Prostate Cancer Symptoms Tips What is prostate cancer symptoms? We have tips about prostate cancer symptoms

2012 was an exciting year for the Abramson Cancer Center. We are featuring blogs featured on the Focus On Cancer blog that highlight cancer treatment breakthroughs, coping tips and ideas, education and inspiration.

Today, blogger and breast cancer survivor, Wendy Neilsen, offers tips to help a friend who’s been diagnosed with cancer, or who is undergoing treatment for cancer.

How to Help a Friend With Cancer

Author and breast cancer survivor, Wendy Neilsen

Wendy Nielsen is a mom, a blogger and a breast cancer survivor. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, Wendy initially underwent a lumpectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation treatment that year, followed by a prophylactic oopherectomy in 2010. She currently takes a daily aromatase inhibitor and remains NED.

Wendy blogs at Wendy Nielsen and is the weekly health and wellness contributor at The Trend Tribe.

Do you need ideas on how to help a friend going through treatment for cancer? I’ve put together a list of things that helped me while I underwent treatment for breast cancer.

Babysitting

Knowing that your child is well taken care of in your absence is worth its weight in gold. When I was going through radiation treatment, I had to be at the hospital daily for a matter of twenty minutes. I’d get undressed, get zapped, get dressed, and go home. But, I couldn’t take my daughter with me to my appointment. She couldn’t be in the treatment room and I obviously couldn’t leave her alone in the waiting room. Offer up your babysitting services!

Food Delivery

Meals are important. I wasn’t so concerned with what I was eating but I worried about my husband and daughter going without a proper meal. There are so many awesome options, such as: 1) dropping off prepared meals from places like Dream Dinner that can be frozen and served later in the week or month. 2) recruit other friends and family to bring over homemade meals – including breakfast and snacks. Care Calendar is a great web-based system to help organize this effort. 3) grab a couple of extra pre-made salads, ingredients for simple dishes, fresh fruit and veggies, and some kid friendly snacks at your next grocery store trip and drop them on her porch.
Tip: Before purchasing or making food, consult with your friend to find out if there are any special dietary needs or restrictions.

Care Packages

It is really important to stay hydrated during chemotherapy treatment. I gulped down drinks like Gatorade and bottled water mixed with Emergen-C. A cute care package with a reusable bottle and a box of Emergen-C is a great gift idea. Throw in some trashy tabloid magazines – if that’s her thing – and you’re golden. Note: chemotherapy wrecks a person’s taste buds and certain thing – even bottled water – can taste really awful. You might ask first if your friend has any specific aversions.
House Chores

Both chemotherapy and radiation treatment can seriously wipe out a person physically. Walking up the stairs in my own home was extremely trying somedays. Offer up your services to vacuum their house, do a couple loads of laundry, walk the family dog, take their kids to the park, or take out the trash cans. Everyday chores can become quite overwhelming – don’t let them be.

Write it Out

A simple, well-written card is always appreciated. But what do you say? Tell her she is strong, that she is a fighter, and that her hair coming out means the drugs are working! Encourage her to believe in her treatments and the education of their doctors. Remind her of the support system she has and the love that surrounds them. Cheer her on, especially as she get closer to finishing treatment. Tell her that having a positive mental attitude makes a difference. These simple words work wonders! Still tongue-tied? Hallmark stores have cancer specific cards. Serious, religious, and funny ones. Believe it or not, there is one that suits your needs.

Expect Less and Don’t be Offended

Lower your expectations – at least temporarily. I was hardly myself going through treatment for cancer. The chemotherapy drugs zap all your brain power. It’s a phenomenon called “chemo brain” and it’s very real. I didn’t care about anything other than surviving until my next treatment. Try not to be offended if your friend doesn’t make the effort they once did.

Be a Friend

Offer to go to her chemo sessions – and do it. I didn’t always engage in conversation during treatment but it was always great to know I had someone there by my side. Especially the first time because it was the scariest and definitely the last because it should be a celebration!

Encourage them to find a support group of patients also being treated for the same cancer. There are so many fantastic online support groups and many hospitals offer group services. It helps immensely to discuss thoughts, feelings, and experiences with someone also going through the same thing.

Twitter is another fantastic source for finding current patients and survivors. I highly recommend the weekly #BCSM Twitter chat on Monday at 9pm/EST.

A simple phone call, voicemail, or email just letting them know you are thinking of them. A potted plant, flowers, or a homemade card left on their porch step is always a sweet surprise.

