What does it mean to feel like you’re Charlie Brown? Some times, the world just feels brown, doesn’t it. Not red, or green…just plain old brown. So what do you do when you’re kinda Charlie Brownin? Get up off the coach, and call a friend. Or go for a run. Maybe get a big old hug from someone. Or pat your dog. After all, even Charlie Brown had Snoopy.
Pilots in the Air Force are trained to compartmentalize their thoughts into little boxes when a situation starts to get overwhelming in the air. So, for example, if he’s worrying about his marriage while trying to land an F-16, at night, on an aircraft carrier, it’s important for him to “box” his marital problem away so he can hit the landing strip properly. That works for the landing but what about the marriage? Boxing up problems into an emotional warehouse doesn’t mean they go away. If you leave concerns, worries, and troubles in boxes, they just fester and grow inside you..until one day, they break out, in ways you can’t imagine, or control. So open up those boxes before the holidays begin.
Talk about Stand by Her… check out this song that’s performed by country western star Craig Morgan which is all about the woman that he loves going through breast cancer. Click:
And here’s the lyrics written by Monty Criswell/Joe Leathers
She’s in the kitchen at the crack of dawn
Bacon’s on, coffee’s strong
Kids running wild, taking off their clothes
If she’s a nervous wreck, well it never shows
Takes one to football and one to dance
Hits the Y for aerobics class
Drops by the bank, stops at the store
Has on a smile when I walk through the door
The last to go to bed, she’ll be the first one up
And I thought I was tough
Chorus
She’s strong, pushes on, can’t slow her down
She can take anything life dishes out
There was a time
Back before she was mine
When I thought I was tough
We sat there five years ago
The doctors let us know, the test showed
She’d have to fight to live, I broke down and cried
She held me and said it’s gonna be alright
She wore that wig to church
Pink ribbon pinned there on her shirt
No room for fear, full of faith
Hands held high singing Amazing Grace
Never once complained, refusing to give up
And I thought I was tough
Chorus
She’s strong, pushes on, can’t slow her down
She can take anything life dishes out
There was a time
Back before she was mine
When I thought I was tough
She’s a gentle word, the sweetest kiss
A velvet touch against my skin
I’ve seen her cry, I’ve seen her break
But in my eyes, she’ll always be strong
There was a time
Back before she was mine
When I thought I was tough
This article symbolizes the ebb and flow of feelings that men have as they traverse the Deep Blue Sea of their emotional journey. Written by Angus Phillips, it is about sailing through the Gulf Stream. Read more: “Gulf Stream turns fall to summer, but not without bumps”
Dr. John L. Marshall is the Director of the Otto J. Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointenstinal Cancers at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University. That’s a mouthful of a title, but he wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post last month with a call to action for cancer research dollars to go more towards clinical trials (since fewer than 5% of patients right now are on clinical trials) and less money towards “evidence-based medicine” – meaning offering only those therapies that have been proven to help patients live longer, or at least live better. I know that my wife, Sharon Rapoport, is alive today because she was on a clinical trial for Herceptin in which early-staged breast cancer was treated with this drug. Here’s an interesting section of Marshall’s piece to think about in which Dr. Marshall believes the cure lies at the molecular, and not the generic level…in other words, “”personalized medicine:
In this country, the highest hurdle we must leap is our patients’ expectations. Cancer patients facing death want treatment; they want hope that they will be cured, even if they have been told that they cannot be cured. They will try toxic treatments over and over, hoping to extend their lives. We physicians are co-conspirators. Of course, we also want to believe that the next treatment will help more than the last, even though we know that is rarely the case. What if we had to pay for all this out of our pockets? Would we pay that much for some possible hope?
I believe we can invest more in actual hope. To do so, we must further explore the genetic makeup of patients and their cancers. We can no longer diagnose cancers using only a microscope. We must profile them at a molecular level to determine precise treatments, instead of using our current trial-and-error approach.
To assess a patient’s specific genetic problem, we must understand all the possible permutations and patterns. This will come only from a comprehensive clinical database — a high priority of the administration’s reform plans. For example, we know there are at least four different types of breast cancer; they look exactly the same under a microscope but are very different diseases. The repeated biopsies and blood tests that are needed, none of which is covered by most health insurance plans, will become critical to finding our answers.
