Showing posts with label care giver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label care giver. Show all posts

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Juicing and Cancer


Dear Dr. Bone,

I just read an article about the power of juicing and a raw diet to prevent cancer. What do you think?

Health Nut


Dear Health Nut,

I am so happy that bring up prevention as a topic. Cetainly we wouldn’t need to work so hard on treating cancer if we could prevent it in the first place! I may sound like a broken record, but cancer is not just one disease. If it were, then we could probably come up with the right way to prevent it. Instead, there are so many reasons people get cancer, that no one behavior will guarantee that you won’t get cancer. Eating organic, or raw, or juicing is a healthy thing to do because you get the recommended daily intake of various fruits and vegetables. Whether those choices really prevent cancer has not been proven. My personal opinion is that moderation and personal happiness is the key. That would translate to some raw, some cooked. Juicing, but not necessarily every day. Red meat on occasion, but not as a staple.  I applaud people who take an interest in their food choices because they usually exercise and maintain their weight as well – both of which seem to be correlated with a lower risk of many diseases including cancer.

Dr. Bone

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Convincing A Friend To Quit Smoking


Dear D. Bone,

I know this is not exactly a question about cancer, but I thought you might help. My sister died of lung cancer after smoking for 40 years. My nephew is now a grown man with children. He smokes like a chimney! He watched his mother die but won’t quit. Is there anything that can be done to convince him that he needs to stop smoking now?

Frustrated


Dear Frustrated,

It is hard to believe that someone who has watched a loved one die of a smoking related cancer still smokes themselves. Remember, smoking is an addiction, and a lesson learned from Alcoholics Anonymous is that you cannot change a person who is addicted. They must want to change themselves. All you can do is love and support them. His own family can make rules that he cannot smoke inside the house because of the risk of exposure to second-hand smoke, but more aggressive intervention will probably not work. Until he is ready to quit smoking, any nagging, warning, prodding, or begging is in vain. I suggest that you simply make him aware that you are available if that time should arrive. Then, there are medications, support groups, hypnotism, laser, acupuncture, etc. to make it easier.

By the way, for those of you inclined to quit smoking, there is an urban legend that for each year you quit smoking, your risk of lung cancer goes down. Unfortunately, former smokers make up a considerable portion of lung cancer patients. The risk remains high for a very long time. Please, please use that as motivation to quit NOW.

Dr. Bone

Thursday, April 5, 2012

How To Convince A Friend To Get Genetic Testing

Dear Dr. Bone,
My friend was diagnosed with fallopian tube cancer. I remember reading your column that mentioned it could be hereditary. I want to tell my friend that she should ask her doctor to be tested, but I worry that I am invading her privacy. What do think?

E.R.


Dear E.R.,

I can see how your situation is a sticky one. On one hand you are concerned for your friend’s health and the health of her family members. On the other hand, discussing personal issues like genetic testing can seem too private. There is no one right answer. However, if you put yourself in your friend’s shoes, you might be able to figure out what to do. If she tests and is positive, she will be able to help save her children, siblings, and grandchildren from going through what she is experiencing now. If she tests negative, she will know that she did not pass on a very high risk to develop fallopian tube and other cancers related to it. Since she already has cancer, there is little downside to getting her tested.

So how do you broach the subject? It can be difficult to bring it up in a face-to-face conversation. Perhaps you can include a pamphlet on genetic testing in a greeting card. Your note should explain that you are offering this information because you care so much about her. After that, I would drop the subject and let her decide on her own what to do. To that end, I am sending you some pamphlets and you can decide on your own what to do.

Best of Luck,
Dr. Bone

Monday, March 5, 2012

Life After Cancer


A guest blog by: Sue Bock

Walking down the dim hallway, I have a light bulb moment; "I don’t need any more answers, I no longer need to research about my breast cancer." At that moment in time my roller coaster of feelings came to a close. Before that, I was always stressed, never comfortable with the uncertainty waiting for the next shoe to drop. I was scared and of course, clinical (since I am an RN after all), researching and searching for answers. Self-care was a big focus for me. I used exercise, yoga, acupressure, and retail therapy with friends to keep me sane. Love was abundant from family and friends. After 3 lumpectomies (because no one ever expected to find any cancer), the specimens were sent for gene testing. All the while, I was hoping, for a positive outcome. After a university tumor board reviewed my results, they agreed unanimously that treatment only by radiation was the best course of action. After I completed my last radiation treatment in January 2011, I celebrated with the therapy team. Then my husband and I drove away to spend a very silly day at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk playing games. No worries. No thoughts of cancer. 

