Metabolic Matters

What happens when a mother’s intuition screams, “No,” while the experts around her recommend an untested treatment?

“All I could hear was: ‘We are going to poison her, and she may die from the treatment.’ As a mother, my soul screamed no.”

In this edge-of-your-seat episode of Metabolic Matters, host Christina Mason speaks with Phenyx Andolsek and her mother, Nicole Andolsek, about a remarkable journey of maternal instinct, advocacy, resilience, and hope.

Phenyx’s health challenges began early in life. After birth complications and years of unexplained symptoms—including double vision and recurring headaches—an MRI revealed a mass near the base of her brain. At age 9, she was diagnosed with mesenchymal chondrosarcoma, a rare form of cancer. Her tumor’s location and the rarity of the disease meant the family faced complex, high-stakes treatment decisions.

After surgery, doctors wanted to follow up with an aggressive conventional treatment plan; Nicole felt an unmistakable warning within her. Determined to explore every possible option, she began contacting doctors, clinics, cancer coaches, and practitioners across the globe. What followed was a three-year journey involving therapeutic nutrition, supplementation, high-dose vitamin C, mistletoe, hyperbaric oxygen, chiropractic care, sauna, detoxification, and a complete restructuring of Phenyx’s daily environment.

At the heart of this conversation is the profound bond between mother and daughter. Nicole reflects on learning to advocate fiercely while still honoring Phenyx’s growing autonomy. Phenyx shares what it meant to listen to her body, trust her instincts, and voice what felt supportive along the way.

Together, they explore the emotional realities of navigating childhood cancer, the importance of faith and community, and the trust required when a healing path looks very different from the one originally presented. Today, Phenyx is thriving, attending college, and preparing for a career in teaching. Their story is a powerful reminder that healing is not only about protocols—it is also about listening, connection, courage, and believing in the wisdom within the person receiving care.

Connect with our Guests:
Nicole’s Website: https://healthyselfinitiative.com/
Phenyx’s email: pjolee84@icloud.com

About Your Host:
Christina Mason is a lifelong storyteller, educator, and truth-seeker whose journey—from music and teaching to entrepreneurship—has always been guided by curiosity. Following her own breast cancer diagnosis, she turned her focus toward metabolic health and healing. As host of Metabolic Matters, she creates space for real people to share real stories and the many paths that shape how we understand health.

Follow the Show:
Website: www.metabolicmatters.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/metabolicmatters_/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577488944537

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@metabolicmatters

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/metabolic-matters

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MetabolicRegen

© 2026 Metabolic Regen. All rights reserved. Produced by Metabolic Regen.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if your chronic symptoms weren't something you simply had to live with?

In this insightful episode of Metabolic Matters, host Christina Mason sits down with Janet McCorkle and gut health coach Lindsey Parsons for a powerful conversation about persistence, personalized care, and the detective work often required to uncover the root causes of chronic illness.

For decades, Janet struggled with constipation, IBS, kidney stones, recurrent urinary tract infections, and interstitial cystitis. Although she received multiple diagnoses over the years, she often found herself managing symptoms rather than understanding why they were happening. Determined to find answers, Janet began exploring functional medicine, nutritional interventions, and advanced testing that revealed a complex combination of food sensitivities, gut dysfunction, genetic variations, and post-infectious IBS.

Joined by Lindsey Parsons, a certified health coach specializing in gut health, they discuss how personalized testing, microbiome analysis, nutrition, supplementation, and lifestyle changes helped Janet make meaningful progress after years of frustration. Together, they explore topics including leaky gut, SIBO, post-infectious IBS, genetic SNPs, oxalates, histamine intolerance, microbiome testing, and why healing often requires addressing multiple interconnected factors rather than a single diagnosis.

Beyond the science, this episode highlights the importance of becoming an active participant in your own health. Janet shares the commitment, patience, and resilience required to make lasting lifestyle changes, while Lindsay emphasizes the value of curiosity, individualized care, and the benefits gained when we doggedly seek metabolic answers.

Whether navigating chronic digestive issues, recurrent infections, or simply wondering if there's another path forward, this conversation highlights that healing often begins when we ask better questions.

