Today’s blog post comes from Chiara D’Agostino, who writes at Beauty Through the Beast about her experience with breast cancer and how it’s affected different facets of her life. Here, she muses upon how a breast cancer diagnosis often coincides with the end of a relationship, combining her own story with a wealth of research and advice for others. You can read a longer version of this piece on her blog.
Guest Blog Post: 50 Percent
Guest Blog Post: Who’s on Your Team?
A person with cancer will usually consult with many health care professionals throughout his or her treatment and follow up care. Cancer is generally treated using a multidisciplinary approach, which means the members of your health care team with different areas of expertise will work together to discuss treatment options and make decisions.
CancerCare Weighs In: What Not to Say to Someone Who Has Cancer
“It’s frightening to hear someone talk about cancer, and we automatically think about ourselves. But try to keep your own feelings in check and focus on the person who has been diagnosed. You don’t have to fix this situation or say something profound, just being there is huge.”
CancerCare oncology social worker Sarah Kelly, LCSW, comments on the frequently asked question of what to say to someone who has been diagnosed with cancer, and what kind of comments to avoid.
5 Ways to Maintain a Healthy Diet While Managing the Side Effects of Chemo
A wholesome and nourishing diet plays an essential part in your overall health. This is especially true when coping with cancer. However, it can be difficult to maintain a healthy diet while managing the side effects of chemo. Luckily, there are steps you can take which will help you remain strong and healthy throughout your chemotherapy treatment.
Tips for Getting to Sleep When Cancer is Keeping You Awake
Anxiety is very common among people with cancer. For some it occurs when they wake up, and for others, as they try to go to sleep.
CancerCare’s Men’s Cancers Program Director, Richard Dickens, MS, LCSW-R, addresses three common concerns that can interfere with sleep, and offers tips to reduce anxiety and help you get a good night’s rest.
Integrative Medicine: Caring for Mind and Body
Coping can be challenging when you or a loved one is diagnosed with cancer. If you are in distress, it may be difficult to perform everyday tasks, keep up with treatments or care for yourself. Throughout the treatment process, some people may decide to incorporate integrative techniques into their lives to cope. Integrative medicine helps manage symptoms and side effects using different therapies along with standard cancer treatment. Common side effects of cancer treatment include fatigue, psychological distress, nausea, and pain. An integrative approach may help you.
Guest Blog Post: When Running to the Store Feels Like Running a Marathon
As many patients and families know all too well, a cancer diagnosis can make the daily challenges that once seemed relatively simple suddenly become overwhelming. At CancerCare, we strive to provide assistance to people with cancer that can help cover costs related to treatment, to ease some of that extra burden and provide peace of mind.
That is why we are extremely pleased to share that CancerCare has received $1.5 million from Susan G. Komen to assist people diagnosed with breast cancer.
Guest Blog Post: How to Make Informed Decisions
A cancer diagnosis is often challenging and may trigger a world of unexpected emotions. During this time, it may be hard to make informed decisions. The myths (and even some of the realities) surrounding the word “cancer” can cause patients and families to act out of fear, and prevent them from researching their options or engaging with their health care team. CancerCare intern Breana McDonald provides some easy, practical tips for informed decision-making: a practice that can make all the difference when coping with cancer.
Guest Blog Post: Access to Supportive Care and the Changing Needs of Patients in the Last Twenty Years
Today, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting kicks off in Chicago, Illinois. To commemorate the start of this key event, CancerCare’s Education Program staff take a look back at how access of cancer patients to supportive care has improved in the last twenty years, and examine the changing needs of patients over this time period.
Guest Blog Post: Coping with the Loss of Fertility After Cancer
For people with cancer, coping with the loss of fertility can seem secondary. But for many, it is viewed as something everlasting, staying with them long after there is no longer evidence of the disease. As overwhelming as this new normal may seem, there are ways to cope with the feelings that may arise. CancerCare oncology social worker and guest blogger Angelique Caba, LCSW, discusses different ways of coping with fertility loss after cancer.