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BY LENA HUANG | APRIL 27, 2012
The American Cancer Society released new guidelines that recommend good nutrition and exercise for survivors to reduce the chance of recurrence and increase the possibility of disease-free survival. The ACS formulated these recommendations after convening a group of researchers and thought leaders in nutrition, exercise and cancer survivorship to evaluate current evidence and best practices on these topics. Among the committee's recommendations:
Minimizing weight gain during treatment may be important for survivors who are overweight and also for those of normal weight.
Evidence suggests that exercise is not only safe during cancer treatment but can also improve physical functioning, quality of life, fatigue and may even increase the rate of completion of chemotherapy.
Exercise after cancer diagnosis is associated with a reduced risk of recurrence and improved mortality in many cancer survivor groups, including breast, colorectal, ovarian and prostate.
Results of observational studies suggest diet and nutrition may affect risk of recurrence, cancer progression and overall survival in those treated for cancer.
This report also specifies nutrition and exercise advice by cancer types including breast, colorectal, endometrial, ovarian, lung, prostate, head and neck, and hematologic cancers. It also includes a helpful section on common questions and answers about nutrition, exercise and cancer survivorship. Some questions covered are:
Should alcohol be avoided during treatment? (Generally yes, or kept to a minimum, based on type and stage of disease.)
Are organic foods recommended for cancer survivors? (At present it is not known if organic foods are more effective in reducing recurrence than foods produced by other farming methods.)
Does sugar feed cancer? (No, however products high in added sugar may add substantial calories, resulting in weight gain, which may affect cancer outcomes.)
Can dietary supplements reduce the risk of recurrence? (No evidence at this time suggests supplements will reduce the chances of recurrence.)
Should I exercise during cancer treatment? (Evidence suggests that exercise is safe and can improve physical functioning and quality of life, however, intensity and duration may need to be adjusted during treatment and special precautions taken for those with anemia, weak immunity, bone disease, skin sensitivity, neuropathy and other side effects of therapy.)
"While we've published previous reports outlining the evidence on the impact of nutrition and physical activity on cancer recurrence and survival, this is the first time the evidence has been strong enough to release formal guidelines for survivorship, as we've done for cancer prevention. Living a physically active lifestyle and eating a healthy diet should absolutely be top of mind for anyone who's been diagnosed with cancer," Colleen Doyle, MS, RD, ACS director of nutrition and physical activity and co-author of the guidelines, said in a press release.
To read the full report, click here.
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BY SUZANNE LINDLEY | APRIL 24, 2012
It has been four weeks since my last chemo treatment. Four weeks have passed since the wreck. There has been time during these weeks for reflection, healing, and even anticipation.
In this month my ribs have become less painful, we replaced the Suburban, weathered a tornado less than 20 miles away, steered clear of all hospitals, clinics, and chemo chairs, bought a new horse for Karlie, watched her practice with the Ghostriders, snapped pictures in the bluebonnets, had dinner with Ron, attended a wedding, and lost a dear friend. The gift of NOW has been present in every moment of the chaotic calm that this short treatment vacation has offered. Tiny miracles sandwiched themselves in between bigger miracles. They have painted the picture of a very full and incredible life.
There have been lunches with Katie and weekends together when Karlie comes home. With Chloe, we have visited a wonderland of creativity. Through her eyes, everything is beautiful and exciting and new. The crispness of the morning fading into the warmth of the afternoon has invited picnics, yard work, and quiet walks. We hiked together through the woods one afternoon and as the shade met the sunshine a breathtaking cascade of butterflies surrounded us. Chloe stopped in astonishment, and as a yellow winged beauty landed on her arm, exclaimed, "We have our very own enchanted forest!"
And so we do.....a wondrous escape from the world of cancer; a place to create dreams and capture hope in our own backyard.
Where do you search for hope and embrace your dreams?
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BY LINDSAY RAY | APRIL 16, 2012
What would you do if you had climbed Mt. Everest and reached the summit of six other peaks in Africa, Europe, Australia, Antarctica, North and South America? Well, if you're Sean Swarner, you'd run in the Boston marathon today. Sean, who is the first survivor to summit Everest, was twice diagnosed with cancer at ages 13 and 16 and given only 14 days to live after his second diagnosis. Instead, Sean went on to complete many athletic challenges, including the Iron Man challenge in Hawaii, and he cofounded a nonprofit organization called the Cancer Climber Association. And now he's added marathon runner to the list--despite the heat advisory this morning. Having finished the race, Sean tweeted, "2 weeks training, 8 weeks post-knee surgery, Boston marathon in 90 degree temps. Not too shabby. Lol Thanks CT Challenge for the opportunity."
