Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Cancer Therapies: The Common and the Controversial
Deciding on a cancer treatment plan could be the most important decision a survivor makes.
PUBLISHED January 31, 2018
Khevin Barnes is a Male Breast Cancer survivor, magician and speaker. He is currently writing, composing and producing a comedy stage musical about Male Breast Cancer Awareness. He travels wherever he is invited to speak to (and do a little magic for) men and women about breast cancer. www.BreastCancerSpeaker.com www.MaleBreastCancerSurvivor.com
Our decisions to select a particular regimen for our health and healing after a cancer diagnosis can be one of the most difficult choices we're ever faced with. Killing cancer cells is a precision process with no guarantee of positive results, and the road to NED (no evidence of disease) is riddled with pot holes in the form of possible negative side effects. But the final outcome can certainly be positive.
It's the unknown nature of the procedures that make our choices a little scary and extremely important. These choices we make, either by ourselves or with the counsel from our oncologists and surgeons and, I'm sorry to say, the sometimes overly ambitious advice from our neighbor or the hairdresser we've been seeing for years, are highly personal. Yet it's surprising how many people we meet who have opinions and ideas about our cancer decisions, even those well-meaning folks who have never known cancer personally.
It's the unknown nature of the procedures that make our choices a little scary and extremely important. These choices we make, either by ourselves or with the counsel from our oncologists and surgeons and, I'm sorry to say, the sometimes overly ambitious advice from our neighbor or the hairdresser we've been seeing for years, are highly personal. Yet it's surprising how many people we meet who have opinions and ideas about our cancer decisions, even those well-meaning folks who have never known cancer personally.
Working with Chemo Brain
You’re back at work after cancer treatment — or maybe nearly done with treatment and working at least part-time. You’re understandably eager to get back to “normal.” But if you’ve had chemotherapy (or even if you haven’t), you may notice your concentration, memory or other work skills aren’t up to par. This mental fog isn't your imagination. It’s called “chemo brain.” Experts actually prefer the term “cognitive dysfunction associated with chemotherapy” or “post-chemo brain,” to more accurately describe it.
What Is Chemo Brain?
By whatever name, if you have it, you know it: memory lapses, difficulty remembering details or concentration, inability to multi-task like the master you once were, problems remembering names or spelling common words, inability to think as fast as you once did, or difficulty remembering the steps of tasks you once performed easily.
Up to 30% of cancer patients who receive chemotherapy may experience chemo brain, according to the American Cancer Society. Exactly how it occurs isn’t certain, but some experts suspect some chemo drugs may slip past the “blood brain” barrier, which separates chemicals that belong in the brain from those that do not, and adversely affect cognitive skills.
While experts say they have a lot to learn about chemo brain, they do agree that it’s a real condition, not your imagination. Research suggests it may linger after treatment. The treatment itself may impact nerve and brain function, and those effects may be complicated by the stress of coping with the diagnosis and the fatigue from dealing with the stress and an overloaded schedule. Some people may be more genetically vulnerable to chemo brain than others.
Although research about chemo brain is still evolving, there are many steps you can take at work to improve the “fog” and perform better.
Remember to get up and dance when the bands start playing during this weekend's parades !
Cancer blood test is an important step forward
(CNN)Scientists have made progress on developing an experimental blood test that could detect many types of cancer in their early stages, and possibly even their locations in the body.
The noninvasive blood test was shown to detect the presence of common tumors of the ovary, liver, stomach, pancreas, esophagus, colorectum, lung and breast, according to a study published in the journal Science on Thursday.
This blood test, called CancerSEEK, could cost less than $500, which is comparable to or lower than other screening tests, such as a colonoscopy, according to the study. The study was funded by many foundations, research groups, and grants, while many of the study authors have ties to biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, as well as patents.
5 Food Makeovers for a Healthy Super Bowl Sunday
By Molly Kimball, RD, CSSD
With Super Bowl Sunday always falling early in the year, it can be hard to stick to New Year’s resolutions that involve eating healthier. For many locals in New Orleans, that can be an even bigger challenge this time of year with the temptation of parade foods like king cake and po-boys floating around during Carnival season.
So does that mean you can’t enjoy some of your favorite foods on game day in order to keep your waistline in check? The truth is, there are plenty of easy ways to lighten up game-day favorites without sacrificing flavor or fun, so here's a rundown of some of our favorite makeovers and swaps.
Our beloved Saints will not be playing in the Super Bowl THIS year. We are thankful for a great season and look forward to next year.
Tip of the Day: Get Organized
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Get organized!
Set aside some time to map out your meals and
make a grocery list—it’ll help you stick to your healthy eating style!
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NEW Post from NFD -- Resolution Re-DO
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Learning to Accept My Physical Limitations
It's challenging to accept the physical limitations one may experience post-cancer, but changes to the body can pose real physical constraints.
BY Bonnie Annis
PUBLISHED January 25, 2018
Bonnie Annis is a breast cancer survivor, diagnosed in 2014 with stage 2b invasive ductal carcinoma with metastasis to the lymph nodes. She is an avid photographer, freelance writer/blogger, wife, mother and grandmother.
It's hard to accept the fact that my body doesn't always do what I want it to do. You'd think that three and a half years post cancer, I'd have learned what my body can and can't do, but I haven't. I'm still of the mindset that I'm able to do all the things I used to do. But today, I was reminded of several things. One, I'm not as young as I used to be; two, my energy level has greatly decreased; and three my body doesn't work like it used to work.
This weekend, we'd purchased some steel shelving units for our garage. I'd made a comment several months ago about how frustrating it was to see all the messiness of our stuff in the space our cars should be. Finally, after nagging and complaining for weeks, I managed to get my husband to agree to go to our local big box hardware store and look for ways to make our space a little neater.
This weekend, we'd purchased some steel shelving units for our garage. I'd made a comment several months ago about how frustrating it was to see all the messiness of our stuff in the space our cars should be. Finally, after nagging and complaining for weeks, I managed to get my husband to agree to go to our local big box hardware store and look for ways to make our space a little neater.
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Chemotherapy, a Trusty Weapon Against Cancer, Falls Out of Favor
By
118 COMMENTS
Chemo or no chemo? That is the question.
Doctors are at odds over whether some women with breast cancer should have chemotherapy—one treatment among the arsenal long seen as crucial to fighting the disease, along with surgery and radiation.
Many oncologists are shunning chemo as risky and ineffective at combating some early-stage breast tumors. Traditionally, the majority of women with invasive breast cancer were treated with some combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.
A shift to less chemotherapy or none at all, called “de-escalation,” is being hailed by some as revolutionary, following what some doctors see as years of overtreatment with drugs that may have harmed more than helped. Proponents of de-escalation say chemotherapy—the use of chemical agents to treat the disease—should be used only when it appears likely to reduce the chances of the cancer spreading
Should You Get a Pap Smear? --- NEW from Touro
New post on Living Well |
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Dr. Jamie Sias is an OB/GYN with Crescent City Physicians, Inc., a subsidiary of Touro Infirmary. She received her undergraduate degree from Xavier University of Louisiana and earned her medical degree from Louisiana State University School of Medicine. Dr. Sias cares for patients at two convenient locations, Mid-City and St. Claude.|
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