C101 Tumblelog

CANCER101 is a New York City-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to empower patients, caregivers, family and friends to take control over a cancer diagnosis by providing them with the most convenient, accessible and relevant health information anywhere. To learn more about our resources please visit our website at cancer101.org

[cancer101-wecanhelp]

Even a devil should not have to suffer from cancer. Genetics, again, may be the way out.

[chroniccurve]

How do you talk about your condition so easily?

The short answer? I don’t. It’s not easy at all for me.Long answer? I cannot tell you how many times I write difficult posts and let them sit in my drafts for months at a time because of how vulnerable it makes me feel to post them. Those posts with intimate details of disease? Posts about finding hope, about losing hope, about depression and sadness that come along with chronic pain? Those were all written with trepidation and tears. Sometimes, I have to step away and take a blogging break completely. No part of writing about my life with these diseases is easy.  And it’s even harder to talk about it in person. Outside of my circle of close friends, it’s not something I really talk about at all. Even with my friends, it’s not often that I talk seriously about it; usually we just poke fun and laugh about whatever I’m struggling with.The thing that allows me to keep on blogging is knowing that my experiences help people. If just one person feels even the slightest bit less isolated as they go through some of this, it’s worth it to me. I know I have stories that are powerful enough to spark change (I think all patients do). Some days I don’t have the ability to share what’s really going on. I worry that I complain too much. I worry that I am too negative. I worry about over-sharing. I worry that I am not sharing enough. I worry that I come off as pretentious. I worry that sometimes I sound too bitter.  Have you figured out that I worry about everything? I also have pretty strict boundaries when it comes to what I am willing to talk/write about. I don’t really discuss my struggle with symptoms of endometriosis of the bowel, for example—it’s too difficult for me. I refrain from discussing family, friends, relationships, or sex often or in much detail when I do discuss it. There’s a reason for that: those are private, treasured parts of my life that are not easy to share with 30,000 people (including everyone from friends to professors). I don’t know if you were able to watch the video I posted from Stanford, but we actually talk about this issue and how we decide what we share or talk about. It’s worth watching if you get a chance :) I hope this answered your question. There is not really a simple answer. Ultimately it comes down to knowing that I have the ability to create change and a dialogue, and that’s more powerful than the anxiety and uncomfortable sense of vulnerability that accompany being candid about chronic disease and chronic pain.

[cancer101-wecanhelp]

Doctors should get down from their pedestals, but patients must get up from their knees.

Robert Johnstone, IAPO 

[zinjy-blog]

Long term aspirin use tied to lower colon cancer risk ▼

[cancer101-wecanhelp]

Pop Quiz! What is the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S (but the CDC does not include it as a category, so don't look)?

[cancer101-wecanhelp]

Hi! I was super busy writing a big grant proposal to fund the development of a mobile app. Exactly, another mobile app...I know what you are thinking.  You don't need another mobile app, right? Well, this one is pretty cool. We'll have to wait and see what the grantmakers think now.  Anyway, I need to get back to blogging here and this video shook me out of my fog. This lady writes a blog in the New York Times Well section titled Life, Interrupted. Inspired story teller. Inspiring story!

[cancer101-wecanhelp]

The care we need and no less, the care we want and no more.

Dr. Albert G. Mulley, Jr 

[medicalstate]

Bruises by Buttersafe.

One treatment may certainly fit all but I am just more interested to know why this doctor was walking around with a scalpel in his pocket.

[cancer101-wecanhelp]

FUN FRIDAY: 

[cancer101-wecanhelp]

Debra L. Roter, MPH, DrPH at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School School of Public Health has investigated the association between patients' and physicians' ethnicity and gender and their communication style.  Among her many contributions, she wrote the epic journal article published in 1977, "Patient Participation in the Patient-Provider Interaction: The Effects of Patient Question Asking on the Quality of Interaction, Satisfaction and Compliance," and authored a book chapter along with colleague Dr. Lisa A. Cooper in the seminal Institute of Medicine compilation, "Unequal Treatment."

[cancer101-wecanhelp]

POP QUIZ!

Review the Society of Participatory Medicine's Participatory Seal Program.  What is your reply to the June 12, 2012 response by sherry reynolds @cascadia?

[cancer101-wecanhelp]

A great doctor's office visit starts before the visit.  Take a look at this role play.

[cancer101-wecanhelp]

A great patient advocate can also be a great health policy advocate. If you are considering additional schooling beyond the undergraduate level, New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service is top ranked in Health Policy and Management. In fact, my first-year instructor for a Global Health Policy course (taught during my first-year in NYU’s Global Master of Public Health Program) was from the Wagner School's faculty.  He was outstanding.  

The program offers both full- and part-time enrollment options.  About 40% of Wagner's student's are part-time according to the website. Check out these Alumni in Action profiles. By mousing over the profiles, at a glance you can see which ones are in (public) health-related fields. There are several, including a NYC health department executive and a patient advocate working in a hospital setting. I found the interviews illuminating and they may just enough to help you to stat charting future career directions. Let me know if you have questions. ~|:^)

[cancer101-wecanhelp]

Dr. Sheira Schlair from Montefiore Medical Center in New York and Dr. Auguste H. Fortin VI from the Yale School of Medicine presented "Evidence-Based Patient-Centered Communication Strategy" at The Art of Medicine: A Physician-Patient Communication Conference. According to them effective patient-physician communication is associated with safer patient care, higher patient satisfaction and adherence to treatment, lower malpractice rates, and higher physician satisfaction. Surprisingly, they say, physicians have historically received little training in evidence-based methods of communication.  

[malgosh-deactivated20150506]

That awkward moment

You realize you have a pharma midterm in 5 days, and you haven’t touched your notes yet…

Thank you spring break for making me lazy.

[cancer101-wecanhelp]

Yes, it can happen. But never to a C101 student! ~|:^)

[cancer101-wecanhelp]

The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will

Chuck Palahniuk

[adulthoodisokay]

[cancer101-wecanhelp]

FUN FRIDAY: Spring is here! Happy Easter!

[ucsdhealthsciences-deactivated2]

On Saturday, May 11, the Center for Mindfulness at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine is hosting a workshop to help physicians and clinicians increase job satisfaction and prevent burnout. The program will show participants how to incorporate the concept of mindfulness into their daily clinical practice with the long-term goal of enhancing patient-centered care and physician well-being through compassionate communication.

“This is a unique opportunity for clinicians to learn to take better care of themselves and their patients through attentive and mindful interactions in every moment,” said Steven Hickman, PsyD, director, UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. “Practicing medicine mindfully can increase a clinician’s sense of well-being and the ability to empathize with each patient they encounter. This may result in fewer medical errors, greater self-awareness, and the ability to see a situation from multiple perspectives before reacting.”

The day-long course is designed to introduce participants to the components of mindfulness practice, how awareness of interpersonal communication can improve office dynamics, and how to avoid mental and physical burnout. Experiential exercises will help attendees better respond to the suffering of patients by exploring common reactions to chronic illness and pain and an analysis of personal reactions to it.

More here