Erin Columbus, LMSW spoke about effectively moderating support groups in an online environment.

Nicole DiMartino, MSW offered solutions for managing and coping with the emotional impact of a cancer diagnosis in adolescents.

Richard R. Dickens, LCSW-R spoke about the cancer experience in older adults, and how relaxation and mind/body techniques can help people cope with the emotional and physical challenges of cancer and treatment side effects.

Carolyn Messner, DSW presented on global health issues and how to improve the sharing of knowledge and expertise with colleagues at home and abroad.

Kristy Case, LMSW presented on the importance of post-treatment care for breast cancer survivors.

“For many people, the emotional impact and stress of a cancer diagnosis doesn’t end once they’ve finished with their treatment,” noted Case.  “It’s important for patients and their families to work with their health care team before their treatment ends to ensure that their emotional and practical needs are addressed and to create a smoother transition into post-treatment.”

CancerCare CEO Helen H. Miller, LCSW wrote about the importance of post-treatment care in a recent issue of Oncology Nurse Advisor magazine.  Read the article.

Upcoming CancerCare Connect^® Education Workshops will address issues for patients and caregivers following the end of treatment, as part of its 9th Annual Series on Cancer Survivorship, featuring cancer experts from around the country in a live one-hour conference that can be listened to over the telephone or via live stream from CancerCare‘s website.

The next workshop, Stress Management for Caregivers: Taking Care of Yourself Physically and Emotionally, will take place Tuesday, June 14. Pre-registration for these free workshops is required.  To register, and to learn more, visit www.cancercare.org/connect.

CancerCare offers specialized services for post-treatment survivors and their loved ones, including support groups, counseling, and free publications. Learn more.

Michelle has just published her first book, Cancerland and The Other Side of Sick, a quick and inspiring read about the journey from “diagnosis to empowerment.” Michelle has donated copies of the book for free distribution to CancerCare clients as a way of giving back for the help she received from our specialized services for young adults.

Read Michelle’s post below, and check out her book at www.othersideofsick.org. 

Want to be a guest blogger on Copelink? Please email jbarnett@cancercare.org.

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My Little Red Dictionary

by Michelle Malavet

Living on The Other Side of Sick, my life is full of wonderment. I carry a little red dictionary most everywhere I go. I love words, especially words that rhyme, like “ignite” and “light,”  or “cancer” and “answer.”

Whenever I have a question in my life, my pocket-sized companion offers clarity and distinction. It has provided answers to many questions along my cancer survivor/thriver journey, including, “Why me? Why did I get cancer?”

My little red dictionary defines these words as:

why, adv. for what cause.

me, pron. objective case of I.

get, v., acquire; capture; achieve power over.

cancer, n. potentially unlimited growth that expands.

So whenever you ask, “Why me? Why did I get cancer?” consider that you are actually asking:

“For what cause am I? For what cause did I acquire potentially unlimited growth that expands?” 

These are very powerful questions.

Continually answering them has helped me express who I am as a cancer survivor/thriver. One can say that these questions are my journey.

Everyday, I am on a mission to inspire anyone living with cancer to fully express themselves. That is my “why.” That is my cause.

Today I woke up wondering, “What is a miracle?” What to know the definition in my little red dictionary? Please write to me, and share what you discover: mm@othersideofsick.org.

Support groups connect people in similar situations and provide an environment in which they can share their feelings and build a community of support.

CancerCare‘s online support groups enable individual participants to communicate via a password-protected message board that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Each support group is active for a 14-week period and each is moderated by a professional oncology social worker, who provides guidance, resources and reliable information to the participants.

CancerCare currently offers 25 different support groups online. Each is targeted to a specific population, such as people undergoing treatment for cancer, cancer survivors, caregivers and the bereaved.  Groups now recruiting include:

• Triple negative breast cancer patients
• Caregivers of loved ones with lung cancer
• Men with cancer
• Young adult caregivers of spouses and partners

 All support groups are completely free of charge, but registration is required.  Learn more.

