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Cancer Matters

 


Issues & Perspectives

“My message to fellow health care professionals: Make the time …”

Amy Sales

Amy Sales, MSW, LCSW-C

Consider this blog to be a "pep talk" of sorts to those of you who are working so hard on a regular basis to support and help those living with cancer.  All great coaches and teachers lead by example.  You owe it to your patients, family, and most importantly yourself to exercise and eat right.

We work in a busy environment where time often moves at the speed of light.  Therefore, one may make the argument that there isn't enough time to dedicate to your health and well-being.  I am here today to challenge you on that notion.  There are 24 hours in a day and you CAN find 30 to 60 minutes to move.  I know, because I do it.  I am not going to mislead you, "making the time" can be difficult and the list of excuses are plenty.  But, the benefits far exceed the excuses .

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Science is Cool!

Whether it’s making a sticky, rubbery substance like Flubber, turning a clear solution blue, or figuring out how a normal cell turns into a cancer cell, it’s all science.

Those of us at the Kimmel Cancer Center think science is cool, and we’re hoping, with the right introduction, young students will begin to think so too; or a least become inspired to think about it a little more.

To help in this cause, each year, our doctors, researchers, and nurses host fifth graders from the East Baltimore Community School to give them a hands-on glimpse of what it’s like to be a scientist. The children conduct experiments and play games to learn about the kind of work researchers do.

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Students Offer Handmade Hope

 

 

Ivelisse Page

Ivelisse Page

This post is written by Shaun Morris, Public Relations Intern, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center

 

The Gerstell Academy varsity girls’ basketball team delivered 50 hand-painted Believe Mugs to cancer patients and family members in the Weinberg Building on January 5th.

This is the first year that the students have delivered the mugs, expanding on the work of cancer survivor Ivelisse Page, food service manager at Gerstell. She created and delivered similar hand-painted mugs to fellow patients during her stay. The students hope to continue the mug delivery as an annual event.

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Fatigue

Elissa Bantug

Elissa Bantug

Five weeks into radiation, I decided that the hair on my legs had become so long that an intervention was necessary.  Going somewhere to have my legs waxed was too overwhelming in my current state, and cutting myself while shaving seemed like a small risk, as I’d internalized my doctors’ advice about the compromised nature of my immune system.  I enlisted my sister to help; although neither of us had ever done anything like this before, we decided the best thing would be an at-home waxing party…This very quickly became one of those situations where the task at hand seemed like a good idea in principle but turned out to be a very, very bad idea.  The wax was either too hot or not hot enough, we put the strips on backwards, and we had only minimal results.  Wax went everywhere; we made a huge mess; and ended up in nothing but our t-shirts in fits of hysterical laughter on the kitchen floor.  We managed to sort-of passably wax a small piece of my shin before I had to throw in the towel and retreat to my room for a nap.

My fatigue hit an all time low towards the last week of treatment.  During this time, I had one burst of energy—a precious state of mind and body that had felt on hiatus for many weeks—and I decided that I needed to go grocery shopping.

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“New” Resolutions

It’s the time of year when we think about New Year’s resolutions…typical ones might include losing weight, spending more time with family, quit smoking.   But our Cancer Center nurses have given new meaning to the New Year’s theme – their recent trip to Guatemala to give their time and talents to help people build a new life, is something we can all admire.

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Getting Personal About Personalized Cancer Medicine

I got into this business 25 years ago, when my husband was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease.  I was a newlywed, and at 22-years-old, I faced the prospect of being a widow.  The evening we learned the shocking news, I remember leaving the hospital to return home. I was numb with fear.  I went into our bedroom and picked up the T-shirt he had casually dropped on the bed before we left for what we believed would be a brief doctor’s visit.  I didn’t expect to be returning to our home alone. I pressed the shirt to my face and breathed in his scent and sobbed uncontrollably.

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Medicare, The A,B,C,D’s…Let’s Talk D

Louise Knight

Louise Knight, MSW, LCSW-C, OSW-C

You may be confused by the list of letters after the word Medicare.  A, B, C, D...  Who can keep them straight?  There is a web page that can give the answers.  It is www.medicare.gov.

Let's Talk D:  Let me give you the important Medicare D news for 2011.    I am going to start with the letter D and the reason is:  the deadline to apply ends soon.

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