Battling Cancer

Hair loss during chemotherapy is a hugely overwhelming issue on top of everything else going on in the cancer patient’s life. The approach to the topic is as individual as your cancer treatment plan.

Hair loss is dependent upon the type of chemo you receive. Loss usually begins one to three weeks after the initiation of chemo. Hair loss will affect eyebrows, eyelashes, armpit and leg hair, as well as your head.

Hair loss can be the most distressing side effect of chemo. That’s understandable, as it puts you and your diagnosis out there. That which you wanted to keep private is now exposed.

We hide behind our hair, we take pride in our hair, and often hair defines us– and loss translates to loss of self esteem.

Many people find it less traumatic to prepare with a shorter haircut first. Remember the cancer support system you have in place can help you through this difficult time. Talk about it. Blog about it. Share with others who understand.

For more information on what to expect during treatment, visit the Mayo Clinic site.

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I have been asked recently whether frequent guest-poster Amanda is my outspoken secret identity. The answer is, “No.” Amanda is very much a real person, and you’ll soon be able to see her writing on a new blog that will be launching soon. In the meantime, read her take on some of the little-known aspects of cancer treatment here:Let’s play an association game. I give you a word, and you record the first thing that comes to mind. If I say “hammer”, you might say “nail”. Another example would be if I said “oxygen”, and if you are an utter science geek like me, you might be thinking respiration (or maybe not). Now, what if I said “chemotherapy”? The last thing to cross your mind would probably be “sex”. But maybe it should be.Chemotherapy, while a necessary evil in the fight against cancer progression, is absolute hell on your body and your mind. You may feel nauseous and sick all the time, you are going lose weight, and you may even lose your hair. In addition to all this, you can also experience a complete loss of sexual desire, vaginal infections, dryness, and impotence. With all you are experiencing relating to the battle with cancer, this additional load is the last thing anyone needs to deal with.I am all for sex, believe me. Sex is great!! However, when a loved one is undergoing chemotherapy, they are probably not feeling very desirable or attractive. They are probably nauseous and have a headache. The important thing is that you don’t have live without sex while fighting your cancer. Now, if you just went through a cycle of chemo, and the mere thought of sex makes you want to throw up, DON’T have sex. The choice is yours. But if you do want to have sex with your partner, but don’t know how to get past the chemo-induced obstacles, talk to your doctor. Burst through the waiting room, screaming “I want sex!!! Give me sex!!”  Well, maybe that is a bad idea, but you get the point. Cancer does not have to be the end of your sex life. You just need to learn to outmaneuver the treatment.Like what you’re reading? Consider subscribing to our feed! 

Today’s guest commentary is by Amanda, a cancer research scientist, on the high cost of anti-cancer drugs.

Can you put a price on life? What a complex and interesting question, and one that I have never really thought much of before. But this is the question that many cancer patients face when considering the coming months of costly treatment options after their initial diagnosis.

While many insurance companies cover a percentage of the drug treatment costs, the price of new cutting-edge treatments are astronomical. For example, herceptin is a drug that prescribed to women who have breast cancers that overexpress a receptor called HER2. This type of cancer is very aggressive, and tends to grow and spread more quickly than HER2-negative tumors. Treatment with herceptin is the only option for women having this type of cancer. However, the drug is by no means cheap. Months of treatment can reach $25,000-$50,000 a year. The approximate cost of a three week infusion of herceptin is about $5,000. If the insurance company covers 70% of the cost, you will still be left with $1,500 that is not covered.

This figure only takes into account type of treatment. Depending on the type of cancer, combinational therapy may be the only option for patient survival, with two to three different types of drugs that the patient must pay for or face certain death. After a few months, this adds up, and most working class families cannot afford it. And the question once again returns: can you put a price on life?

Why are these treatments so expensive? More →

Moving from a state inhabited by less than 2 million people to a city that’s home to more than twice those numbers is quite a shock, and little drives that point home more for me than the news.  Since I’ve spent the last few days parked on the couch with my laptop (I’ve got strep throat — it’s my right to stay in my pajamas all day), I’ve seen video footage of arson, murder, suicide, a hostage crisis at the mall, and a building collapsing in on itself.  It can be downright numbing to see all those bad vibes. 

