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By Ed Steger

Ed Steger is a head and neck cancer survivor. He was diagnosed in 2005 and after rough patches in 2006 and 2007 has been in remission. He writes a blog about his cancer experience at www.hncancer.blogspot.com.

Continued from Tuesday's post

Being more empathetic and compassionate
I understand what empathy and compassion are and believe I have always had these traits, but to a somewhat limited degree. As a result of my personal cancer experience, I'm feeling these emotions at a deeper level. It's one thing to know someone is in pain; it's completely different to actually feel that pain.

Having had my own pain during the past seven years, I can now more easily feel the pain of others. I have also had some wonderful role models, who showed me empathy and compassion during this cancer journey. I still have a ways to go here, but I do believe it's making me a better person.

Supporting cancer research
A friend recently volunteered to make a donation to a research program at MD Anderson. My siblings have made donations to my cancer center. One of them even asked her co-workers to make donations to my cancer center. I, too, have made financial contributions and hope to do more in the future. I believe the research I support will ultimately lead to improved prevention, early detection and the treatment of head and neck cancer.

Continue reading A Second Chance at Life Part II.

By Ed Steger

Ed Steger is a head and neck cancer survivor. He was diagnosed in 2005 and after rough patches in 2006 and 2007 has been in remission. He writes a blog about his cancer experience at www.hncancer.blogspot.com.

How often have you said to yourself, "If only I had a chance to start over?"

Although I've been living with cancer since early 2005, it was only within the past year that I had an epiphany: I actually do have a second chance at life! Not a "time machine" type second chance, but a chance to re-evaluate my life before cancer and decide how I will live my life going forward.

Part of this was driven by the realization that I probably won't die of cancer within the next three months. The other part was driven by the need to re-purpose my life after meeting a major goal -- providing guidance and watching my then 13-year-old daughter mature, graduate from high school and begin her life as an independent young woman.

That being "done" -- is one ever done? --  the following is what I've decided to do with my second chance.

Continue reading A Second Chance at Life .

The mirror is not always a glowing reflection of one's self. For Jason Cox, there was a point when he didn't even recognize himself.

Today, though, his reflection shows a successful attorney, a community volunteer and, most important, a survivor.

Like many childhood cancer survivors, Cox overcame his cancer, but not without some challenges and side effects along the way.

In 1985, at 14, he was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma in his right cheek, a tumor affecting muscles that attach to the bone. After a year of chemotherapy at 
MD Anderson Children's Cancer Hospital, he was declared cancer-free.

But six years later, while attending Texas A&M University, Cox was dealt another blow. His cancer had returned. He endured more chemotherapy and radiation, but his cancer kept coming back.

"I weighed the options of having more recurrences or undergoing a major surgery that would cause some disfiguration to my face," Cox recalls. "The decision made itself."

Continue reading Cancer in the Rearview Mirror: How One Survivor Copes With Side Effects.

Tim Shiery was diagnosed with melanoma in 2005, at the age of 47. "I had a black mole on the back of my neck that could no longer be hidden with a band aid," Shiery says.

After a visit to the family physician, Shiery was referred to MD Anderson.

Under the care of surgeon Jeffrey Lee, M.D., and oncologist Patrick Hwu, M.D., he underwent a successful surgery and five rounds of interferon.

But two years later, the cancer was back. This time it was stage IV metastatic melanoma, which had spread to his brain and lungs.

After another surgery to remove the spots, Shiery was hopeful that he would once again be cancer free.

He was wrong.

A few more spots appeared on his liver, skin and bones.

Continue reading Tim's Triumph With Metastatic Melanoma.

By Florence Arya

One day I got a call and the woman on the phone said, "You need to schedule an appointment to see our oncologist."

I said, "Who are you? How did you get my name. I don't have cancer. Check with your doctor and make sure I'm the right person."

She asked the doctor and learned that he had lunch with my gynecologist and they believe that they need to operate.  

I called my gynecologist and she started crying. She told me I have uterine cancer. It was found when they did a Pap smear. The Pap test is to check for cervical cancer, but my cancer was so close to the cervix that the test found it. It was a one-in-a-million diagnosis.

