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/259111
28 cancer fighters thrive | spring 2014 cf thrive. com more and more less-intensive chemo- therapy, which enables us to treat older patients or those in a more fragile physical condition. Transplantation used to be an option only for young and strong people; now we can use transplantation in older people who may not be as strong. It is very exciting that we can provide potentially lifesaving therapy for older people who 10 years ago were not eligible for this treat- ment. In addition, the supportive mea- sures used during transplant are much improved—we have better antibiotics, better anti-fungal drugs, better anti-viral medications—all of this makes it a very exciting time for doing transplants for hematologic malignancies. WHAT DOES A TYPICAL DAY-IN- THE-LIFE LOOK LIKE FOR YOU IN YOUR CURRENT POSITION? My days are very busy. We come in early in the morning, and Dr. [Syed] Abutalib, Assistant Director of the Stem Cell Transplant and Cell Therapy Program at CTCA in Zion, and I share the responsibilities of the inpatient and outpatient services—one of us covers inpatient service, while the other covers outpatient. If I am working the inpatient service, my day will include doing two to three bone marrow biopsies, rounding to visit patients and taking care of any issues that arise. On days that include a stem cell transplantation, either Dr. Abutalib or I am there, in the patient's room, to oversee the procedure and make sure it goes as planned. I also work on quality assurance issues and participate in meetings with the integrative team members and coordi- nators to discuss upcoming schedules, and I take part in nursing teaching rounds. The day is a mix of patient care, administrative work and education. I really love to take care of my patients. Nothing is better than having someone come here who is very sick but has a cur- able disease, treating them and then seeing them come back for follow-up—that's my favorite thing. The advantage of hematologic malignancies is that many are curable, and patients can live long lives. WHAT HOBBIES OR INTERESTS DO YOU PURSUE IN YOUR FREE TIME? I like to travel, play tennis and exercise at the gym, and I love watching my daughter play soccer. MEET THE DOCTOR CFTHRIVE.COM As we continually strive to improve the information, design and photos that we share in Cancer Fighters Thrive®, we look to you for input about what you value in this magazine. We'd be grateful if you could take a few minutes to answer a few questions about the magazine. Visit cfhrive.com/survey and complete the survey. To express our thanks to you for completing this survey, we will send you several nutritional tags that provide great tips for healthy eating. Most of us have been there: you're out and about—at work, on the road, running out the door—and hunger hits. Too many of us make the fast, and least healthy, choice with a quick trip through the nearest fast-food drive through. In fact, according to the National Restaurant Association, in a typical month an average consumer will eat at a quick-serve (fast-food) restaurant about 8 times. The problem? It's tough to make healthy choices at most of these restaurants. The solution? Make an effort to keep your car, desk, or bag packed with healthy snacks that will see you through to your next meal. Healthy Bites on the G o © 2 012 Rising Tide CTCA _1012 For more information call 800-333-CTCA or visit cancercenter.com. Is Organic Best ? We all know that eating healthful fruits and vegetables is a proactive step we can take in maintaining wellness. But with the increasing availability of organic produce, it can be confusing to know when it makes sense to invest in organic purchases. Go online at cfhrive.com/survey and complete the survey. cftSp#23vky.indd 28 2/4/14 9:25 AM