Select the Best Oncologist and Treatment Team for You

Good Morning Cancer Patients and Caregivers;

When you're born you can't select your parents or your siblings but when you are diagnosed with cancer, you can select your oncologist and your cancer treatment team. Most cancer patients are referred to an oncologist by another physician who identified the cancer, and most cancer patients go along with the referral. Unfortunately, a referral to an oncologist by the referring physician doesn't mean the oncologist referred is the right one for you. You know you are in trouble when during the first meeting the oncologist confirms the diagnosis of cancer and then informs you he can tell you how long you have to live. Keep in mind the oncologist has no skin in the game in the treatment and cure of your cancer. The oncologist gets paid to treat you for your cancer and gets paid whether you are cured or not.

Your battle with cancer is the worst battle of your life and for your life and you want an oncologist and treatment team that is committed to doing everything possible to cure your cancer and has the resources and intellectual capital invested to do so. You want the assurance you can take them into the trench fight with you and they won't abandon you when they have completed their prescribed regime of treatment but have not cured you of the cancer. Just because the oncologist is associated with a hospital that treats cancer and attends to cancer patients doesn't mean they are good at it; they invest in the treatment process and are current on the treatment regimes and drugs; they are familiar with the latest advances and new protocols being made for your cancer; and, are familiar with the leading cancer research and treatment hospitals. Oncologists are like mechanics, they know how to be a mechanic. The question is: Do they have the expertise, experience and resources to repair your make and model of car, and in your case, treat you and cure you of your specific type cancer; they won't give up and will keep working with you until they have you cured?

It is the responsibility of the cancer patient and the caregiver to select the best oncologist and treatment team for their cancer, one they are comfortable with and trust will do their best to cure their cancer. When I selected my oncologist he had been referred to me by the physician that diagnosed my cancer. I was fortunate that he had the commitment and stamina to use his resources to take me all the way through the treatment until I was cured.  When we met at our first of many office visits, I informed him he was to either cure me or kill me with the treatment but he was not to give up. He assured he wouldn't, and would say at every office visit " I must be curing you because I haven't killed you yet". I felt confident he would do everything he could and call on every resource he had at his disposal.

I have experienced too many cancer patients that didn't want to make the effort to select an oncologist that had the experience and expertise to treat their specific type of cancer. Some didn't want to go the extra distance or cross the river to go to the best oncologist for their treatment. Many waited to long to make the decision. When their current oncologist gave up they began the search for the best oncologist for their type of cancer. Unfortunately, too much time was wasted with their previous treatment which depleted their strength, stamina and immune system.

In the cancer treatment journey you have to control your own destiny and make the right choices. Selecting the right oncologist and treatment team is the first choice you make that should be right for you. You don't want to get half way through the journey and have to change oncologists and treatment teams. Making this choice is difficult to do when you are first diagnosed because the fear factor has such a tight grip on you. If you feel later on the choice was not right, then change your oncologist as quickly as possible. Remember the oncologist and treatment team are getting paid whether you win or lose.

Stay strong, keep your sense of humor and never give up

The Courage of a Cancer Patient

Good Morning Cancer Patients and Caregivers;
When you are diagnosed with cancer you don't realize at first the journey you are taking and the battle your body will be in. Most cancer patients receive the diagnosis, listen to the prescribed treatment regime and start the process of cancer treatment with their oncologist and cancer treatment team or surgeon. Every cancer patient has a choice when first diagnosed with cancer: to start treatment of some kind or to not start treatment. Either decision requires courage, the courage to start and go through treatment or the courage to not receive treatment. I think courage is a moral value that sustains our decision regarding treatment. It allows us to stand strong during the brutal abuse treatment causes us and the caregiver, and provides the positive attitude, this too will pass, and the cancer will be eliminated. Surviving cancer or living with cancer forces you to live your life for a new reason and that takes courage. Courage gives you the strength to endure: the treatment process and debilitating side effects; surgery if required; and, recovery from the treatment and surgery.

With every cancer patient and caregiver you know and meet you should recognize their courage and encourage them to stay strong and not give up. Commend them for their courage which they will not have recognized. Encourage them to not give up the fight and cancer is not worth dieing for.

Every cancer patient decides how they will respond to the challenges of cancer. How they deal with their cancer and the treatment journey, is their decision. It takes courage. As a cancer survivor I support their decision and admire their courage.

