Speaking at a breast cancer caregiver support group recently, I listened closely as they joked with one another about remaining in the “doghouse“ during the entirety of their wife or girlfriends’ oncology treatments and for several months once active care completed. Although they were laughing and seemed to be taking it in stride, I could not […]
Survivorship
5 Ways Social Workers Can Support You
Posted by Elissa Bantug | Issues & Perspectives, Survivorship, treatmentDo you know your social worker? You should. We’ve listed 5 ways that social workers can help cancer survivors. Elisabeth Tamasi, clinical social worker at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, discusses these five tips. 1. Sexuality, Intimacy and Body Image “Social workers are great resources to help start a dialogue with you and your […]
Mar 29, 2011 No comments
Cancer Survivors…12 Million and Counting
Posted by admin | SurvivorshipThe Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and National Cancer Institute (NCI) issued a report today estimating the number of cancer survivors at nearly 12 million people. This is more than double the number of cancer survivors from 10 years ago. Cancer centers nationwide are leading efforts to understand the unique needs of survivors, including follow-up […]
Mar 10, 2011 No comments
Fatigue
Posted by Elissa Bantug | Issues & Perspectives, SurvivorshipFive 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 […]
Jan 7, 2011
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
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
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