Wendy Harpham on Healthy Survivorship

Cancer Researchers Play It Safe

Why is progress in cancer research so painfully slow? According to an article in the NYTimes by Gina Kolata, the blame falls on the system used today to fund research. Grant monies are directed at studies that are likely to make small, incremental improvements, at best.

From my vantage as physician-survivor, it seems we can't see the forest for the trees. So before launching into discussions on why today's research system is in trouble and what we can do about it, let's take a step back and review a few fundamental truths:

She Said, "Yes."

My posts are almost always about the ins-and-outs of Healthy Survivorship, not about my day-to-day doings. When I do share personal stories, my intention is to share my experiences and insights only to help others think about how they can get good care or live as fully as possible (and not to teach people about me).

Today is different. I'm sharing personal news with the cybercommunity that has grown from this blog on Healthy Survivorship. I'm simply sharing a joyful moment of my family's life :

Amazon Heart

Today I want to talk about the latest adventure of Kathy LaTour, editor of CURE magazine and one of my earliest survivorship mentors. This woman of words not only talks eloquently and passionately about the problem of underserved women with breast cancer, she also takes action.

Medical Home: Paragon of Teamwork

Today's NYT Personal Health column describes "a promising approach to delivering better health care: the so-called medical home." In summary, a primary care physician oversees a team of healthcare professionals to provide round-the-clock access to care.

Memories in Milan

Last month an opportunity arose for my husband and me to travel to Milan. So we went to Italy for 10 days, returning late last night. Relationship-defining memories were stirred and made.

A Rabbi's Sympathy

Last year I was asked to read a poem entitled "Sympathy" at a funeral. The poem's author, Rabbi Alvin Fine, was described in his obituary as "a brilliant preacher...(who) had a tremendous following among people who loved the art of the sermon." Here are a few select verses:

Musical Microvacation

We are long overdue for a microvacation, don't you think?.

Lessons of the Quarterback

By Rabbi David Wolpe (posted with his permission from his June 4th "Off the Pulpit" post)

Each person stores up wisdom in theory until it can become wisdom in life. For years we may have heard that absence makes the heart grow fonder; suddenly separated from someone we love, the words become vivid and true.

In a long letter to his brother and sister, Keats — who died at the tender age of 25 — wrote, "Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced — Even a Proverb is no proverb to you till your Life has illustrated it."

Are You Going to Finish Strong?

In the face of illness- or injury-related loss, how do you find happiness when life is more challenging than it is for most other people. Note I did not say "seems" more challenging, but IS more difficult.

Everything Changes

After my 18+ years of reading self-help "cancer lit," I find most new books either textbooky-boring or exasperatingly unscientific. In Everything Changes: The Insiders Guide to Cancer in Your 20s and 30s, author Kairol Rosenthal writes like a best-selling novelist and teaches like an experienced professor.

Building Castles

Rabbi Harold Kushner writes of learning true devotion from children on a beach constructing a sand castle. He saw that they worked with passion, care and love. The castle was then washed away by the tide.

Well-Chosen Words in the Doctor's Office

Tips for Getting the Answers You Need During Your Next Office Visit

Jane E. Brody, Health Columnist for the New York Times, asks, "With doctors increasingly pressed for time, how can they offer both the clinical expertise and the compassionate care that all patients deserve? And what can patients do to get what they most want from their doctors?"

If All Doctors Had Time to Listen

If all Doctors Had Time to Listen. From the title of this NY Times article by Julie Weed, I didn't know if I was about to read the musings of a patient who is angry, discouraged or hopeful about the current situation in American hospitals, clinics and medical offices. 

Can you please shut up?

What do you do if a friend keeps giving you advice about how to deal with your illness, but you don't want it? You have tried using body language and gentle hints, but this friend doesn't stop. You may feel angry and upset. But since you are a kind and thoughtful person, you are fretting about hurting your friend's feelings.

The Medical Home

The crisis in primary care is getting worse. One solution being touted is "The Medical Home." Sounds comfy enough. But what is it?