Survivorship

When cancer centers emphasize supportive care, patients, survivors and their families benefit and health outcomes can even improve. In this issue of CURE®, we take you inside a facility dedicated to this kind of care — The Supportive Care Center at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

This one-stop shop offers patients pain-management strategies, emotional support, nutritional guidance and more.

Katie Couric reflects on life and lessons learned after losing her husband to cancer.

A survivor discusses the decision to either accept each stage of the cancer journey or fight it with gusto.

On social media, CURE® recently asked its readers to share the best advice they’ve been given on their cancer journey. Here, we share some of their responses.

Cancer causes people to experience a wide range of emotions, even long after completing treatment. Among the most common is survivor’s guilt. Learning to understand this phenomenon can allow survivors to exchange their guilt for gratitude.

A cancer diagnosis can take so much from a person. Perhaps it can give a little something too. Cancer can open up our eyes to finding the time we never knew we had to do the things we always wanted to do.

Cancer can help us metamorphose into a beautiful new creature like the butterfly – stronger and more positive than before.

Longer-term cancer survivor shares strategies to cope with the appointments, tests, and results that always seem to be looming on the horizon.

Cancer made me realize how much of life I let slip by while trying to be in control and achieve perfection. Surviving cancer has taught me there is peace and serenity in giving up the need to be in control.

After a cancer diagnosis, a person's identity may change. Often, one may choose to identify with familiar cancer terminology such as "patient," "survivor," or even "victim." These identities can form a lasting positive or negative impact on a person's life.

When I got CURE®’s spring issue in the mail; I couldn’t put it down! Now that I’m going into my 10th year of survival from a highly aggressive cancer; it’s my turn to write about my experiences based on the stories in this issue.

Those of us who live with cancer don't just hope for the good reports, clear scans or positive lab results.

Now that I have completed my surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation, I have decided to focus on one important part of my treatment and share my experience with you. Maybe I can reach the right people so that others won’t have to experience what I did.

Three-time cancer survivor and one-woman show writer and performer, Valerie David, sat down with CURE® to discuss life as a survivor.

Since my diagnosis I have gone out of my way to enjoy life in any way possible.

This essay describes my journey with non-Hodgkin lymphoma — peripheral T-cell, not otherwise specified — and my most extraordinary nurse, Xuan Arnette, RN, OCN.

The legendary broadcast journalist Katie Couric sat down with CURE® to discuss her advocacy work in increasing cancer awareness with Stand Up To Cancer.

Through volunteer work and participating in the “Road to Recovery” program as a driver with the American Cancer Society, one survivor found the perfect outlet to cope with the emotional side of healing after chemo treatments.

In this week’s episode of the “CURE Talks Cancer” podcast, we spoke with ex-NFL kicker Rolf Benirschke about being a grateful patient and how one can choose to be the victim or the victor in their diagnosis.

After a cancer diagnosis, it's common for a person to be presented with many choices regarding health care. As each choice is presented, the person with cancer must make decisions based on the information received. Not all choices are beneficial and should be weighed carefully. Each person has a right to do cancer the way he or she sees fit.

A cancer survivor tells readers how we can warm people up with a small spark even when we do not feel well.

This longer-term two-time cancer survivor admits that if she could do it over again, she would spend less of her life letting worry sit in the driver's seat.

There's a difference between being treated for cancer and being a cancer survivor.

Time is a relevant way of recording events during one's cancer journey but it's important to keep a proper perspective.

There are times in our cancer journey – and in life – when we want to “freeze time.” I am only in temporary remission, and eventually will have to go back on chemo again. This time it will likely be a new one with unknown consequences.

A two-time cancer survivor suggests what life after mid-life can be, even for cancer survivors.

While the surgeon suggested I have a lumpectomy followed by radiation treatments, I had already made my decision. I requested a double mastectomy without any type of reconstruction. Why would I pursue such a radical alternative? In this post, I explain my choice.