Stay strong, keep your sense of humor and never give up.

Staying Motivate Ain't Easy

Good Morning Cancer Patients and Caregivers;
Staying motivated in a long cancer treatment process is not like going on the family vacation and enduring the long ride to your vacation destination as your motivation dwindles because the car ride lasts longer than your motivational spirit. But once you've reach your vacation destination, the long journey seems tolerable and is forgotten as your motivation and excitement about arriving return.

I was fortunate that my cancer treatment only lasted 13 months. But 13 months can seem like eternity when every day is filled with enduring the numerous side effects treatment doles out, the pain and discomfort from the treatment itself, be it from chemo, radiation and surgery. The nauseousness, dehydration, diarrhea, constipation, flu-like symptoms and all the other treatment related discomforts and aggravations the treatment process bestows on you, doesn't lend itself to staying motivated over a long duration of treatment.

To stay motivated during treatment requires work and the ability to identify motivating factors ( little things that  help you keep your attitude and avoid depression). These can be as simple as: finishing the last treatment for the week and enjoying the week end; having a day when the nauseousness is more tolerable; being told your blood work results are improving; carrying a few songs in your head that you feel have personal meaning and help you stay motivated.

During my treatment I carried several songs in my head that always seemed to percolate up. These were: "It's a Great Day to be Alive" by Travis Tritt; "Center Field" by John Fogerty; "Shape I'm In" by The Arc Angels; and "How Sweet It Is" by James Taylor. I recently heard a great song that just came out and I would have included in that list. I recommend you consider carrying it around in your head. The song is by Reba McEntire, titled " Livin' Ain't Killed Me Yet ". The following are the words to the song I thought I would share with you. The song is a Country Rock fast beat song you can enjoy and most cancer patients should relate to.
 "Living Ain't Killed Me Yet"
Life will throw you a curve ball

Back against a brick wall
Push you right up to the edge
It'll hit you from your blind side
Kick you in the backside
Barely even break a sweat

It's a roll with the punches
Funny little life we lead
Oh, but I'm in it for the long haul
Win, lose or draw, y'all
It won't get the best of me

Cause I been down to the wire
With my feet to the fire
But this livin' ain't killed me yet
Well I been tested and tried
But I still got some fight
No, this livin' ain't killed me,
Livin' ain't killed me yet

I won't let a couple mistakes
Wrong turns that I've made
Be a noose around my neck
Hurt will hurt if you let it
Unless you just forget it
Shake it off, and say what's next

It's an up down, spin around
crazy kinda world we're in, oh yeah
But I'm in it for the long haul, win, lose or draw
Might fall, but I'll get up again

Cause I been down to the wire
With my feet to the wire
But this livin' ain't killed me yet
Well I been tested and tried
But I still got some fight
No, this livin' ain't killed me,
Livin' ain't killed me yet

Oh, I'm in it for the long haul
Win, lose or draw
As long as I've got air to breathe
Ah, it won't get the best of me!

Cause I been down to the wire
With my feet to the fire
But this livin' ain't killed me yet
I been tested and tried
But I still got some fight
No, this livin' ain't killed me,
Livin' ain't killed me,
livin' ain't killed me oh oh oh yet
Nawww yet. 

 

Staying motivate ain't easy in a long cancer treatment. You need to find the mechanisms that will help you when you need motivation the most and livin' ain't killed you yet.

Stay strong, keep your sense of humor and never give up.

Cancer Isn't Worth Dieing For

Good Morning Cancer Patients and Caregivers;
Cancer treatment becomes a rigorous brutal undertaking with its numerous treatment protocols, side effects, surgeries, treatment regimes, and the physical abuse treatment puts your body through. No matter how bad the treatment is, and you may feel like dieing rather than continuing with treatment, cancer is not worth dieing for.

Every cancer patient decides how they will deal with their cancer. Doing no more than going to treatment and suffering through the agony of treatment and treatment side effects, is a choice. Today with the many advances in cancer treatments, there are more cancer patients surviving cancer or are living with cancer than ever before.

Every cancer patient makes the choice to be a survivor and decides how they want to achieve being a survivor. You will always feel like a victim or a specimen going through treatment but meandering through  treatment, hoping not to lose your life to cancer, is not something to look forward to. Your alternative choice as a cancer patient, is to address and challenges of cancer before you.