But today, I just heard the most uplifting news from that little clinic down the road:  University of Texas-MD Anderson breast cancer patient Linda Sanchez gave birth to healthy baby Isabella Marie last night after having been in chemotherapy while pregnant.

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New studies reveal a promising new ways to keep prescription drug costs down for cancer patients — and it could be just as easy as taking pills on a full stomach rather than an empty one as prescribed.

In general, patients who are advised to take drugs on an empty stomach are done so because it helps physicians better predict effects without having to worry about multiple variables. However, new clinical studies have revealed that certain drugs that are taken with food could be found at much higher blood levels than they are when taken on an empty stomach. Also, some drugs may be more effective at lower doses when taken with grapefruit juice by taking advantage of changes in blood composition. Changes like these can help save patients $1700 or more on their costly cancer drug costs.

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Nutritional polyphenol antioxidants have have been enjoying a renaissance of sorts in the arena of cancer drug development, and the evidence of the downstream ripples lies in the long list of results that a quick googling of “antioxidants + cancer” yields.  So naturally (heh heh), my interest was piqued when I saw the following headline:  “In the Battle Against Cancer, Researchers Find Hope in a Toxic Wasteland.”

The opening paragraphs:

BUTTE, Mont. — Death sits on the east side of this city, a 40-billion-gallon pit filled with corrosive water the color of a scab. On the opposite side sits the small laboratory of Don and Andrea Stierle, whose stacks of plastic Petri dishes are smeared with organisms pulled from the pit. Early tests indicate that some of those organisms may help produce the next generation of cancer drugs.

From death’s soup, the Stierles hope to coax life.

Creepy stuff, huh?  The life-giving properties of ”death’s soup,” as described by Christopher Maag of the New York Times earlier this month, are the results of recent findings by Donald and Andrea Stierle.  The Stierles, a husband and wife time of scientists at Montana Tech of the University of Montana, have been hard at work for the last few years isolating extremely hardy compounds from the Berkley Pit Lake which previously served as one of the world’s largest copper mines before it was abandoned in the 1980’s. More →

Hi everyone,

As I mentioned yesterday, tomorrow is first day of volunteer orientation at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. MDA is nestled within the depths of the The Texas Medical Center, a system of over 40 government and not-for-profit institutions making it the largest medical center in the world. As a small town girl, it’s a pretty amazing sight to see (except around rush hour when it loses its charm just a little).

MD Anderson has some of the best and brightest cancer physicians and research scientists in the world. This week, many of them are in San Francisco, California discussing their findings at the International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, the joint meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. This annual meeting is one of the world’s leading conferences covering breakthroughs in new developments in chemotherapeutics. Here’s some of the latest daily headlines from the meeting, courtesy of AACR: More →

Experts agree that for most breast cancer cases, chemotherapy is not the first treatment of choice. But for those for whom it is appropriate, it can provide effective, long term results.

Chemotherapy consists of using drugs to combat cancer. With the increasing sophistication of pharmacology, those drugs are safer, more effective and more targeted, with fewer side effects than ones of the past. Today, it’s common to use a drug ‘cocktail’ in order to offset side effects and provide a more effective treatment.

The drugs used typically interfere with the cells’ ability to divide, since that is one of the chief characteristics of cancers, an uncontrolled growth from abnormal cell division in breast cancer tissue.

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By Dave Saunders

Chemotherapy is a word that causes dread in most who hear it. It is a time of stress as well as risk. If you, or someone you know, are facing chemotherapy, these four simple steps may help get through the process with better spirits and better results as well.

1. Tell your doctor if you get side effects from treatment

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By June Carr

There is nothing more important in life than our health. Yes, it’s more important than money, since without it, we may not be able to work or earn a living, and with it, we can participate in society and live our lives the way we desire. Years ago, when I heard that my father had cancer, I was devastated and from that day till now, I’ve learned all that I can about cancer, and how we can live our lives in a beneficial way, that will allow us to journey forward through the trials we face. What I’ll mention are not cure alls, and of COURSE see your doctor, these are simply tips for a healthy life.

If you find yourself in the middle of cancer treatment, don’t stop what before you knew to be healthy. Drink water it will help your system to stay flushed, will keep your intestines open and aid your kidneys in dealing with medications you may be taking.

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