During treatment one of my radiotherapy technicians told me her own breast cancer story; how she finished 9 months of chemo & radiation and was forced to decide what was next for her. Her increased risk of injury with subsequent increased risk of infection & lymphedema prevented her return to her career as a jewelry designer. This inspired me to take my life coaching in a different direction. Now it is my mission and pleasure to help women after breast cancer to live a life they deserve. It’s about living your best life possible with or without disease. Let me help you find where you fit, maximize your strengths, your impact, and your contentment.

Breast cancer doesn’t define you; it frees you to arrive at different choices.

Sue Bock
Coach Sue


“Inspiring women with courage to dream, change, and live life’s adventure

http://bestlifeafterbreastcancer.com






Thursday, March 1, 2012

Cancer Quiz


Quiz/statistics/ poverty

Cancer Quiz

1.      What is the most common kind of cancer worldwide?
2.      Which cancer is considered the most curable? 
3.      Which causes more deaths in the United States: cancer or heart attack and stroke?
4.      Which cancers are most preventable?
5.      What percentage of cancer is probably preventable?
6.      What is the biggest risk factor for cancer?

Answers

1.      The most common cancer worldwide is lung cancer, causing over 1.2 million deaths each year. While 85% of the patients with lung cancer are smokers or were smokers, more and more lung cancer is occurring that is unrelated to smoking. In developing countries where smoking is more common and pollution is not as well regulated as in the United States, the incidence of lung cancer is rising.
2.      Many cancers are curable at an early stage. Skin cancers, breast cancer, testicular cancer, and prostate cancer all have excellent prognoses when detected early. Skin cancer is easy to detect and treat if you are having regular skin checks, reputation the reputation of most curable. 
3.      Though they are neck-and-neck, the combination of heart disease and stroke causes more deaths than cancer in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
4.      Lung cancer is highly preventable by avoiding smoking. Having regular colonoscopies should reduce the diagnosis of colon cancer dramatically because precancerous growths can be removed before they turn into cancer. Cervical cancer, a major worldwide risk in developing countries, could be reduced dramatically by the HPV vaccine and by implementation of global screening for this sexually-transmitted virus.
5. A full 30% percent of cancer could be prevented by not smoking, eating fruits and vegetables, and maintaining a normal body weight through regular vigorous physical activity. Unfortunately there are many socioeconomic barriers to attaining these goals.
6. Tobacco smoking is the highest risk for cancer.

These answers may seem obvious, but I was amazed at the number of people who thought that breast cancer was the most common and most deadly worldwide. We take it for granted that people all over the world know the dangers of cigarette-smoking, but data show that people living in other countries are unaware of the health hazards of smoking.

Few people realized how rare some cancers are in the US. For example, there are only about 11,000 cases of cervical cancer diagnosed in the US annually, but this cancer is a leading cause of death in Sub-Saharan Africa. Again, lack of effective public health.


~ Dr. Melanie Bone

Monday, February 13, 2012

Meet John Kaplan


Diagnosed at age 49 with a potential deadly form of lymphoma, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist John Kaplan turned the lens on himself and chronicled his experience in a moving and inspiring visual journal.   Not as I Pictured
Friday, March 2 showing at Embassy Suites Hotel  1601 Belvedere Road, West Palm Beach (just West of Australian Avenue)  8:30 PM  $5 suggested donation.
John Kaplan is donating 10,000 copies to those with cancer. (Please share this with others). 


Monday, February 6, 2012

NEW! Cancer Connect Podcast

STAY TUNED!

Cancer Connect (to be released this week), is a weekly short through inspiration and motivation. Feel free to listen at home, or work to the wonderful people who have become innovative during the healing process and would like to share their journey with you. We will also be interviewing caregivers to help express the anxiety and stress they undergo with little to no support. Our goal is to change the way people think of cancer and bring a new resource into the homes of that many more patients, caregivers and professionals.



Our first guest will be recent blogger Susan Parker. We are so excited to share this new journey with our followers and we hope you will enjoy!

Lean On Lavender, The Color Of All Cancers,
Cancer Shop USA Team