The future of cancer care will rely on personalized medicine. To read the entire piece, click below:
Writer and producer John W. Anderson shares his inspiration behind creating resources for men who are helping the women in their lives fight breast cancer.
By Laura Lee Bloor
Read Here
Some times, people go too too far when it comes to personal sacrifice. Living like a pauper with a load of cash in your account.
Laura Landro, Wall Street Journal’s “Informed Patient” columnist, has selected STAND BY HER as one of 2009’s best health books, and a recommended read for the New Year. See Wall Street Journal article
Here’s an excerpt:
Consumers flock online for 24/7 health information, from the latest research on rare diseases to mothers’ groups tweeting advice on colicky babies. But when it comes to reliable, easy-to-understand information on a wide range of medical, health and fitness issues, a number of new books belong in any informed patient’s library—and as a bonus, some use Web sites to post the latest updates and build communities.
“Stand by Her” by John W. Anderson
With a mother, sister and wife diagnosed with breast cancer, Mr. Anderson found little in all the books and Web sites about the disease to help men cope; he uses his own experience to help men become supportive care givers while dealing with their own fears and emotions about a loved one with breast cancer. He walks men through all the physical and emotional challenges women will face during treatment, and the logistics of hospitals, surgery and chemotherapy. There is also frank discussion of the strains on marriage and intimacy, and how to rebuild what may be lost in the battle and prepare for the future. Standbyher.org offers a forum where men can ask questions and share experiences and coping tips.
This just came in from our good friend, Claudia Lee , President of C. Z. Lee & Associates, Breast Center Consultations in Hudson, NY. It’s a study released last month at the 6th International Conference of the Society for Integrative Oncology. And the findings are incredible. Here’s what it had to say:
Family caregivers can significantly reduce suffering in cancer patients at home through use of simple touch and massage techniques.
The study, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, evaluated outcomes of a 78-minute DVD instructional program and illustrated manual in a sample of 97 patients and their caregivers. The multi-ethnic sample represented 21 types of cancer (nearly half with breast cancer) and all stages of disease. Caregivers included spouses, adult children, parents, siblings and friends. The project was conducted in Boston, MA, Portland, ME, and Portland, OR using English, Spanish and Chinese languages.
The DVD program is now released to the public, titled “Touch, Caring and Cancer: Simple Instruction for Family and Friends.” in English, Spanish and Chinese. More information and video trailers are available at http://www.partnersinhealing.net.
According to the principal investigator, William Collinge, PhD, president of Collinge and Associates “Touch and massage are among the most effective forms of supportive care in cancer, but most patients cannot access professional practitioners of these methods on a regular basis. This study sought to determine whether family caregivers receiving brief home-based instruction could deliver some of the same benefits as professionals. It appears they can.”
In the study, couples were randomized to either an experimental group using the program, or an attention control group. Caregivers in the experimental group were asked to apply the instruction for at least 20 minutes, three or more times per week for a month. Those in the control group were assigned to read to the patient for the same amounts of time. Patients completed report cards before and after sessions rating their levels of pain, fatigue, stress/anxiety, nausea, depression, and other symptoms.
Results indicated significant reductions for all symptoms after both activities, indicating that companionship alone has a positive effect. However, while symptoms were reduced from 12-28% after reading, massage from the caregiver led to reductions of 29-44%. The greatest impact was on stress/anxiety (44% reduction), followed by pain (34%), fatigue (32%), depression (31%), and nausea (29%). Patients reporting an optional “other” symptom (e.g., headaches) saw reductions of 42% with massage. Caregivers in the massage group also showed gains in confidence and comfort with using touch and massage as forms of caregiving.
According to Collinge, “It appears that family members who receive simple instruction in safety and techniques can achieve some of the same results as professional practitioners. This has important implications not just for patient well-being, but for caregivers as well. Caregivers are at risk of distress themselves – they can feel helpless and frustrated when seeing a loved one suffer. This gives a way to make a difference for the patient, and at the same time increase their own satisfaction and effectiveness as a caregiver. It also appears to strengthen the relationship bond, which is important to both.”
SOURCES:
6th International Conference of the Society for Integrative Oncology. November 13, 2009, New York, NY
Society for Integrative Oncology
Email
Twitter
Facebook
RSS