You’re Sick. Now What? Knowledge Is Power.

This is very releavant to our "intellectualizing" patient who cope by seeking information about their illness.

You’re Sick. Now What? Knowledge Is Power.
The New York Times
By TARA PARKER-POPE
Published: September 29, 2008

A Time When Listening Is ‘Sacred’

A Time When Listening Is ‘Sacred’

September 25, 2008, 12:09 pm
By Jane Gross
The New York Times

Perhaps Death Is Proud; More Reason to Savor Life

Perhaps Death Is Proud; More Reason to Savor Life

By THERESA BROWN
Published: September 8, 2008
The New York Times

In Cancer Therapy, There Is a Time to Treat and a Time to Let Go

In Cancer Therapy, There Is a Time to Treat and a Time to Let Go

By JANE E. BRODY
Published: August 18, 2008
The New York Times

New York Hospitals Create Outcry in Foreign Deal

New York Hospitals Create Outcry in Foreign Deal

The New York Times
By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS
Published: August 5, 2008

New York City’s Health and Hospitals Corporation has signed a 10-year, $100 million contract with a profit-making medical school in the Caribbean to provide clinical training for hundreds of students at the city’s 11 public hospitals.

Cancer as a Disease, Not a Death Sentence

Cancer as a Disease, Not a Death Sentence

By JANE E. BRODY
Published: June 17, 2008
The New York Times

In New York City, Two Versions of End-of-Life Care

In New York City, Two Versions of End-of-Life Care

The New York Times
By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS and FORD FESSENDEN
Published: May 30, 2008

Meditation

Lotus Therapy

By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: May 27, 2008

This article published recently in the New York Times, talks about how mindfulness meditation can help relieve suffering. Please read over and think about how helpful it can be to practice meditation techniques with our patients.

For the Elderly, Being Heard About Life’s End

For the Elderly, Being Heard About Life’s End

The New York Times
By JANE GROSS
Published: May 5, 2008

Grounded in research at the Dartmouth Medical School, slow medicine encourages physicians to put on the brakes when considering care that may have high risks and limited rewards for the elderly, and it educates patients and families how to push back against emergency room trips and hospitalizations designed for those with treatable illnesses, not the inevitable erosion of advanced age.

Surviving Cancer Doesn’t Lead to Healthier Lifestyle

A recent story in the New York Times suggests that cancer survivors do not exercise any more than the rest of us. Interesting, considering that several studies have linked exercise to lower cancer risk and improved cancer survival.

Surviving Cancer Doesn’t Lead to Healthier Lifestyle
The New York Times
Published April 21, 2008
Tara Parker-Pope

Also, see her podcast featuring Leslie Bernstein, a noted cancer and exercise researcher from the City of Hope cancer center in Duarte, California.

The Well Podcast: Cancer and Exercise
The New York Times Well Blog
April 25, 2008
Tara Parker-Pope

Thriving After Life's Bum Rap

Sometimes coping with a serious illness can cause you to think about the positive things that are in your life. Nancy's Friends volunteer Arline wanted to share this article posted in the NYTimes. Jane Brody writes about how cancer can cause you to see things from a different perspective.

Thriving After Life's Bum Rap

The New York Times

By JANE E. BRODY
Published: August 14, 2007

For Cancer Patients, Empathy Goes a Long Way

In keeping with the theme of empathy...this article was brought to my attention. The topic of this article is how physicians may feel empathy, but have trouble communicating it to their patients. Some physicians could not read between the lines and ended up rambling in technical terms when all the patient wanted to know was "Am I getting better? or worse?" Interestingly, researchers also found that cancer patients did not always share their emotions with their oncologists.

The New York Times
By DENISE GRADY
Published: January 8, 2008

For Cancer Patients, Empathy Goes a Long Way


See below for the research paper published in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 25, No 36 (December 20), 2007: pp. 5748-5752© 2007 American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Kathryn I. Pollak, Robert M. Arnold, Amy S. Jeffreys, Stewart C. Alexander, Maren K. Olsen, Amy P. Abernethy, Celette Sugg Skinner, Keri L. Rodriguez, James A. Tulsky

Oncologist Communication About Emotion During Visits With Patients With Advanced Cancer

Cancer patients find strength in numbers

Click the link below to view the article that NF volunteer Linda suggested.

Cancer Patients Find Strength in Numbers

By Marilyn Elias, USA TODAY

Understanding Empathy

I wanted to share this article with you from the New York Times. The author is a physician here at Weill Cornell Medical School. As volunteers, you are learning to interact with and understand patients. What appeals to me about this article is that the author points out, "What is critical to understanding someone is not necessarily having had his or her experience; it is being able to imagine what it would be like to have it."

As you volunteer, you develop empathy as you listen to people tell stories of their struggle with illness. Being an empathetic person is not only important if you are looking to develop your bedside manner, but is essential in forming connections with others.

Do you agree with what this doctor has to say? How does volunteering influence your understanding of empathy?

Understanding Empathy: Can You Feel My Pain?

By RICHARD A. FRIEDMAN, M.D.
Published: April 24, 2007