Rest, Resilience, and Recovery: Sleep’s Role in Cancer Wellness with Dr. Kristi Graves, Elissa Kalver, & Mary Helen Rogers
Welcome back to Catching Zzz’s, the podcast where we explore the science stories and strategies that help us live and sleep better.
Today, we’re talking about something that touches so many lives: breast cancer. But this conversation isn’t about fear. It’s about strength, community, and the ways we can thrive together.
I’m joined by two inspiring women. First, Dr. Kristi Graves, a professor and researcher at Georgetown University, who studies cancer survivorship and health disparities.
We are also joined by Elissa Kalver, who was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer in 2021 and is redefining what it means to beat cancer and live her most authentic life.
She’s the founder of the first nonprofit gift registry for cancer patients called WeGotThis.org. Neither of our guests are sleep scientists, but they both know the profound role that sleep plays in mental health, healing, and quality of life.
Today, we’re going to explore how the rest fits into the bigger picture of surviving and thriving, whether you’re a patient, a caregiver, a researcher, or a loved one.
During the conversation, we cover a wide variety of topics, including fatigue while having a serious illness, treatment of side effects and insomnia, practical self-care routines, mental health strategies, and more.
MEET DR. KRISTI GRAVES
Dr. Graves received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and completed post-doctoral training at the University of Kentucky. She is a tenured Professor of Oncology and a member of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Since 2021, Dr. Graves has served as the Associate Dean for Faculty Development at Georgetown University Medical Center. Dr. Graves conducts research focused on cancer survivorship and translational genomics, with a particular emphasis on community engagement and addressing health disparities.
Dr. Graves is co-leading a UG3-funded study through the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) from NIH to develop a web-based decision aid to promote informed decisions about radioactive iodine treatment for patients diagnosed with intermediate risk thyroid cancer. This work follows an R01-funded project to explore symptoms experienced by patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer who received radioactive iodine treatment. In collaboration with researchers at Northwestern University, Dr. Graves serves as site principal investigator on a study funded by the National Cancer Institute to evaluate written peer support to reduce symptoms among patients treated with stem cell transplant.
Another area in which Dr. Graves conducts work is raising awareness about genetic counseling and testing for cancer risk. She was multiple principal investigator on a recently completed NCI-R25 award to train community health educators, patient navigators and promotoras about hereditary breast and ovarian cancer in Latinos. This training project is called ARBOLES Familiares (Family Tree).
CONNECT WITH DR. KRISTI GRAVES
WEBSITE: Georgetown University
MEET ELISSA KALVER
As a record-breaking saleswoman and former collegiate athlete, Babson College alum Elissa Kalver has always known what it means to succeed. After a life-changing diagnosis, her approach to life and her inner fight became more important than ever.
Her diagnosis hasn’t stopped her from celebrating life or working in service of others – in fact, it has driven her to create WeGotThis.org, the first-ever non-profit gift registry for cancer thrivers and caregivers. WeGotThis.org’s mission is to build a community of giving and receiving that helps cancer thrivers and supporters live their best lives.
Sharing her journey further, Kalver authored her book We Got This: How I Learned to Thrive with Terminal Cancer which released in spring of 2025. The book openly explores topics such as chemo treatment, fertility preservation, what NOT to say to a cancer patient, and more. Through her experience and insights, Kalver aims to inspire us to live our most authentic life possible – and cancer is not a prerequisite.
Thriver, founder, speaker, author, and Andover, MA native, Kalver resides in Los Angeles with her husband Eric and daughter Ellie.
CONNECT WITH ELISSA
WEBSITE: WeGotThis.org | INSTAGRAM: @wegotthisorg | FACEBOOK: @wegotthis.org | YOUTUBE: @wegotthisorg | TIKTOK: @wegotthisorg
RESOURCES MENTIONED DURING THE EPISODE
Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
Recent research about sleep/insomnia and/or insomnia treatment approaches for cancer survivors:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11933750/
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15402002.2025.2542296?src=exp-la
