Vacationing with Cancer
Kristina Burke is going on vacation, so she asked her oncologist to change her chemotherapy schedule. If a person has an early stage cancer and is getting chemotherapy to prevent a recurrence, oncologists usually follow established treatment protocols closely because there’s clear data to support those protocols. But Kristina doesn’t have an early stage cancer. […]
Cancer as a Marathon
Chris LaVallee will soon run a 7 day, 155 mile race in the Australian wilderness to raise funds for the Cancer Resource Center of the Finger Lakes. I recently heard him describe the race and his training and then answer questions from an audience of supporters. One asked, “How do you keep going mentally when […]
Positive Thinking
I’ve written about cancer and positive thinking in the past and have focused on whether positive thinking helps a person survive the disease. I now think that question often misses the point. What seems more relevant is whether positive thinking contributes to the well-being of a person living with cancer. Willard Daetsch is one of […]
Transitions of Cancer
My job is to listen to people affected by cancer and to help them however I can. With experience, I’ve come to understand that the periods of greatest stress and emotional turmoil are often predictable. When people come to my office, they’re usually at one of four periods of transition. The first transition is the […]
Uncertainty and Commitments
Being diagnosed with cancer changes one’s sense of the future. You wonder if you’ll die from cancer and, if so, when. There’s rarely a definite answer to these questions, so uncertainty becomes an unwanted companion. For the most part, this uncertainty is an abstraction floating around in the back of your head, but it becomes […]
Uncertainty of Cancer
Before you get diagnosed with cancer, you assume that it will be an unpleasant experience, but one that is pretty straightforward. One might think, “I have this type of cancer, so I will get that type of treatment.” Like getting a hernia fixed, only more serious. But cancer is filled with uncertainty and hardly anyone […]
Keeping in Balance
Yesterday afternoon, a woman about to begin chemotherapy came into my office and asked, “What advice do you have to help me get through my treatment?” I’ve been asked this question in various forms hundreds of times. I now realize that the answer boils down to this: “Keep things in balance.” It’s all about being […]
Cancer and Depression
Many people who have cancer go through a period of depression. It can happen during treatment or many months or even years later. What especially concerns me is that many cancer patients who are depressed never report their depression to their doctors. There are many phrases that people use to describe depression: a lack of […]
Living Well with Advanced Cancer
Many of the people I talk with on a regular basis have advanced cancers. They don’t expect to be cured, but they do enjoy a surprisingly good quality of life. And when they gather together, they are more likely to share laughter than to share tears. How is this possible? While everyone handles advanced cancer […]
Cancer-Related Anxiety
The days following a cancer diagnosis are almost always filled with anxiety. (I have, however, talked with a few people who were relieved when they were diagnosed. They instinctively knew that they had cancer and getting the diagnosis brought them peace of mind and allowed them to move forward.) But most people who are newly […]