I got a hysterectomy as soon as possible and then went to the oncologist. She said that I had uterine papillary serous carcinoma, stage 3A. She said my cancer was very rare, very aggressive and very advanced. In her opinion, I only had 1-2 years to live.   

There I was in the best shape of my life, exercising 11½ hours a week, retired, traveling, having fun with my husband, and suddenly everything was going to disappear.

I am now an eight-year cancer survivor!

Continue reading Tips for Living From a Cancer Survivor.

By Hans Rueffert

In July 2005, just two weeks after taping the finale for "Next Food Network Star," I was diagnosed with stomach cancer. The irony that a chef would contract stomach cancer was not lost on my physicians or me. The cancer was diagnosed as stage III and I ended up having half of my stomach and half of my esophagus removed.

Though I wouldn't wish the disease on anyone, I will say that my experience with it has heightened my appreciation of life, love, family and, of course, food. If I can offer one piece of advice, it would simply be this: Never take anything for granted. Never.

With the Dow Jones average recently crossing the 13,000 threshold, people are beginning to talk about investing again. Rather than blaming "the economy" for the woes of the world, folks are once again starting to actually participate in the financial world rather than just watching the peaks and valleys of the stock market. 

As a gastric cancer survivor, I've chosen to invest my energies into a much more certain endeavor than gold or bonds: mentoring. 

"Hans? You don't know me, but my name is Jim and I survived what you're going through right now. Can we talk? I think you'll want to hear what I have to say."

I may have been a little cold at the start, having been inundated by the masses of goji and noni juice predators/salesmen that somehow suddenly "care" when the "C" word is tossed about. But once Jim began to tell his story, I began to open up and listen with my whole body.

Continue reading Anderson Network Provides High Return of Investment.

Editor's Note: A new report today from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies addresses improving the health of people with chronic illnesses. Karen Basen-Engquist, Ph.D., professor in MD Anderson's Department of Behavioral Science, is one of 17 experts nationally who co-authored the report.

By Karen Basen-Engquist

In fighting the war on cancer, emphasis has been placed on detecting disease early and, hopefully, curing it. Many battles have been won, and because of this we have more than 12 million Americans living today who have had a previous diagnosis of cancer. 

While those gains are to be celebrated, many cancer survivors suffer from after effects of treatment, or undergo extended treatment over a period of years to keep their disease in check.

In essence, cancer is becoming a more chronic condition, a fact acknowledged by the ground-breaking 2005 Institute of Medicine report From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition, which documented the experiences of cancer survivors after treatment, and the gaps in the health care system which often resulted in a failure to properly address survivors' problems and concerns.

Since then, MD Anderson and other centers have worked to address the needs of cancer survivors in health care settings. 

A new IOM report released today, Living Well with Chronic Illness: A Call for Public Health Action, draws attention to the need to help cancer survivors and others with chronic illnesses manage their disease effectively, reduce complications, prevent additional health problems, and optimize their health.

Continue reading A Call for Change To Help Cancer Survivors, Others With Chronic Disease.

By Lauren Schoenemann, MD Anderson Staff Writer

Before mesothelioma, Sherrie Moore dreaded the idea of getting older. Now, three years after being diagnosed with the challenging illness, she celebrates each birthday with joy.

"I used to not want to grow old, but now I want to have a major celebration each year," says Moore, who celebrated turning 55 at her home in Carl Junction, Mo., on Nov. 30.

In early 2008, Moore was supporting her husband, Ed, in his battle with prostate cancer. When she began to feel fatigued and noted an elevated heart rate, she called her general physician. He referred her to a cardiologist, whom she had seen in the past for high cholesterol.

When her blood work revealed a low hemoglobin count, Moore received a blood transfusion. She also was instructed to visit a gastrointestinal doctor for an endoscopy and colonoscopy. Those yielded normal results.

Results inconclusive
She followed up with her cardiologist three months later and learned that her hemoglobin levels had returned to almost normal. By that time, she was feeling better.

In July 2008, Moore returned to her physician with a pain in her right side that extended into her back. She associated the aches with the stress and physical exertion of taking care of her husband.

