work? What sort of side effects are you gonna have to deal with? What will your new normal look like? And as you're navigating all those new side effects, like, are you gonna have to get more medications to cope with the side effects? But I've been on my new drug for a month now. It seems to have a good grasp on most of the new lesions. So that's good.

[Elahe Izadi]

Yeah.

[Drea Cornejo]

But we shall see in a couple weeks when I get my chest scan how things are doing. Yeah, it. I have had a lot to learn from Tanner and Shay, and watching them sort of navigate, you know, this emotional whiplash that comes with a cancer diagnosis. I don't know. It's. This is a way for me to connect with another human being who's going through this very similar thing that I'm experiencing.

[Elahe Izadi]

And, you know, we were talking about how Tanner and Shay were doing, the duality of, like, getting this news about the progression, his treatment and how that was going and also, like, getting closer to the due date. How were things going for them?

[Drea Cornejo]

So April, they. You know, Tanner gets the bad progression news. By the time I had arrived, he still hadn't processed things much like I had him processed things, but he still wanted to just push through. They had a baby shower to get to. They had a baby room to finish decorating. So between him and his doctor, they looked at another drug that could maybe serve as a bridge between now and the birth. Tanner is getting sicker as the days tick on. The old chemo regiment had led to a lot of fluid retention issues that were very, very difficult on his body. But he was. He was just willing to. To keep pushing through it. I mean, he was so close to the baby's birth at this point. He was willing to do whatever it took.

[Tanner Martin]

It's okay.

[Drea Cornejo]

And then the baby was born May 15th.

[Shay Martin]

You're Shay's daughter.

[Drea Cornejo]

They're in the hospital. There was this really endearing video that was shared, which was of Tanner just cradling Amy Lou for the very first time. And, you know, we see his glasses fogging up. And in between tears, just telling her.

[Tanner Martin]

Oh, sweetheart, I'm so excited to meet you.

[Drea Cornejo]

How excited he is to meet her.

[Tanner Martin]

Eyes up. You don't have to. You can go to sleep, sweetheart. I love you so much.

[Elahe Izadi]

Dre. I'm like a mess right now. Oh, my God.

[Drea Cornejo]

Yeah, it's.

[Tanner Martin]

Yes.

[Elahe Izadi]

Drea caught up with the couple over Zoom this past weekend.

[Drea Cornejo]

Can you hear me now?

[Shay Martin]

Yes. Okay.

[Drea Cornejo]

Okay. Hello.

[Elahe Izadi]

Wow.

[Drea Cornejo]

So cute. There she is. My goodness. How old is she now?

[Shay Martin]

Three weeks.

[Drea Cornejo]

Hello.

[Shay Martin]

There's Tanner. He has a bloody nose.

[Drea Cornejo]

Tanner.

[Tanner Martin]

All right.

[Shay Martin]

I think his oxygen, like, dries his nose out and then.

[Drea Cornejo]

Yeah. Well, I feel like we have so much to catch up on. It's been. It's been a bit.

[Shay Martin]

It has.

[Drea Cornejo]

How's parenthood for you both been?

[Shay Martin]

How's it been for you, Tanner? It's been tiring for me.

[Drea Cornejo]

Yeah.

[Shay Martin]

Luckily, I have my parents and sister helping me, and Tanner can help when he can.

[Drea Cornejo]

I am doing a lot better. The first couple weeks of that new drug was very, very rough on my body. I was definitely bedridden for a bit, but I'm starting to feel more like myself, so I, you know, gotta celebrate the small wins.

[Elahe Izadi]

Treya, after you spent this much time with Tanner and Shay and did this reporting, how did you come out as a different person?

[Drea Cornejo]

There has been a lot of. A lot of growth this year for me, and I have Tanner and Shay to thank for that. You know, I mentioned earlier, I'm going into three years of survivorship, and it's a constant battle of how to wrangle control back from this insidious disease that doesn't want to get evicted. And I feel like. I don't know, I. I was envisioning. I came into it, like, thinking I was going to get this, like, tidy, like, no neatly packaged answer to this problem that I've been struggling with, which is how do I coexist with this thing in me? And I think, you know, through Tanner and Shay. Oh, sorry.

[Elahe Izadi]

No, yeah, take your minute.

[Drea Cornejo]

I think what I. What I've learned from them, it's just that, like, sometimes you just have to find ways to, like, live within it, you know, and just stay in the present as best as you can and live with intention as best as you can. It's. It's hard. Cancer is hard.

[Elahe Izadi]

It's the worst.

[Drea Cornejo]

It is. And I just think it's important that we get people talking about it.

[Elahe Izadi]

I mean, Drea, just for me to get real, I shared this with you last week, but I haven't. Here. I have my own very early stage breast cancer diagnosis. I'm also a young adult. I guess I'm part of generation C. And I just have so appreciated your reporting this story and lessening the stigma by talking about your own experience. You know, I'm told I'm completely in the clear. But I very much relate to what you were saying about how you come out of this experience a different person no matter what stage you're diagnosed with.

[Drea Cornejo]

Yeah, I mean, survivorship isn't just some neat chapter you move into after the shock of it all wears off. You know, it's, it's a work in progress. Some days are going to be filled with, like, hope. Other days are going to be heavy with grief, guilt, anger. Most days it's all at once. It's hard and it sucks to not feel seen or heard. And so I just hope that, you know, through my reporting, through Washington Post reporting, that others will at least feel more seen and heard than they were before.

[Elahe Izadi]

Well, Drea, thank you so much for sharing your reporting and taking your time out. And I hear a little dog in the background, so maybe I should leave you to the dog.

[Drea Cornejo]

My sluggy. Yes, I believe she is eagerly awaiting her super late breakfast at this point.

[Tanner Martin]

Wow.

[Drea Cornejo]

I need to feed my dog. But it's been a pleasure speaking with you, Alahia, and thank you for the opportunity.

[Elahe Izadi]

Drea Cornejo is a video journalist with the Washington Post. You can watch a video documentary of Tanner and Shea's story on the Post's website. There's a link to it in our show notes. And also there's a special comic about what it took for Drea to finally receive her diagnosis. We'll have a link to that as well. Our reporting on Generation C will continue later this summer. Today's episode was produced by Alana Gordon. It was mixed by Ted Muldoon and edited by Renita Jablonski, with additional editing by Lynn Bui, Mary Ellen Dyle and Dan Keating. Additional reporting for this story came from Dan, Ariana Cha and Julia Wall. Special thanks to Wendy Galeetta, Whitney Leeming, Jessica Kosalniak and Stephen Smith. That's it for Post reports. Thanks for listening. I'm Elahe Izadi. We'll be back tomorrow with more stories from the Washington Post. How many discounts does USAA Auto Insurance offer? Too many to say here. Multi vehicle discount, Safe driver discount, New vehicle discount, Storage discount. How many discounts will you stack up?

[Drea Cornejo]

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