Join us on TONIGHT at 8pm ET in the Health Essential for a LIVE CHAT with Harvard Medical School’s Dr. Julie Silver. Julie is a well-known and trusted Gather member and also the author of What Helped Get Me Through. Armed with both her medical and personal experiences, she’ll provide helpful, reassuring guidance for anyone touched by this awful disease.
Can’t make the chat tonight? Leave a question or a comment for Julie in thecomment field below. She’ll make sure to answer asmany questions as possible duringthe chat. Take this time to talk live with a Harvard doctor about one of this horrific disease. We all have a good chance of being affected by cancer – learn how you can deal with it for yourself or for your friends and family. (Note: You'll need to refresh your browser to see new comments.) Read the questions already left by members in the announcement article.
See you tonight at 8pm ET!
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Comments: 120
I plan on purchasing your book, but in the interim, what advice do you give someone with a chronic cancer. It is not immediately life threatening, but there is no cure. It is hard to get beyond the sense of the dangling anvil.
Mark
I am here.
& The 5 Things to do for a Long distance friend are all so very appropiate for anyone who is suffering fron cancer or any other serious illness for that matter.
It is amazing how good a foot rub can feel when you are going throuh Chemo. My mother in law died of cancer and everyone was afraid to touch her for fear of hurting her. She cried and said she still needed love and touch
It is very stressful
1. diet
2. exercise
3. sleep
Though there is much to say about all of these, here are 3 simple things to consider:
1. Diet--try to eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day (more if you can!). Literally count them each day and see how you are doing.
2. Exercise--get a pedometer and count your steps. I bought mine at Amazon.com for $5. You want to aim to take 10,000 steps a day (for most people). Track your steps and then see how many you are taking. Try to increase this number.
3. If you aren't sleeping well, talk to your doctor about why. Are you worried? Have hot flashes? Get up to go to the bathroom? Whatever it is, talk to your doctor about getting a good night's sleep.
I could write all night about this, but I'll leave it at that for now!
Do people who do not have a good support system of family and friends have a harder time with depression and anxiety than those who do?
I know there are many survival stories of those with cancer but there are also many stories of those who lost the battle. I have many family members as does my husband who lost the battle with cancer.
I am thankful for the medical community and the great strives that are being made to find a cure for this disease.
Are you active in the research part of this disease since your diagnosis of cancer?
I know how hard it is but just your touch can make a world of difference to your Father. I actually climbed in bed with my mother in law when she was in a coma. I took the night shift sitting with her in the hospital. I still read to her and touched her a lot so she never felt alone.
We found that each oncologist had a differing opinion on what the patient was to kno. For instance, my Mother In Law was dying. Some of the Dr's would take us out in the hall to talk about her cancer while others talked freely in the room.
I have to wonder...... If I was the patient, I think I would want to know everything that was going on" do you find that most patients do or do not want to know???
We too prayed for death to ease her pain. I think - Sometimes it is the right thing to do.
I also thought there were lots of wonderful tips like putting a basket on the porch so people can drop things by for the kids without ringing the bell and interrupting the family.
1. The name of the disease.
2. That they won't catch it.
3. That they didn't cause it (wishful thinking and super powers are things kids believe in).
4. That you didn't cause it.
all those things you have done are helpful and appreciated even tho you may think you aren't doing much.
I enjoyed receiving cards,emails,visits, meals, small gifts, just knowing that others were thinking and praying for me.
sometimes it is the simple thing that really makes a difference to a patient.
I need to go now but want to thank you for all your advice and I love the book. I will share mine with our local Doctor. I know that knowledge is power and by chatting like this we are all sharing our knowledge to help others. Thanks so much for that.
Stefanie,
Thanks for hosting this live chat.
My aunt was diagnosed with cancer in 2002. She had just moved back home to take care of my grandma (she had been teaching a few hours away for the past 30 years). She wasn't married and had no children. I took her to nearly all of her chemo treatments, and I learned so much during that time, about the disease, about my aunt, and about people in general.
My aunt survived, and I think it was really a blessing in disguise for my family. There were definitely hard aspects about it, my grandma had to spend her remaining months in the nursing home, and that was really hard on everyone. But it brought my family closer together, and made me grow up in a way I'm not sure I would have grown up at 19 or 20 otherwise.