Cancer Fighters Thrive is a quarterly print and online magazine bringing readers practical, innovative and inspirational information about cancer treatment and survivorship.
Issue link: http://cancerfightersthrive.epubxp.com/i/103434
COVER STORY treatment, it is possible to live well with ing chronic cancer is to maintain quality the disease. of life. Patients will live well if they are "As people are living longer with treated well," explains Dr. Jaggernauth. COPING WITH CHRONIC CANCER cancer, we want to make sure they can Treating patients well means shifting maintain quality of life," explains Tracy the way in which we deliver the treat- a marathon rather than a sprint. It's Whitworth, RN, a survivorship nurse at ment. "This disease called cancer is important to pace yourself, listen to your CTCA® in Goodyear, Arizona. "We want chronic," Dr. Jaggernauth insists. "The body, and take care of yourself. Here are to help patients not only contain and way you treat a chronic disease is by giv- some coping strategies for living long and manage the disease but also live well with ing chronic treatment." well in spite of cancer. it. We want patients living life and creating memories." This important recognition that cancer is appropriately viewed in an increas- Living with chronic cancer is like running y Stay in charge and take an aggressive role in your own health care. Whitworth's role is to look at the big ing number of settings as a very serious y Ask questions. picture. She works to balance disease but chronic illness has led to the develop- management and quality of life. It's her ment of strategies that consider the po- job to know her patients—really know tential impact of long-term side effects. y Stay on top of your bone health. Ask your health care provider if you need a bone scan or MRI. them—so that she can help them strike Common long-term issues include per- the optimal balance between life and sistent fatigue and continuous numbness treatment. Whitworth examines work/life and tingling in hands and feet. balance issues, fatigue, pain, and much Investigators have begun to explore the more in assessing her patients. Then she use of the more frequent administration pulls out her "tool bag" and connects pa- of anticancer drugs at lower doses that tients to the appropriate resources. have the potential to maintain or even y Be honest about side effects and how they affect your quality of life. Ask for help managing pain, fatigue, and other side effects. y Take advantage of appropriate complementary medicine strategies, such as acupuncture, massage, and homeopathic medicine. "We really encourage patients to utilize improve the effectiveness of therapy while all of the wonderful complementary treat- actually reducing side effects. For patients ments we have here, such as naturopathic whom doctors anticipate will be treated medicine, nutrition therapy, mind-body for long periods, for example a year or medicine, acupuncture, and massage," longer, a "treatment holiday" may be used Whitworth says. "The data support that to permit the body to recover from the ef- y Maintain consistent follow-up visits. these are very helpful to keep everything fects of cancer treatment. y Stay positive and surround yourself with positive people. in tune." Patty Marshall's experience is an ex- This balance—between treatment and ample of the benefits of an approach that quality of life—is the cornerstone of man- focuses on the chronic nature of cancer aging chronic cancer. "In a perfect world, treatment. In May 2007 Patty was diag- we want the treatment to obliterate the nosed with stage IV breast cancer that cancer but not affect quality of life," Whit- had spread to her bones. She decided worth says. This may sound like a lofty right then that cancer will not kill me. goal, but it's one that is more and more re- y Keep a logbook of symptoms and questions for follow-up visits. Patty immediately started an innovative alistic as cancer treatment changes. y Discuss your concerns with your health care provider. weekly treatment program. The treat- y Take impeccable care of yourself: eat well, get plenty of rest, and make time for the activities you love. y Engage in prayer, meditation, or some sort of spiritual practice that supports you. ment not only controlled the cancer but Treating Chronic Cancer also allowed her to maintain her normal New developments in cancer treatment routine. have changed our ideas about the best "I never did stop anything in my life. way to treat cancer. "The goal of treat- I volunteer at the church preschool on cfthrive.com spring 2013 | cancer fighters thrive 9