Up-to-date, science-driven guidelines on nutrition and exercise after cancer were published in the April 12th issue of Ca - A Journal for Clinicians, a publication of The American Cancer Society. Although addressed to healthcare professionals, the material is accessible to patients (free, online) and includes a section written specifically for lay readers.
Continue reading "New Nutrition and Activity Guidelines for Survivors" »
In my last post, I introduced the Choosing Wisely™ campaign, an effort by clinicians to avoid overuse or inappropriate use of tests and therapies. Obviously, a successful campaign would save lots of money. But the campaign is motivated by a higher goal that reflects the mission of Healthy Survivorship.
Continue reading "Choosing Wisely Campaign - Part II" »
Did you know that when you take a generic drug, you essentially forfeit the ability to sue the company making the drug for damages if you experience an adverse event?
Continue reading "Problems with Generics" »
James C. Salwitz, MD doesn't use the term Healthy Survivor. Still, the story he tells offers a name and face to the idea that patients in difficult circumstances can find Happiness in a Storm.
Continue reading "To Survive with Cancer" »
Usually I refrain from criticizing human interest stories or online videos, instead staying focused on all that is good and right. But today I'm making an exception because I know what the person interviewed meant, and I want to clarify.
Continue reading "Be a Good Patient; Study Up" »
Yesterday's post linked to an editorial by two well-credentialed psychiatrists with special interest in end-of-life care. Their studies led them to consider grief as "the state of emotional unrest and frustration associated with wanting what one cannot have."
Continue reading "Grief and Acceptance - Part II (Realistic Goals)" »
Illness is often associated with loss, even when the medical outcome is excellent.
Since prolonged grief is associated with distress and dysfunction, an understanding of healthy ways to deal with loss may propel patients' pursuit of Healthy Survivorship -- and happiness. Reading a 2008 editorial in the British Journal of Psychiatry might further this understanding.
Continue reading "Grief and Acceptance" »
In my January 21st post, I shared a vignette that illustrates the notion that what you hope for affects whether your hope helps or hurts you.
Now let's look at the challenge of coping with the evaluation of a worrisome symptom. What can Healthy Survivors hope for?
Continue reading "Scan Anxiety and Healing Hope" »
In yesterday's post, I shared my reaction to a rant found on a cancer-related listserv. I explained my concerns regarding such expressions of anger, disappointment and frustration.
So what are Healthy Survivors to do if, for example, they learn they had not received important information about aftereffects of treatments they received?
Continue reading "Ranting and Healing - Part II" »
A recent thread on a cancer listserv included the rants of listserv members who were angry they hadn't been better warned about the possibility of developing aftereffects. This is a problem.
Continue reading "Ranting or Healing" »
During my first remission I began work on After Cancer, a book to help patients understand and respond in healthy ways to the medical, practical and emotional challenges of recovery and long-term survivorship. The subtitle was Your Guide Back to Normal.
But as I struggled with my own aftereffects and then recurrences, I realized my original approach wasn't going to work well for me.
Continue reading "The New Me" »
The FDA revokes approval of Avastin for breast cancer. What's a survivor to do?
Continue reading "Revoking FDA Approval: Conclusion" »
In a provocative 242-word essay -- Interruptions -- that prompted my November 13th post, Lucy Stanovick fishes for information about how hopeful her oncologist feels regarding her recovery. Is her doctor trying to cure or contain her cancer? Or just to keep her comfortable?
Continue reading "Searching for Hope - Part II" »
An interesting press release from the University of Texas supports my long-standing contention that it is better to ask a patient, "How are things?" than to ask "How are you?"
Continue reading "Managing Communication" »
I'd like to pass along some wise, low-tech advice for dealing with a family health crisis or family member's chronic illness: Be quick to forgive.
Continue reading "Easy to Forgive" »
While the furor over PSA testing plays out in the media, my sympathies lie with men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer . At the end of the day, the patient has to decide what to do.
