Category: An Overview

Embrace Life and Live Well in 2020

Live life every day!

As we look forward to the future, we need to be thankful for what we have. And not be unhappy for what we don’t have. Now, we offer our annual message. To embrace life and choose happiness in 2020. 

Why We Should Embrace Life and Live Well in 2020

As many of you may know, I am a VERY lucky survivor of pancreatic cancer. Thus, I am thankful each and every day to celebrate the blessing of life. On February 12, 2020, it will be five years since I had my successful Whipple surgery. My longevity is related to my embracing life and choosing happiness.

Only 7 percent of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer survive for 5 years. Thus, I am both happy and sad.

Embrace Life and Live Well in 2020

Today, I want to share some FREE resources I have developed and tell my personal story. Why? To provide hope and serenity for anyone with a serious disease and their loved ones. We must never forget that our caregivers suffer and endure along with us.

Resources to Better Embrace Life and Choose Happiness

Since recovering from my surgery and follow-up chemotherapy, I view my life’s mission as assisting others with a terrible illness. To me, this is a responsibility that I welcome as one of the relatively few long-term pancreatic cancer survivors. In my mind and heart, I MUST give  back.

So, please take a look at these resources.

Surviving Cancer and Embracing Life: My Personal Journey

With this book, I want to share my personal cancer journey with you. I want to offer hope and support to those dealing with a terrible disease and their families. Why? To quote the late NY Yankee star Lou Gehrig when he was honored at Yankee Stadium while dying from ALS: “Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

The book is a hopeful, but realistic, view of my journey from diagnosis through treatment through return to work and my being able to walk my daughter down the aisle at her wedding. It has some humor and many quotes to ease the reading.

Click the book cover to download a FREE copy of the book. Then, share it with someone you love.

Embrace Life and Choose Happiness in 2020

LIVING WELL While Surviving Cancer

During the summer of 2018, I started a new blog to share health-related information and inspirational stories. It features infographics, videos, articles, and more. And despite the title, it relates to a wide range of health issues.

Click the image to visit the blog. Then, PLEASE sign up to follow us.

Embrace Life and Choose Happiness in 2020

Other Resources

Finally, check out these resources. and sign up to join me Welcome aboard!

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    • My personal advice:
            1. Do not avoid the doctor because you are afraid of what he/she may find.
            2. Early detection is the best way to mitigate your health problems. Have regular checkups and blood tests.
            3. Listen to the medical professionals!
            4. Surround yourself with family and friends who are supportive.
            5. Be upbeat; getting down is counter productive. [(a) When diagnosed, I set two goals: to dance at my daughter’s October 2015 wedding and to deliver a toast. Mission accomplished. I never thought these things wouldn’t happen. (b) People don’t believe me when I remark that I never said “why me”? Instead I say, “boy was I lucky to be diagnosed so early.”]
            6. Seek out your friends/acquaintances who have also dealt with cancer. They can be a wonderful resource and sounding board (when you don’t want to further burden your family).
            7. Be active. [I went to the gym while undergoing chemotherapy.]
            8. Live for tomorrow and the time thereafter. 
            9. And to give back as much as I can, since July 2019, I am  volunteering twp days a week with United Cerebral Palsy of Long Island. I LOVE it and find it so rewarding. If you decide to volunteer, you’ll see that it’s a win-win!!!!!

Annual U.S. Report on the Status of Cancer

The 2019 report with topical links.

Each year, the National Cancer Institute at  NIH (National Institute of Health) produces a report on the status of cancer in the United States.

Here are a few highlights from the 2019 report:

    • Overall cancer death rates continue to decrease in men, women, and children for all major racial and ethnic groups.
    • Overall cancer incidence rates, or rates of new cancers, have decreased in men and remained stable in women.
    • In adults ages 20 to 49, women have higher cancer incidence and mortality rates than men.
    • This year’s Special Section focused on cancer trends among adults ages 20 to 49.
      • For all age groups combined, incidence and death rates were higher among men than women, but among adults 20-49 years, incidence and death rates were lower among men than women.
      • The most common cancers in this age group were:
        • Breast, thyroid and melanoma of the skin for women, with breast cancer far exceeding any of the other cancers; and
        • Colorectal, testicular and melanoma of the skin for men.

To learn more, click on these images.

Annual U.S. Report on the Status of Cancer
                                                            RESOURCES

Annual U.S. Report on the Status of CancerAnnual U.S. Report on the Status of Cancer
 

Cancer Site Links from the American Institute for Cancer Research

Learn more about different forms of cancer.

On Tuesday, we highlighted four videos from the AICR. Now, we feature links to several of its pages on specific types of cancer. Here are some of them:

To learn more, click the image to visit the site.

Cancer Site Links from the American Institute for Cancer Research

 

 

 

Videos from the American Institute for Cancer Research

Four informative (and short) videos.

The AICR offers a large number of resources related to cancer. Today, we highlight some of its videos.
 


 

 

 

 

Do YOU Get Regular Eye Exams

Please don’t ignore your eyes!

As our title asks: Do YOU Get Regular Eye Exams? Or do YOU neglect your eyes? Please be sure to treat your eyes properly!!! 🙂

Recently, Sarah DiGiulio wrote about this topic for Sharecare. Here are some highlights:

“Roughly 11 million Americans older than 12-years old need vision correction, but glasses or contacts are just one reason to see an eye doctor. Comprehensive eye exams are essential for the early detection of health issues that can affect your vision.”

“As you age, your risk for diseases that can affect your sight, like glaucoma and macular degeneration, increases. During a comprehensive, dilated eye exam, doctors specializing in the eyes and vision, called ophthalmologists, or licensed health care professionals, known as optometrists, can not only pick up eye diseases that could lead to blindness or other complications, but also detect certain underlying health issues that can affect your eyes—even before you develop symptoms or realize that something is going on.”

“Nonetheless,survey data suggest they’re underutilized. A 2016 Harris Poll, commissioned by the American Academy of Ophthalmology, found that 64 percent of U.S. adults reported having at least one vision problem, such as blurry vision, double vision, or difficulty seeing at night. Yet, only 13 percent of these people reported seeing an eye doctor about it.”

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reports that up to 45 percent of adults in the United States haven’t had a dilated eye exam within the last two years. And only about half of the estimated 61 million adults at high risk for vision loss visited an eye doctor during the past year. (Keep in mind, there are free or low-cost options available, particularly for older people and those at higher risk for eye diseases.)”

Click the image to read a lot more.

Do YOU Get Regular Eye Exams
Your risk for eye-related disease increases as you age. Regular comprehensive eye exams can help protect your vision.

 

Encore – Surviving Cancer: Personal Glimpses of Resilience

Hear from three cancer survivors.

Another aspect of my personal good fortune is the continuing popularity of interviews I have done.

Thus, it is with great pride that I present the most recent airing (October 24, 2019) of Surviving Cancer: Personal Glimpses of Resilience. Hosted by Dr. Suzanne B. Phillips:

“In this episode Professor Joel Evans, Patricia Malone, and Dave Berger will share personal glimpses of their diagnosis, treatment and survival from cancer. You will hear about the impact of diagnosis, the role of family and friends. The question of stigma and the response of colleagues. You will hear about the expected and unexpected, the trust in medical teams and the personal factors that each drew upon to keep on going at the roughest of times. These are stories of pain, persistence, fear, gratitude and possibility. These are stories of people who were helped by the wisdom of others who had faced cancer. In this episode, Joel Evans, Patricia Malone and Dave Berger want to pass on their experiences to benefit others. You will not forget them or the resilience they share.”