Inspiration
May 15, 2017
Immunotherapy: Helping the Body Heal Itself
Steve Hook is not afraid of hard work. The 41-year-old concrete mason from Ashville, New York was consistently putting in 100 hours a week to run his company, alongside his responsibilities to his family—wife, Amy, and stepsons Quincy and Nathan—when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the fall of 2011. Little did he know, […]
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May 15, 2017
Surprising Spots Where Skin Cancer Could Be Hiding
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S., with an estimated 1 in 5 Americans developing the disease at some point in their lifetime. The major risk factor is excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun — especially if it led to burns severe enough to blister (and even more so if […]
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April 10, 2017
Intimacy and Cancer: Staying Connected During Treatment
Viola and Nathan Jones of Olathe, Kansas, have been married for 34 years. So it’s not surprising that when Viola returned home from a mammogram in February 2014, Nathan knew immediately that something wasn’t right. “She came in and looked at me, and I just knew something was wrong,” he says. When he asked what […]
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April 10, 2017
From Patient to Caregiver
Shortly after Chelsea “Chuck” Glenn was diagnosed with stage III esophageal cancer in April 2001, the doctor who performed a second set of tests said his only choices were to try to find a clinical trial or get his affairs in order. The couple seemed to be out of options—until Ann saw a commercial for […]
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April 10, 2017
Styling with Cancer: How to Tie a Headscarf
Chemotherapy patients often talk about the emotional impact that comes with losing their hair during treatment. But many don’t anticipate the physical effects—like trying to stay warm when your head is bare. Treatments, infections and cancer itself often play a role in disrupting your body temperature. Add in chemotherapy-induced hair loss, known medically as alopecia, […]
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April 10, 2017
6 Symptoms of Cancer-related Depression in Patients, Caregivers and Survivors
Depression may be hard to spot. In fact, it may look a lot like the sadness, fear and anxiety you’d expect to accompany a cancer diagnosis. If you keep canceling on that friend who wants to meet for dinner, though, or you find it harder and harder to get out of bed in the morning, […]
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April 10, 2017
3 Ways to Revive Your Spirit: 5 Quotes to Inspire You
What does it really mean to revive? Simply put, it means “to make something operative or valid again.” So what is it about your spirit that has been inoperative or lost its validity? Here’s a quick test: Do you find yourself brooding over everyday life irritations? Do you have trouble remembering the last time you […]
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March 13, 2017
Colon Cancer Survivor Finds ‘Rainbow at the End of the Storm’
In proof that life can change in an instant, Amy Barger was blindsided when she was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in May 2011, one week after her daughter’s wedding. She’d had no symptoms whatsoever and only learned she had cancer after a routine colonoscopy revealed a tumor in her colon. “I wanted to […]
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March 13, 2017
Finding Relief from Chemotherapy-Related Nerve Damage
Chemotherapy is known for causing a number of side effects that may affect patients’ quality of life. Many of them, like fatigue, nausea and hair loss, are often temporary. Peripheral neuropathy is different. Characterized by nerve damage that may impair patients’ ability to walk, maintain balance, hold objects and perform other key functions, it has […]
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March 13, 2017
Myth or Fact? Some Patients Feel Pain Even Before Entering the Operating Room
Some pain is inevitable after most surgeries. But for many patients, the pain that comes even before an operation, before the first touch of a knife, is just as real. It even has a name: anticipatory pain. Aside from causing stress and physical discomfort, anticipatory pain may also lead to other complications that impact the […]
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