Guest Blogger

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and today, we have a guest blog from No Matter My Age, an organization created to help raise awareness about age bias in genomic testing within the breast cancer community.

Brian d'Arcy James of Netflix’s series 13 Reasons Why, Academy Award-winning film Spotlight, and Tony Award-winning Broadway hit Hamilton is set to take on the 26.2-mile-long challenge of the 2017 Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 8th and raise money to support cancer patients and their loved ones served by the Cancer Support Community.

Are you on an immunotherapy? It seems like a simple question, but there is actually a lot of confusion about what immunotherapy is and how it works.

If you have been diagnosed with cancer, you may be wondering if you’ll qualify for Social Security disability benefits. Unfortunately, the answer may not be a simple yes or no. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has different eligibility criteria for each applicant.

Danielle Ofri is an internist at Bellevue Hospital, an associate professor of medicine at NYU, and editor in chief of the Bellevue Literary Review. Her latest book is What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear. Doctor-patient communication is a two-way highway of information, with each person endeavoring to convey information to the other. But there can be numerous roadblocks and detours, as anyone who has been party to our medical system can attest.

Paul Kraus had already proven himself to be a survivor by the time he was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in 1997. Born in a Nazi labor camp in 1944, Paul survived a cross-country escape to Poland with his mother and older brother when he was just a few months old. Four years later, he survived the ocean voyage aboard a refugee ship to Australia where the family started a new life and where he has lived ever since. Unfortunately, that emigration to one of world’s top producers of asbestos during the height of the mineral’s worldwide popularity probably also led to his unexpected diagnosis of mesothelioma almost 50 years later.

When I was 46-year-old, as a single father of my son Joel, who is 13, I tried to go to a Boy Scout camp that required a medical release form. But my doctor insisted on doing a physical before signing it. Because of this, a life-saving PSA test was given. A PSA of 19 led to a biopsy, which discovered a Gleason score of 9, and I had to tell my son that I had prostate cancer.

Calling all lung cancer patients/survivors and care partners! The science is finally moving faster, providing more treatment options and hope for the future. Now we also need to help shape what the future looks like in other ways. Here in Lung Cancer Awareness Month, please take a few minutes to register for the Cancer Experience Registry and fill out the questionnaire.

MyLifeLine.org is a Denver-based non-profit focused on social and emotional support services for cancer patients. Since technology is such a big part of our day-to-day lives, it’s amazing to be able to use it for support for cancer patients and their loved ones. Learn more about MyLifeLine.org and how it can be used to provide a community for those impacted by cancer.

Veronica Backes, a 20 year cancer survivor, shares her inspirational story with the Cancer Support Community.

Studies have shown that physically active cancer survivors have a lower risk of cancer recurrences and improved survival compared with those who are inactive. But how exactly do you begin exercising?

Maayan’s story that tells how she and the Hello Doctor app team are revolutionizing and simplifying the patient experience.

An inspirational poem.

What is possible when we pursue our dreams, call upon our human spirit to rise above man’s most threatening diseases, and most importantly, are there for other human beings who are also faced with the demands of disease.

“Now I am face to face with dying. It is up to me now to choose how to live out the months that remain to me.” These words came from Oliver Sacks, the renowned professor, neurologist, author, amateur chemist and now ocular melanoma patient who recently was told his cancer could not be stopped. And Oliver Sacks is right—everyone living with terminal cancer has a choice about how to live through their disease. And if it were me, I’d live with the immortal words of Thomas Jefferson in mind. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are three qualities guaranteed to every American by the Declaration of Independence, and nothing—not the government, not a disease and certainly not a prognosis—can take those qualities away from you.

After being diagnosed with breast cancer, millions of women are faced with the tough decision of undergoing a mastectomy or lumpectomy, in addition to other forms of treatment like chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Following these surgeries, which leave women with scars or no breasts at all, there is the option of having reconstructive surgery or leaving the scars as they are. Non-profits like P.Ink want to give women another option—tattoos. While tattooing over surgical scars is not a practice unique to P.Ink and can be requested at any tattoo parlor, P.Ink is one of the only nonprofits in the country that provides women with creative and self-expressive ways to transform their scars.

When your friend is diagnosed with cancer, the first thing you want to do is help and the last thing you want to do is say the wrong thing. But it’s hard to know what will actually be helpful. Here are some ways to show your support.

Summer is a season that many people associate with being outdoors. Lying out by the pool or on the beach, taking long walks, going for a run, gardening, and grilling outdoors are just some leisurely activities that people do in the summer. However, it is important to remember that there are health risks associated with these activities and amid all of the fun, it is important to take precautions to help you and your family stay safe.

Expressive writing has gained so much attention in recent years. It’s comforting for someone facing a difficult medical diagnosis to have tools available to help modulate the wide variety of emotions that come with it.