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(...)
Issues & Perspectives
Getting Personal About Personalized Cancer Medicine
Posted by Valerie Matthews-Mehl | Issues & Perspectives, Patient Stories, precision medicineI 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(...)
Dec 17, 2010 2 comments
Medicare, The A,B,C,D’s…Let’s Talk D
Posted by Louise Knight | Issues & Perspectives, UncategorizedYou 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(...)
Dec 14, 2010 No comments
7 Tips on Top Cancer Centers
Posted by Vanessa Wasta | Issues & Perspectives, treatmentWhat makes an outstanding cancer center? How can patients and referring physicians determine which is best?
Dec 9, 2010 1 comment
Why I Run
Posted by Michelle Potter | Issues & Perspectives, UncategorizedAs an avid runner, I participate in many races each year. I enter these for many reasons. I love to run, it’s a challenge, and sometimes it’s for a good cause. At the beginning of each race, I like to look around at the starting line at the wide range of people running the event. (...)
Nov 30, 2010 1 comment
Completion of Treatment — Time to Celebrate?
Posted by Elissa Bantug | Issues & PerspectivesThis post is written by Lillie Shockney, the Administrative Director of the Johns Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Center and a two-time breast cancer survivor. Completing Treatment - Time to Celebrate? You'd think so. You've been through surgery, perhaps chemo and radiation, maybe on or completing hormonal therapy and you are finally "done" breast cancer treatment. So ready(...)
Nov 3, 2010 No comments
Finding the Spark Again After Cancer
Posted by Elissa Bantug | Issues & Perspectives, SurvivorshipOne of the most common complaints I hear from cancer survivors is a change in their sex life. Within days after returning home from my mastectomy, I attempted to be intimate with my husband even though I had yet to regain the ability to dress or shower myself with medical drains still attached. I thought(...)
Oct 19, 2010 No comments
Give Cancer a Red Card
Posted by Vanessa Wasta | Issues & Perspectives, UncategorizedThe final score was 3-0 last night at my son's soccer game -- his team won, but not because they have a single star that makes all the goals; rather, they worked together to make a collective effort in winning the game. The soccer community is now rallying their global fans and participants in a match against the(...)
Oct 15, 2010 No comments
Putting Cancer in Its Place
Posted by Elissa Bantug | Issues & Perspectives, Patient Stories, SurvivorshipIn a conversation with a patient recently, she said to me, “I am a mother and a wife, but when I think of what describes me most, it is that I am a cancer survivor. Having had cancer is the first thing I think about when I get up in the morning, the last thing I(...)
Oct 12, 2010 No comments
Cancer Survivorship
Posted by Elissa Bantug | Issues & Perspectives, Patient Stories, SurvivorshipDefining when a patient becomes a cancer “survivor” seems to vary depending on whom you ask. Some people say that this term can be applied after a patient has shown no evidence of disease for five years; others assert that survivor is a status achieved following the patient’s completion of all recommended treatments and surgeries. (...)
Oct 7, 2010 1 comment