Lung Cancer Shock Ads…Do They Really Work?...When I was younger I can recall the subtle No smoking PSA’s (Public Service Announcements) that would showcase on the television every...reactions4comments
My Partner Is Not My Caregiver...In cancer terminology, there is a lot of very loaded language. Terms like "survivor" have become so ingrained that patients even worry...reactionscomments
Making Sense of Insurance Appeals...I recently attended a presentation on managing cancer costs. It was chockful of helpful hints. I share some of what I learned...reactions1comment
Defying Statistics...On November 27th, 2012, I lay in the bed of a hospital in downtown Atlanta. Having just had a craniotomy, I was...reactionscomments
Honoring Those Little Milestones...When we think of lung cancer, we might well think about the big milestones we hit if we are fortunate enough to...reactionscomments
The New Radioactive Man, Part 1: Preparation...I walk hunched over, lurching forward with a pronounced limp in my left leg. For the past two months, the pain shooting...reactionscomments
The New Radioactive Man, Part 2: In Process...Read part 1 of Jeffrey's article here. Lying down on the hard metal bench was its own special form of torture. The...reactionscomments
Painkillers vs Pain Relievers, Treating the Cause or the Symptom...I had an interesting chat with one of my doctors recently about pain relief. After dealing with quite a bit of nerve...reactionscomments
Guilty as Charged: the Stigma that Remains...As someone who spends quite a bit of time evangelizing about the need to re-imagine the lung cancer narrative and remove the...reactions2comments
Opioid Stigma and the Cancer Patient...I walked into my pharmacy and handed my prescriptions across the counter. The young man at the computer began typing them in...reactionscomments
The Importance of Looking Up...There is a simple story I often retell from one school-day afternoon in my teens. Autumn was perhaps my favorite time of...reactions1comment
Pets, Responsibilities, and the Lung Cancer Patient...When I was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer, I was quickly asked by more than a few people if I would...reactionscomments
Going Off-Label...There is a push among some cancer researchers to treat cancers based on genetic mutations rather than their area of origin. Because...reactionscomments
Protecting Those We Love From Worry...I've always tried to be a protector. I've been that guy who goes into the fray to break up fights. I've been...reactions2comments
Prevention vs. Risk Reduction in Lung Cancer...I wrote an article recently about how I was guilty of falling into the trap of blaming an acquaintance's smoking habit for...reactions2comments
Bringing Friends Together Through Terminal Cancer...Trigger alert: cancer is a sensitive issue, but sometimes patients need to find humor in even the direst prognosis. I did not...reactionscomments
What Is Okay to Say to a Cancer Patient?...Announce that you have cancer and it will likely be met with an outpouring of uncensored comments, a flood of words that...reactions2comments
Opioid Painkillers and Cancer Care...Cancer patients require a wide variety of options for their care, both curative and palliative. Sometimes that includes heavy-duty pain medications. There...reactionscomments
Fear and the Reality Check...I don't want to die and I don't necessarily want to think about dying. But as a Stage IV lung cancer patient...reactionscomments
Cutting My Own Hair...I wasn't supposed to lose my hair. Not with this treatment, anyway. Maybe when I was on chemotherapy and everybody expected me...reactions7comments
