Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself. ~Desiderius Erasmus CancerHawk is about giving light to cancer patients and their caregivers. Started by Robyn Stoller in 2011, CancerHawk is Robyn’s way of sharing the knowledge that she gained on-the-job as caregiver to her husband. Robyn and Alan’s Story Robyn met Alan Stoller on a retreat in...
Read MoreLymphoma Posts on Medivizor
What’s Up With All The Spoons? Spoonies
Being a Spoonie You may not know it but if you are a patient with a chronic illness, you may be a spoonie. In 2010 Christine Miserandino wrote a post called The Spoon Theory. In the post, Christine describes explaining to her best friend what it really feels like to live with Lupus. She asks her friend to hold 12 spoons and tells her that the spoons are...
Read More9 Tips for Sharing Information with Your Doctor
How do you share information with your doctor? This is a tough question. If you have had a bad experience or if you have been afraid to even broach something new with your doctor, this is the post for you. We asked two patient activists how they talk to their physicians and they provided us with tips that can help when sharing information. From Patient...
Read More15 Tips to Cope with Scanxiety (Scan Anxiety)
“Keep Calm And Carry On:” Really? “The shock of that day you hear the words, ‘you have cancer’ never leaves you and your sense of certainty in life and in your body can be hard to recapture after a diagnosis of cancer.”-Marie Ennis-O’Connor After Surgery, Chemo, Radiation This is the time when feeling sick is supposed to be over. ...
Read MoreOn Being a Cancer Survivor: Patient Experience of Peripheral Neuropathy
Being Informed For Vilma Aleida, neuropathy was a surprise. “Neuropathy appeared in 2011 during my 7th chemo….That 7th chemo was the infusion of two treatments (taxotere and trastuzumab). The result send me to the ER, the pain was only relieved with morphine. After that, I have been living with neuropathy in my legs, from my knees down. I...
Read MoreLet’s Get Physical: Physical Activity and Cancer Survivorship
Fatigue and Cancer Treatment You’ve finished treatment but you still feel fatigue. Fatigue is one of the most common side effects of chemotherapy and cancer treatment that can continue after treatment. It doesn’t seem logical but research indicates that physical activity can help. Physical Activity and Cancer Survivorship The Centers for...
Read MoreThe Complex Patient, Sepsis, and a Digital App
(This post is by guest blogger Rann Patterson and contains her personal views and opinions). (Updated Jan 15, 2014: To correct error in identity of app highlighted). Cancer patients usually have lymph nodes removed during surgery. The lymphatic system can be thought of, by analogy, as a person’s “water system” and works in tandem with the...
Read MoreWhat Should You Ask Your Doctor About Your Cancer Diagnosis?
Or Patient-Centered Cancer Care: IOM’s recommendations Last week, we looked at the recent Institute of Medicine’s report and wrote the post about “How the US Got Its Cancer Care Crisis“. This week we get more practical. With specific recommendations you can use! The general recommendations include: (1) becoming engaged patients. (2)...
Read MoreIf It Ain’t Broke Don’t Fix It? OR How the US Got Its Cancer Care Crisis
Did you know… In a study conducted in 2012, 69% of patients diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and 81% of those diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer did not understand that chemotherapy was not at all likely to cure their cancer? That a national survey showed physicians asked patients what they want in their care only ½ the time? That patients ask...
Read MoreA Roadmap to the “New Normal:” Understanding Cancer Treatment’s Bumpy Ride
So often people who undergo chemotherapy hear something like this from their family, friends or other well-wishers, “Thank goodness that’s over, now you can get on with your life. You can get back to normal.” Although it’s true that chemotherapy is over, the road that the patient is on is not smooth. There are important changes that caregivers and...
Read MoreNanomedicine: The Future of Medicine (Infographic)
As a nice complement to our prior post about Diabetes and Nanotechnologies, Pamela Brooke of “Associates Degree in Nursing Guide” web site suggested we might want to share also this cool infographic summarizing the current status of nanomedicine. We found it well done and helpful – thanks! Image compliments of Associates Degree in...
Read MoreHide and Go Seek…Continues: Prevalence
Deep Breathing Time Again… We’re about to seek the answer to another of the numbers that health and medical professionals use daily from statistics. Are you ready? Here it goes… What does Prevalence Rate in Statistics Mean? The prevalence rate is the total number of cases of a disease in a specific population divided by the total number of people...
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