Parents face many unique challenges when diagnosed with cancer. Perhaps one of the biggest hurdles is learning how to communicate with children about this difficult and emotional subject. In this Cancer Conversations podcast episode, Kelly Drummond, LICSW, a Dana-Farber social worker joins Dana-Farber social worker Allison Dibiaso, LICSW, and Sarah Silvia, a single mom who … Read more
by Rick Fingerman, CFP Financial worries can be hard enough when you’re healthy, but dealing with finances during cancer treatment is especially difficult. During treatment, your or your family’s income may drop and your expenses will likely increase. I have overseen the Dana-Farber Pro Bono Financial Coaching Program since 2008 and many of the issues … Read more
When you learn your child has cancer, the natural response is to do anything possible to make them happy. However, it is important to balance this desire to comfort with an understanding of what is in your son or daughter’s best interest. This is especially true when your child with cancer exhibits difficult behaviors. “Even … Read more
After more than a year of chemotherapy and radiation, Pamela Gasek was finally cancer free. She had completed treatment for breast cancer, but now she had to decide how to move forward. Breast cancer remission brings new challenges such as managing relationships and dealing with lasting side effects from treatment, and Gasek needed some guidance. … Read more
By Lyndsay McCaffery When you find out you have cancer, your mind goes to a million different places. You have an endless amount of questions, an overwhelming sense of panic, and life as you know it is changed forever. I was diagnosed with parosteal osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, right after I gave birth … Read more
Childhood cancer is never easy for a family, and pediatric brain tumors can present a particularly difficult set of medical, cognitive, and physical challenges. Patients may face hearing and vision loss, seizures, learning disabilities, and more. Long after the disease is gone, these issues – and related emotional and social struggles – often remain. It … Read more
Perhaps more than other age group, young adults may feel pressure to look a certain way or conform to a traditional standard of beauty. Add a cancer diagnosis, physical side effects, and damaging treatments, and a young adult’s body image and self-perception can take an even bigger hit. Many young adult patients, whose previous health … Read more
A doctor’s visit can be stressful, but for some cancer patients, the exams and procedures that come with diagnosis and treatment can be especially anxiety-inducing. For some, the mixture of anxiety and a negative experience during a procedure can lead to the development of a medical phobia. For others, the demands of cancer treatment force … Read more
A cancer diagnosis affects every area of a person’s life. The journey is both challenging and costly, and many experiencing it for the first time feel lost about how they should handle the changes cancer brings. That’s where social workers step in. “Our role is to help patients think through the impacts of their diagnosis, … Read more
When you’re spending days on end in a hospital bed, it’s the little things that can make all the difference. That’s what Jess Moran learned when she spent 30 consecutive days in the hospital in 2014 after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Every day, Moran, then 25, would receive several cards, most from her … Read more
Treatment for cancer may cause changes in the way patients feel about their bodies and about sex. Some may feel disconnected from their bodies after chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and surgery, while others undergo major physical changes such as early menopause or erectile disfunction. “If sex is different than it used to be and it causes … Read more
During Dana-Farber’s annual Girls Weekend, 25 girls ages 13-25 relaxed with a few days of shopping, makeovers and fun with new friends who understand what it’s like to have cancer as a young girl. The girls, who are all patients at Dana-Farber Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, spent the weekend shopping, seeing a … Read more
By Stephen Perez Cancer has a way of putting your life on hold and making you prioritize your health, treatments, and your best attempts to not feel sick through the process. While there’s never a good time for this interruption, my diagnosis came at a particularly difficult time: the second semester of my senior year … Read more
Patients often worry about weight gain as a potential side effect of cancer treatment. Eating behaviors triggered by chemotherapy-related symptoms, taking steroids, and inactivity due to fatigue can all contribute to weight gain. “Chemotherapy can cause certain appetite-related side effects, such as increased appetite, nausea or cravings for sweets and carbohydrates,” says Stacy Kennedy, MPH, … Read more
One of the most important parts of cancer treatment involves talking with your cancer care team. During your care it’s vital that you are able to openly discuss different aspects of your health, treatment, and symptoms you might be experiencing. To make the most of conversations with your care team, consider the following tips: Do … Read more
By Fremonta Meyer, MD Many people – cancer patients and others – have fears and misconceptions about taking medication to manage their mood, reduce anxiety, and treat conditions such as depression. Some believe taking medication for psychological reasons means they are weak, while others fear they will get addicted to medication or that they will … Read more
The holidays bring heartwarming scenes of homecoming and family gatherings, but such plans can be sidetracked by treatment for cancer and related diseases. If you or a loved one need to spend all or part of the holidays in the hospital, consider these tips for brightening the season. Learn what’s allowed. Before you get your … Read more
By Sue Morris, PsyD While the number of cancer survivors continues to increase, unfortunately some cancer patients do die from their diseases, leaving grieving family members and friends behind. Many people avoid talking to someone whose loved one has just died – from cancer or other causes – because it makes them feel uncomfortable and … Read more
“Fun” is not a term largely associated with trips to Dana-Farber, but that’s exactly how Yvette Colon describes the Expressive Art Therapy Program at the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies. “Being sick, I forget what it is like to have fun because it’s easy to only think about cancer and treatment,” says Colon, … Read more
A cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment can come with many different emotions: anger, frustration, fear, anxiety, and sadness. For some patients, that sadness can become a serious issue; approximately one quarter of cancer patients become depressed during or after treatment. “Patients will have feelings of sadness and a lack of energy from time to time … Read more