We mourn the loss of Elizabeth Edwards, who died on Dec. 7 from metastatic breast cancer at the age of 61.  An accomplished lawyer, political advisor and the wife of a former US senator (who was also a vice presidential candidate and, briefly, presidential candidate), Edwards will be remembered in part for the tragedies and personal struggles in her later years that played out so publicly and painfully on the national stage. More enduring, however, is the legacy of her courage and activism on behalf of all people facing cancer. 

Elizabeth Edwards was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, and was successfully treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. But in 2007, her cancer returned and was found to have spread. Edwards described her diagnosis as treatable, but “no longer curable.”

Still, this did little to slow her down. She became an inspirational figure to anyone facing cancer, especially an advanced-stage diagnosis.  As the mother of an adult daughter and two young children, she was candid about discussing her diagnosis with them, and in numerous interviews with the press emphasized the importance of talking to children honestly and openly, in language they can understand, about cancer.

“I think the most important thing — and the younger the member of your family is, the more important it is — is that you be incredibly honest, even though you might be giving a grammar school explanation of something,” Edwards told WebMD in an interview last year. “At least when your children look back on what you said to them, they will know that you were honest with them.”

Elizabeth Edwards exemplified the resilience and spirit we at CancerCare see everyday in the individuals and families we serve. She was a true champion of people of all ages and from all walks of life who, like her, face cancer with courage and with hope, and live their lives accordingly.

She will be greatly missed.

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 If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with an advanced or recurring cancer, CancerCare recommends:

Communicate with your doctor. The question of prognosis, that is, how long one may have to live with advanced cancer, is one that some people want to ask and others do not. However, it may be possible for a doctor to provide information regarding a time frame that could be helpful in terms of decision-making regarding treatment choices, planning for future care, financial decisions and how to spend your time. Read more about practicing doctor/patient communication in the CancerCare publication, Communicating with your Health Care Team.

“Incurable” does not mean “untreatable.” There are treatments that can control or slow down cancer from growing or spreading to other parts of the body. In this way, a cancer that cannot currently be cured can still be treated.

Define hope and meaning for yourself. A recurrence of cancer requires that you define hope in a more varied and complex way. Recurrence is a time to revisit those decisions and more specifically think about the quality of your life and what that means to you. Most important is how your doctor, family, and friends can help you maintain what you define as quality living. Read more in the publication, Coping with Cancer: Tools to Help You Live. 

Talk openly with your children. Conversations about advanced cancer can feel particularly complicated where children are concerned. The best thing you can do for your children during this difficult time is to talk to them about your recurrence and their feelings. Learn more in our publication, Helping Children Understand Cancer: Talking to Your Kids About Your Diagnosis.

Fighting Cancer inspires patients to feel in control at a time when they may feel powerless. The many topics the book discusses include:

• What cancer is and how it spreads

• How to reconcile emotional needs alongside medical treatment

• Why particular treatment strategies are chosen and how they work

• How patients can visualize treatments at work in the body and why this is helpful

You can order a copy of the book here, or through Amazon.com.

We also encourage you to visit Dr. Frank’s Fighting Cancer blog.

When Suzanne Lindley was diagnosed with colorectal cancer and informed she had six months to live, she and her family moved to the country, where she’d always dreamed of living.  Twelve years later, Suzanne leads an amazingly active life, traveling all around the country as a colorectal cancer advocate.

She credits her current quality of life to hitchhiking treatments, as well as to her CancerCare social worker Keith Lyons, who provided her with essential support and motivation through individual counseling and a support group.  “[Keith] said I could see cancer as a death sentence or I could celebrate the fact that I was very much alive and experience now,” Suzanne recalls.

The complete article is available here.

CancerCare offers online, telephone and face-to-face support groups that connect you with people who are in a similar situation. All support groups are free and led by professional oncology social workers who are experienced with cancer-related issues and concerns.

