Learn More About CancerCare’s Specialized Services for Men, Women, Children, and Families

September 1, 2011

September is the national awareness month for many different cancer diagnoses:

Leukemia

Explore CancerCare’s leukemia resource page to see the free services we offer for people affected by leukemia, which include a recent revision of a three-part fact sheet series on coping with chronic mylogenous leukemia.

Lymphoma

Our free services include an upcoming Connect Education Workshop series on living with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. The first workshop will take place Wednesday, September 14 at 1:30pm EST. Register for the workshop.

Multiple Myeloma

CancerCare’s free resources include our new Connect booklet, Advances in the Treatment for Multiple Myeloma. If you have been diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, or multiple myeloma, you may wish to participate in a free support group for people affected by blood cancers. Learn more and register for this support group.

Prostate Cancer

Register for our upcoming Connect Education Workshop, “Caring for Your Bones When You Have Prostate Cancer” on September 16 at 1:30pm EST.

Ovarian Cancer

Read our new Connect Booklet, Medical Update on Ovarian Cancer. We’ve partnered with L’Oréal Paris and Ovarian Cancer Research Fund on a dedicated telephone counseling and referral service for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer. To speak with a professional oncology social worker, call 1‑877‑OV‑HOPE‑1 (1‑877‑684‑6731).

Gynecologic Cancers

Learn more and register for an online support group for people affected by gynecologic cancers.

Thyroid Cancer

Listen to our podcast, “Treatment Update on Thyroid Cancer.”

Childhood Cancers

Learn more about CancerCare’s free services for children diagnosed with cancer. CancerCare also helps children who have a parent, sibling, or other loved one facing cancer. Read our e-booklet, Helping Children When a Family Member has Cancer. 

 

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Posted by Kyle Hornyak

Coping with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia

August 2, 2011

A new article in this month’s issue of Coping with Cancer magazine explores ways to cope with the challenges of a chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) diagnosis.

The article’s content is excerpted from CancerCare’s recently updated, three-part CML fact sheet series. The series explores topics such as:

Read the article.

World-renowned experts in treating CML recently answered listeners’ questions during CancerCare’s free Connect Education Workshop, “Living with CML: Current Perspectives on Survivorship.” Listen to a podcast of the workshop.

Learn more about CancerCare’s free, professional support services for people affected by leukemia.

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Posted by Kyle Hornyak

Bone Health Resources for People Affected by Cancer

July 29, 2011

Cancer can affect bone health in many ways. Some cancers such as multiple myeloma begin in the bones, weakening them. Other cancers can metastasize (spread) to the bones. Some cancer treatments can affect bone health as well.

Visit our bone health resource page, www.bonehealthandcancer.org,  to learn about how to care for your bones when you have cancer.

Our free resources on these pages include Connect Education Workshops such as “New Advances in Bone Health for People Living with Cancer” and “Caring for Your Bones When You Have Breast Cancer”, as well as publications such as “Caring for Your Bones When You Have Cancer”.

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Posted by Kyle Hornyak

New Study Shows Early Detection of Lung Cancer Saves Lives

July 18, 2011

The results of a new study show how the CT scan is more effective than the X-ray as a screening tool to prevent deaths from lung cancer.

The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) followed current and former smokers who did not have any symptoms of lung cancer. Participants were scanned with either a CT scan or chest X-ray when they entered the study, and then at the end of their first and second years of the study.

Participants were then tracked for up to five years, during which time researchers recorded the deaths of participants from lung cancer. The results showed 20% fewer lung cancer deaths in people who were screened with a low-dose CT scan than with a chest X-ray.

These results are very encouraging, as a major hurdle to treating lung cancer has been diagnosing it early enough to begin effective treatment. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is exploring the most effective way to implement screening guidelines based on these results.

“The news of these results is welcomed by the entire lung cancer community as a major turning point in the way lung cancer can be detected and treated as an early stage disease,” says CancerCare National Lung Cancer Program Coordinator Win Boerckel, LCSW-R.

Read more about the National Lung Screening Trial.

CancerCare created www.lungcancer.org to serve as a source of information and support for people affected by lung cancer. You can also visit CancerCare’s lung cancer diagnosis page on our newly-designed website to learn more about our free, professional support services for people affected by lung cancer.

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Posted by Kyle Hornyak

Longtime CancerCare Presenter Honored With Humanitarian Award

June 13, 2011

Longtime CancerCare Connect® Education Workshop presenter Dr. Mark Kris was honored with the 2011 Humanitarian Award at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago last week.

Dr. Kris received the award for his dedication to providing the best treatment possible for people affected by lung cancer, as well as for his volunteer work with ASCO and organizations such as CancerCare.  

Watch a video featuring CancerCare CEO Helen H. Miller that showcases Dr. Kris’ achievements:

Dr. Kris has served as a medical expert during numerous Connect Education Workshops, including “What’s New in Lung Cancer.” Dr. Kris has also served as a reviewer on CancerCare Connect booklets such as “Caring for Your Bones When You Have Lung Cancer.”