 Cancer treatment is a high stakes poker game, where the treatment team is determined to cure your cancer, and hope they can do it before the treatment defeats you. It is incumbent on the cancer patient to take a proactive and aggressive approach to doing everything possible to help your body endure the grueling side effects and deterioration of strength, stamina and the body's immune system. Taking a proactive role in your treatment creates the mental strength and fortitude to continue with treatment. It also helps reduce the fear factor that has become your unwanted companion on your cancer journey. Being proactive with your treatment helps build your resolve and inner strength.

If it takes getting a second opinion regarding your diagnosis, treatment and the choices you have regarding your cancer, then get it. The more you know, the more you control the fear factor and the better the decisions you can make. If your oncologist tells you there is nothing more he can do. He is telling you he has exhausted his knowledge and resource base. Ask for a referral or find another oncologist that has the attitude and motivation to help you win this battle.

Cancer patients need to take control of their destiny in cancer treatment. They need to decide they want to skew the survival statistics by defeating cancer. You may have to get mad dog mad about having cancer in order to buck up to do everything possible to help your treatment team be successful with the treatment. No one ever dated the prom queen (king) by hoping not to lose. Buck up and take the battle to cancer. Get an attitude and get mad dog mad. Find what works for you and never give up. Cancer isn't worth dieing for.

Stay strong, keep your sense of humor and never give up.

Take Charge of Your Body's Well Being

Good Morning Cancer Patients and Caregivers;
When you're diagnosed with cancer your oncologist and your cancer treatment team treat the disease. Their focus is defeating your cancer and curing you. Their intent is to kill the cancer before they kill the cancer patient with the treatment. The issue I see more and more is the issue of the well being of the cancer patient not being of equal importance of focus while going through treatment. Let's face it, the oncologist, surgeon, radiologist, infusion nurse and all the other professionals on your cancer treatment team get paid whether their treatment is successful or it fails. Would their success rate change if they were paid based on the survival and cure rate of the cancer patient? What is lacking in most cancer patient treatment regimes is a combination of treatment to cure the disease coupled with  proactive patient care, so the cancer patient can; endure the grueling toxic abuse treatment creates, successfully get through the treatment rounds and recover for the next round, and enable completion of the treatment protocol.  For example, if during chemo treatment the cancer patient drops 10 percent of their body weight, they are putting their body's well being at risk. They lose body mass and strength, have reduced their nutritional replenishment needed to meet the recovery and nutritional needs of their body as well as reduced the capability of the body to fight infection. As the body becomes weaker, the ability to sustain normal living becomes more challenging. The cycle of self-degradation from cancer treatment continues. Most of the time a feeding tube is inserted into the stomach to ensure the cancer patient is receiving adequate nutrition. This occurs as a result of the lost body weight. It is a reactive remedy to the lost body weight, body strength and lost nutritional needs to endure cancer treatment, rather than a proactive remedy that works with the cancer patient during treatment to maintain body weight and physical strength, increase their nutritional requirements and ward off infections.When the oncologist prescribes the product Boost or Ensure to supplement the cancer patient's nutritional needs, or requires a feeding tube be inserted, the cancer patient has neglected taking charge of their body's well being. They have allowed the cancer treatment process to take charge of their body's well being with one of many reactive remedies.

The body's ability to fight cancer, endure the treatment process, stay strong, recover from each treatment round and ward off infection is one tough task that needs the commitment and rigor of the cancer patient. It's one tough journey for you and your body. Don't let the treatment process take charge of your body's well being. It could happen at some time anyway but if you take charge of your body's well being, you increase your ability to endure the treatment and improve the success of your treatment.

The Dread of Dehydration

Good Morning Cancer Patients and Caregivers;
Dehydration is one side effect that sneaks up on you when you are in treatment. Your oncologist and cancer treatment team will encourage you to consume mass quantities of fluids when you are being treated so you don't get dehydrated. When I was going through chemo treatment they even infused hydration into me so I wouldn't become dehydrated. With all the attention to dehydration and the consumption of mass quantities of fluids, I became dehydrated anyway,at the completion of the radiation treatment and continuous chemo infusion.