To hear more about Sean in his own words, check out the video below:
Cancer survivor defies all odds: wtnh.com
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BY KATHY LATOUR | MARCH 26, 2012
CURE is celebrating its 10th anniversary this spring, and, for me, it's hard to believe we have published 40 issues – and now have an annual Resource Guide and special issues and books and pocket guides and all the other material that have come from our office in the past decade.
Working on a cancer magazine was wish fulfillment for me. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1986, I remember thinking that I wanted to do a national newsletter about cancer that would offer the stories of those who had been there for the newly diagnosed. Little did I know that 14 years later I would get a call about an oncologist who was starting a magazine for patients, and he was looking for a journalist who had had cancer who might be interested in helping him. Needless to say, I rushed right over.
It's been hard, sometimes, spending my days writing about cancer. We see the people and their families in the midst of the cancer struggle and, hopefully, give them both the medical and psychosocial information they need to be empowered, educated patients who have the tools to fight cancer on every level. But sometimes it feels like slow going when we hear about someone we interviewed dying.
Over the past decade, the staff here at CURE has seen promising basic research move into clinical trials that promised great hope for a better treatment – only to see it fail. We all wait, as do the researchers and the patients, only to have the drugs fail to provide a better outcome than what is already available.
But in writing our 10th anniversary feature, I had a chance to take a step back and look at the last 10 years and see that we have made progress – real progress--the Star Trek kind of progress in many areas in cancer. In fact, CURE was founded in 2001 because the first targeted treatments had begun to be used. Instead of drugs that killed randomly, the new targeted drugs went after specific cells and parts of cells that resulted in easier treatments. One of the most successful drugs developed was Gleevec, and people with a form of leukemia that used to require a bone marrow transplant (one of the worst kinds of treatment) now take a pill every day that has minimal side effects.
Technology has improved surgery with robotics and pinpoint radiation therapy that keeps healthy cells out of the way.
And, we have learned in the past decade that we can no longer lump everyone together the way we did when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Back then you either had breast cancer or you didn't. The only variable was big or small, which was early or late. Now the variables in the kind of breast cancer you have may mean one kind of treatment or another specifically suited to you.
Women with a gene called Her2, estimated at 25 percent of breast cancer patients, now get a very targeted breast cancer drug called Herceptin. And women whose breast cancer recurs no longer face immediate death but often live five, 10, or even 20 years with a good quality of life. These women are part of the 13 million cancer survivors who are growing to 20 million over the next 8 years who are called survivors, those whose lives have been interrupted by cancer but who choose to go on living to the best of their ability.
In the area of supportive care have come advances in the fields of pain management, nausea, and cognitive dysfunction. Researchers have come to understand that just as important as curing the patient is paying attention to the family and life yet lived. So we have seen a good decade.
Celebrating is important, and I really like the ACS ads about being the official sponsor of birthdays. Mostly I like the fact that after you have cancer, you stop worrying about how old you are and just celebrate that you are here to celebrate. I remember after I was diagnosed someone whining about turning 40. I looked at her and said, "I have a cure for that, but you don't want it." It's interesting how one piece of information can change your view on another.
Next year the ACS celebrates its 100th birthday. Now that will be a long list of accomplishments and a lot of celebrations. Instead of presents send money.
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BY SUZANNE LINDLEY | MARCH 26, 2012
This has been a magical morning.
Chloe and I played outside before playschool today. We stood by the fence and waited patiently for the horses to wander over. Magic whinnied and Chloe chattered and cooed to her. She held out her hand with a treat and laughed infectiously as the little mare took it from her hand. One by one the horses came to greet her and with each treat fed, more giggles filled the air. They were as happy to see her as she was them. Her smile was from ear to ear. It was a morning full of joy and simple memories that she we will forever carry...little things that mean so much.
In some ways it is a normal morning; in others far from it. I don't take for granted all that has happened to give me - and Chloe - these simple, treasured times. Today, however, I feel especially grateful. I have two broken ribs and a fractured sternum that tells me I am lucky to be alive. They are a reminder that life often changes in the blink of an eye and that cancer is not always the cause.
Last Tuesday night, we were driving back from the airport as the sound of colliding metal and the jolt of impact transformed our peaceful trip home into a nightmare of change. The next few hours disappeared in a blur with paramedics, policemen and firemen working tirelessly to contain the accident scene and to help other injured passengers. I asked one of the paramedics if everyone would survive and his response chills me even now, "Accidents happen and people die every day; be thankful you are alive."
