by Lisa Terrazas | Apr 15, 2020 | Educational Articles
Volunteering is a wonderful gift, however look what it can GIVE you
1. Volunteering will give you a sense of self-accomplishment.
Of course, volunteer work is doing good for the community around you. But, it can also make you feel good about yourself at the same time. When you help someone in need, it gives you a sense of accomplishment that can increase your self-confidence tremendously.
2. Volunteering improves your mental health.
Volunteering and helping others will make you a happier person in general and can have a profound effect on your overall psychological well being. Giving of your time and talents and doing something you love is great for your mental health. Volunteering for an organization you have an interest in and getting involved in your community will help you avoid depression and isolation – you will feel great about helping others. Nothing relieves stress better than a meaningful connection with others.
3. Volunteering brings fulfillment to your life.
It is important to balance life with the activities you love. Volunteering for an organization you have a genuine interest in is a relaxing escape from your busy schedule. Doing volunteer work you find meaningful and interesting can be relaxing and can give you an energizing escape from your day-to-day routine of work, school, or other commitments. Changing up your schedule will leave you with renewed creativity, motivation, and vision.
4. Volunteering helps develop new skills and improve current ones.
While motivating and inspiring you to work hard, volunteering can also help you develop your professional skills. Communication, project planning, and teamwork are all great skills to have – and all three are used in volunteering!
5. Volunteering connects you to others.
One of the best ways to make new friends and strengthen existing relationships is to participate in a shared activity together. Volunteering is a great way to meet new people who share common interests with you. Dedicating your time as a volunteer also helps you expand your network and practice social skills with others.
Do you want to add more meaning to your life?
Join a group of wonderful volunteers?
How about making a difference in the life of those impacted by cancer?
Then take the next step and become a Bag It volunteer!
For further information click here or contact Lisa Terrazas
by Annettra Farrington | Mar 17, 2020 | Educational Articles
Here are the details to collect, how to start the conversation and free online tools to help you build a solid family health history.
Information to collect:
- Write down the names of relatives on both sides of the family (ideally three generations): parents, children, grandchildren, siblings, grandparents, aunts/uncles, nieces/nephews, cousins. (Accessing a family tree may be helpful)
- Add for each person any information you have about their:
- sex at birth
- date of birth
- ethnicity
- known medical and mental health conditions and age of diagnosis
- any other details about lifestyle, habits, environmental factors, results of any genetic testing.
(If a family member is deceased, note age at time of death, any known medical/mental health conditions, and cause of death)
Start the conversation!
- Identify the family members on each side (mother’s and father’s side) who might be most knowledgeable about your family members.
- Let them know the reason you would like to ask them some questions and the kinds of information you are seeking. Give them some time to think about it or to collect info if needed.
- Share any information you have gathered so far and then ask them to add more details where possible.
- Some family members may be uncomfortable discussing these matters. Respect the privacy of your relatives as confidential information is shared. Let them know that having this information gathered will benefit ALL family members.
- The information can be gathered in person, by phone, or in writing – whatever is most comfortable and most convenient. In cases where information is incomplete, just include what is accurately known. Do not guess.
- Sometimes medical records and family documents like scrapbooks can fill in some blanks, as can public records.
What to do with the information you’ve collected:
- Create a written document (or see below for online options) with the collected family history information gathered.
- Share copies with other family members for them to share with their own doctors to inform them of their family health history.
- Give a copy of the Family Health History to your doctor for their records and review it with them. The document can help your doctor look for early warning signs of disease and recommend steps for reducing your personal risk of disease.
- Questions to ask your doctor about review of your Family Health History:
- Does my family history put me at risk for certain conditions or diseases? Other members of my family?
- Are there any screening tests I should have now or in the future?
- Should I have genetic counseling or genetic testing?
- What lifestyle recommendations do you have to reduce my risk?
- What information should I share with other family members?
- Be sure to update the records over time and provided updated copies to family members. This can be a valuable document for future generations as well.
Free online tools to help collect your family health history and share it with relatives and doctors.
by Annettra Farrington | Feb 13, 2020 | Educational Articles
Check in to see how you and those you love are doing to reduce the risk of cancer or a recurrence. Here are some tips and resources to get you started.
Healthy Lifestyle
- Maintain your ideal weight
- Physical activity
- Walk, jog, dance, bike, swim – or whatever you like to do
- Get up and move every hour
- Diet
- Eat lots of fresh vegetable and fruits of every color, whole grains, beans
- Avoid sugar, processed meats, junk foods
- Limit/eliminate alcohol intake
- Do not smoke or use tobacco products
- Avoid risky behaviors
Healthcare
- Have regular check-ups with your primary care physician
- Maintain good overall health to avoid viruses and chronic infections that increase your cancer risk
- Get cancer screenings and cancer vaccines recommended by your doctor
Harmful Exposures
- Protect your skin from the UV rays from the sun. Use sunscreen and don’t use tanning booths
- Steer clear of secondhand smoke and other environmental carcinogens
Want to know more? Check out these sites:
National Cancer Institute Prevent Cancer American Institute Cancer Research
by Annettra Farrington | Jan 14, 2020 | Educational Articles
- Have a conversation with your health care team about your treatment plan and the expected cost. Talk to your doctor about how cancer treatment could affect your ability to work.
- Understand your health insurance coverage. It is vital that you pay your health insurance premiums on time and in full. If you don’t have health insurance, immediately find out if you can obtain a policy or if you qualify for Medicaid.
