CURE's "beat cancer" playlist

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We asked readers on our Facebook page to suggest songs that sum up their cancer experience. We got such great responses that we decided to make a playlist to share with all of you.Here are some of the song suggestions we received:Becky says: "Tubthumping" by Chumbawumba for the ongoing theme "I get knocked down, but I get up again."Sari recommends: ?"Move Along" [by the] All American Rejects. My oldest daughter chose it as my theme through Hodgkin's and my divorce that followed. I HAVE "moved along," healthy and happy! God is good.Shannon says: "Girl Anachronism" by the Dresden Dolls. (I was a mess.) At chemo we sang a lot of Salt-n-Pepa to keep our spirits up. Also because I was a difficult draw even with a port a cath, I would do laps around the ward doing my best "raise the roof" and "break it down" motions to get the blood flowing.Even CURE's publisher and cancer survivor Susan McClure suggested one of her own: How about "Psycho Killer," by the Talking Heads? Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa... Better run run run run awaaaaay!And what song would I choose? I've never experienced cancer for myself, but I do know friends and family who have had the disease. I would want to convey to my loved ones that I support them, which is why I would pick 'You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story. It's upbeat and catchy with a strong message: "You've got troubles; I've got 'em too. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you. We stick together and see it through 'cause you got a friend in me."We picked one song from each reader and organized them by themes, such as fighting and life, which embody the scope of the cancer journey. You can check out all the song selections and download the playlist or individual songs at here.I Will Not Be Moved by Natalie GrantFighter by Christina AguileraFight the Good Fight by TriumphTubthumping by ChumbawambaTough by Craig MorganFeelin' Stronger Every Day by ChicagoThe Climb by Miley CyrusGood Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green DayI'm Alive (with Dave Matthews) by Kenny ChesneyI Run for Life by Melissa EtheridgeI Will Survive by Gloria GaynorHard Knock Life by Jay-ZAlive by Pearl JamAlways Look On the Bright Side of Life from SpamalotSurvivor by Destiny's ChildGirl Anachronism by The Dresdem DollsBitch by Meredith BrooksPsycho Killer by Talking HeadsHigher by CreedPraise You In This Storm by Casting CrownsAnyway by Martina McBrideCycles by Frank SinatraKeep Breathing by Ingrid MichaelsonMoment by LeahyMove Along by The All-American RejectsMy Next Thirty Years by Tim McGrawYou've Got a Friend In Me by Randy NewmanJai Ho by A.R. Rahman, Sukhvinder...What song describes your cancer experience the best or helped you with treatment?

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For patients with cancer, the ongoing chemotherapy shortage may cause some anxiety as they wonder how they will receive their drugs. However, measuring drugs “down to the minutiae of the milligrams” helped patients receive the drugs they needed, said Alison Tray. Tray is an advanced oncology certified nurse practitioner and current vice president of ambulatory operations at Rutgers Cancer Institute in New Jersey.  If patients are concerned about getting their cancer drugs, Tray noted that having “an open conversation” between patients and providers is key.  “As a provider and a nurse myself, having that conversation, that reassurance and sharing the information is a two-way conversation,” she said. “So just knowing that we're taking care of you, we're going to make sure that you receive the care that you need is the key takeaway.” In June 2023, many patients were unable to receive certain chemotherapy drugs, such as carboplatin and cisplatin because of an ongoing shortage. By October 2023, experts saw an improvement, although the “ongoing crisis” remained.  READ MORE: Patients With Lung Cancer Face Unmet Needs During Drug Shortages “We’re really proud of the work that we could do and achieve that through a critical drug shortage,” Tray said. “None of our patients missed a dose of chemotherapy and we were able to provide that for them.” Tray sat down with CURE® during the 49th Annual Oncology Nursing Society Annual Congress to discuss the ongoing chemo shortage and how patients and care teams approached these challenges. Transcript: Particularly at Hartford HealthCare, when we established this infrastructure, our goal was to make sure that every patient would get the treatment that they need and require, utilizing the data that we have from ASCO guidelines to ensure that we're getting the optimal high-quality standard of care in a timely fashion that we didn't have to delay therapies. So, we were able to do that by going down to the minutiae of the milligrams on hand, particularly when we had a lot of critical drug shortages. So it was really creating that process to really ensure that every patient would get the treatment that they needed. For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.
Yuliya P.L Linhares, MD, an expert on CLL
Yuliya P.L Linhares, MD, and Josie Montegaard, MSN, AGPCNP-BC, experts on CLL
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