Through some volunteering that I do for an organization called CanCare, and the other work that I do, I am constantly reminded of the stress that caregivers experiene as they support their loved one during an illness. When one member of the household gets sick, everyone else in the household also gets sick. What worries me is that caregivers are reaching out for emotional support, for reasons that include not thinking they should need it, not thinking the deserve it, or feeling like they need to be focused on the needs of the patient and not their own needs. I always encou
It has been my experience that newly-diagnosed patients can benefit from a combination of optimism and realism as they cope with their diagnosis and make treatment decisions. What concerns me is when I see patients who insist that they have to ‘think positive’ to the extent that they also deny the other emotions that they may be experinecing — anger, sadness, fear. Denial of feelings doesn’t lead to a magical cure. Worse yet, insistence on positive thinking implies that individuals are responsible for making themselves sick, and thinking themselves better, which
The December 19 issue of The New York Times includes an article about cancer center advertising, titled ‘Cancer Center Ads, Appealing To Emotions at a Fragile Time.’ It discussed advertising that is not substantiated by data, and brings up some interesting points about advertising that appeals to the emotions.
I talked with a woman this week who has been diagnosed with a form of cancer that is especially lethal. She told me the story of how her local physician had performed surgery and then informed her that he had prolonged her life, but not to expect more.
I want to bring your attention to a new book written by an author that I really admre, Barbara Ehrenreich. The title of the book says it all: Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. She wrote this book in part as a result of her experience of being treated for breast cancer in 2000. She reached out for support and was constantly told to ‘think positive," which, to her, also implied that if she didn’t get better, it was her fault. I appreciate the author’s honesty. While I am not arguing that fa
Have you heard of digital personal health records? I learned about them from a great Website, www.myphr.com. They are exactly what they sound like — a record of your health that you can store and maintain yourself on your computer. Your digital personal health record can include a wide range of information related to your health history, such as conditions you have been diagnosed with, past and current treatments/medications, opinions of specialists, results of past physicals, diet and exercise regimens, links to relevant health information…
It seems like a major theme of the last few weeks, if not months, has for me been the importance of caregivers taking care of themselves. I am involved in helping to take care of my mom, who over the past year has been in assisted living, as well as hospitalized at least twice, and in a rehab facility for two months. This has been hard on her, and it has been hard on her children. I thought I knew all about helplessnesss until I faced became reacquainted with the stress of helping someone you care about cope with their medical condition and join them in the adventure
I am writing a chapter for my book, After the Diagnosis, about helping newly-diagnosed patients to confront the fear factor. And this week, I met with clients who were dealing with their own fears. One is newly diagnosed with HIV, while another is dealing with cancer treatment. Both progressed quickly from the initial news of their diagnosis to active treatment. Talking with these clients really brought home to me how scary it is to suddenly learn that your life will never be the same in many ways, but in what ways? One of the scariest things about a d
I am writing a supplemental textbook for nursing students titled After the Diagnosis: How Patients React and How to Help them Cope, to be published by Cengage/Delmar in 2010. (This is something I have been dreaming about for a long time, so Woo Hoo!!!) The first chapter is focused on delivering the diagnosis to the patient. While writing it, I thought about just how critical it is that the diagnosis be delivered with an understanding of, and sensitivity, the emotions of the person receiving the diagnosis. So often, the stories I hear don’t give me a lot of c
In the March issue of Ode Magazine, David Servan-Schreiber, a French psychiatry professor, writes about facing a medical diagnosis with hope. He emphasizes the the importance of controlling stress, and how research has shown that facing illness with a calm and hopeful attitude can greatly increase survival. In my experience, dealing with stress begins with acknowledging emotions, even the scary ones like fear and anger — feeling the feelings — so that you can move beyond them. Feelings don’t go away, and they don’t have to control you.