When I completed the radiation and continuous chemo infusion I was in the oncologist office for a check-up. He informed me I had become dehydrated and wanted me to come in the next day for an infusion of hydration mix. I told him I was going to the lake to recover and assured him I would consume mass quantities of my favorite summer time fluids. He insisted I come first thing in the morning and informed me that my self-hydration plan was insufficient to replenish the needed hydration I required. Begrudgingly, I came in for the hydration infusion that was completed in about an hour. Although getting hydrated kept me from leaving for the lake first thing in the morning, the effects of the hydration did make me feel better. So I left an hour latter for the lake and kept myself hydrated with my favorite summer time fluids.

I can't say I felt bad being dehydrated. The way I was shown I was dehydrated, the nurse pinched the skin on my forearm before my wrist. If the pinched skin remained pinched and vertical as mine did at the time, I was dehydrated. If the pinched skin returned to its horizontal position I was not dehydrated. What made the matter worse was I had been put on a meds to remove the liquids that were accumulating in my lungs so I couldn't tell if I was drying out from the meds or from the chemo and radiation, regardless of how much liquids I consumed. It seemed like another cancer conspiracy, I needed to consume mass quantities of fluids to stay hydrated during treatment but needed to take meds to remove fluids from my lungs. I'm sure the combination of treatment and the meds contributed to the dehydration.

There doesn't seem to be an easy answer to this problem and maybe there isn't one. Treatment can dehydrate you if you do not hydrate your system. I know I hydrated my system but apparently it was insufficient to keep from becoming dehydrated.

Dehydration is just another side effect to put on your watch list when you are in treatment. Consume mass quantities of healthy fluids (water, tea, Gatorade, coffee, milk, soup, shakes, et al) and be aware of the potential to become dehydrated. If you become dehydrated during treatment, it should not be from your lack of hydration but from the side effects of the treatment.

Stay strong, keep your sense of humor and never give up.

Good Things About Cancer Treatment

Good Morning Cancer Patients and Caregivers;

Every year when the month of August rolls around I remember the physical state I was in having completed two rounds of chemo treatment from June and July that required me to sit in an infusion chair for 5 hours, for 5 days in a week and repeat it the next month. When August came, I started 25 days of radiation treatment while carrying a 24 hour chemo infusion pack. I was getting pretty run down and chemo'd out. I knew there was more to come on the journey. 

I have never been a half empty or half full guy but thought there must be something good about cancer treatment besides reminding you of your mortality. About the 18th of August I started putting together a list of the good things I had experienced from cancer treatment. First, the test results showed shrinking of the tumor and my health was stable. I also noticed that chemo brain had set in, and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why I did certain things, but it didn't bother me. I began to put a list together of the good things about cancer treatment, specifically chemo and radiation.

• Mosquitoes, tics and chiggers won't bite you.
• If you need to lose weight, 5 days of chemo will do it quickly.
• Legal use of steroids.
• No need to shave.
• A bald head dries fast.
• Won't need to get a haircut for a while.
• Eat foods you don't like because you have no sense of taste.
• Beer is one of the few things I could taste.
• You could apply for a handicap parking tag.
• Blame everything on chemo brain.
• Get more sleep.
• Sunburned without being in the sun. 
• Pleased with small accomplishments
• Much lower set of expectations

I’m sure there are more but this was the list I remember developing one day when I was not feeling very well and just needed to lift my spirits.

 When the treatment has got you down and your spirits could use a lift, try this. Best case, it will create a diversion so you take your mind off not feeling well. Use your sense of humor and make it work for you.

Stay strong, keep your sense of humor and never give up.

                                                                                  

     

The Treatment May Kill You, If You Let It

Good Morning Cancer Patients and Caregivers;
 If the cancer doesn't kill you, the treatment may, if you don't do everything possible to help your body withstand and recover from the tremendous abuse treatment inflicts. Although more cancer treatments are becoming focused on the infected area, chemo and radiation treatment create enormous collateral damage of good body cells while attacking the cancer cells. The collateral damage increases with every round of treatment and the high stakes poker game begins. The reality is, the treatment team is trying to kill the cancer before the cancer or the treatment kills the cancer patient. Doing nothing to assist your body recover from each round of treatment or to help it endure the treatment, I believe, reduces the chances of the treatment being successful because the treatment either has to be discontinued or its treatment strength reduced because the cancer patient cannot endure the treatment's effects.

Let's face it. Going through cancer treatment can be the worst battle of your life and for your life. Every cancer patient must decide to get Mad Dog Mad and buck up for treatment. There is nothing easy about cancer treatment as the side effects after each round of treatment compound  and get worse. When you reach the point during treatment you cannot tolerate anymore devastation to your body, is the time to dig deep inside yourself to muster up your inner strength to go the distance. Your attitude needs to become, Cure Me or Kill Me with treatment.

