Reality-based hope lies at the heart of Healthy Survivorship—i.e., obtaining good medical care and living as fully as possible. How might wishing—namely, wanting something unattainable—possibly help?
Read moreCancer Privilege Guilt
Since Debbie Legault’s 27-year-old daughter developed cancer, the loving mother has dealt with a host of unpleasant emotions. One didn’t have a name, so Debbie coined a term:
Read moreDoctor Hides Cancer Diagnosis
A renowned oncologist kept her breast cancer secret from everyone. Why? How?
Read moreClichés of Compassion
In your effort to comfort someone, you may unwittingly cause distress saying what seems like the right thing. Of the many possible scenarios, a common one is
Read morePublic Versus Patient Personas
How different (if at all) is your “patient persona” from your public persona—the facade you use in public settings? At doctor visits are you
Read moreYour Public Persona and Healthy Survivorship
Preserving your public persona could cost you your health—or even your life!
Read moreNew Year's Resolution
While others are making (and breaking) New Year’s resolutions, I’m experimenting with a new tack:
Read moreSeeking the Persistence High
runner Danielle Friedman discusses the health benefits of going for “finish” instead of “gold.” Two nuggests of wisdom about surviving illness:
Read moreKeeping Pain Secret to Protect Loved Ones
Should patients in pain suffer silently to protect their loved ones? Or is hiding pain selfish because it deprives loved ones the opportunity to help, offer comfort, or at least know what’s going on?
Read moreWith Gratitude and Hope
To all who have read and commented on my blog:
Read moreComplaining in Ways that Optimize Your Treatment
Reporting symptoms is not an easy task. Emotions can keep us from providing an accurate picture of what’s going on and/or how we feel about it. That’s a problem when it leads our physicians away from needed evaluations and treatments or, worse, to believe you want to stop treatment when you really don’t.
Read moreHealthy Survivorship While Also Caring for a Loved One
My most recent diagnosis opened my eyes to the need for resources offering guidance and support for patients who are also caregivers. Shockingly, my Googling various combinations of search words yielded only one hit! A blog post. That prompted me to explore the topic and then write a piece for healthcare professionals that I excerpted and edited for brevity for this post.
Read moreCalling All Family Caregivers
Have you heard? A national roadmap is under construction to provide help to family caregivers. Hallelujah! Speaking as one of America’s 53 million people providing unpaid assistance caring for a loved one, this news is big. I’m posting about it now because the public has until November 30th to offer comments before implementation.
Read moreWhy I Volunteer to Do Something I Hate Doing
My stomach feels queasy as I do something I hate doing. I’m asking for money.
No, not for me!
Read morePrepare for Your Care
Here’s a fantastic free program to prepare for your care.
Read moreConfident Healthy Survivors
Patients need confidence while making difficult decisions and pursuing challenging treatments. A marvelous quick read from Make It (MSNBC) may help.
Read moreSouth Eight--A Novel
I rarely read fiction but made an exception for South Eight. The marketer’s promise of weaving thorny issues of modern medicine into a mystery with a romance piqued my interest.
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