I am thankful every minute of every day to be borrowing more time. Cancer is just one of the life changes that has given me the clarity to appreciate the things that we often take for granted. Family and friends, horsie whiskers, little heart-blown kisses, morning giggles, birds chirping and the sun shining are just some of the wonders I'm cherishing today.
Tell me, what wonder will you cherish today?
Suzanne
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BY KATHY LATOUR | MARCH 16, 2012
14 years and counting.
I had lunch with my friend Fran DiGiacomo yesterday. We don't get to see each other as much as we did when we were in a weekly group at the Cancer Support Community (formerly Gilda's Club) five years ago. I facilitated a group called Engaging the Spirit back then, and Fran always came and shared her spirit with us because she had enough a lot of spirit to share.
I met Fran initially around 2000 when she called me because she was looking for an editor for her book I'd Rather Do Chemo than Clean Out the Garage. Always one who enjoys humor around cancer (my show is called One Mutant Cell) I didn't have time, but got hooked by Fran's spirit. Fran was dealing with her second bout of cancer then. She had grown up knowing if she made it past 40, she would be doing well. She had already faced down breast cancer, and, at the time, was dealing with metastatic ovarian cancer.
She handled it the same way she had the breast cancer. Take out the cancer, give her chemo and then just leave her alone to paint. I think by the time I met her she had had multiple surgeries during which she had lost her colon to a j pouch and most of the other innards. Luckily, the cancer seemed to like the peritoneal cavity and decided not to move on to other organs, so she was on a regular regimen of debulking surgeries and then chemo. She also carefully researched complementary approaches, some of which had to have worked for her to look so good at 14 years out from diagnosis. Her most powerful medicine has been paint – the kind she uses to do her still life paintings and portraits of the city's elite. She told me about a time when she was so sick she could hardly stand up, but she met with a client to talk about a portrait and immediately felt much better. Fran is very private about her bad days. You don't hear from her or her husband Len, and she just mentions in passing any hospital stays. It's just part of her life now, and she would rather it be treated that way. When not painting, Fran is researching doctors, drugs and new complementary approaches to see how she will take on the cancer in the next round. This has been her longest remission – almost two years. And she has enjoyed every minute of it. Fran has lived longer than she ever imagined, and the past three years have been the great miracle for her as she has watched her two sons marry and become fathers, which means she is a grandmother. Every month or so she can be found in California for a week, playing with her 3-year-old grandson, Paul, in Los Angeles before heading to San Fran to see granddaughter, Quinn. And there is another one on the way. It's just a miracle, Fran keeps saying, it's just a miracle.
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BY GUEST BLOGGER | MARCH 12, 2012
Fear can be one of cancer's most debilitating side effects. Sparing no patient, survivor or caregiver, it is also the most common. Medical professionals, faith and loved ones can help you manage anxiety. So can a colored pencil, bottle of glue or keyboard. Art therapy provides a mechanism for working through difficult emotions and reducing stress. Regardless of how well you can draw a stick figure or write a haiku, creative expression can bring you comfort.
Many young adult survivors have turned to art to restore their sense of optimism and passion for life. Chris Ayers, an artist working in Hollywood, began a project he calls, "The Daily Zoo" on the one-year anniversary of his acute myelogenous leukemia diagnosis at age 29. As part of his recovery process from a bone marrow transplant, he set the goal of drawing an animal a day for one year. The result: a published anthology of rhino plumbers, alien possums and much more called, The Daily Zoo: Keeping the Doctor at Bay with a Drawing a Day, which was followed by Volume II--a second year's installment of drawings. Will Reiser, screenwriter of 50/50, is another high-profile example of a young adult cancer survivor who used comedy to come to terms with his traumatic experience, as well as to move forward.
Creative expression as a healing mechanism does not require talent. The only prerequisite is the willingness to face your fears. There are many paths for exploring the complicated mess of emotions that cancer causes. Cancer blogs have become a common means of therapeutic expression, with readers able to offer encouragement via the comments function. YouTube and other video-sharing services provide another medium for expressing oneself.
Transformative writing is a powerful strategy, which I've been practicing since my diagnosis with acute myelogenous leukemia in April 2011. My blog is entitled, "Shelley's 'Life's a Beach' Blog." The Our Story page concludes with the thought: "As I wrote in my first post, life can be a b*tch, but we must always remember what a beautiful beach it is too." The first drafts of many of my entries were much darker than the final posts. By reworking my thoughts into a version that wouldn't terrify my family and friends, I lessened my own fear. Iterative writing can transform the worst of thoughts: "I'm going to die," into "I might die," into "I will survive."
