“Radiation Treatments - A Real Life Experience of Preparing For and Having Radiation Treatments” plus 1 more |
| Radiation Treatments - A Real Life Experience of Preparing For and Having Radiation Treatments Posted: 12 Sep 2009 11:07 AM PDT Having radiation treatment is sometimes a part of having cancer, which can be scary if you are not sure what to expect. I have included an excerpt from a book I wrote, which is a true life story about the trials and triumphs of living with cancer, which also gives some tips on what to expect prior to having radiation treatment: "I didn't feel like talking much that day, but I continued a conversation with her, which was just mainly small talk. Some days I was able to talk to people and some days it seemed no one in the waiting room felt like talking, including me. However, when we did, we talked about anything from the day's news, which was on the television in the waiting room, to which countries we came from. No one ever discussed why the persons they were waiting for was having treatment. It's funny, because while waiting sometimes I remember thinking, "Please don't let anyone ask me what Val was having treatment for." It's not something I want to discuss with people I don't know that well. Obviously, the people I talked with felt the same way. Before the radiation could begin, the technicians and the radiologist took measurements around Val's breast where they were radiating. The technician told her that the pinpoint dots they put on her chest around the right breast were like tattoos, which could not be removed. Once done, they could then begin the treatment. The machine was similar to a giant x-ray. Val had to lie on the table while the machine was moving in all the relevant angles and beamed the rays onto the marked area. After a couple of weeks of treatment, she was exhausted. I felt completely drained. I had been spending every day at the hospital. You would have thought I was the one having the treatments. We used to look forward to having Saturdays and Sundays off. Sometimes, we would walk around the malls after the treatments and, of course, shop. It helped to do something normal and uncomplicated. We always felt better after shopping. What woman doesn't? In fact, we were trying hard to do normal things. We didn't always discuss the day's treatments after leaving the hospital. It was something Val knew she had to do and move on with her life. She wasn't always down or depressed. She had her good days and her bad days, but for the most part, she was always in a good mood. Our days usually consisted of going to the hospital, to the gym, to the mall, visiting places like the Science Museum, or simply just relaxing. Towards the end of the six weeks we didn't do much because Val was exhausted from going to the hospital every day. The doctors and nurses were helpful, caring, and compassionate. We will never forget the help they gave to Val. It made it much easier for her to cope. It was hard to hold herself together. She fluctuated between crying and trying to stay strong. She had many sleepless and restless nights." ************ If you or anyone you know has cancer or any other type of disease, please see below my personal pearls of wisdom for better living, which are my suggestions only, and not that of any health institution. Prior to starting any medication, diet, or exercise programme, you should consult with your physician beforehand. First and foremost-Enjoy your life!
All the best! Copyright 2009 Pamela I Jones  |
| Breast Self Examination Saves Lives! Posted: 12 Sep 2009 07:30 AM PDT There are many reasons why breast self-examination is so important. 1.) It is often said "knowledge is power" and this is one instance where such a statement is absolutely true. Breast cancer affects one in eight woman ... it is crucial that every women take the time to learn about the facts relating to breast self-examination that can dramatically impact their lives whether it be the benefits of BSE or an understanding of other preventive measures. Not only will you benefit from early detection should you have a problem, you will also gain a "piece of mind". Although this benefit cannot be measured directly, we do know that chronic stress and anxiety is not good for anyone and does play a role in many chronic health problems. 2.) Breast self examination, promotes awareness about breast cancer as well as other less serious breast conditions (cysts etc.). Women are not doing exams because of their concerns about what they may find when the findings may not ultimately be a serious concern. The anxiety is real and understandable. However, after your "first" baseline self- examination... regular breast self-examinations can help one become familiar with the findings and changes unique to their exam. This leads to a level of control over your health that can be empowering and make you want to share what you have learned with others. 3.) Early detection does save lives and as one who has witnessed this time and again I cannot stress enough the importance of breast self-examination. I have been a part of so many wonderful stories relating to breast cancer detection as are many clinicians who deal with breast cancer diagnosis in their practice. There is nothing more rewarding than to see patients each year whose lives have benefited from early detection as a result of findings noted on an examination. This includes those findings noted by the patient who have come in unscheduled for an evaluation as well as those detected on a routine annual examination or as an incidental finding (noted in the patient story below) as part of an unscheduled exam. For me, some of the most impressionable experiences have been the incidental findings during an unscheduled examination. I will end with one of these most memorable experiences as a physician. One that encompasses much of what is stated about breast cancer and the concerns that can delay detection and favorable outcomes. As a physician, I am very fortunate to have experiences like this, which emphasizes the importance of breast exams to my patients and reminds myself (if I was to ever to have a doubt) of its importance. During a preoperative examination for a hysterectomy I noted a lump (incidentally) in a 33 year old woman. When I asked her about it and whether she was aware of it, she told me she had been aware of it for a while and was too worried to have it checked out (please think about this: she did not mention to me at the time of this exam which most would think would be an optimal time to address such a concern). She is a wonderful person, intelligent and hard-working and I had known her for some time due to other gynecologic problems (requiring the hysterectomy). The lump was cancer and fortunately did not involve lymph nodes and she is considered cured. Needless to say, there are patients such as this that physicians never forget and I always liked to see her for routine follow-up knowing that I had impacted her life the way I did. One only has to think of how this scenario could have been different if the lump was not detected on this routine preoperative exam and later presented advanced and incurable. From the patients perspective, think of how this women might have been reassured by the fact that her doctor didn't notice anything (knowing it was there) and thus concluding to herself that it must have been nothing. I cannot stress enough that an annual exam or any office exam is only one arbitrary moment in time. A breast exam done by your clinician is no more powerful and in many ways less so than what you can do for yourself as you will be aware of the relative changes and your baseline examination. Unfortunately, most individuals are not involved with such powerful experiences about the importance of breast self exam until it is no longer about prevention . Instead the conversation becomes one about staging and intervention and the hope for a cure.  |
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