5 Ways to Slow Down while Dealing with Cancer

Posted October 1st, 2019

Michelle, a running coach, approached me. “What about a weekly walking group for cancer survivors and caregivers?” Michelle’s class was officially named Walking for Wellness. My part as Survivorship Coordinator at the St. Charles Cancer Center was trail sweep—to hang out with the slowest walker so no one got left behind. In all the years, I didn’t […]

Carolyn Vachani

Now Hiring – Help Manager!

Posted October 17th, 2017

We all know that a new cancer diagnosis is challenging, to say the least. You are filled with anxiety, uncertainty, a sense of urgency and fear. We also realize that the rest of life doesn’t stop- kids still need to get to soccer, dinner still needs to be made, and the list goes on and […]

Bob Riter

What To Say – And Not Say – To A Person With Cancer

Posted September 14th, 2017

Most people find it awkward when first talking with a friend or acquaintance who has just been diagnosed with cancer. Even though nearly everyone is well-intentioned, many say things that hurt or mystify more than they comfort. Based on my own experiences and my conversations with others with cancer, here are some suggestions: What to […]

Karen Arnold-Korzeniowski, BSN, RN

Are you breaking up with me?

Posted August 1st, 2017

While receiving cancer treatment as an outpatient, you are often spending much of your time at appointments, getting tests and scans and receiving  treatment. You will be spending your days with physicians (medical specialists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, etc), physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, assistants, techs, social workers, counselors, and the list can go on and […]

Is There Anything I Can Do For You?

Posted August 9th, 2016

Spoken one way, it ends conversation and doubles the distance between me and, my friend, my tennis mentor, who now in his early eighties is dealing with a medical crisis. Spoken that way, it is nothing more than a social convention. He knows I really can’t help him, and he knows I don’t have the […]

Bob Riter

The Opposite of Positive Thinking is Not Negative

Posted August 5th, 2016

I often write that friends shouldn’t tell cancer patients to “be positive.” It gives the patient one more thing to worry about. “I guess bad things will happen if I’m not positive enough.” Besides, no one in recorded history has become positive because someone told them to be positive. But it’s important to understand that […]

What a Great Cancer Support Team Looks Like

Posted July 5th, 2016

A spontaneous group hug from The Littles—can you count all four heads?—took place at the train station in New Jersey after hanging out with the youngest of my support team members. (The Teens, of course, are way too cool to do group hugs. Not that either of them were even out of bed when this photo was taken, […]

Karen Arnold-Korzeniowski, BSN, RN

A Hand to Hold

Posted November 16th, 2015

Last week I had to have a test done that I had been told by my doctor would be uncomfortable. She instructed me to take ibuprofen prior to the test to manage the pain. I arrived to have the test done and was feeling a bit anxious. The wait in the waiting room was not […]

Loneliness and Cancer May Be a Deadly Combination

Posted August 27th, 2013

It’s hard not to feel isolated when you’re being treated for cancer. Your priorities so drastically change after a cancer diagnosis.