Can we choose happiness even in cancer?

Posted May 9th, 2019

Grand-dog Chloe and I are glamping in an elegant Airstream in a land of sunny skies and craggy mountain ranges and saguaro cacti. Tucson. I’m grand-dog sitting while my son and daughter-in-law are traveling internationally. Stenciled on the vintage trailer next door is this thought: “Today, I will be happier than a bird with a […]


How to Combat Loss of Appetite

Posted April 18th, 2019

Now that we have metallic tastes understood, I would like to point out that combating metallic tastes has to take into consideration that an appetite is present already. Metallic tastes are generally found at the finish line of the eating experience. In this lesson, we are going to learn how to build an appetite from a […]


Cancer goes to the beach

Cancer Goes To The Beach

Posted July 12th, 2018

These webinars provide tips and tricks for planning a vacation while coping with cancer treatment. Part 1:Practical Issues and Planning Part 1 is presented by Christina Bach, LCSW, OSW-C, OncoLink Content Specialist and Psychosocial Content Editor. Part 2: Managing Medical Concerns Cancer Goes To The Beach Part 2-Managing Medical Concerns, is presented by Carolyn Vachani, […]


Exercise for the Caregiver

Posted July 5th, 2018

This webinar provides an overview of the important of exercise and physical activity for caregivers of cancer patients. Joann Fegley, MBA, MS, C-PT is an exercise physiologist specializing in cancer fitness personal training. She is the owner of JoFly’s Fitness and a specialized fitness instructor for Penn Integrative Medicine at the Abramson Cancer Center.


Exercising

Exercise During Cancer Treatment

Posted July 3rd, 2018

This webinar provides an overview of the role of exercise and physical activity during cancer treatment. Joann Fegley, MBA, MS, C-PT is an exercise physiologist specializing in cancer fitness personal training. She is the owner of JoFly’s Fitness and a specialized fitness instructor for Penn Integrative Medicine at the Abramson Cancer Center.


How to Say the Wrong Thing

Posted April 18th, 2018

I’ve heard so many unbelievably wrong things throughout my cancer career, I’m no longer shocked. Some comments are so wrong they aren’t worth noting here—they’re not likely to occur to most people. Would you tell a cancer patient you wish you could have chemotherapy because you need to lose weight? No? Because you know that’s […]


Dealing with cancer? 5 Gifts To Give Yourself This Holiday Season

Posted December 18th, 2017

My husband, Gary, was diagnosed with late-stage disease, whereupon the experts projected two years because he was relatively young and in good shape, and prostate cancer is slow-growing. But Gary beat the two-year deadline. In fact, he lived ten high-volume, courageous years. And if I needed to assign credit for his extended quality of life, […]


Bob Riter

Beginning A New Relationship After Cancer

Posted October 12th, 2017

It’s challenging to begin a new relationship after having had cancer. I’ve written about that as have many others. But what about the other partner in a new relationship – the one without cancer? One woman put it this way, “I feel like cancer is a member of his family. I want to understand and […]


4 Insights Into Reticent Men and Cancer

Posted August 24th, 2017

A friend of mine started dating a man six months after he was diagnosed with cancer. At the start of their relationship, he was open about his health issues. And then cancer showed up stronger, and he walled himself off. “He won’t let me give him any hands-on care,” my friend said. “And he doesn’t want […]


How To Live With Knowing – And Not Knowing – The Future

Posted June 29th, 2017

For a second time, I’m reading When Breath Becomes Air by surgeon and author Paul Kalanithi. At age 36 and on a career path that was spiraling upward, Dr. Kalanithi was rudely interrupted. By a lung cancer diagnosis. I had originally highlighted several passages in the book, but one that stood out the second time around […]