On a very personal note: While I was going through treatment I insisted to everyone, including my closest friends, my parents, and other loved ones, that everything was fine and that I was managing. This was not always true. I didn’t want to burden others with my needs. I didn’t want to make them feel uncomfortable with my disease. I wanted to ease their worries and fears and pretend all was fine. Really pay attention, she might need your help but is afraid or uncomfortable to ask for it.

From this cancer survivor’s perspective, you just want to feel like you aren’t alone. Like you haven’t been forgotten. Cancer and its treatment can be very isolating because your peers aren’t experiencing the same thing.

If you have any questions or worry about what may or may not be acceptable – please email me at wendy@wendy-nielsen.com.

Cancer Information From a Reliable Source

Thank you for a fantastic 2012. The Focus On Cancer blog is committed to provide people with cancer and their caregivers educated information from a reliable source, the Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine. Please subscribe to our blog to get updates about new cancer treatments at Penn, credible information from cancer experts at Penn, and inspiration from other people with cancer.

2012 was an exciting year for the Abramson Cancer Center. We are featuring blogs featured on the Focus On Cancer blog that highlight cancer treatment breakthroughs, coping tips and ideas, education and inspiration. Today, we are discussing new treatments for lung cancer including proton therapy for lung cancer.

"At Penn, we care about the total patient experience,” says John Kucharczuk, MD. “We know that for most people, the diagnosis of lung cancer is their first experience with this disease. As doctors, we need to recognize what that means to people, understand their anxiety level.”

New Treatments for Lung Cancer at Penn

Christine Wilson, cancer survivor, shares her experiences from the Abramson Cancer Center’s 2012- Focus on Lung Cancer Conference. In this blog, she discusses new treatments in radiation and proton therapies for lung cancer patients. 


"At Penn, we care about the total patient experience,” says John Kucharczuk, MD. “ We know that for most people, the diagnosis of lung cancer is their first experience with this disease. As doctors, we need to recognize what that means to people, understand their anxiety level.”

Surgery for Lung Cancer

At Penn, the highest quality of surgical care for lung cancer encompasses understanding what it means to have this disease and undergo treatment. Penn has one of the largest divisions of thoracic surgery in the country, one that includes a dedicated surgical unit staffed with nurses who care only for patients who have undergone this kind of surgery.

Surgeons work as a team with experts from other disciplines to assure optimal care for every patient, and are leaders in developing new technologies and approaches that minimize the invasiveness of surgery, while maximizing the therapeutic effect. These include innovative approaches to lung sparing surgery, robotic platforms and the use of photosensitizers to improve local control of tumors.

Skill and technology are critical, but underlying the Penn program is an active commitment to preserving quality of life for patients. To Dr. Kucharczuk and his team, that involves engaging with each patient to understand what quality of life means to that person, and working to tailor the treatment to the individual.

Radiation and Proton Therapy for Lung Cancer

"Lung cancer treatment is a 'team sport.' We see ourselves as a group of physicians who have the privilege of caring for you. Effective treatment is truly a partnership with our patients." Ramesh Rengan, MD.

For many lung cancer patients, radiation therapy is an important part of their treatment. Penn offers a number of options to patients with most kinds and stages of lung cancer. These include:

• Conventional radiation therapy utilizing 3-D imaging and IMRT
• Protons
• Stereotactic body radiation

Charles Simone, MD, emphasized that there are two major components in delivering effective radiation therapy to lung cancer patients.

• Where is the cancer? This means locating the tumor as precisely as possible. Penn is one of the few centers that has integrated PET scanning and metabolic evaluation of tumors into this process.
• How do we target the cancer? This means getting as much of the radiation dose to the tumor while sparing normal tissue.

The exact type of radiation used depends on the patient--the kind and extent of the cancer, and the overall health or other conditions that might exist. Newer options, such as stereotactic body radiation are making it possible to treat older, sicker or more advanced patients.

Proton therapy is another option for patients with locally advanced lung cancers, the most common diagnosis. Penn is one of only eight centers in the United States that offers proton therapy--a technique that allows more precise, targeted delivery of radiation to the tumor. Protons have the potential to reduce side effects from therapy while being equally effective in treating the cancer.

See all the presentations from the Focus On Lung Cancer Conference here. 