Although blogs and video logs offer easy ways to share your efforts, the creation--not the publication--is the essence of therapeutic art. Social media, with all the benefits it provides to the cancer community through connecting people and informing, happens at a speed that may be too fast for inner reflection. There may be points in your healing process when you need to slow down and focus inward in order to develop ways to turn negative thoughts into positive ones. Chris Ayers draws his animals with paper and pencil as his only companions. Will Reiser sat alone in front of a screen, drafting his script, long before the cast was hired.
Although cancer can make us physically weak, we are still a subset of a generation filled with energy and hope, a generation that wishes to leave its mark on the world through creative expression. You can be part of that movement, regardless of age.
For those attending the OMG! Cancer Summit, the workshop, "Pen to ePaper: Self Expression in a Digital World" can jumpstart or boost your artistic efforts. Existing cancer blogs can be a source of inspiration, as well as provide a way to connect with others who share your circumstances. Additionally, below are a few "old school" exercises to try:
• Collage – Magazines can be a breezy, low-brain requirement for passing time during a hospital stay or chemo treatment. Tear out the images that speak to you and assemble them on a page. What does the resulting collection tell you about yourself?
• Smiley (or not-so-smiley) Faces – Draw five circles on a sheet of paper. Fill in the facial features throughout the span of a day or week, when you're in different moods. Try to be metaphorical: If you're grumpy, turn the circle into a bear or a man with a stick up his... Allow yourself to laugh at the results.
• Playing Dr. Dre – Combine lyrics from five songs to fit how you feel.
• Dear Cancer – I Had Cancer has a great page entitled "Dear Cancer." Users post their messages to cancer. Write a letter to cancer, and don't hold back.
Regardless of how you chose to express yourself, do so with abandon. Cancer doesn't restrain itself. Why hold back when coping with it?
Shelley Nolden is a mother, a wife, an investor relations professional and a writer. Shelley is currently in remission for acute promyelocytic leukemia (AML, subtype M-3) and receiving treatments to maintain that status. Like the rest of the cancer club, Shelley is trying to adjust to her new reality while keeping a positive mindset. Read more at www.shelleynolden.blogspot.com.
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BY GUEST BLOGGER | MARCH 5, 2012
Almost six years ago, a few months short of my 29th birthday, I was diagnosed with a rare pediatric cancer, Ewing's sarcoma. Yes, pediatric. So despite my age, I was treated in the children's ward, which certainly had its upsides. Anesthesia for procedures adults are usually expected to just grin and bear, like bone marrow aspirations. Posh accommodations with flat screen TVs and advanced screening DVDs of movies out in the theaters. The kids' menu.
The downside, of course, was that people my age were few and far between. I wasn't by any means the only adult pediatric patient (or geriatric ped as I like to say), but I was twice as old as the teen-aged patients who were the cohort closest to my age.
About a year after I finished chemo, the organization I'm Too Young For This! hit the headlines in The New York Times and Time magazine. I'd previously joined a young adult support group at Gilda's Club in Manhattan, but it was only three people and myself. But i[2]y, as it's abbreviated, was a gateway to a slew of young adult survivors in New York City, where I lived at the time and where the organization is based.
I attended some of their happy hours and their annual "Un-Gala" and even participated in discussions on next steps for the organization. It was invigorating to meet people my own age who'd been through the cancer machine. Or were still going through it.
At the end of this month, I'm attending i[2]y's 5th Annual OMG! Cancer Summit for Young Adults in Las Vegas. Despite the fact that the event has been held in New York City, or at least New York State, for most of the previous conferences I was never able to attend. But Vegas is incredibly motivating, as is the program of the conference, particularly the events surrounding the movie 50/50.
Seeing 50/50, in which a young man has a spinal tumor not unlike the one I had, was another turning point in my cancer recovery. At the OMG! Summit, the movie's writer, Will Reiser, who based the story on his own experience, will be honored and the film with have a midnight screening. It was moving to watch in the theater, but I anticipate that watching it surrounded by other YA survivors will be an entirely different experience. I think we won't be as afraid to laugh at the funny bits because we get that it's not all doom and gloom. (When I saw it in the theater with a lay audience, I noticed that the room got rather awkward when the movie took non-serious turns.) You have to take the humor where you can.
