2018 Cancer Awareness

Monday, October 8, 2018

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Breast Cancer AWARENESS

& PREVENTION

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THE GAZETTE, EMPORIA, KANSAS

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Monday, October 8, 2018

Caringbridge Lives Up To Its Name F Communicate in a private, ad-free place F Activate their community and coordinate help Having cancer is hard F R e c e i v e emotional enough without having to strength and support repeat the information over and over to medical personThe website has advice nel, support personnel, fam- on supporting a loved one ily and sympathizers. It can in tough times through stobe exhausting physically, ries, articles, videos and mentally and emotionally. more. There is a journal site In fact, counselors say for those involved to stay in it is healthier to visit with touch, with email notificathose who are ill and talk tions when news is posted. about anything but their illA calendar is set up where ness. Well-meaning advice the person in need can reon treatment can actually be quest help, such as rides to stressful and burdensome. appointments, help with “Horror stories” of other shopping, meals, yard work people’s experiences can be and much more. It is much just that — horrifying. easier than having to think of Fortunately, there are sev- something every time someeral internet-based methods one asks, “Do you need anyof disseminating (and con- thing?” People can look and trolling) the avalanche of see exactly what is needed information that comes with and sign up for a task. the process of maintaining a Caring Bridge has a partlife while fighting for it. One nership with GoFundMe, such avenue is CaringBridge so supporters can provide (caringbridge.org).

CaringBridge’s mission financial support directly to is, “To amplify the love, the individual.

CaringBridge meets all hope and compassion in the standards of the Charities world, making each health Review Council, is an accredjourney easier.”

This non-profit group was ited Better Business Bureau founded in 1997 and, since charity, and Charity Navigathen, more than 740,000 tor, a leading independent CaringBridge websites have charity evaluator, has given been created. CaringBridge CaringBridge a 3-star rating can be used to rally support (meets or exceeds) for its for a loved one during a sound fiscal management health journey, connecting and commitment to accountpeople from near and far in ability and transparency.

It’s easy to use. The perone purpose.

Using a site such as this son creating the site has can get all the excruciating complete control over who details, that are too hard to can see their information, remember in the long run, in and it doesn’t cost anything.

There are opportunities to one spot, for everyone.

Those who create a pro- support the site through donations, but they are profesfile can: sional and understated, not F Share news and updates “in your face” popups. with everyone at the same V V V time

By Regina Murphy

The Emporia Gazette

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVE LEIKER

Sue Claridge is a musician, writer and cancer patient.

Emporian Sue Claridge has been fighting a rare and serious cancer. She uses CaringBridge to keep friends and family updated, and also to chronicle her journey. A musician and writer, mother of two, Sue is eloquent, funny, brave and ferocious in her fight.

She has written about the adventures of using a scoot-

er at Walmart; the surreal aspect of a neighbor’s oversized pool toys appearing to stare into her patio door; the day her friends helped shave her head, and the friend who shaved hers in solidarity; the long drives to treatment out of state.

She agreed to share with the broader public this

particular essay. It demonstrates how CaringBridge can live up to its name, building the bridges Sue needs to share with those who care.

V V V “I belong to a local writers group. On Monday, we had a reading showcasing poetry, prose, essays, and the like.

The theme of our reading

was seasons. I told the organizer that I would try to work seasons into my essay, but I was writing about cancer. It is below. I hope you enjoy it.”

Seasons of Life: I Refuse to Die of Cancer #IhaveCancerIwin Please see Caring, Page 17

THE FIVE BEST THINGS ABOUT BEING A HOSPICE NURSE

By Myla Weakland Midland Care Senior Director of Hospice

In the nearly five years that I have been working in hospice, I can’t begin to count how many times someone has said to me “How do you do it?” or “It takes a special person to do that k i n d o f Weakland work” or “I could never work in hospice. That must be so sad!”

I have served in various nursing roles during my time at Midland including on-call, admissions, team coordinator, and now as the director. I could go on and on about why I love what I do, but I will sum it up with the five best things.

do in hospice is providing education to patients and their caregivers. We aren’t always going to be there in the home around-theclock, so our job is to teach and instill confidence. It’s so rewarding when you’ve spent time providing education about end-of-life care, symptom management , and day-to-day cares and you can tell when it clicks and all comes together for the caregiver. I love being a teacher!

3. Being more than just a nurse.

In hospice, you have to accept that sometimes discipline boundaries are going to be blurred. You may find yourself providing support or a listening ear when a patient has just received bad news. You could be helping a family work through a conflict or helping a patient with advanced directives. It’s not uncomfor families to ask you 1. Getting to know mon to pray with them. What I the patient and love most about this aspect of the job is that every day their family. there are new challenges There aren’t many nurs- and you can never stop ing jobs where you are able learning and growing as a to see the same patient for nursing professional. weeks, months and sometimes even years and have 4. The team. the opportunity to build reIn hospice you will lationships with them and their family. You get the frequently hear the term chance to sit down and visit “IDT,” which stands for with them, hear to their interdisciplinary team. We stories, and get to know have an amazing team of them as a person, and not dedicated providers, nurses, social workers, chapjust as a diagnosis. lains, home health aides, volunteers, and bereave2. Providing ment counselors that all education and come together to surround the patient and family with reassurance. all aspects of care. EverySo much of what we one has a voice and plays an

equal part in the patient’s care. The collaboration and support amongst the team is remarkable.

done this without you” or “You were a godsend” makes all of the hard work worth it. This profession Hearing a family mem- isn’t easy by any means, but ber say “We couldn’t have being able to guide and sup-

5. Making a difference.

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Monday, October 8, 2018

CARING

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four ounces. I created life while death-inducing matter inhabited my right side.

