CancerCare In The News

"Have a frank talk with your doctor about costly treatments."And, if you're newly diagnosed and about to begin treatment, let someone you trust take charge of researching financial assistance options, suggests CancerCare Executive Director Diane Blum, in this February 16, 2009 article in the Los Angeles Times about the rising costs of cancer care.
"Something in the Air." CancerCare Executive Director Diane Blum comments about the stigma of lung cancer and its effects on patients and families in this personal essay by staff writer Petula Dvorak in the December 16, 2008 edition of The Washington Post. The article also mentions a recent CancerCare-sponsored survey showing that media coverage of lung cancer is increasingly negative.
"Easing the Stigma of Disease." Discrimination at work, a lack of research for their disease, and social isolation are among the setbacks experienced by people suffering from a stigmatized disease, notes a September 15, 2008 article, posted on AARP Bulletin Today. CancerCare oncology social workers Win Boerckel and Carolyn Messner comment on the stigma of lung cancer, an illness often regarded as "self-inflicted."
"Gas Prices Confine Sick People." The high price of gasoline is making it difficult for people facing illness, especially cancer patients, to get to their treatment, noted a September 3, 2008 article in USA Today. CancerCare Executive Director Diane Blum is quoted in the article about the financial assistance grants CancerCare provides to help cover transportation costs for cancer patients.
“Working your way through cancer.” Sixty to 80 percent of people with cancer continue to work or return to work at some point after their treatment, noted a May 20, 2007 article in The Boston Globe. “Twenty years ago, being treated for cancer was a full-time job,” said CancerCare Executive Director Diane Blum, who was quoted in the article. “Now symptoms are managed better, treatment is outpatient. People are often able to live their lives with some semblance of normality.”
"Chemotherapy Fog Is No Longer Ignored as Illusion". Until recently, people experiencing memory and thinking problems long after chemotherapy were sent home with a “There, there,” notes this front-page April 29, 2007 New York Times article. Today, thanks to increased research and patient advocacy, chemobrain is more widely recognized as a real medical condition. The article includes mention of CancerCare’s live and archived Telephone Education Workshops and Chemobrain Information Series.
"When a parent has cancer." Don’t be afraid to use the word cancer when talking to your children about your illness, advised CancerCare Executive Director Diane Blum, in a March 29, 2007 Associated Press story that appeared in newspapers across the country. “It's much better to tell your children what you have,” said Blum. “Imagination is often worse than reality. Give them the facts."
"The Cost of Fighting Cancer." Last year, patients spent $78 billion on cancer treatments, according to a report about cancer, on The CBS Evening News on March 27, 2007. CancerCare's Jane Levy, Director of Patient Assistance Programs, was featured in the report.
"Reading early smoke signals." It's a well-known fact that smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer. But it's not the only cause, notes CancerCare's Win Boerckel, in a January 11, 2007 Washington Times article that examines new techniques for detecting and treating lung cancer earlier. Boerckel, director of CancerCare’s national lung cancer program, points out that people who work in places that expose them to radon or other industrial gases can be at risk for the disease, too. That’s why more and more people who are in high-risk groups are demanding that new early-detection methods like spiral CT scans become part of routine preventative health care.
“The upside of cancer: A new outlook on life.” Cancer often causes people faced with the diagnosis to re-examine their lives and values and make changes—often for the better, observes CancerCare Executive Director Diane Blum, in a November 20, 2006 USA Today article, one of a two-part series examining a recent survey on cancer, conducted by USA Today, The Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health.
"Cancer Affects Daily Life and Well-Being." Work is a vital part of daily living for many cancer survivors, says Dr. Carolyn Messner, CancerCare Director of Education and Training, in the October 17, 2006 edition of the National Cancer Institute Bulletin. "It provides income, health insurance, purpose in life, and even social relationships."
"How to Tell if a Pink-Ribbon Product Really Helps Breast Cancer Efforts." An article in the October 10, 2006, issue of The Wall Street Journal mentions CancerCare as a recipient of funds from specially marked Tic Tac^® packs and pink Women for Hope bracelets that help us provide free support services to people affected by cancer.
"Chemo ‘brain fog’ can refuse to lift." CancerCare’s tips for cancer survivors on how to improve their concentration are featured in an October 5, 2006 article in USA Today about a new study indicating that subtle memory problems in women treated with chemotherapy persist longer than previously believed.
"How to Help a Friend with Breast Cancer." Excerpted from the 2006 SELF Breast Cancer Handbook, this special section includes tips from CancerCare oncology social worker Julie Martin on how to help a friend who’s been diagnosed with breast cancer.
"Living Longer with Cancer." American Public Radio's "Marketplace" Health Desk segment on September 12, 2006 features interviews with CancerCare’s Jane Levy and Cynthia Bass on the high costs of cancer treatment.

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