Every oncologist knows when a cancer patient loses greater than 10% of their body weight during treatment, the outcome for success is greatly reduced. As your body weight declines, your strength, stamina and ability of your body to ward off infections to keep from getting sick are greatly reduced. The cancer patient needs to be proactive in the treatment process and help their body stay strong and healthy during treatment and minimize the collateral damage treatment causes to the body. The physical, nutritional and mental body components need to be cared for and enforced, to improve tolerance of the treatment side effects and recovery between treatments.

Cancer treatment is not a journey anyone should look forward to. More cancer patients are surviving cancer and are living with cancer than ever before. Improving the success of the treatment can be influenced greatly by the cancer patient and their ability to support and nourish their body to help it endure the treatment and recover. Don't let the treatment's collateral damage cause the outcome of treatment's success.

Sharing the Medical Tribal Knowledge

Good Morning Cancer Patients and Caregivers;

I recently provided a continuing education session for the cancer practitioners of a large hospital program, as part of their Cancer Care Spring Session.  Toward the end of the session, a discussion started with an oncologist regarding a cancer patient that was not actively participating in their treatment process and the reason could be they may be going through depression. I asked the oncologist the question: If you only spend 7 to 10 minutes with a cancer patient, how would you know if the patient is going through depression? The answer was: He wouldn’t know. Unfortunately, the cancer patient loses out because it is not recognized they are going through depression which should be treated. I challenged the oncologist about how they would suspect depression, and he explained, from experience. I called it Medical Tribal Knowledge. 

The knowledge gained through years of treating cancer patients, is well known among the practitioners but is seldom deliberately shared with cancer patients. Additional examples of medical tribal knowledge include: if 10 percent of the cancer patients weight is lost during treatment, the treatment success will diminish; chemo brain as a result of extensive or aggressive treatment; lack of increased nutrition and an exercise regiment to improve treatment success; and many more tribal knowledge facts I continue to learn about.

The abundance of medical tribal knowledge facts should be communicated and known by the cancer patient but because of numerous reasons, are not shared with cancer patients. The treatment process, regulation and insurance reimbursement for services may all be contributing factors. Undoubtedly, there is a shortage of man power in the oncology profession.  Oncologists get paid to provide treatment, not to provide counseling. Yet, cancer patients expect a better quality of life and quality of cancer care and treatment. There is a huge chasm between treatment vs cancer care and this chasm can be seen among the older and younger generations of oncologist. The chasm is growing as regulations dictate what activities the medical profession will be paid to provide.

The cancer patient can’t wait for the chasm to be filled. Cancer is a relentless 24/7 enemy that doesn’t rest, and the cancer patient should make certain their oncologist is the leader of the cancer treatment team and process. In addition, the cancer patient needs to be proactive in their treatment process and access the medical tribal knowledge from their oncologist and treatment team. There is an abundance of medical tribal knowledge facts cancer patients should be informed about. The only way to glean this knowledge is for the cancer patient to be proactive in their treatment process, with their oncologist and cancer treatment team. In addition, every cancer patient should be eagerly willing to share with other cancer patients the tribal knowledge facts they have gained. 

The battle with cancer may be the worst battle of your life and for your life, for most people. Every medical tribal knowledge piece of information that can be gained by the cancer patient may just be the pearl of wisdom that makes the difference in their treatment success.

Know Your Cancer Treatment Journey

Good Morning Cancer Patients and Caregivers;

Your cancer treatment journey will be filled with numerous unknowns. If you have never been diagnosed with cancer and haven't had previous cancer treatment, you probably don't know what to expect from the cancer treatment journey. When you are diagnosed your oncologist will establish a treatment regime and follow a treatment protocal for your cancer. The oncologist will communicate the treatment protocal to you and will monitor the results of the treatment as it is given. Unfortunately, the cancer patient and caregiver are generally still in shock from the news of being diagnosed with cancer and tend to muddle along through the treatment not knowing what the treatment process entails. Moreover, the less the cancer patient knows and understands about the treatment they are going through, the lower participation the cancer patient has in the treatment process.