Continue reading "Does PSA Testing Save Lives or Not? - Part III" »
A message about the value of PSA tests in healthy men creates problems that might have been avoided with a better choice of words.
Continue reading "Does PSA Testing Save Lives or Not?" »
My August 6th post shares a report on a new technology for breast cancer screening. I confess: I did not check out the story.
Continue reading "My Bad?" »
Effective communication is an essential element of Healthy Survivorship. So I felt honored when MD Anderson Cancer Center's Dr. Walter Baile invited me to write and narrate an audiovisual module titled TALKING ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS OF CANCER TREATMENTS
Continue reading "Talking About Side Effects of Cancer Treatments" »
In my last post, Hope or Letting Go, I shared the story of a physician, Dr. Youn, still troubled by an incident that happened ten years ago. Since reading it, I've been bothered by some of the questions he posed.
For example, Dr. Youn asked if concern for the needs of the patient's loved ones ever take precedence over the patients' needs?
Continue reading "Hope or Letting Go - Part II" »
Cure in association with the American Cancer Society has published a superb booklet for people with cancer: the 2011 edition of their Cancer Resource Guide.
Continue reading "2011 Cancer Resource Guide" »
There is no one right way to obtain knowledge, nourish hope or take action. So, too, there is no one right way to heal a rift between you and your physician.
But there are good ways -- and maybe even a best way -- for you and your physician. What follows are my suggestions to the patient who, at her last doctor visit, raised her voice in frustration:
Continue reading "Healing after a Doctor Visit Gone Awry - Part II" »
Although I didn't have a magic answer for the patient in my last post who emailed me about her doctor visit gone awry, I was able to offer her some thoughts about moving forward as a Healthy Survivor.
Continue reading "Healing After A Doctor Visit Gone Awry" »
I find it troubling when Healthy Survivors describe obtaining sound knowledge (the first step to Healthy Survivorship) as "arming themselves with ammunition" to make their case to their physician.
And the problem is....?
Continue reading "Ammunition for Your Doctor Visit" »
Sometimes it helps everyone if the most basic challenges of a situation are clarified. So today I'll distill the essential challenges that people face after completion of cancer treatment:
Continue reading "Fundamental Challenges of Life After Cancer" »
Like Randy Pausch of The-Last-Lecture fame, Derek Miller loved his life and was ready to die. Only 41 years old, Miller prepared his last blog post to be published after he died of stage IV colorectal cancer, leaving behind a beloved wife, two precious daughters and extended family and friends.
Continue reading "Derek Miller's Posthumous Post" »
Walking down the jetway, I hear a woman's voice behind me, "Umm, excuse me. May I ask if you work in the sun?"
The man behind me answers, "Huh? I work inside, but I play outdoor sports."
With a micro-chuckle of embarrassment, the woman says, "Gosh, I hope you don't think I'm crazy or overstepping my bounds, but were you aware of the black spot on your earlobe?
Continue reading "Warning Strangers" »
We are not born knowing how to become Healthy Survivors. We aren't taught in school how to get good care and live as fully as possible when living with, through and beyond cancer or other serious illness. I wish we were.
Continue reading "Free Toolbox" »
If a picture is worth a thousand words, this 17-minute video by Eric Slade Productions is worth at least an undecillion (1 followed by 36 zeros).
Continue reading "Understanding Post-Treatment Survivorship" »
In a NYTimes essay titled
The Waiting, David Rakoff writes about the waiting patients are forced to endure.
Continue reading "The Waiting" »
In my April 11th post, I refer to an article in Women's Day titled, "The Stigma of Illness."
Stigma can keep patients from becoming Healthy Survivors, so let's talk about dealing with stigma in healthy ways.
Continue reading "Stigma of Illness (Part II)" »
The Dallas Morning News ran a story on the front page of today's Health section entitled, What Not to Say to a Cancer Patient. For the article, special contributor Melissa T. Schultz interviewed me, two other survivors (scroll through photographs) and Dr. Walter Baile of University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC).
