Cherry Hughes** is an active, energetic 75 year old, still working in the marketing and public relations profession in Great Britain. Her life is filled with friends and fun. “I love cooking and eating out. I am deeply interested in politics. I love music …I go to jazz clubs. I love going to France …I have a little apartment...
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There are 1.6 million people diagnosed with cancer in the US each year. Of these, 650,000 receive chemotherapy. Did you know that 60,000 people a year are hospitalized for neutropenia, a common side effect of chemotherapy? One in fourteen die because of it. Of the 650,000 receiving chemotherapy, 104,000 are not aware of neutropenia and 52,000 don’t...
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“People are like peonies, they need a good hard frost to bring out the character.” ~Francis “Doc” Winter “Doc” Winter was a Midwesterner. Born in Iowa in 1931, in the midst of the Great Depression, he grew up on a small farm. He knew about hard frosts. Struggle, pain and suffering are part of life. Joy, love and...
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“I think all too often we underestimate the impact of a cancer diagnosis on the mental health and well-being of the individual, thus it goes unaddressed.” ~Stephanie Zimmerman, MSN Receiving a diagnosis of cancer can bring on feelings of worry, fear, dread, anger, uncertainty and loss. Research indicates that, for some people, these symptoms of...
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In July 2017, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conducted the National Cancer Opinion Survey to find out what people in the US know about cancer. ASCO released the results in October. The findings have already influenced recommendations made by the organization. Beliefs About Cancer Risk Among other questions, the survey asked 4,016...
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“For me, having lost my husband, it’s frustrating to hear publicly people saying to John McCain, ‘If anybody can beat this you can — you’re so tough.’ Not that it’s intentionally hurtful, but it does leave those of us who’ve lost a loved one thinking, ‘Was my loved one not tough enough? Did he not fight hard enough?'” ~Dannagal...
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You’re at a loss. You’ve just learned your friend or loved one is diagnosed with breast cancer. What do you do? How do you act? What do you say? As I look back at my own actions under these circumstances, I know that I came up short. I said the wrong things and made some basic mistakes. Partly I could blame youth. But mostly I...
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This summer has been a challenge after a family member with celiac disease had a gluten exposure (Click here to read more about celiac disease). Gluten damages the small intestine villi (see 5 Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Your Small Intestines), which are essential for nutrition absorption. For over a month, gastrointestinal pain, vomiting...
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In July 2015, we published a post called Patients Included In Research: Studying Cancer by Mutation Not Organ. In that post, we shared the goal that cancers would be treated not by the site of origin, but rather by their genetic features. Achieving this goal is closer than you think! This week the FDA announced accelerated approval** of a...
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Hearing this refrain, “I’m fine, I’m fine, really, I’m fine” at the end of a telephone line from a dear family member who had cancer nearly drove me crazy. I knew that she wasn’t fine. Reflecting back, I realize that I may have been asking the wrong question or saying the wrong things. It is tough to know what to say...
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On August 23, 2014, Sara Khatib checked off another achievement on her life list of hopes and wishes. She spoke at a TEDx in Beirut, Lebanon. The theme of the TEDx was ‘how would you fill a time capsule?’ So Sara brought along four items related to the lessons she learned while “battling cancer.” “Sometimes giving up...
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Dawn Goo is a waitress, former comedian, breast cancer survivor and is now under treatment for Non Hodgkins Lymphoma. She lives in El Paso, Texas. This is a post from her Facebook page which is gathering momentum in social media among people who have experienced cancer, especially those who are dealing with Stage 4 disease. DAMN IT DAWN! WE ONLY WANT...
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