Fall, 2007
Art therapy has been shown to reduce pain and anxiety in cancer patients, according to a small study in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. During a four-month study involving 50 patients, researchers observed a decrease in pain, tiredness, depression, anxiety, drowsiness, lack of appetite and shortness of breath following art therapy sessions.
Nothing about chemotherapy is simple, especially not for those patients who have to endure its side effects while relying on it to treat their cancers. But few patients ever see the more than 100 health-care professionals working through a complex series of checks and balances to ensure the 36,000 infusion treatments delivered each year at the Rogel Cancer Center are appropriate and safe.
For many patients who are in treatment during the holidays, this time can be difficult. We've got some tips and suggestions to help. Most importantly, focus on what you have in this moment on this day. Focus on what you have to appreciate and who is in your life.
If you've been diagnosed with cancer, you already know something has gone wrong inside your body's cells. But how do you know if the genetic changes that caused your cancer were something you inherited or something that just happened sometime during the course of your life? Kara Milliron is a genetic counselor with the U-M Rogel Cancer Center's Breast and Ovarian Risk Evaluation Program and shares what patients should know.
When a cancer diagnosis is involved, "healthy eating" means something different. Your body's needs radically change while it's weathering the effects of treatment and fighting back against your cancer. And the diet we just described sometimes won't meet those needs.