It’s a decision that can challenge even experienced caregivers: How hard do I push the patient to go to the emergency room if (s)he doesn’t want to?
Read moreOne of the Tough Decisions as a Patient
It’s a decision that can challenge even the most experienced patient: Should I go to the emergency room or wait until my doctor’s office opens?
Read moreA Practical, Comforting Primer for Newly Diagnosed Patients
Jen Singer is an accomplished medical writer who wrote a book you can judge by the cover. This remarkable 78-page primer guides people through the transition from “healthy” to “sick.”
Read moreThe Best Decisions are Governed by Values
A man's decision to donate one of his kidneys to a stranger offers Healthy Survivors a provocative insight on decision-making.
Read moreWhen Implants Cause Cancer
Journalists often use heartbreaking stories to make a point. Those stories thrill me when they educate and mobilize people to proper action. They worry me when they risk causing undue fear and leading people away from proper action.
Read moreA Risk of Empowering Patients--Part II
Not all patients embrace the idea of patient empowerment. In particular, some patients don't want to be actively involved in their treatment decisions. Others don't want to hear lists of things they should be doing to optimize their outcome. Why?
Read moreMaking the Best Medical Decisions - Part III
Are you a believer or a doubter, when it comes to modern medicine?
Read moreMaking the Best Medical Decisions - Part II
To make wise medical decisions, you need to know whether you are a believer in modern medicine or a doubter.
Read moreMaking the Best Medical Decisions
Making the best medical decisions for you is vital to Healthy Survivorship, and not only because doing so optimizes your chance of the best outcome. If you end up with a disappointing treatment result, your prior decisions affect--and may determine--your happiness....
Read moreSelf-Advocacy and Healthy Survivorship
The National Breast Cancer Foundation just published my guest blog post on self-advocacy, in which I explained how "The first time I heard that term in a medical context it conjured images of clench-fisted activists picketing in front of hospitals, demanding better care. Actually, self-advocacy is simply the act of....
Read moreThe Difficulty of Reporting Minor Symptoms--Part III
Recent posts outlined some of the many reasons patients may experience conflict and distress when deciding whether to call about minor symptoms. What's a Healthy Survivor to do?
Read moreThe Difficulty of Reporting Minor Symptoms -- Part II
What's challenging about reporting minor symptoms? They're less frightening. Shouldn't they be easier to report? Like many long-term survivors (LTS), I've felt torn between...
Read moreThe Difficulty of Reporting Minor Symptoms
After someone has been through cancer treatment and recovery, a new mild symptom is no big deal, right? Well, maybe. In the next few posts, we'll explore the difficulty of reporting minor symptoms in long-term survivors (LTS) who want to be Healthy Survivors.
Read moreA Cancer in the Family
If you ever wondered if you might be at increased risk of cancer because a family member has or had cancer, this book is for you: A Cancer in the Family by Theodora Ross, MD, PhD.
Read moreColonoscopy Comparison
Colonoscopy naturally makes you think of all the inconvenience and yuck. Here’s the problem: If you compare the colonoscopy experience to your normal routine, you might be tempted to delay (or decline) the cancer screening test.
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