When I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, I had no idea what esophageal cancer was, let alone having any knowledge about the treatment regime being prescribed. Since I don't like surprises, and there were an abundance of those during treatment, Linda and I decided we needed to know our enemy (esophageal cancer) and become familiar with the treatment protocal and options I may have. As we gained more knowledge from our oncologist and from research about the cancer, the intense fear we were experiencing began to subside. After about the first month of treatment we were pretty familiar with the process and new the treatment regime and surgery requirements. I didn't like it but at least I knew what the journey would look like as it progressed. The more we learned about the treatment and the progress I was making in the treatment, the more informed we were and able to make rational decisions and choices.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has a valuable web site resource that can provide you with a wealth of information about your specific cancer and the treatment regime you can expect along with the choices that can be made. The site is at www.nccn.org. Once you have the site up on the home page, scroll down to the section NCCN Guidelines for Treatment of Cancer by Site. This lists all the cancers. Scroll until you find your cancer and click on it. Then click on the NCCN Guidelines for Patients. This will bring up the specifics about your cancer. The one for esophageal cancer is 100 pages long. This is a valuable resource if you want to know what your cancer treatment journey will look like.

I found knowing was much better than being surprised. It gave me the opportunity to ask questions and resolve any anxiety I may have had. Being knowledgeable about the treatment also helped me deal with the fear factor. Know your enemy and your treatment journey so treatment can be done with you rather than to you.

Stay strong, keep your sense of humor and never give up.

Managing the Insurance and Medical Expense Maze

Good Morning Cancer Patients and Caregivers:
As you probably already know, reconciling the medical expenses for cancer treatment with your health insurance company is time consuming, frustrating and just plain annoying. Why should anything be so complicated and difficult. The reconciliation effort to determine what expenses you are responsible for after the insurance coverage has been applied is a major undertaking when you are in treatment. In fact, it is equally a major undertaking when you are not in treatment and incurring medical expenses.

Based on our experience working through the maze of charges, deductibles, insurance pay and discounted charges for care, is on set of documentation and record keeping. Not to mention the enormous inaccuracies and errors in charges for medical care reported by the hospital, doctors' offices and any other medical care provider all demanding payment. Meanwhile, you are not necessarily up to your best while going through treatment or recovering from surgery or having other medical procedures being performed.

The process we developed to deal with the maze was a result of necessity. First do not pay the first invoice from the hospital or any medical provider. They have submitted their invoices for payment to the insurance company and are expecting you to cover the remaining cost. We found that if you wait, the insurance company sends you a notice of medical payment and the amount they will cover. You then verify the insurance covered procedures and expenses with the medical providers expenses to determine if they match. If they do not match, you contact the insurance company and medical provider regarding the discrepancies.

We always found numerous errors in the medical providers' expenses for procedures that were not performed and for days we were not at the medical provider. We also found there were expenses that the insurance should and would cover but because they were incorrectly coded by the medical provider, they were not covered by insurance. Numerous other errors and inaccuracies were discovered by comparing the expenses, verifying procedures and dates of service as well as challenging the coding. Many times the insurance company and the medical providers worked the discrepancies out between them and the final expenses we were responsible for were greatly reduced or eliminated.

To get organized, keep a calendar of your medical appointments for treatment and any medical procedures you have. Keep a binder or file to organize the invoices by the insurance carrier and the medical provider by date of service. Review and compare the charges and procedures for accuracy and validate they were performed. Document any discrepancies and contact the company making the error. Document the name of the person, date and phone number of the company representative you spoke with regarding the discrepancy. Make no payment for expenses until the discrepancies are reconciled to your satisfaction and the errors are corrected.

It shouldn't be this tough but the medical payment system and business processes are perfectly designed to make it this tough. So, be patient, don't get frustrated, don't pay the first invoice and be relentless in your efforts to make the provider and the insurance company get it right.

Stay strong, keep your sense of humor and never give up.

Know the Choices You Can Make

Good Morning Cancer Patients and Caregivers;
As with many journeys, the cancer treatment and recovery journey is filled with numerous choices to be made. Many will be made by your cancer treatment team, Oncologist, surgeon and others. While many will be made by you. Your Oncologist and treatment team will decide the protocol they will use to treat you. The surgeon will decide the procedure to use if surgery is required. If you use a Dietitian, they will decide your  nutritional regime. Your Radiologist will decide the radiology treatment protocol. All along the course of the journey, choices are made regarding your treatment. Most cancer patients don't realize they can be a part of the decision process by participating, asking the questions: why? and, what alternative choices do I have?