Connect with our Guests:
Janet McCorkle:
Email: jmccork13@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janrose22/

Lindsey Parsons:
Website: https://highdeserthealthcoaching.com/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/high.desert.health/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/HighDesertHealth
TT: https://www.tiktok.com/@theperfectstoolpodcast
YT: https://www.youtube.com/@highdeserthealth
X: https://twitter.com/HDesertHealth
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/highdeserthealth/
My Facebook Gut Healing group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gut.healing.for.you

About Your Host:
Christina Mason is a lifelong storyteller, educator, and truth-seeker whose journey—from music and teaching to entrepreneurship—has always been guided by curiosity. Following her own breast cancer diagnosis, she turned her focus toward metabolic health and healing. As host of Metabolic Matters, she creates space for real people to share real stories and the many paths that shape how we understand health.

Follow the Show:
Website: www.metabolicmatters.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/metabolicmatters_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577488944537
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@metabolicmatters
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/metabolic-matters
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MetabolicRegen

© 2026 Metabolic Regen. All rights reserved. Produced by Metabolic Regen.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could recognizing the symptoms sooner change the course of a cancer journey?

In this heartfelt episode of Metabolic Matters, host Christina Mason sits down with Trish Kifer, a stage IIIC ovarian cancer survivor and author, and her husband Roger Kifer, for an inspiring conversation about hope, partnership, faith, and whole-person healing.

Trish and Roger vulnerably share Trish’s remarkable journey: from subtle symptoms, including painful intercourse, abdominal pain, incontinence, and feeling full quickly, that were initially attributed to early menopause, to a stage IIIC ovarian cancer diagnosis. Their healing journey extended far beyond conventional treatment and the wisdom they share is priceless.

Together, they discuss the importance of listening to your body, building the right healthcare team, and becoming an active participant in your own healing. As Trish searched for ways to better support her health, she began exploring nutrition, metabolic health, reducing environmental toxins, therapeutic fasting, stress management, sauna use and other lifestyle strategies alongside her medical care.

Trish and Roger also offer an important perspective on navigating cancer as a couple. They reflect on how cancer strengthened their marriage, deepened their faith, and taught them to approach each day with gratitude, purpose, and intention. Roger also shares the often-overlooked experience of the caregiver and the importance of finding support throughout the journey.

More than a story about surviving cancer, this powerful conversation reminds us to trust our intuition, seek answers when something doesn't feel right, and never underestimate the impact of hope, community, and love.

As Trish says, if sharing her story helps even one person seek care sooner, then every step of the journey has been worth it.

Connect with our Guests:
Website: https://hopejourney.life
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kifertrish/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trish.kifer
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trish-kifer-20818a116/

Learn More About the Program Trish took to support her knowledge of metabolic health and healing!
www.metabolicregen.com

About Your Host:
Christina Mason is a lifelong storyteller, educator, and truth-seeker whose journey—from music and teaching to entrepreneurship—has always been guided by curiosity. Following her own breast cancer diagnosis, she turned her focus toward metabolic health and healing. As host of Metabolic Matters, she creates space for real people to share real stories and the many paths that shape how we understand health.

Follow the Show:
Website: www.metabolicmatters.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/metabolicmatters_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577488944537
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@metabolicmatters
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/metabolic-matters
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MetabolicRegen

© 2026 Metabolic Regen. All rights reserved. Produced by Metabolic Regen.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does perspective impact the path through cancer? For Rochelle Forrest Hankins cancer became a crossroads—where fear and faith diverged, and her choice defined the journey.

In this powerful episode of Metabolic Matters, host Christina Mason sits down with Rochelle Forrest Hankins, a registered nurse, educator, author, and four-time breast cancer survivor, and Dr. Yvonne Teverbaugh, an expert in integrative and metabolic oncology.

Rochelle shares her extraordinary journey after being diagnosed with both estrogen-positive and triple-negative breast cancer. Despite multiple recurrences and a prognosis that often leaves patients feeling powerless, Rochelle chose a different path—one rooted in faith, education, self-advocacy, and holistic healing.
Determined to understand the deeper factors influencing her health, Rochelle partnered with Dr. Yvonne to explore an integrative approach that extended far beyond conventional cancer treatment. Together, they addressed metabolic health, nutrition, sleep, emotional trauma, stress, spirituality, circadian rhythms, and the powerful connection between mind, body, and spirit.

