December 14, 2009
The ancient Japanese tradition of senbazuru promises that a person who folds 1000 origami cranes will be granted a wish, such as long life or recovery from illness.
Boston-based Millennium Pharmaceuticals, owned by the Japanese pharmaceutical, The Takeda Company, recently launched a website honoring the senbazuru tradition, where people facing cancer–patients, caregivers, loved ones–can express their hopes and wishes for the New Year. Each message of hope posted at the site is represented by a bird-shaped paper figurine.
Millennium Pharmaceuticals is a funder of CancerCare’s Door to Door program, which provides financial assistance to cover transportation costs for people undergoing treatment for multiple myeloma.
Leave your wish at 1000 Cranes of Hope.com (the site is free but log-in registration is required). For every wish left at the site, Millennium will make a donation to a healthcare-related charity.
1 Comment | 
Caregiving, Coping with Cancer, Financial Assistance, Mind-Body-Spirit | Tagged: caregivers, coping, cost of care, Door to Door program, financial resources, multiple myeloma, transportation grants | 
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Posted by Jeanie M. Barnett
November 23, 2009
A new online resource from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) answers some important questions about seasonal and 2009 H1N1 flu for cancer patients and survivors.
While cancer patients and survivors may not be at any greater risk for infection with either 2009 H1N1 flu or seasonal flu, the CDC cautions that cancer patients and survivors are at higher risk for hospitalization and potentially life-threatening complications from all types of flu.
The CDC recommends that people who have cancer or a history of cancer should receive a seasonal flu vaccine and the H1N1 flu shot (not the nasal spray vaccine). The seasonal flu vaccine alone is not expected to protect against 2009 H1N1 flu. Household members and caregivers of cancer patients and survivors also should be vaccinated against both types of flu.
Find out more at www.cdc.gov/cancer/flu
Leave a Comment » | Caregiving, Coping with Cancer, Survivorship | Tagged: cancer information, cancer patients, cancer survivors, caregivers | Permalink
Posted by Jeanie M. Barnett
October 1, 2009
A cancer diagnosis has a profound effect on the entire family, especially when it is a child who is diagnosed. While family and friends are understandably focused on the ill child’s care, healthy children may feel isolated and believe their needs are being neglected. These children may have feelings of sadness, anger, fear and loneliness.
Join us on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 1:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) as CancerCare hosts a free Connect Education Workshop: Helping Teachers and Educators Support Siblings of Children with Cancer.
Featured speakers include Joan Fedota, EdD, LCSW, Assistant Dean of the National College of Education at National-Louis University; Melanie Goldish, Executive Director, SuperSibs!; Michelle Oddi, RN, BSN, Young Adult Sibling and Staff Nurse, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Jordan Sonnenblick, award-winning author of the sibling story, Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie; and Julia Little, MSW, Project Coordinator, CancerCare for Kids.
You may also be interested in a podcast of Part 1 of this series, For Parents, Caregivers and Professionals: Helping Brothers and Sisters of Children with Cancer.
Leave a Comment » | CancerCare for Kids, Coping with Cancer | Tagged: cancer and the family, caregivers, children, siblings | Permalink
Posted by Carolyn Messner