- Meet early with your oncology social worker, navigator or advocate, and be candid about any financial difficulties and other needs you have. They are there to help you manage your cancer care costs.
- Be informed about your legal rights and all benefits available to you through your employer: disability insurance, accommodations in your job duties, hours/leave time. Your spouse should do the same with their employer.
- Prepare a budget. Organize and keep track of your bills. Verify insurance benefits are correctly applied. (Ask a trusted family member or friend to help you with this.) Appeal insurance claim denials. (Ask a member of your health care team to help with this.)
- If you are experiencing financial hardship, explain your situation to creditors and medical providers and ask for their help. You may be able to negotiate a discount or more time to pay your bills.
- Tap into the expertise of nonprofits in the cancer community. They can help you navigate resources and find assistance with costs related to treatment, co-payments, prescription drugs, basic needs, transportation, childcare as well as insurance matters and other support services. They can often help you apply. Several organization offer free services from their navigators and social workers: CancerCare, Livestrong, PAN, CSC, CancerCare pub
- Look into federal and other programs in your state that can help cover expenses and replace income if you can’t work during and after treatment. Apply quickly if you are eligible for benefits.
- Consider other of income: retirement accounts, available credit, personal loan, cashing in life insurance policy, sale of real estate or personal property.
- The financial burden of cancer can impact your physical and mental well-being. Asking for help can be hard but allowing others to lend a hand alleviates stress for you and your loved ones and lets your focus on your recovery.
by Annettra Farrington | Nov 19, 2019 | Educational Articles
What are you grateful for today? November is a time to reflect more closely on the year (as December just gets crazy) and be thankful for what we have. Yes, these are things we should be doing every day but November is a great time to get started if you haven’t been practicing gratitude regularly.
Gratitude is appreciating what you have and noticing the good (even small things!) in your life – with or without a cancer diagnosis. Gratitude can help ground you and get in touch with what you are feeling at that moment. That old cliché “stop and smell the roses or the fall leaves or the snow” can have some real physical and mental benefits for your well-being.
People tend to be happier, have more positive emotions and greater self-esteem when practicing gratitude. Physically, it can reduce depression symptoms, enhance your sleep, and increase your exercise which leads to other health benefits.
While it can be difficult to be thankful for anything when you or someone you care about is dealing with cancer, receiving care from a compassion and dedicated healthcare team is definitely something to be grateful for. Gratitude can actually increase your resilience, help you find the joy along the way, and even ease the fear of recurrence.
There are many ways to practice gratitude so don’t think about it being another daunting task on your to do list, it can be as simple or complex as you like – make it work for you! As you start to think about what you are grateful for you can instantly feel a change in your attitude and the more you do it the more you will experience the benefits. It’s not difficult and below are some simple ways to get you started today.
- Think: At some point in the day take a moment and identify 1-3 things you are grateful for, or try a guided meditation to help focus on the present. (I love my job, but I also love my family and need to put them first.)
- Write: Start a journal and be specific (I’m thankful my loved one could take time from work to go with me to my appointment) or put slips of paper in a jar throughout the day, download a calendar and jot them down. Send a note to someone telling them why you are grateful for them.
- Visual: Take photos of things you are grateful for or cut pictures out of a magazine. (The flowers/balloons in the infusion room brought a smile to everyone’s face.)
However you decide to practice gratitude, make it yours and practice it regularly so it becomes second nature to you and then reap the emotional, social, health, and personal benefits. As you begin treatment, finish treatment, head to an appointment, support a friend or loved one remember to find something to be grateful for despite the challenging feelings you may have at that moment and hopefully that will brighten your day (or at least that moment) a little.We are grateful for all those who believe in the Bag It bag and provide it to patients, friends, loved ones, or themselves and hope that you feel supported and empowered.
Here are some additional resources to help you get started today!
Ted Talks
Practice Gratitude
Gratefulness
by Annettra Farrington | Aug 15, 2019 | Educational Articles
None of us have as much time as we’d like when we see the oncologist, primary care physician, or any member of our healthcare team. Maximize those precious few minutes and make the most of your visits with these hacks:
Before you go:
-
- Prepare for the appointment at least a few days in advance. Complete any online research you want to do (Our Resource Center has reliable cancer websites).
- Use My Appointment Summary Log (found in My Companion Guidebook)
to organize what you need to bring and discuss, where and when you are going.- Write down your questions (use the small journal or sheets provided).
- Leave room to write down the answers you are given.
- Prioritize your top 3 questions to ask the doctor. (Other members of the healthcare team can answer or obtain answers for the other questions for you).
” I still use the bag…it is a Godsend, I am always using it. It has taught me to always take notes, whenever I have a question for ANY doctor I write the question and answer down. I use it as a reference for dates and other information regarding any of my medical history.”
At the visit:
- Bring someone with you. Let them know how they can help you: extra set of ears, take notes, give info you may have forgotten.
- Good communication with your healthcare team is key! Click here for tips
- Consider recording the visit (ask permission first) to replay it at a later time.
- Bring your Bag It My Companion Guidebook or appropriate pieces within to refer to questions, forms and logs you prepared. Write down the answers and other info given to you so you don’t have to try to remember it.
- Ask for copies of your reports, labs, information from the visit. Add them to your notebook.
Click below for questions to ask your healthcare team from Paths to Survivorship booklet.
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