Continue reading "What Not to Say to a Cancer Patient" »
In yesterday's post, I shared a short story that has changed my life. Ever since I first read it, when unwanted change or loss seems to be ruining everything, I've thought, "We'll see."
Continue reading "Mantra for Healthy Survivors: "We'll See."" »
When symptoms or signs are not dramatic, patients often find it stressful to decide whether or not to call the doctor or go straight to the emergency room. As a patient, I found it more stressful when a new problem put me in what I call "the gray zone" than when a sign or symptom was clearly a serious problem demanding immediate attention.
What's a Healthy Survivor to do?
Continue reading "Healthy Responses in The Gray Zone" »
This is a painful topic for me to address,. But I will, since it is about a challenge for some patients:
What can Healthy Survivors do if mistreated?
Continue reading "Mistreated Patients" »
In my last post I shared my response to a reader who was upset by the media reports of a new study. The commenter expressed ambivalence about discussing it with her physicians: "I don't know if it would be healthy or not to ask my doctors...if [knowing what we know today] I would have been spared this surgery."
Continue reading "Talking With Your Doctors About News in the Media" »
For smokers, snubbing out their last-ever cigarette is a key element of "getting good care" in their pursuit of Healthy Survivorship. But smokers often feel miserable while quitting, enough that most relapse.
Continue reading "The 5 Rs to Healthy Survivorship" »
A NYTimes article about ways to manage the costs of treating chronic pain also offers Healthy Survivors some tips on managing chronic pain itself.
Continue reading "Treating Chronic Pain" »
On my January 28th post, Lori commented about one's obligations to survivors whose belief in the power of positive thinking precludes their getting effective therapies.
Continue reading "Helping Misguided Survivors" »
In my last post I promised to address whether linking health to personal virtue is "good" or "bad" medicine. Followers of this blog know what I'm going to say:
Continue reading "Disabusing Patients' Belief in the Power of Positive Thinking" »
A NYTimes op-ed piece entitled A Fighting Spirit Won't Save Your Life concludes, "Linking health to personal virtue and vice not only is bad science, it’s bad medicine."
Continue reading "A Fighting Spirit" »
My 1/14/11 post refers to a post -- Why We Quit -- by a Buddhist physician who believes we quit when we can no longer avoid paying attention to the idea of quitting. He recommends building resilience by "trying again, no matter what the reason you failed before."
Continue reading "When a Healthy Survivor Feels Like Quitting" »
When I jog, I feel as if I'm running for my life.
Continue reading "Why We Quit" »
In some situations, your best choice is one that still involves some hardship, loss and/or pain. Perceiving such difficulties as a sacrifice can help patients on the road to Healthy Survivorship.
Continue reading "Sacrificing for Healthy Survivorship" »
If you're sick, you need people to empathize with you, right? Maybe not.
Continue reading "A Little Empathy, Please" »
Healthy Survivors (1) get good care and (2) live as fully as possible. The second criteria can pose quite a challenge in the face of losses, especially if you feel you are no longer at your best.
Continue reading "A Healing "Best"" »
Jean Baruch is a remarkable nurse who understands how to help children with serious illness become Healthy Survivors.
Continue reading "Beads of Courage" »
My recent posts discuss the trouble with the adjective "rare" when talking about types of cancer. What's a researcher, clinician or patient to do?
Good news for Healthy Survivors! Now, along with ultra-strong hairsprays and ultra-rich ice-creams, we have:
Continue reading "Ultra-Rare Cancers" »
Healthy Survivors (1) obtain sound knowledge, (2) find and nourish hope and (3) take effective action.
As a physician, I'm fascinated by the ways patients overcome the many obstacles to acting on sound knowledge in life-enhancing ways.
Continue reading "Cognitive Override" »