Psychosocial

While patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) tend to have long life expectancies, with many prescribed to a “watch-and-wait” approach, a recent study by the Cancer Support Community (CSC) found that more than half of patients living with the disease reported that having CLL affects their viewpoints regarding their life expectancy.

Of course, there was sadness, but more than anything there was appreciation for my own life and the people close to me. I feel gratitude for still being here, having an excellent quality of life and for the warning cancer gives.

Our cultural tendency to try to draw bright lines when it comes to the cost of health care relies on hindsight to criticize doctors for their lack of foresight. But it is only hindsight, as we all know, that is 20/20.

Join us today, Dec. 19, for our year-end #CureConnect tweet chat, where we will be diving into what our readers saw as the most important updates of the year. Maybe people were intrigued by the correlation between viruses and cancer, or maybe improving cancer survivorship was key this year.

From diagnosis to remission, my sister had cancer for nearly three years. Because of that, the cancer dates that mark my calendar are plentiful. I can recall most of them from memory without a second glance. While I was recently going through my old planners, I noticed just how many dates are filled with notations of cancer.