When I was diagnosed, I could be treated with chemo and radiation, then go through surgery or I could go through surgery and then start chemo and go through radiation. If I had not asked the question about the alternatives I would have never known there were alternatives. When my tear ducts closed from the chemo and my eyes watered because they couldn't drain through the ducts, the eye specialist decided to insert glass tubes into the tear ducts to keep them open. I asked him what were my alternatives. He responded, do nothing, or come in here every week and I will flush the ducts and you will use a steroid eye drop which wouldn't resolve the issue, just make it more tolerable. I chose to have my eyes flushed every week and to use the drops. A week after I finished my last round of a week's worth of chemo treatment, my tear ducts opened and were back to normal.

There were numerous other occasions where I made choices including: deciding on a surgeon based on the procedure he was going to use and his past experience with it, versus using the surgeon the Oncologist referred me to that was going to use a different procedure and was rather nonchalant during our meeting to discuss the surgery; deciding to keep my infusion port in until I was finally released from the Oncologist five years after I was diagnosed, and had my port flushed every three months; requesting to have a CT scan done every three months rather than every six months because I wanted to shorten the time from when the cancer returned to when we identified it and started a treatment; deciding I was going to continue living my live while going through treatment and continue doing the things I was doing when I was diagnosed ( working, water sking, riding motor cycles, lifting weights).

Don't let the diagnosis of cancer and the treatment process keep you from knowing what your choices are and the decisions you can make . Your oncologist and cancer treatment team will share any information and choices that will be made. You need to participate and have them know, you want to know your choices and the consequences of the choices you can make. By doing so will help reduce the fear factor, give you a sense of controlling your destiny, and allow you to feel like treatment is being done with you, and not being done to you.

Stay strong, keep your sense of humor and never give up.

Find What Works for You

Good Morning Cancer Patients and Caregivers;
Undergoing cancer treatment is a trying experience by any stretch of the imagination. Only another cancer patient knows the trials, tribulations, degree of discomfort and down right physical torture you  will need to endure during treatment. Modern medical science has a wealth of drugs to assist you to endure the treatment and its side effects but I have always said medicine is not an exact science and many times you will either have to just endure or be proactive and find what works for you.

For example, when I finished radiation treatment for esophageal cancer, the inside of my throat was so soar from radiation I was not able to swallow most foods. My Oncologist had directed me to go on a liquid diet or to eat foods that were soft, to allow my throat to heal for the next two weeks. I responded  I wasn't going to be able to eat ice cream for the next two weeks. His response was I was going to have to figure it out. So, Linda and I set out to find what works besides ice cream. First we made a list of every known soft food we could think of, from Ramen noodle soup to scrambled eggs. The list was longer than we thought it would be and included the protein and good calories I needed to keep my weight and strength up. The list included:
poached eggs, hot cereals, milk, tea, jello, puddings, mashed potatoes, tuna salad, ham salad, egg salad, soft meats in cream sauces or in thick meat sauces. Thick meat gravy on bread and bread and butter became staples. Soda and beer burned and foods with rougher textures scratched my throat. The temperature of the foods could not be hot, but warm to cold . The colder the foods the better they seemed to sooth. Every day the healing process got a little better until my throat was fully healed and I could return to my normal diet.

This is just one example where we needed to find what works. There were more occasions such as finding what foods I would not eat during treatment days in order to keep the effect of being sick to my stomach to a minimum. Lighter foods always did better than foods with tomato base or with higher fat count. Spicy foods were out, on days of treatment but I didn't mind because for the most part, I couldn't taste anything anyway. Finding what works was the result of the medical profession and the cancer team not having the answers to the day-to-day issues I faced while in treatment. Since they hadn't ever sat in the infusion chair, my expectation of them knowing what to do once I left the infusion chair on treatments days was too high.

There are numerous other times during my treatment process, surgery and recovery that I had to find what works. I encourage every cancer patient and caregiver not to get discouraged. You just have to figure it out as a member of your treatment team and  share what works for you with other cancer patients and your treatment team so they can share your findings with other patients.

When there aren't any answers, you can decide to suffer through it or you can find what works for you. Just the effort alone, to find what works for you, will take your mind off of it for a while and when you have found something that works for you it will be a small accomplishment that gives you assurance you are not losing.

Stay strong, keep your sense of humor and never ever give up.