Blog

Place matters, especially when home must be redefined because the person with whom you made a home is no longer alive.

Each month, the Cancer Policy Institute profiles advocates who have been engaged in cancer advocacy. Read on to learn more about Ben, and how his cancer diagnosis led him to pursue a career in cancer advocacy. If you are interested in learning more about policy, advocacy, and ways to get involved, sign up to be a part of the Grassroots Network!

CSC President Linda Bohannon sat down with actor and racecar driver Patrick Dempsey to discuss his work in cancer care, including The Dempsey Center, the importance of patient empowerment and more.

Grief comes in waves, in ebbs and flows, even for three-year old toddlers. That first year without Brett was a pendulum of conversation, reasoning, and tears. But there’s nothing easy or linear about parenting, let alone parenting grieving children. I learned not to expect too much from myself or from them.

When at last Brett died, I expected peace, not chaos all over again. I'd buried him prematurely in my dreams throughout his illness, bracing myself, I suppose, for the inevitable. Now that he was truly gone though, I was unprepared for the tidal wave of grief within me. The first few months after Brett died were a blur.

The Research & Training Institute recently presented findings from the Cancer Experience Registry at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium based on data from 273 Metastatic Breast Cancer patients and survivors.

The Cancer Support Community shares important information about the relationship between psychosocial distress and unmet needs, as well as some suggestions about how best to provide AML patients and survivors with supportive care.

The toll of Brett's cancer on his body made home hospice no longer a viable option. After his most recent seizure, he was admitted into hospice. Going into hospice was almost a relief. I lived with premature anticipatory grief for years knowing Brett's cancer was incurable.

Being Brett’s wife and caregiver was a complicated role, and it strained my nerves. It was hard to simply rest my head on his shoulder the way I used to, or to express my own need for emotional intimacy and comfort when the gravity of his illness loomed large. I bounced back quickly from hurt feelings because there was no choice but to be present when we our time together as a family was diminishing. Every moment mattered.

One of the major themes dominating health care discussions today is the fact that healthcare costs in the United States are proving unsustainable. Practices known as utilization management (UM) are one of the major ways the high cost of health care has been addressed. The Cancer Policy Institute at the CSC will be releasing a series of blogs aimed at educating patients about different UM practices and techniques. The upcoming blogs will contain information that patients need to know, including how that particular technique impacts access to care, as well as advocacy opportunities to address those barriers to care. Read this first blog in the series to learn more about UM, the different practices and techniques, and how CSC is fostering conversations about UM.