6 Inspiring Books That Will Lift Your Mood
Losing yourself in the pages of a riveting novel or memoir is a legitimate form of therapy. Even better is coming away from the characters and the story with a renewed purpose and sense of hope.
John Green, one of my favorite authors, said “Great books help you understand, and they help you feel understood.” I think that’s true especially for people who struggle with depression and anxiety or some other chronic illness that is stigmatized in our culture. Between the covers of a book, we find a new world that shines some light on our reality.
Here are a few inspiring books that will “help you understand and help you...
Source: World of Psychology - April 18, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Therese J. Borchard Tags: Books Inspiration & Hope Mental Health and Wellness Motivation and Inspiration Self-Help Change In Mood reading uplifting Source Type: blogs
Financial Toxicity is Hurting my Cancer Patients
By LEILA ALI-AKBARIAN MD, MPH
As news of Tom Brokaw’s cancer diagnosis spreads, so does his revelation that his cancer treatments cost nearly $10,000 per day. In spite of this devastating diagnosis, Mr. Brokaw is not taking his financial privilege for granted. He is using his voice to bring attention to the millions of Americans who are unable to afford their cancer treatments.
My patient Phil is among them. At a recent appointment, Phil
mentioned that his wife has asked for divorce. When I inquired, he revealed a
situation so common in oncology, we have a name for it: Financial
Toxicity. This occurs wh...
Source: The Health Care Blog - April 12, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: Economics Finance Medical Practice Patients Cancer financial toxicity healthcare costs Leila Ali-Akbarian Oncology Source Type: blogs
Natural painkiller nasal spray could replace addictive opioids, trial indicates | The Guardian
A nasal spray that delivers a natural painkiller to the brain could transform the lives of patients by replacing the dangerous and addictive prescription opioids that have wreaked havoc in the US and claimed the lives of thousands of people.Scientists at University College London found they could alleviate pain in animals with a nasal spray that delivered millions of soluble nanoparticles filled with a natural opioid directly into the brain. In lab tests, the animals showed no signs of becoming tolerant to the compound's pain-relieving effects, meaning the risk of overdose should be far lower.The researchers are now ra...
Source: Psychology of Pain - February 3, 2018 Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: blogs
Holly Butcher: her letter goes viral after she dies at age 27
Many thanks to Cynthia for posting about a letter written by a young Australian woman, Holly Butcher, who died on January 4. She had Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer that usually affects young people and children.
I was quite touched by parts of it, so I decided to write a quick post. Before I forget, here’s the link to an Australian news article about Holly (and you can get to and read her full letter there, too): goo.gl/sLEYd8
In Holly’s letter, I recognized some of the feelings I myself have/have had…For instance, the irritation that I feel at times because my girlfriends don’t wa...
Source: Margaret's Corner - January 12, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll Holly Butcher Source Type: blogs
Healthy Ways to Navigate Your Grief
Even though my dad was hooked up to the most high-tech ventilator in the hospital and had five chest tubes connected to his body, I thought he’d come home with us. Sure, the recovery wouldn’t be easy, but we’d take it slow, and eventually, he’d return to his healthy, energetic self.
At his funeral, I really wanted to say something, to make everyone there understand just how kind-hearted, funny, playful, brave, and resilient my father was. This was a special person, and I yearned, a yearning that knotted my stomach, for others to feel that. Instead, I stayed silent as the rabbi read through paragraphs we’d provide...
Source: World of Psychology - December 31, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. Tags: General Grief and Loss Mental Health and Wellness Relationships Self-Help Stress Source Type: blogs
Five Radiology Artificial Intelligence Companies That Somebody Should Build and Invest In
By HUGH HARVEY
I’ve previously written comprehensively on where to invest in Radiology AI, and how to beat the hype curve precipice the field is entering. For those that haven’t read my previous blog, my one line summary is essentially this:
“Choose companies with a narrow focus on clinically valid use cases with large data sets, who are engaged with regulations and haven’t over-hyped themselves …”
The problem is… hardly any investment opportunities in Radiology AI like this actually exist, especially in the UK. I thought it’s about time I wrote down my ideas for what I’d actually build (i...
Source: The Health Care Blog - December 5, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Investing Radiology Source Type: blogs
Ben's Sucky Words
Tomorrow, I ’ll mail to the University of Southern Maine my thesis for my Master of Fine Arts in creative writing degree. Seeing it packaged and ready to go got me thinking about a gift from my first-semester advisor,Suzanne Strempek Shea. She gave me this little notebook to keep with me so my ability to write something is never far from my impulse to.I labeled my pocket-sized notebook Ben Rubenstein ’s Sucky Words to remind me that I have the freedom to write without judgement or consequence. In fact, I must always accept that any of my written work up until its final form sucks. Without that acceptance, I’d freeze,...
Source: cancerslayerblog - November 26, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: MFA writing/speaking Source Type: blogs
Ben's Sucky Words
Tomorrow, I ’ll mail to the University of Southern Maine my thesis for my Master of Fine Arts in creative writing degree. Seeing it packaged and ready to go got me thinking about a gift from my first-semester advisor,Suzanne Strempek Shea. She gave me this little notebook to keep with me so my ability to write something is never far from my impulse to.I labeled my pocket-sized notebook Ben Rubenstein ’s Sucky Words to remind me that I have the freedom to write without judgement or consequence. In fact, I must always accept that any of my written work up until its final form sucks. Without that acceptance, I’d freeze,...