Learn more about CancerCare’s free, professional support services for people affected by lung cancer.

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Posted by Kyle Hornyak

Strong and Courageous: A Breast Cancer Survivor Shares Her Story

May 13, 2011

In honor of Women’s Health Awareness Week (May 8-14), we’ve invited author and cancer survivor Drenda Lane Howatt to be our featured guest blogger. Diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2008 at age 47, Drenda has been cancer-free now for more than a year.

She chronicled her diagnosis through “status updates” and correspondences with friends and family via Facebook.com, and compiled them to form the book, Strong and Courageous: A Survivor’s Facebook Journey Through Cancer. 

Here is an excerpt from the book, which can be ordered through amazon.com:

Present is Priceless

Sunday, August 2, 2009 at 7:53pm

I have written much about the support I have received as I have stared cancer in the face.

So many people have been by my side.

Some have gone before me. And then came to take my hand and lead me into the darkness. And they held a light onto my path.

Some have walked beside me the entire time. Their presence makes the darkness less scary.

Some are so frightened by breast cancer that they need to hear my story so they can find the differences between us. For if we ARE different, then they are “safe” from breast cancer. And once they feel safe, some are still there, and others are gone.

Some I do not even know. They read my blog, or hear my story from someone close to me, and then they reach out to let me know I am in their prayers.

But some are absent.

Pretty much completely.

And those that are absent make me wonder.

Are they afraid of me now?

Scared to say anything for fear of saying the “wrong” thing?

Afraid that cancer may be contagious?

Afraid of being a bother?

Or, perhaps, not realizing that reaching out does make a difference?

I don’t know the answer.

But their absence does make me realize that I have been “absent” for others before.

And that makes me sad.

Because now I realize, truly, how important it is to be “present.”

And what a difference that those “present” can make.

Priceless.

Learn more about CancerCare’s free, specialized services for women facing cancer.

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Posted by Kyle Hornyak

NY Academy of Sciences to Host Free Seminar for Breast Cancer Patients in NYC, May 14

May 10, 2011

Coinciding with Women’s Health Awarenesss Week (May 8-14), The New York Academy of Sciences will hold a free educational event on Saturday, May 14 in New York City for people affected by breast cancer and their loved ones.

The half-day event, from 9:00 am – 12:30 pm ET at the New York Academy of Sciences in lower Manhattan, will include interactive panel discussions where leading experts in the treatment of breast cancer will answer the audience’s questions. Also featured are keynote speakers, oncologist Dr. Francis P. Arena, MD and art historian Tanya Manuali Bastianich, co-authors of Reflections of the Breast: Breast Cancer in Art through the Ages (2010, Ibooks, Inc.). Learn more and register.

Learn more about CancerCare‘s specialized, free services for women, caregivers, and family members affected by breast cancer and gynecological cancers.

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Posted by Kyle Hornyak

New Drug Approved for Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

May 6, 2011

The FDA has approved a new drug for the treatment of advanced-stage pancreatic cancer.

Approximately 60% of people with pancreatic cancer are diagnosed in its advanced stages, where the disease has spread to other parts of the body and is difficult to treat. Afinitor, made by Novartis,  is the first drug in nearly 30 years to be approved for advanced pancreatic cancer.

Read Novartis’ press release about Afinitor.

CanceCare offers free, professional support services for people affected by pancreatic cancer, including financial help,  thanks in part to funds donated by the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, a nonprofit organization that provides resources and support to pancreatic cancer patients and their families.

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Posted by Kyle Hornyak

New Treatment for Advanced Prostate Cancer

May 3, 2011

This past Friday’s Connect Education Workshop, What’s New in Metastatic Prostate Cancer, coincided with the FDA’s approval of a new treatment for advanced prostate cancer.

Zytiga, a pill that decreases the production of a hormone that stimulates cancer cells to grow, prolonged the lives of men with late-stage prostate cancer who had received prior treatments and had few available therapeutic options. Listen to the workshop.

Learn more about Zytiga.

CancerCare offers free support services for people affected by prostate cancer, including an online support group for men affected by cancer. We are also recruiting participants for a face-to-face men’s cancers support group. Register and learn more about CancerCare’s free support groups.

Men who are affected by prostate cancer may also be eligible to receive up to $5,000 per year in co-payment assistance through the CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation. Learn more.

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Posted by Kyle Hornyak

New Publications are Available, Free of Charge

April 26, 2011

CancerCare recently added eight new publications to its reading room of Connect booklets and fact sheets, all of which can be ordered free of charge from our online order form:

Three of these new publications are in Spanish:

Stay up-to-date on new publications by signing up for CancerCare E-News, CancerCare‘s free monthly email newsletter.

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Posted by Kyle Hornyak

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