Cancer Information From a Reliable Source

Thank you for a fantastic 2012. The Focus On Cancer blog is committed to provide people with cancer and their caregivers educated information from a reliable source, the Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine. Please subscribe to our blog to get updates about new cancer treatments at Penn, credible information from cancer experts at Penn, and inspiration from other people with cancer.

Christine Wilson, cancer survivor, shares her experiences from the Abramson Cancer Center’s 2012- Focus on Brain Cancer Conference. In this blog, she discusses integrative medicine, and its role in those who have brain cancer.

The final panel of the day began with a series of yoga stretches that demonstrated how breathing and movement can relax even a roomful of people who have been listening to a long day of complicated, difficult information. The Integrative Medicine Program at Penn Medicine led by Jun Mao, MD, MSCE, offers a full range of medical and complementary approaches that treat the whole person and promote wellness for every person at every stage of the cancer journey.

These include:

• Nutrition
• Physical therapy and rehabilitation
• Acupuncture
• Yoga
• Reiki
• Psychosocial counseling and support groups
• Mindfulness training

"Integrative medicine is about achieving wellness. It takes a diverse group of people to help each of our patients achieve that overall wellbeing." Jun Mao

Learn More About Brain Cancer Treatment at Penn

For more information about Penn Medicine's brain cancer program visit www.penncancer.org. Find clinical trials for brain cancer, or any other cancer type in the search bar.

Learn more about the Focus On Brain Cancer conference, and to watch videos from the conference.

2012 was an exciting year for the Abramson Cancer Center. We are featuring blogs featured on the Focus On Cancer blog that highlight cancer treatment breakthroughs, coping tips and ideas, education and inspiration. Today, we are highlighting the partnership between Penn and FORCE.

FORCE stands for “Facing Our Risk Cancer Empowered” and was founded by women who have the BRCA gene mutation. This blog discusses what being a previvor is and how FORCE is empowering women.

What is a Previvor?

The term “cancer pre-vivor” arose in 2000 from a challenge on the website, FORCE, which stands for “Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered.”

Founded by Sue Friedman in 1999, FORCE acts under the principle that nobody should face hereditary cancer alone.

“FORCE’s goal has always been to include all who have been affected by hereditary cancer,” says Friedman. “This includes those with cancer and those without, those with a known mutation and those with cancer in the family even if no BRCA mutation has been found.

This particular challenge was posed by a FORCE website regular who posted on the site, “I need a label!” She expressed how she had lost her mother to breast cancer at a young age, she lost her breasts, ovaries, and fertility to the risk of cancer, but she did not have cancer. At that time the medical community used the term “unaffected carrier” to describe those who have a gene mutation but have not had cancer.

The term applies from a medical perspective, but can be dismissive for people who face the fears, stress, and difficult choices that accompany an increased risk for cancer,” says Friedman. “As a result, FORCE developed and promoted the term ‘cancer previvor’ for ‘survivor of a predisposition to cancer.’”

Previvors have unique needs from people with cancer such as active surveillance, testing and often need to make treatment decisions based on their risk for inherited cancer.

Now, more than a decade later, as we commemorate National Previvor Day, we celebrate the fact that previvorship has grown into more than a label, but an actual movement of real people who are empowered to take charge of their health.

The goal of Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC)Week and Previvor Day is to raise awareness about hereditary cancer. HBOC Week marks the transition between National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and recognizes anyone affected by hereditary breast or ovarian cancer, including women and men with BRCA mutations, people with a family history of cancer, breast and ovarian cancer survivors, and previvors, individuals who carry a strong predisposition to cancer but have not developed the disease.

The Basser Research Center at Penn Focuses on BRCA1 and BRCA2

The Basser Research Center for BRCA1 and BRCA 2 supports research on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, harmful forms of which are linked to greatly increased risks of developing breast and ovarian cancer. The Center is named in honor of Mindy Gray’s sister, Faith Basser, who died of ovarian cancer at age 44.

The Basser Research Center was established with a $25 million gift to the University of Pennsylvania from alumni Mindy and Jon Gray.

Emphasizing outreach, prevention, early detection, treatment and survivorship, the Basser Research Center will contribute to all stages of research and clinical care related to BRCA-related cancers.

Cancer Information From a Reliable Source

Thank you for a fantastic 2012. The Focus On Cancer blog is committed to provide people with cancer and their caregivers educated information from a reliable source, the Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine. Please subscribe to our blog to get updates about new cancer treatments at Penn, credible information from cancer experts at Penn, and inspiration from other people with cancer.