"Mind as Medicine: The Radical New Science of Medicine"
James Duffy, MD, ChB, FAHPA
Professor, Department of Psychiatry
University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas

Thursday, April 16, 2009
12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m.
Hickey Auditorim R11.1400

Article by DANA JENNINGS
Published in the NYT: March 9, 2009

Cancer insists on its own time. If you try to defy it, it can break you, physically and spiritually. It doesn't know from deadlines and BlackBerries, from Twittering and overnight delivery. Cancer is analog in a digital world.

Dana Jennings is an editor at The New York Times. His postings on coping with prostate cancer appear each week at nytimes.com/well

Read the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/health/10case.html?_r=2&ref=health

Spirituality and Cancer Treatment Dr. Lois M. Ramondetta an associate professor of Gynecologic Oncology and a author of The Light Within and Chaplain Richard Maddox discuss the changing relationship between patients and doctors in the area of cancer care and the role of spirituality that plays in this treatment process. Episode 1 in a 2 part series.

Listen to the audio

Doctors and patients who battle cancer together can develop a unique bond: corned beef on chemo day.
Claudia Kalb - NEWSWEEK

They are two women engaged in the universal banter of motherhood. "I brought wedding pictures," says Karen Ulisney, pulling out her photo album. "Kristina got married to a great guy. She's so happy." Claudine Isaacs leans forward and smiles. "How old was she when we met?" Isaacs asks. "Sixteen. And Matt was 6," says Ulisney. Isaacs laughs. Ulisney beams. "He's five-ten now. He's such a handsome young man," says Ulisney, flipping to a photo of mother and son walking arm in arm. "You look just a little bit happy," says Isaacs. "I didn't think I'd make it to the wedding," says Ulisney, tearing up. "That was a milestone."

These are not old friends catching up at a coffee shop. The setting, instead, is an exam room at Georgetown University's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Ulisney, 51, is a 10-year breast-cancer survivor in for her annual checkup. Isaacs, her oncologist, is at the cutting edge of compassion. Yes, the doctor performs a physical exam. And she and Ulisney discuss her patient's medications and concerns. (Should she have genetic testing? Does she need a breast MRI?) But their interactions transcend the clinical. The two women are partners in an odyssey that combines medicine with the human spirit.

In the past, most doctors learned how to connect with patients by trial and error or, if they were lucky, from mentors. Today, virtually every U.S. medical school offers a course in patient communication.

At Mass General, a young patient with Hodgkin's disease recently talked about cancer's stigma (do you disclose all on a first date?) and told doctors she appreciated humor. "Knowing what to do medically isn't the challenge," says Lynch. "The challenge is connecting with the patient."

Dr. Lois Ramondetta, a gynecologic oncologist at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, met that challenge with Deborah Rose Sills, who had stage III ovarian cancer. Ramondetta was not Sills's primary doctor; she had a team of caregivers. But the two women became so close they wrote a book together, "The Light Within: The Extraordinary Friendship of a Doctor and Patient Brought Together by Cancer." The book, published last month, is a poignant account, filled with stories about children and romance, the women's views on spirituality and medicine, and tales of their travels abroad together. Ramondetta was captivated by Sills's luminous spirit and her bellowing "Good morning, Lois!" even when she had tubes coming out of her body. Sills, a professor of religion, relied on Ramondetta's straight talk, especially when her cancer recurred. When Sills asked what would happen when her body finally gave out, Ramondetta talked honestly about bowels and bloating and nausea. Toward the end, she visited Sills at home, then wrote her a letter acknowledging her dying: "I wish you peace of mind and an end to pain and suffering." Sills died in May 2006.

Read the entire article here

The article is entitled" Cancer Doctors Dodge the Death Talk" published on the CNN.com/health website. Citing recent research, the authors highlight four points:
-Most cancer doctors do not discuss end-of-life care
-Those who had end-of-life talks are less likely to be on breathing machines
-About 7 percent of all patients in the study develop depression
-Sometimes doctors have trouble accepting that the end is near

The research supports the efforts being made to encourage doctors and patients to have end-of-life talks as early on in the treatment process as is possible and appropriate. From the perspective of a chaplain, I believe it would also be important for doctors to suggest chaplaincy resources to the patient and caregivers, so that they can receive the benefits of holistic care in the context of advanced care planning.

The CNN artcle can be viewed at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/06/15/cancer.talk.ap/index.html

The Light Within
by Lois M. Ramondetta and Deborah Sills
When young gynecologic oncology fellow Lois Ramondetta was first summoned to the room of a new patient, neither she nor the forty-nine-year-old professor of religion she encountered named Deborah Sills thought they had much in common. They certainly had no idea that they were about to embark on a transcendent odyssey that would become a soul-deep friendship.
Now their heartfelt story, The Light Within, follows these two women through a decade of friendship and "big lives"-husbands, children, friends, and careers-ultimately crossing the country and traveling to foreign lands, where they spoke and wrote together about the intersection of doctors, patients, and spirituality. Both women searched together and openly for answers with honesty and intimacy until Deborah passed away in the spring of 2006.

The book is available at various bookstores including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and many independent book stores.
ISBN-10: 0061359416
ISBN-13: 978-0061359415

M. D. Anderson and other Houston-area cancer organizations are teaming up to celebrate cancer survivorship on Sunday, June 1, at a free city-wide event for cancer patients, survivors, caregivers and their families. The event takes place at the Methodist Training Center at Reliant Park from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Invite Patients and Family Members to Attend
Employees are encouraged to share this information with their family members who are cancer survivors or caregivers and with patients. Attendees will:

- Hear inspirational stories of courage and hope
- Learn about community survivorship resources
- Talk with cancer survivorship experts
- Enjoy live entertainment and more

The program, to begin at 1:30 p.m., will be hosted by Houston former local news anchor Linda Lorelle. Speakers include LaSalle Leffall, M.D., two-term appointee to the President's Cancer Panel, and John Vallely, cancer survivor, caregiver and former Houston Rocket.

Activities for children include face painting, football toss and cookie decorating.

Registration Required
Registration can be completed online at the Survivorship Houston site (www.survivorshiphouston.org) or by phone at 713-745-0549. The deadline to register online or by phone is Friday, May 30.

Attendees also can submit the registration form by mail or fax.
The deadline to register by mail or fax is Friday, May 23.

A web-based educational program is available through EndLink, as a resource for end of life care education. Sponsored by the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, the site was developed with funding from a National Cancer Institute Grant. Rather than providing answers, the site attempts to offer frameworks for thinking about caring for the dying individuals and their families. The content of the site was written primarily for health care professionals who work with the dying patients and their families. The material presented encompasses the complex, multidimensional considerations involved in caring for individuals at the end of life. You can reach this site through the following web address: http://ednlink.lurie.norhtwestern.edu/index.cfm