Bob's Columns

Bob Riter is the retired Executive Director of the Cancer Resource Center. His articles about living with cancer appeared regularly in the Ithaca Journal and on OncoLink. He can be reached at [email protected].

A collection of Bob’s columns, When Your Life is Touched by Cancer: Practical Advice and Insights for Patients, Professionals, and Those Who Care, is available in bookstores nationwide and through online retailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Why Aren’t They Doing More?

I sometimes get asked various versions of this question: “My father has advanced cancer, but they don’t seem to be treating him very aggressively. Why

If Mom Has Cancer

I sometimes hear from middle-aged friends who tell me that their mother (or father) was just diagnosed with cancer. They then launch into their plans

Questions to ask yourself before giving medical advice on Facebook

I’m often startled by the medical advice that people give to their friends on Facebook. Sometimes it takes the form of saying, “You should do

Cancer and Positive Thinking

Whenever someone is diagnosed with cancer, people feel compelled to say, “You gotta stay positive!” (This is usually said with an enthusiastic pump of the

Lessons Learned from Cancer

I’m always happy when readers tell me that the advice I provide in my columns about cancer is just as applicable for people with any

Advice for the College Student with a Parent with Cancer

There are thousands of college students in Ithaca and quite a few have a parent living with cancer. They often wonder how they can help

Cancer on your own terms

I once wrote a column about people who go through cancer with exceptional grace. A few readers said that the column made them angry. The

The importance of caring in the doctor’s office

Cancer treatment involves operating rooms, chemotherapy protocols, and high tech radiation therapy equipment, all of which extend and improve the lives of people with cancer.

Practical advice for getting second opinions

A woman recently diagnosed with cancer stopped by our office to say that she’s heard that it’s important to obtain second opinions from major cancer

Decision-making with cancer

Everyone diagnosed with cancer has decisions to make. What type of treatment? Where to have treatment? Should the cancer even be treated? The question isn’t

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