Fighting cancer is my super power.

Here’s the most amazing thing of all. I got breast cancer, a mere carcinoma, in 2001. I fought it and beat it all while having another cancer lurking in my right side. I have been cancer-free, breast cancer-free, for over seventeen years.

Having lived with this sarcoma for forty-three years, I have decided not to die from cancer. I may die with cancer, but I’ve done most of the things in my life while having this sarcoma. Dying is just one more thing. It may sound brave or ridiculous to say that I refuse die from cancer; but, other options are scarier. I’ve made a short list to illustrate.

Other Death Options Besides Cancer

From PAGE 16

At age thirteen, I began having pain in my right side.

No one was able to figure out why. Because I am an avid flutist, most doctors attributed it to playing flute for long stretches of time.

Last March, I found out that I have a synovial sarcoma, which is a rare cancer. Rarer still is its location in my chest wall sitting on my diaphragm. I’m fighting it, but it could kill me.

My doctor confirms that this cancer is over fortythree years old because they trace the age to the onset of symptoms. Picture it, I have a cancer that developed during the Nixon administration. During the past fortythree years, I have done some regular stuff and some extraordinary stuff. For instance, while having cancer, 1. The standard — getting I went to homecoming and hit by a bus or Mack prom. I went to college and truck. earned a bachelors and lat- 2. Something could fall on er, a masters. I got married me: a razor-sharp icicle, and divorced. (I am so hapa piano being hoisted to pily divorced.) I gave birth an upper floor or a turtle to two huge babies, the largdropped by a seagull. est weighed in at ten pounds 3. I could die of a venereal

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disease because I sat on a I’m not afraid of cancer. It public toilet seat. When I got to heaven, my mother hasn’t killed me yet and it’s would greet me with, “I had a lot of time. #IhaveCancerIwin told you so.”

4. While patiently waiting at a railroad crossing, a train could derail and crush my car.

5. My long, flowing hair could get caught in an elevator causing me to fall and break my neck.

6. I could be struck by lightning.

7. Just to annoy my children, I could die of a broken heart. I would greet them in heaven with, “I told you so.”

8. While I am on my Make-aWish cruise, I might contract a mystery disease that wipes out 75% of the passengers.

9. I could participate in the Dirty Kanza which would surely kill me.

10. I might choke while drinking a beer at Mulready’s. Again, my mother would say,” I told you so,” upon my arrival in heaven.

11. While feeling wonderfully loved by all my supportive friends and family, my heart might burst.

ARE WE WINNING THE WAR ON CANCER? WHAT TO KNOW State Point

New cancer cases and deaths are both predicted to rise over the next two decades, according to the latest World Cancer Report.

Despite billions of dollars of investment in research, survival gains for the most common forms of cancer are still measured in additional months of life, not years.

Can cancer be cured?

Some experts say the answer is yes, but that it will require reversing course on the way it’s researched and treated.

“Integrative medicine may allow us to win the war on cancer if done intelligently,” said Sylvie Beljanski, author of the new breakthrough book “Winning the War on Cancer: The Epic Journey Towards a Natural Cure,” which reveals the discoveries of her late father’s suppressed research -- Dr. Mirko Beljanski, a biologistbiochemist at the Pasteur Institute who spent over 40 years studying the environmental impact on DNA replication and transcription.

“When my father started to rethink the origin of cancer and to develop molecules able to selectively block cancerous cell multiplication without killing healthy cells, he ran into major opposition,” Beljanski said. “The conventional oncology community ostracized him, despite the fact that his theories were aimed at complementing chemotherapy and radiation, not replacing them.”

Beljanski, founder of The Beljanski Foundation (www. beljanski.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering her father’s research, says that in order to

beat cancer, the following ideas and processes need to be adopted: • Patent Law Review.

There is a need for powerful drugs, but there is also a need for a gentler, holistic approach. Under the current status quo, pharmaceutical companies are rewarded for creating synthetic and highly toxic drugs when elements of nature could be used safely and effectively in many instances, say experts.

• Funding for Alternative Science Research. “My

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father had the idea that if nature came up with carcinogens, nature had also come up with anti-carcinogens. He discovered two of them: the bark of a tree from the Amazon rainforest and an extract from a bush in West Africa.

Research confirmed their efficacy on a large array of cancers and their ability to work in synergy with chemotherapy,” says Beljanski.

• Law Reform. Law reform that would allow legitimate dietary supplements to promote and highlight their

benefits would help educate consumers. Furthermore, insurance companies should cover supplements, she urges.

• Government Audit.

The government should conduct an audit of its success and failures in funding cancer prevention and treatment research.

• Data Sharing. “As long as pharmaceutical companies’ quest for innovation is solely driven by intellectual property rights, they will keep failing in the war on

cancer,” said Beljanski, who advocates for a shared, centralized database and open collaboration from the best scientists, doctors and researchers.

• Prevention and Education. In the long-run, the smartest approach is prevention. Citizens must continue to become informed, active consumers, taking the initiative to read labels, avoid junk food and addictive substances, relieve stress, exercise and eat balanced meals.

“The mind-body connection

is strong and individuals have the power to create a healthier life for themselves,” says Beljanski.

More information on cancer and Beljanski’s new book, is available at winingthewaroncancer.com. All of the author’s proceeds are being donated to help fund anticancer research.

While the war on cancer will be long and hard-fought, experts say that a shifted approach to prevention, treatment and research will ultimately mean lives saved.

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Monday, October 8, 2018

Proudly supports national breast cancer awareness month

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Screening mammography is one of the most effective ways to catch breast cancer early.

Schedule your screening during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

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