Jan. 31--New feature on Jon Robinson's morning radio show: "Mad Mamas in Minivans."

It's a sound-off for listeners, sort of a Twitter of the airwaves.

"My 10-year-old has come back to the house three times to redo her makeup," reveals one mom.

Another complains her toddler is hurling animal crackers at her from the car seat. Another says she was just stuck in the parking lot of the Harris Teeter waiting for a car to move into a parking spot, and when it did, it took the space reserved for people with kids, but had none.

Ah, life's little problems.

Robinson's show, which launched in December on WKQC-FM ("K" 104.7), is the foundation for revitalizing the CBS Radio-owned station.

Last October, the station eliminated its full-time air staff and is now rebuilding.

Robinson says he's aiming for a show that relates to the station's target demographic: women, 25 to 54 years old. That puts it up against Clear Channel Radio's WLYT-FM ("Lite" 102.9), which ceded the morning drive-time share in that demographic to WKQC in the fall Arbitron ratings period, just before Robinson came aboard.

"We talk about kids, school, dealing with life on its own terms," says Robinson. "Things serious to funny."

Robinson, 48, can do the serious side better than most.

In the last year, he's lost a job, been out of work for six months and fought throat cancer. He was doing a morning show at WDYT-AM in April 2008 when he was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma rooted on a tonsil. Early estimates gave him about a 20 percent shot of making it.

In July his show on WDYT was canceled as the station struggled in the advertising downturn. He was recovering from radiation treatments when he got the word. He estimates his family went through about $50,000 in savings for medical bills and other expenses.

But things turned around. Neighbors and strangers who knew his plight would show up at his door to hand him envelopes with money to help tide the family over. His high school reunion group raised more than $1,000 for him. Others made sure the family had what they needed.

After surgery, his doctor raised his odds of survival to about 80 percent. He's had three scans since then, and all have come back clear.

"It gives you a new perspective on what's important -- family, doing things for others," says Robinson, who has a wife and two sons.

Robinson grew up in Gaston County and is a longtime veteran of the Charlotte media scene, both radio and television.

He looks back at his heady days as an anchor at WBTV (Channel 3) with a different view now.