Out of Patients EP419: Sick Days Not Included: Rebecca V. Nellis
Rebecca V. Nellis, was never supposed to stay. She took a six-month temp gig at Cancer and Careers back in 2004 and never left. Twenty years later, she's still there. Still leading Cancer and Careers. Still fighting. Still wondering how the hell it’s possible that we still need to explain to employers that cancer isn’t a character flaw.
This episode runs long, because it had to. We go back to the yellow wristband days, before the Lance crash, when the “young adult cancer movement” was duct-taped together with rage and sarcasm.
She’s a Second City theater geek who hung up on Jon Bon Jovi (true story). She once staged live performances with Copernicus the performance artist, taught kids improv, and accidentally built a national workforce equity movement for patients, powered by data, legacy, and facepalming
We talk temp jobs, theater, identity, HR gaslighting, and what it means to build something you never planned to run. Also: Blazing Saddles, stage manager war stories, and why a good nonprofit feels more like Off-Broadway than Harvard Business School.
\She made me think harder about what matters, who gets left behind, and why some people stay in the work long after everyone else burns out.
Out of Patients is streaming everywhere you get your podcasts. If you're smelling what we're cooking, leave a rating, review, or repost—it helps others find the show. Subscribe today.
Matthew Zachary
Producer
Matthew Zachary never planned on becoming a healthcare advocate. At 21, while training to be a concert pianist, he was diagnosed with brain cancer and told he might never play again. That was nearly thirty years ago. Spoiler alert - he survived! Instead of returning to the recital hall, he set out to change the healthcare system that nearly broke him.
In 2007, Matthew founded Stupid Cancer, a groundbreaking nonprofit that gave young adults with cancer something they’d never had before: a voice, a community, and the freedom to be angry. Through national conferences and online platforms, it helped millions of patients and families find connection and purpose in the face of isolation.
That same year, he launched The Stupid Cancer Show, the first talk radio program to cover the patient experience with the urgency of breaking news. It later evolved into Out of Patients, his award-winning podcast known for its honest conversations and unapologetic tone. His media work also includes the acclaimed documentary The Cancer Mavericks, which tells the story of the rebel patients who helped transform modern oncology.
Today, Matthew leads Matthew Zachary Worldwide, a media and consulting company that helps brands and organizations better understand the real needs of patients and how to co-create solutions with them, not just for them. His upcoming book, We the Patients: A Field Guide to Surviving American Healthcare (Wiley, June 2026), draws on three decades of lived experience and advocacy to help readers navigate and challenge the U.S. healthcare system.
… Read More
Out of Patients EP418: GenX Therapy With Sally Wolf