I'm also psyched to see old friends from i[2]y New York and my new i[2]y Boston family, as well as people I met a few summers ago at the survivor kayaking camp, First Descents. And then there are a handful of people I've been in touch with but never met. Like Jonny Imerman, founder of Imerman Angels, a foundation that matches survivors out of treatment with survivors in treatment of a similar age and diagnosis. I've twice been a mentor for Imerman Angels and corresponded with Jonny, but the times he's been in Boston (where I live now), I've been out of town and we've always wanted to connect.
Overall, the conference may be more social than clinical, and that's fine by me. We spend so much time getting poked and prodded and juiced up on chemo and blasted with radiation that some partying is in order. That's what survival is all about, right?
Su Ciampa has written for Jane and Salon.com. She recently completed work on No Clowns Please, a memoir about being an adult patient in a pediatric ward. Su also posts on the Stupid Cancer blog and will be attending this year's OMG! Cancer Summit at the end of March.
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BY SUZANNE LINDLEY | MARCH 2, 2012
I had the luxury of spending Oscar week in a flurry of activity and pre-Academy Awards events. Debbie Durkin's ECO Oscar gifting lounge was my first stop. YES hosted an exhibit and was able to deLIVER Hope to celebrities and guests who attended.
We talked about liver tumors and the information, resources and support that YES! Beat Liver Tumors offers and the fact that it is possible to live with, and not die from cancer. Cancer touches everyone and at each event I have been humbled, inspired and sometimes saddened by the myriad of cancer stories that are shared.
I was also able to shadow Pam Schmid at the prestigious Multicultural Motion Picture Awards luncheon. Pam and I became close friends several years ago at a LIVESTRONG Summit and I have been fortunate to live vicariously through some of her accomplishments. This was one.
We arrived at the beautiful Sofitel Hotel in Beverly Hills and proceeded upstairs where we were ushered into a VIP line and then into the ballroom where the step and repeat and red carpet were being held. There were cameras and press three people deep. I felt claustrophobic while Pam was in her element. She was immediately surrounded for interviews and then whisked onto the red carpet, where she talked about her book and posed for the crowd of media.
Her book "101 Things You Should Know About Breast Cancer" has received high acclaim from experts, survivors and the lay public. It possesses a unique combination of facts and information that are woven together with story, bringing the information to life and giving direction to anyone who's life has been, or will be touched by cancer. You can find out more about her book or purchase a copy at PamSchmid.com.
Pam and I joined invited guests for the afternoon including 2012 Oscar Nominees Viola Davis & Octavia Spencer, Academy Award Winner Louis Gossett Jr., Academy Award Nominee Sally Kirkland, Actress Bai Ling, Producer Elaina Archer, Actress/Acting coach Bobbie Chance, Photographer/Filmmaker Kami Zargham McAdam and many 2012 Oscar Nominees and various celebrities that were on hand to support the young upcoming student filmmakers.
It was quite an honor to attend and heartwarming to see the impact that Pam made on all those present. No one could get enough of her story. She has met the challenge of metastatic breast cancer head on and given back each step of the way. Her journey with cancer and her desire to help others is nothing short of amazing. She inspires me to do more, to not give up and to make a difference. Thank you, Pam!!!
Next stop: Night of 100 Stars
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BY LINDSAY RAY | FEBRUARY 8, 2012
Dating can be a daunting task. When you first meet someone, there is the awkward dance of getting to know one another. Adding in a cancer diagnosis can make the footing even trickier. Figuring out when and how to disclose your cancer information is a question many patients and survivors struggle with, and there's no one-size-fits-all answer.
There's also a certain amount of fear for both the patient/survivor and the person he or she is dating. A recent commenter on the blog "Would You Date a Cancer Survivor?" wrote:
I'm trying to decide whether or not to date someone with cancer. [...]I am a caregiver for two aging parents, one who has alzheimer's and three progressive, fatal and untreatable medical conditions. We have no other family member living on this continent to help with my parents and I'm not up to taking on being a caregiver for and losing a boyfriend as well. I know little about cancer and survival rates or what someone with cancer goes through during treatment so I really have no idea of what I'd be getting myself into where I to continue dating him. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.
To help patients and survivors navigate the dating scene, the Young Survival Coalition and Bright Pink are hosting a teleconference about romance and the issues that surround it, such as self image, confidence and intimacy, tonight at 8 p.m. ET. The speakers leading the discussion will be Jean Rowe, LCSW, OSW-C, and breast cancer survivor Jamie Pleva.
To RSVP, email your full name to RSVP@BeBRightPink.org
To find out more information, visit: brightpink.org/event-020812-teleconference.
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