The doctor ordered a CT scan of her liver and pancreas. While he found no abnormalities in these organs, he recommended she find a pulmonary specialist. Something didn't look right with her lungs.

Continue reading Mesothelioma Survivor Finds Hope, Appreciation for Aging.

Cancer isn't the terminal sentence that it used to be. According to the American Cancer Society, this decline started in 1991 for men and in 1992 for women. Since that time, death rates have fallen 21% among men and 12% among women.

Lower death rates mean more cancer survivors. Below are the most remarkable stories from cancer survivors that we posted in 2011. These stories about life on the other side of cancer will change the way you think about the diagnosis of cancer.

What Cancer Has Taught Me
Last summer, I was a professional student nurse extern at MD Anderson Children's Cancer Hospital. I must say it was strange to work in the same halls of the pediatric floor where I learned to walk again, and work with some of the same nurses who took care of me when I was sick.

I remember going into a patient's room to change an IV dressing and realized it was that same room where I was diagnosed and this whole journey began.

Continue reading Best of Cancerwise 2011: Surviving Cancer.

I've been an MD Anderson patient for close to three years and, in spite of it all, I've continued with our annual Christmas explosion. There's never been anything left undone ― from gifts for all, to decorations everywhere, to special goodies in the kitchen. Here's a secret: it hasn't always been fun.

Last year, my son and his wife gave me one of the best gifts ever. I walked in the back door after our trek home from a Dallas Thanksgiving and discovered a note on our kitchen door: "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!"

That was news to me. But when I walked inside, I soon understood what the message meant.

The 12 large plastic tubs full of decorations that live in my attic were now in the laundry room. I walked into the living room and found the Christmas tree with the lights sparkling and all ready to go.

What a present! Still working through the fatigue of my cancer, I hadn't been certain how I would get everything ready for the holidays. Having that shining tree up gave me the motivation I needed and we had a Christmas to remember.

Now, the months have rolled around and, once again, it's the most wonderful time of the year. My fatigue is much better, but my right hip is not. I've decided to give myself a present.

Continue reading The Guilt-free Goodwin Christmas.

License to Win
Richard Trevino zips around town in a black Camaro with a license plate that reads "proton." It's a symbol of the life-saving treatment that helped him beat prostate cancer -- made even sweeter by the fact that his wife won the car for him.

Richard, 60, who retired from the Air Force in 2004, works for Defense Contracting Management Agency. The  agency provides crucial surveillance support to military bases in some of the most dangerous places in the world. When he came home to San Antonio from Afghanistan in 2010, he felt the need to be checked for prostate problems.

Delia, Richard's wife of 41 years, made an appointment for him to see the family doctor. The next thing he knew, he was referred to a urologist because his PSA (prostate-specific antigen) level was high. Next came a biopsy and the news he had cancer.

Fewer side effects
"We took it as a blow," he says. "Delia was especially upset because she has a lot of cancer in her family. But I composed myself and took a step back to look at my choices."

Different physicians recommended different treatments: surgery and brachytherapy, a type of internal radiation. But Richard started hearing about proton therapy from his oldest son, and during some Internet research found out about the MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center.

"I was interested because I had heard proton therapy minimized side effects, like ED and incontinence," he says.

People make the difference
When the Trevinos visited the Proton Therapy Center, they were struck by the people they met.

Continue reading Proton Therapy Drives Successful Treatment for Prostate Cancer.

Dara Insley is a pain warrior.

Treatment for breast cancer in 2009 and 2010 involved two extensive and delicate surgeries -- one a double mastectomy and another in her armpit and neck -- as well as chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Although Insley is relieved and grateful to be free of cancer, she's dealt with chronic pain and discomfort since treatment ended last year.
 
Pain is considered chronic when it persists for longer than three months. Insley says her pain is varied and unpredictable.

"Sometimes, it's like a gripping vice around my whole arm. Other times, my shoulder feels like someone is clamping down on it. And sometimes it's actual sharp pins-and-needles pain in my arm or finger," she says.

She prefers to use nonmedical means of controlling her pain.

"Dark chocolate, music, exercise," she says. "Crying. Praying."

And her secret weapon.

"Cursing."

Continue reading Breast Cancer Patient: Pain Calls for Resourcefulness.