I had just turned 30. My birthday is 2 days before my partner’s birthday, and we always take the week to travel somewhere. As soon as we returned from our diving trip I found a lump. After weeks of dismissing it, I was diagnosed with...
“How can I help?” can be a dreaded question for people with cancer. It’s often the first thing people say when they hear about the diagnosis. Yes, it is a well-intentioned question aimed to lessen the burden for the person with cancer. It also puts...
When a child is diagnosed with a brain or spinal cord tumor, a family is thrown into an unfamiliar world that lasts well beyond diagnosis and treatment. It is a journey that lasts a lifetime, but no family has to go through it alone. For over...
When you have cancer, it is important to empower yourself, body, mind, and spirit, with the tools that can help you navigate your diagnosis. Integrative or complementary medicine includes a range of mind-body tools that work in conjunction with standard medical treatment. According to cancer.gov, these...
Our proud partner First Descents, provides free, life-changing outdoor adventures for young adults (ages 18-45) impacted by cancer and other serious health conditions. First Descents (FD) knows that receiving a life-changing diagnosis can leave us with deep feelings of isolation, loneliness, and the need for a...
Whether newly diagnosed, or you’ve been dealing with cancer for a while, it is important to be involved in all decisions related to your care. Fortunately, the days of doctors making choices without patient input are mostly in the past. Instead, most doctors now work...
Doctor-patient communication relies on both parties speaking clearly, listening closely, and understanding the words and concepts of the discussion. Certainly, it’s critical that you listen to and understand your doctors. But it’s equally critical that your doctors provide understandable information and meaningfully listen to you. But...
Proactively caring for aging parents can present many unique challenges, both logistically and emotionally. This can become even more complex when a parent is diagnosed with cancer or if you are dealing with your own diagnosis while caring for aging parents. The more proactively you begin...
Medication errors, which occur in hospitals, care facilities, and at home, can lead to serious health consequences, including death. Therefore, it’s critical that you learn how to reduce your chance of medication errors. Medication issues in hospitals and healthcare facilities Collectively, patients in hospitals and healthcare facilities...
You listen carefully as your doctors discuss diagnoses, tests, procedures, and medications. But when you don’t take notes, it’s hard to remember what you hear. In fact, research shows that most patients struggle to correctly remember what doctors say during appointments. The importance of taking...