You’ve just had an x-ray and are discussing the results with your doctor. The air in the office fills with complicated words after you hear “lung cancer” from your physician. You don’t hear anything else. Not hearing or understanding anything else is part of the shock and a normal reaction. But when you can think or when you have...
Read More
Barry Nelson, Patient Advisor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital Center for Patients and Families participated in a webinar on January 11 organized by The Center for Health Education Research Service in Boston, Massachusetts. [1] During the webinar, Nelson described his experience as a cancer survivor. “I was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer...
Read More
In October, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report, Global Warming of 1.5 degrees C. Invited to provide guidance to the United Nations, this group of 91 scientists, authors and editors from 40 countries reviewed over six thousand scientific papers. Their many conclusions tell us that we have very little time to act. Many...
Read More
With knives or branding irons, ancient Greeks would mark criminals or traitors to indicate that they should be shunned and not welcomed in society. The Greeks called that mark a stigma. Today, to stigmatize a person is to classify them by a negative attribute and devalue them on that basis alone. Stigmatizing is a cross-cultural and cross-species...
Read More
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meets at the beginning of June each year in Chicago. It is the world’s largest oncology organization where researchers from around the world present their research findings. Here are the results of two studies presented during the first couple of days of the conference. Chemotherapy Side Effects and...
Read More
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...
Read More
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...
Read More
From September 8 through 12th, over 24,000 oncologists and oncology researchers attended the European Society of Medical Oncology Meeting (ESMO), the equivalent of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Meeting (ASCO) held in the US. This year’s event focused on connecting researchers to practitioners in a meaningful way. Here are some research...
Read More
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...
Read More
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...
Read More
We are adding to the list of respite opportunities that are available for adults with cancer. In addition to a couple of programs like the ones featured in Free Vacations for Adults affected by Cancer, there are a few foundations for adults with cancer that are much like the well-known Make-A-Wish Foundation (for children) which provide support for...
Read More
“A second opinion is when a doctor other than your regular doctor gives you his or her view about your health problem and how to treat it.” Definition on Medicare.gov In 2011, Susan [name changed to protect her identity] found a lump in her right breast. She went to one of the two nearby university medical centers. At facility A, the surgeon told her...
Read More
