Between the Folds: Being a Paper Folding Volunteer at Penn Medicine

Posted May 28th, 2020

Jongi-jeobgi, the Korean art of paper folding (often called origami), was introduced to me as a child by my mom. She was a watercolor artist at the time, so naturally she attempted to teach me how to sketch. However, she soon realized that I was more interested in folding the paper in front of me […]

Preventive Cancer Screenings while Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic

Posted May 18th, 2020

What should I do…and when should I do it? I recently read an article that electronic health record data showed a sudden drop in preventative cancer screenings for March 2020 in the United States.  It showed a decrease of 86% – 94% in preventive cancer screenings for cervical, colon, and breast cancers, compared to average […]

Sharing the Power of Palliative Care

Posted November 27th, 2018

There are some things you should learn in a classroom, and certain things that can only be truly understood once you’ve experienced them in real life. As a new-to-practice nurse on a medical-oncology unit, one such topic that presented itself within my first few days was that of the very real, very necessary, and truly […]

Karen Arnold-Korzeniowski, BSN, RN

It Was An Honor and a Privilege

Posted October 3rd, 2018

During my years as a nurse working on the floor I took care of countless patients. I saw patients when they were first diagnosed and unsure of what was going to happen, patients who knew the end of their lives was approaching, and those in between. I was part of some life changing moments for […]

Celebrating Life While The Cancer Patient Is Still Alive

Posted June 20th, 2018

An email arrived recently from a friend — her grandfather died, and a week and a half later, her grandmother was diagnosed with late stage cancer. “My grandma went through such a long, rough time being a caregiver for my grandpa,” wrote this young woman, “… and now this.” Letters My friend wanted to know […]

Celebrating The Holidays From A Hospital Bed

Posted December 7th, 2017

During my years working as a floor nurse, I spent a fair share of my holidays working. The holidays are a time for bringing family and friends together to celebrate the season. You may think this is not possible from a hospital bed but with a little bit of help, I promise you its possible. […]

Feel Those Feelings

Posted November 8th, 2017

Just about the first thing they taught us in nursing school was that, no matter what kind of unit we worked on, we would be caring for people during some of the most trying times of their lives and we should approach each shift with that in mind. When you are feeling your worst, we […]

Bob Riter

The Importance Of Caring In The Doctor’s Office

Posted September 25th, 2017

Cancer treatment involves operating rooms, chemotherapy protocols, and high tech radiation therapy equipment, all of which extend and improve the lives of people with cancer. But when I talk with people being treated for cancer, they don’t comment on the equipment or the science involved in their care. Rather, they focus on the quality of […]

Bob Riter

Practical Advice for Getting Second Opinions

Posted August 11th, 2017

 A woman recently diagnosed with cancer stopped by our office to say that she’s heard that it’s important to obtain second opinions from major cancer centers and to assemble a team of experts to provide her treatment. She asked, “How the hell do I do that?” Cancer guidebooks are full of grandiose suggestions like “assemble […]

Bob Riter

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Giving Medical Advice on Facebook

Posted May 22nd, 2017

I’m often startled by the medical advice that people give to their friends on Facebook. Sometimes it takes the form of saying, “You should do this,” but often it’s more subtle and simply involves sharing a link. Before people post something of this nature, I wish that they would consider the following questions: Have you […]