Navigating the storm ... I'd like to help

My name is Pat. I am a nurse navigator for the Providence Southwest Region. I have never written on a blog before, so here goes.

As I have started into my new position I have had the urge to write about something that I thought I would never tell anyone, this secret I have carried with me for the past 16 years. I asked permission from my husband to share this.

Sixteen years ago I had an illness. I could not work. We went through financial devastation. I am writing about this because I know some of you are in a very hard place right now, and it helps to know that someone not only understands but also that someone has been there before.

I was a working mother, I was proud that I was able to help care for our family financially. One of my contributions was to purchase the groceries and prepare meals for our family, so going to the grocery store was very difficult for me. With our money I was only able to buy milk, eggs and macaroni and cheese. I wanted to be invisible as I watched other shoppers filling their shopping carts as I once did. I remember not only being sick, hoping I would one day be well, but also feeling broken and ashamed that I could not care for my family as I once did. If you have felt any of these emotions, I wish I could reach out and dry your tears.

What nurse navigators do is we help you through these times, we help with resources, we help you understand what is happening, we are there to make sure that things are moving along regarding your care, we are that person that stands by you as you travel on this unasked for, unexpected journey. We’re also the person who can sit with you and share a cup of coffee, just to be present in those difficult moments.

My name is Pat Himlie, thank you for allowing me to share my secret with you.

Have you just completed active cancer treatment?

I am thrilled to announce the launch of our spring Cancer Transitions Program© funded with the grant we won from LIVESTRONG (Lance Armstrong Foundation). We are one of only three programs awarded funding in Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska and Hawaii!

See attached flier for details and check out the blog entry I wrote about the program when I was in Austin for training last month.

This is a free six-week program (May 4, 11, 18, 25 and June 1 & 8) with a one month booster session July 6.

We will meet from 6-8:30 p.m. on the Providence St. Peter Hospital campus. Dinner will be served.

The program will feature support groups, education and individualized exercise, and address nutrition, medical management and quality of life issues. Participants will receive practical tools and resources to create a personal action plan for survivorship.

Additionally, thanks to a partnership with South Sound YMCA, facilitators trained to work with cancer patients will direct the exercise segment.

Please forward this information to anyone you know who has completed active cancer treatment and is looking for tools and resources to successfully transition to the next phase of survivorship.

For more information, e-mail me at cobwhitten@yahoo.com, or to pre-register for the series, call 360.493.7768. Click here to download a copy of the flier.

You might also like:

• Cancer Transitions: Moving Beyond Treatment (LIVESTRONGBlog)
• Look Good...Feel Better
• Cancer and pain: It's okay to ask for help

Cancer and Your Diet: The Hidden Connection

Editor's Note: This article is posted on behalf of Dr. Sarah A. Samaan, MD, FACC who will be speaking Feb. 24, 6 p.m. on "Heart Health for women on the go" you can register online or call 493.7768.

Most of us are well aware of the link between diet and heart health, but the connection between cancer and diet is not as well defined. Over the past 10 years, nutritional research has made great progress, and as a cardiologist, I have been pleasantly surprised to learn that many of the foods and habits that promote heart health also reduce our risk for cancer recurrence.

The Mediterranean diet has received the most attention, and for good reason. With its emphasis on whole grains, fruits, green leafy vegetables, garlic, aromatic herbs, olive oil, and fish, this diet is associated with a 33%- 70% lower risk for heart disease, compared with a traditional Western diet.

One study from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston analyzed the diets of more than 1,000 patients with stage 3 colon cancer. They found that those patients who consumed high-fat, high sugar diets were three and a half times more likely to see a recurrence of cancer. View Study.

The traditional Mediterranean diet is high in fish and includes only small amounts of red meat from free-range animals. Additionally, the high fiber, low sugar aspect of the diet appears to have some protective qualities against depression, inflammation, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and obesity. Source.

The best thing about the Mediterranean diet is that it is delicious and accessible. You can keep it as simple as grilled salmon with a tomato salad drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled with basil leaves, or you can make it as complex as your culinary heart desires.

You might also like:

• Five things to remember when cooking for others
• Look Good...Feel Better
• LIVESTRONG.COM: The Official Mediterranean Diet

Combating end-of-treatment stress

Editor's Note: We will continue with Part 3 of the clinical trial series tomorrow.