What makes this conversation especially meaningful is the relationship between Rochelle and Dr. Yvonne. Their partnership demonstrates what can happen when a patient becomes an active participant in their healing journey and is supported by a team that sees the whole person—not just the diagnosis.

Throughout the episode, they discuss triple-negative breast cancer, immunotherapy, metabolic oncology, psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology (PNEI), codependency, trauma, and the importance of building a personalized healing strategy. Rochelle candidly shares how cancer became one of her greatest teachers, helping her establish healthier boundaries, deepen her faith, and reconnect with herself in ways she never imagined.

More than a story about surviving cancer, this episode is a powerful reminder that healing is not a single treatment, protocol, or decision. It is an ongoing journey of awareness, courage, resilience, and learning to trust your inner wisdom.

As Rochelle shares, sometimes our greatest challenges become the very thing that teaches us how to truly live.

Connect with our Guests:

Rochelle Forrest Hankins, RN, MSM, LE
Website: https://rochelle.world/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forresthankins/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rochelleforrest
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rochelle-forrest-hankins-8b516337
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RochelleWorld
Books: Amazon

Yvonne Teverbaugh, DSc., ND, PhD, MSHN
Website: thenaturalpathtowellness.net

About Your Host:
Christina Mason is a lifelong storyteller, educator, and truth-seeker whose journey—from music and teaching to entrepreneurship—has always been guided by curiosity. Following her own breast cancer diagnosis, she turned her focus toward metabolic health and healing. As host of Metabolic Matters, she creates space for real people to share real stories and the many paths that shape how we understand health.
Follow the Show:

Website: www.metabolicmatters.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/metabolicmatters_/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577488944537

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@metabolicmatters

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/metabolic-matters

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MetabolicRegen

© 2026 Metabolic Regen. All rights reserved. Produced by Metabolic Regen.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After 50 years of unhealthy patterns, can someone truly begin again—and heal?

In this inspiring episode of Metabolic Matters, host Christina Mason sits down with Linda Riccio, OT/L, FAOTA, and Dr. Yvonne Teverbaugh, DSc., ND, PhD, MSHN, for a powerful, hope-filled conversation about resilience, intuition, and whole-person healing that goes beyond symptoms and diagnoses.

Linda shares her extraordinary journey—from weighing over 350 pounds and becoming bedridden at age 50 due to an undiagnosed chronic illness to emerging as a healthcare innovator, certified grief counselor, and advocate for lifestyle-based healing. After years of unexplained symptoms, she was diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, severe hormonal dysfunction, a brain meningioma and genetic coagulation problems. Determined to understand her body, Linda began working with Dr. Yvonne, opening the door to profound healing and self-discovery.

Together, they explore the complexities of chronic illness, the necessity of individualized care, and the patience and self-compassion required for true transformation and lasting healing. Linda reflects on her evolution from being disconnected from her body to hearing its wisdom loud and clear—and now helping others build that same awareness, resilience, and self-trust.

At the heart of this episode is the enduring partnership and friendship between Linda and Dr. Yvonne. Over more than a decade, they have navigated physical illness, emotional healing, grief, nutrition, and the deep connection between mind, body, and spirit. This conversation is a powerful reminder that healing is not instant—it unfolds over time through small, intentional steps. As Linda puts it, “When progress is personal, it is unstoppable.”

Connect with our Guests:
Linda Riccio, OT/L, FAOTA thenaturalpathtowellness.net
Yvonne Teverbaugh, DSc., ND, PhD, MSHN thenaturalpathtowellness.net

About Your Host:
Christina Mason is a lifelong storyteller, educator, and truth-seeker whose journey—from music and teaching to entrepreneurship—has always been guided by curiosity. Following her own breast cancer diagnosis, she turned her focus toward metabolic health and healing. As host of Metabolic Matters, she creates space for real people to share real stories and the many paths that shape how we understand health.
Follow the Show:

Website: www.metabolicmatters.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/metabolicmatters_/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577488944537

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@metabolicmatters

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/metabolic-matters

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MetabolicRegen

© 2026 Metabolic Regen. All rights reserved. Produced by Metabolic Regen.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.