National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

Posted April 27th, 2018

Have you taken a look at your medicine cabinet lately? Aside from cotton swabs, mouthwash and makeup remover, are there old, outdated prescription drugs in your cabinet? How do you dispose of old, outdated, expired or unneeded medications? Flush them down the toilet? Throw them out with your household trash? Not sure? Well, the DEA […]

Decoding the Alphabet Soup of Medical Decision Making

Posted April 16th, 2018

April 16th is National Health Care Decisions Day (NHDD). This day focuses its efforts on increasing knowledge of medical decision making and advance care planning. Advance care planning includes living wills and health care power of attorney or surrogate decision maker. These documents are important for EVERYONE to have. Not just older people or those […]

5 Things To Know About In-Home Genetic Testing

Posted March 28th, 2018

Recently,  in-home genetic testing kits, such as 23andMe and Color, were granted FDA authorization to provide direct to consumer, no prescription needed, in-home genetic testing. On the surface, this seems very attractive. Genetic mutations are thought to account for 5-10% of all cancer diagnoses (cancer.gov). As we learn more about how genetics influence our cancer risk, more […]

Combating the Opioid Crisis Through Safe Drug Disposal

Posted March 21st, 2018

In October 2017 the opioid crisis was declared a “public health emergency.” In the US, more than 15 million people abuse prescription drugs and in 2016, some 56,000 people died as a result of prescription drug overdose. As much as 1/3 of all prescription opioid medications go unused and are often sitting, unsecured, in kitchen […]

Make ‘em Laugh: The Power of Humor to Help Care for Ourselves

Posted March 16th, 2018

This morning, I had the honor of giving a social work month lecture at a local hospital. I give a lot of talks—usually focused on patient education, survivorship, responding to cancer related distress or social work/medical ethics. But for this talk, I wanted to do something different…something special. Social work is tough stuff. We are […]

The Power of Friendship

Posted January 17th, 2018

Over the past several months, I’ve been supporting a dear friend through his cancer diagnosis, appointments, treatment decisions and planning, and adjustment to life with cancer. This is not new territory for me; I’ve been an oncology social worker for many years, and I’ve walked this path with many patients and their families along the […]

MLK Day: A Day Of Service-Perhaps Setting The Table For Years For Service

Posted January 15th, 2018

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. day. Unlike others, I’m working today. Some see this as an extra federal holiday and day off. But in recent years, there has been a push to make meaning out of this day in the eyes of Reverend King by making it a national day of service. When I […]

Coming to a Mailbox Near You–New Medicare Cards!

Posted January 3rd, 2018

Attention all Medicare recipients! As part of the Medicare Access and CHIP reauthorization act (MACRA) of 2015, all social security numbers will be removed from Medicare cards. Beginning in April of 2018, people with Medicare will receive a new Medicare card my mail. MACRA requires that all Medicare cards be replaced by April 2019. Here is […]

Holiday Traditions After A Loss

Posted December 20th, 2017

This year was pretty tough for me. I lost my beloved dog Finn. Finn was my partner in life and in work, as he was a therapy dog who provided love, support and relief to many cancer patients and their families over the years. As the holidays grew closer, I started to think more about […]

Open Enrollment-Got Questions? We’ve Got Answers-Part 4

Posted December 5th, 2017

Open enrollment season is upon us! This is the fourth and final entry in our series of blogs summarizing the material from our #getcovered tweet chat and highlighting important facts about open enrollment. Remember that you can always get more in depth information about insurance via the OncoLink Health Insurance webinar series, available now, www.oncolink.org/insurance. All […]