Wendy Harpham on Healthy Survivorship

Recovery

A member of Best Buy's Geek Squad repaired my corrupted files and recovered my addresses and emails. Hallelujah! The stressful two weeks offered lessons on Healthy Survivorship. Here's one:

The Waiting

In a NYTimes essay titled The Waiting, David Rakoff writes about the waiting patients are forced to endure.

Computer Crash and Happiness

My computer crash on April 12th has been an "inconvenience" ever since. (Thank you, Diane Rose!)

May I ask you two favors?

Stigma of Illness (Part III)

My last post offered tips for recognizing stigma. My key message was that Healthy Survivors have a right to choose whether or not they advocate to destigmatize the disease that has become part of their life.

Today I'll tackle the challenge of dealing with this stigma.

Stigma of Illness (Part II)

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.

Crash

My computer crashed Tuesday night, April 12th. I should be up and running again soon.

Posting Glitch

You can find my two most recent posts at: Unhealthy burdens and Stigma of Illness. 

[I apologize for any inconvenience]

Unhealthy Burdens

The adage "'Tis better to give than to receive" took on new meaning when I was on the receiving end after being diagnosed with cancer.

Stigma of Illness

How can patients who feel stigmatized become Healthy Survivors?

Tolerating Treatment

Your doctor dictates into your chart, "The patient is tolerating treatment well." Huh? After every treatment you feel nauseated, lightheaded, weak, headachy and, in a word, miserable. What does your doctor mean by "tolerating treatment well"?

What Not to Say to a Cancer Patient

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).

A Doctor Ponders the Loss of a Patient

Why would oncologists go to the funeral of a patient? Standing among their patient's grieving friends and family, what are they thinking? How are they feeling?