Week-long programs are offered in Utah, Colorado, Montana and Washington, free of charge to all participants. It is not required of participants to have any previous rafting or climbing experience, and all equipment is provided by First Descents. Medical providers are always available on-site at each program to ensure a safe experience for each individual.

First Descents Participants Kayaking in Idaho

Those accepted to the program must cover the cost of travel, although limited scholarships covering transportation are available. First Descents is still accepting applications for climbing programs in September; click here to apply.  All that is required to apply is a general application form, and a physical exam form filed out by you physician.

“Young adults who have cancer are often underserved by support offerings that address concerns specific to their age,” notes CancerCare Men’s Cancer Project Coordinator Wade Iwata, LMSW.  “First Descents is really a unique and worthwhile experience that keeps young adults coming back to the program year after year.”

For more information about First Descents, and to learn how you can become a volunteer or host a fundraiser, please visit the organization’s website. 

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

On Monday, April 12, CancerCare Director of Education and Training Carolyn Messner will join host Victoria Bond and composers Harold Meltzer, Sebastian Currier, Laurie San Martin, Sean Shepherd, Kristin Kuster, Jeremy Thurlow and Anna Weesner in a discussion about the therapeutic value of music during treatment.

The event, held at Symphony Space’s Leonard Nimoy Thalia theater (Broadway at 95^th St.) begins at 6:30 p.m. with the panel discussion, followed by the concert at 7:30 p.m.

“As a recent breast cancer survivor, I learned from a fellow patient the benefit of having music played when undergoing radiation treatments,” says Messner.  “I requested my favorite classical music to be played. It was transformative for me, the time went quickly and the music enabled me to tolerate the treatments.”

“Many people find music to be a fabulous distraction from what is happening around them during treatment,” adds Messner, noting that most treatment centers offer patients the option of listening to music during treatment. “Patients can certainly find it soothing and relaxing, and some even prefer to dial the volume as loud as it can go in order to feel energized.  Having the ability to select what they listen to and how loud they listen to it  brings a sense of control, and really can completely change a person’s mood.”

Tickets are $20 ($18 for Symphony Space members); students and seniors,  $15.  Purchase tickets online at www.symphonyspace.org.

The guidebook was written by Vladimir Lange, M.D. to empower patients to seek a cure, rather than to accept defeat.  “New treatments, new drugs, and earlier diagnosis make survival much more likely than it was just a few years ago,” he notes.

CancerCare Lung Cancer Program Coordinator Win Boerkel calls Be a Survivor “one of the best lung cancer patient guides I’ve seen in my 13 years of working with lung cancer patients.”

In 2009, CancerCare collaborated with leading patient advocacy groups to launch The Lung Cancer Clinical Trial Call to Action campaign, designed to help patients and their families navigate the complicated landscape of researching and identifying clinical trials. Patients can call 1-800-698-0931 to be matched with a Clinical Trial Specialist who will guide them through the entire process.

The CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation offers up to $10,000 per year in co-payment assistance for lung cancer patients in their families.

To order the guide, call 1-888-LANGE-88 (888-526-4388), or print out and fax back the order form.

Learn more about our free services for lung cancer patients and visit our sister website, www.lungcancer.org.

The CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation provides up to $10,000 per year in co-payment assistance to eligible individuals facing renal cell carcinoma or colorectal cancer.

CancerCare has also responded to the needs of people facing kidney cancer by hosting Connect Education Workshops that offer information about research and treatment in kidney cancer and offering informative kidney cancer publications in our ever-expanding online reading room.

To learn about treatment updates for colorectal cancer, listen to our most recent Connect Education Workshop, Emerging Treatments for Colorectal Cancer: What’s New? Other Connect Education Workshops have explored colorectal cancer topics such as improved treatment options through clinical trials and updates on genetic testing for recurrence.

Additionally, this month’s Ask CancerCare column gives you an opportunity to ask any questions you may have about coping with colorectal cancer.

For more resources on these cancers, visit the diagnoses pages on our website.