Source: cancerslayerblog - November 26, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: MFA writing/speaking Source Type: blogs
Ben's Sucky Words
Tomorrow, I ’ll mail to the University of Southern Maine my thesis for my Master of Fine Arts in creative writing degree. Seeing it packaged and ready to go got me thinking about a gift from my first-semester advisor,Suzanne Strempek Shea. She gave me this little notebook to keep with me so my ability to write something is never far from my impulse to.I labeled my pocket-sized notebook Ben Rubenstein ’s Sucky Words to remind me that I have the freedom to write without judgement or consequence. In fact, I must always accept that any of my written work up until its final form sucks. Without that acceptance, I’d freeze,...
Source: cancerslayerblog - November 26, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: MFA writing/speaking Source Type: blogs
Hi There, I Write Your Stories, I Mean ‘Our Stories’
I write stories about my coworkers. Collectively known as "Our Stories," a new one publishes in my organization's newsletter every other week. Yesterday, the newsletter published a story I wrote about . . . myself. Here is that story with some redactions.* * *Every morning after waking, I prime my body and mind for the day: meditate for 20 minutes, perform 20 pull -ups, and then jump on a mini trampoline while singing whatever pops into my head. I then move to the kitchen where I prepare four eggs mixed with hot sauce and grated cheddar on a pan coated with butter, and pour-over coffee. Once my breakfast is ready, I en...
Source: cancerslayerblog - September 7, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: life lessons writing/speaking Source Type: blogs
Unsettled
photo: x-ray delta oneBy Crabby McSlacker So life has taken a few possibly ominous turns lately.And while I've been googling the heck out of various health-related issues for my own edification, I'm not really feeling up for taking that research and trying to write anything useful about it.Oh, and the whole upcoming Fourth of July holiday... not something I'm really itching to blog about. For obvious reasons, I'm not feeling all that patriotic this year. Instead, I hope it's ok if I go a little more stream-of-consciousness with this post.Maybe I'm a little depressed? Very weird for me. Anxiety is usually more my ...
Source: Cranky Fitness - July 3, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Crabby McSlacker Source Type: blogs
An Interview with Orthopaedic Oncologist Dr. Vincent Ng
Dr. Vincent Ng is an orthopaedic oncologist with the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center and an Assistant Professor or Orthopaedics with the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Ng specializes in treating bone cancer and soft tissue sarcoma. Below he answers common questions about orthopaedic oncology.
What is an orthopaedic oncologist? How do they differ from surgical oncologists?
“An orthopaedic oncologist specializes in bone and soft tissue tumors. I treat any adult or pediatric patient with any bone or soft tissue tumor/lesion/mass, whether benign or malignant, whether it is...
Source: Life in a Medical Center - June 2, 2017 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: UMMC Tags: Cancer Doctors bone cancer oncology orthopedics Source Type: blogs
If a Fish Could Talk
“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” - Carl Rogers, founder of person-centered psychotherapyYou might be surprised to learn you can have a conversation with a fish that is swimming in a fish tank. I know because I once had one.During the ages 16 and 17, I walked past a fish tank hundreds of times as I came and went to clinic at the National Institutes of Health where I received treatment for my bone cancer. The tank stood against a wall in the waiting room, in between the elevators and the bathroom. For a cancer patient, no room is more important than the bathroom, besides...
Source: cancerslayerblog - May 30, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: animals imaginative life lessons super model Source Type: blogs
If Everything Took 15 Minutes: Considering Time
I always thought about time —How long until we get there, Mommy and Daddy? . . .Fifteen minutes, Benjamin . . .no matter the destination, my parents always proclaimed the car ride would take 15 minutes —but time assumed new significance when I was 16.I remember, then, scanning the ceiling and thinking about time. Unlike my bedroom nowadays, in which even my computer ’s LED light is covered with a blackout sticker, my hospital room dazzled with light streaming in through the door’s small window and from the IV machine’s red digits telling me fluid was entering my bloodstream at 150 milliliters an hour. The light p...
Source: cancerslayerblog - March 21, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: life lessons MFA Source Type: blogs
Chronic Pain and the Opioid Epidemic: Wicked Issues Have No Simple Solutions
Written By Myra ChristopherMy mom was a steel magnolia (i.e., southern and perfectly charming), but she had a steel rod up her back. After her first surgery for stomach cancer at age 53, she refused pain medication because she said that she “could take it.” She was young and strong and committed to “beating cancer.” After nearly two years of chemotherapy, radiation and two more surgeries, the cancer won. Eventually, I watched her beg nurses to give her “a shot” minutes before another was scheduled and be told they were sorry but she would have to wait. I could tell by the expressions on ...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - January 23, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Practical Bioethics Tags: Health Care chronic pain Opioid addiction Opioid Epidemic Opioid prescriptions syndicated Source Type: blogs
