Wendy Harpham on Healthy Survivorship

Happiness in the Storm of Alzheimer's Disease

You will never hear me call cancer or any other horrible disease a "gift." So how can I talk of happiness when dealing with Alzheimer's Disease (AD)?

Cheaper Drugs

Yesterday I addressed the issue of availability of antibiotics (without a prescription) on the Internet contributing to the problem of antibiotic-resistant germs. Kairol Rosenthal commented that some patients may be ordering from these Internet sites because they are financially strapped (and not because they are stupidly preferring to self-prescribe instead of follow a doctor's orders).

If Healthy Survivors can't afford their prescriptions, they seek out resources that might be able to help.

Antibiotic Resistance

Soon after penicillin became commercially available (1940s), "bugs" became resistant. It was war: Researchers kept developing new antibiotics. "Bugs" kept developing adaptations to resist the antibiotics and flourish. Today's microbes are gaining the upper hand from one of the hallmarks of our modern age:

Thank You

I launched this blog because I was convinced by others that I had to (see "Blog World"). At first I resented how blogging took away precious time and energy from my "real" writing -- books, articles and keynotes.

But no longer. 

Heberden's Node

Years ago, I was waiting at a red light on my way home from my oncologist's office. A boat-like car slowly pulled up next to me. I looked over and saw a gray-haired woman sitting up straight. Her gnarled fingers gripped the steering wheel at 10 and 2, as if she was doing a pull-up to peer over the front hood.

Staring at her, I had a powerful thought:

View from Remission

My November 21st post talks about "cancerversaries." JBBB commented how she celebrates the ordinary things in life, a notion that reminds me of a poem I composed in 1991:

Cancerversary

JBBB blogger tweeted me a question: "What does your cancerversary mean to you?"

Family's Lesson on Healthy Survivorship

The Biorkman family celebrated Christmas last week. November 8th, to be exact. Is their calendar messed up? No, their timing was perfect.

Fun Theory

The primary purpose of this blog is to encourage discussions about Healthy Survivorship and to help modern patients (1) get good care and (2) live as fully as possible. I can't address Healthy Survivors' pursuit of happiness without talking about the pursuit of fun.

Paying for Complementary Therapies

As a Patient Money columnist, Walecia Konrad provides financial advice for those patients choosing to pursue complementary therapies.

Healthy Hope

During this week's interview, I introduce the notion of "healthy hope" and illustrate how this hope evolves as your circumstances change and your outlook matures. Here's another example:

Unmarried by Death?

A woman asks, “Am I now unmarried because my husband died?”  

The Art of Survivorship

Last evening I was interviewed by Betsy de Parry on Lymphomation Live, a weekly webcast sponsored by Patients Against Lymphoma. In this show entitled "The Art of Survivorship," we discuss how knowledge, hope and action help people become Healthy Survivors. The information and advice are addressed to patients dealing with any medical challenge (not just cancer) who want to get good care and live as fully as possible.

The hour-long interview is available online by clicking here.  I hope it helps.  With hope, Wendy

Tonight (11/11) Harpham on "The Art of Survivorship"

In addition to offering today's blog post, Hope and Happiness after Colostomy, I want to let you know that Betsy Parry will be interviewing me tonight on her new show, Lymphomation Live

Entitled "The Art of Survivorship," we will be discussing how knowledge, hope and action help patients become Healthy Survivors.

If you miss the show and still want to hear it, you can access it after 11/12/09 at this site.

Hope and Happiness After Colostomy

Hope is complex and dynamic, comprised of patients' many different hopes that wax and wane as their circumstances change and as their outlook evolves. I define "healthy hope" as hope that helps patients get good care and live as fully as possible.

Here's a useful way of looking at the hope-and-happiness issue after colostomy:

Hope, or Relief?

Why would patients with permanent colostomies be happier than patients with temporary colostomies?

Mind Game of Hope

Why would a patient pretend that a temporary debility (such as a colostomy) is permanent?

 

Hope, or Grief?

Yesterday's post discusses a study in which patients who are told their colostomy is temporary are less happy than those who believe it is permanent. I'd like to suggest an alternative explanation to "holding on to hope" as the explanation for the unhappiness. 

Happier If They Give Up Hope

A recent study led one of the authors to conclude, "Holding on to hope may not make patients happier as they deal with chronic illness or diseases." If so, this shoots a hole in my knowledge-hope-action approach to Healthy Survivorship. What now?

A Better Bone Marrow Biopsy

A bone marrow biopsy (BMB) is the same concept as a blood draw (technically, a "blood biopsy"), the difference being that veins are a whole lot easier to get into with a needle than the center of a bone.

A Halloween Lesson

Last night a man named "B" greeted his first trick-or-treater. B wore blue scrubs, a face mask and a stethoscope. His mom sat in a wheelchair, a blood pressure cuff on her arm and oxygen tubing connecting her to an oxygen tank.