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.

Cancer makes everyone stupider – and smarter

A professor recently told me that he instantly became 50% stupider when his doctor told him that he had cancer. He said that his own

Nice people abound in the cancer world

One of the volunteers at the Cancer Resource Center recently said to me, “Every person I meet with cancer is nice.” It’s an interesting observation

Clinical trials and cancer

People diagnosed with cancer often wonder if they should participate in a clinical trial. When someone asks for my opinion, I begin by saying that

When your partner is in denial about cancer

I recently spoke with a woman who was stressed because her husband has cancer and he seemed to be in denial over the seriousness of

A field guide to family members of cancer patients

There are a variety of styles that spouses and other close family members adopt to help a family member with cancer. Here are several negative

Cancer and the holidays

The first few months of living with cancer are weird. What seems especially unsettling is that life goes on normally around you, but YOU HAVE

Value your own story

I recently spoke with a group in Binghamton, NY about coping with and communicating about cancer. One attendee suggested that I add the importance of

How faith communities serve those with cancer

I recently had the good fortune of attending a couple of church services in rural communities near Ithaca in order to speak about the work

Don’t look back

It is easy to second guess yourself when you have cancer. It can take many forms: I wouldn’t have cancer if I had taken better

Helping those we don’t like

In my columns, I often suggest practical ways to help people with cancer. Giving support to nice people is relatively easy. You want to bring

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