Greetings from Austin, Texas - - Home of the Longhorns! I hope someone is knitting some horn mittens for the Lone Star cows: It is “19 degrees but feels like 10.” Given the horrific weather and travel hazards in most parts of the country, I am grateful to have arrived safely. The chill was only fleeting, for I am surrounded by hundreds of colleagues from across the United States who share my passion for cancer survivorship advocacy. (I am also hoping some authentic Tex-Mex chow will be warming.)

Austin is home to the LIVESTRONG, Lance Armstrong Foundation headquarters and I am here for a conference on the “Cancer Transitions™: Moving Beyond Treatment” grant awarded to Providence Regional Cancer System (thanks to the thousands of votes we received in the online challenge – thank you!). Conference attendees are also invited to the first ever LIVESTRONG “State of the Foundation."

When patients end treatment, they often report feeling lost, abandoned, and unsure of what to feel and do next. End-of-treatment stress is often unexpected because patients anticipate feeling relief when active treatment ends and hoping they can “get back to their lives.” The transition from cancer patient to cancer survivor can be very challenging.

Here's what LIVESTRONG says about Cancer Transitions™

Cancer Transitions™ is a program designed to support, educate and empower people with cancer in the transitional period after treatment is over. This program features written materials as well as interactive components to address the long-term effects of cancer treatment, as well as survivors' psychosocial needs during their transition to life after treatment. The evidence-based program was created with recognized experts in key aspects of cancer survivorship, incorporating information from peer-reviewed literature. Research shows that both men and women who participate can experience:

• Less worry about the negative impacts of cancer
• Better physical and social functioning
• More commitment to physical activity
• Improvements in fat-related dietary habits.

The six-week series incorporates support groups, education, nutrition and physical exercise, as well as addressing other medical management, psychosocial and quality of life issues. The program also provides survivors with practical tools and resources to formulate a personal action plan for survivorship beyond their participation in Cancer Transitions.

Up to 20 participants meet for a 2 1/2 hour session each week to hear presentations from experts, engage in group discussion, and directly address the emotional and social hurdles they face during the transition period following treatment. The program also offers a “booster” session held one month after the program ends, to reinforce many of the proactive behavioral changes discussed during the core program. Men and women who wish to better manage the short and long-term impacts of cancer— especially within the first 24 months after treatment will gain valuable skills through this program. Providence Regional Cancer System plans on offering the Cancer Transitions™ series twice in 2011, spring and fall sessions. There is no cost to participate in this program! Dates and other details will be coming in the next few weeks.

The last (and only other time) I was in Texas was in 1985 at a Houston conference when I was a graduate student. I presented a paper on how hypnosis and other relaxation methods could help chemotherapy patients who were experiencing nausea. No one was talking about Cancer Survivorship. We were just starting to pay attention to how we could better help patients deal with treatment side effects. The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS), National Breast Cancer Coalition, LIVESTRONG, Lance Armstrong Foundation and other organizations did not exist yet. I know we have a long way to go, but tremendous gains have been made in the past 25 years.

I feel privileged to be witnessing the evolution of truly comprehensive care for cancer patients and their families from diagnosis through treatment and beyond. And I feel especially privileged to work with the Providence Regional Cancer System as we grow our survivorship services: Cancer Survivor Blog, New Patient Orientations, Living with and Beyond Cancer evenings, Harmony & Hope event, Integrative Care Services, support groups, an inaugural Survivorship Day in June (details coming in the spring!), and now the Cancer Transitions Program! I look forward to sharing more details about this new program in the next few days from Austin and am happy to answer any questions you post.

It was a beautiful evening ...

Thank you to everyone who came out for Harmony and Hope: A musical celebration to recognize our patients and their families.  

It's nice to take the time to enjoy a little piece of beauty in our day to day lives. We so enjoyed seeing you.

Of course the highlights were probably our performing doctors!

Please pardon the shaky camera, we were filming from the floor, without a tripod. But we think this song is really very pretty and best appreciated with your eyes closed.



If you haven't met Dr. Robertson he's the handsome gentleman on the far left.



But there was also dancing!



We can't say thank you enough to Andrea Beaton & Glenn Graham, Cape Breton fiddlers we convinced to come perform for us even though they're really here for a big performance at Benaroya Hall this next weekend.

And unfortunately the video we took of local treasure, Colin Gemmell, bagpiper extraordinaire didn't turn out (we're not professional videographers, if you hadn't already noticed, and the sound was just terrible, didn't do the pipes justice at all!) But he was just lovely, along with Dr. Lechner's wife who is also a piper.

Did you get a chance to join us? Did you enjoy the event? Would you like to see more of these in the future? We'd love to hear your thoughts.