Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Beatable
Treatable &
SURVIVABLE
PICTURE
1. My Medical History
• Patient information
• Medical Team Information
2. Medical Calendar
• Appointment Times
• Labs
• X-Rays
• Other Tests
4. Resource Center
• Best Hospitals
• Best Websites
• Other cool stuff
5. Journal/Quotes
• Be Inspired
• Time for you / Journal
CANCER HISTORY
Diagnosis: ___________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Medicaid/Medicare/Other: _______________________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________________________________
City: ______________________________ State: __________ Zip Code: __________________
Phone Number: _______________________________________________________________
Group Number: _______________________________________________________________
Policy Number: _______________________________________________________________
Name of Primary Holder: ________________________________________________________
Relationship to you: ____________________________________________________________
Does my family understand the person in charge of making my decisions, in the event I can’t?
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Comments/Concerns: __________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Name: ________________________________________________________________________
Number: _____________________________________________________________________
Name: ________________________________________________________________________
Number: _____________________________________________________________________
Name: ________________________________________________________________________
Number: _____________________________________________________________________
Name: ________________________________________________________________________
Number: _____________________________________________________________________
Name: ________________________________________________________________________
Number: _____________________________________________________________________
Name: ________________________________________________________________________
Number: _____________________________________________________________________
Name: ________________________________________________________________________
Number: _____________________________________________________________________
Name: ________________________________________________________________________
Number: _____________________________________________________________________
Name: ________________________________________________________________________
Number: _____________________________________________________________________
Name: ________________________________________________________________________
Number: _____________________________________________________________________
Name: ________________________________________________________________________
Number: _____________________________________________________________________
Picking the right team is one of the single most important decisions you can
make. Take your time, interview several doctors. Don’t rush this process if
possible. Search the internet. What are others saying about them? What is their
philosophy and approach… are they aggressive or not? Do they believe in
experimental treatment or not? Do they specialize in your disease? Do their
values and beliefs match mine? Another thing to consider is distance from your
home. Will they live in the same state or will you have to travel to treatment?
Where is the treatment facility located? Does my insurance cover all the above?
Don’t be overwhelmed. There are thousands of healthcare professionals who
have dedicated their lives to helping and serving humanity. Just remember
that you are in control and the better informed you are, the better decisions you
will make.
January _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
February _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
March _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
April _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
May _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
June _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
July _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
August _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
September _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
October _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
November _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
December _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
January _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
February _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
March _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
April _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
May _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
June _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
July _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
August _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
September _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
October _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
November _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
December _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
January _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
February _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
March _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
April _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
May _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
June _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
July _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
August _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
September _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
October _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
November _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
December _____
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
I also suggest you keep a box with all your X-rays, blood tests, and any other test you
may need to take.
This way, everyone will know what is going on and it will help you avoid unnecessary
tests and further wear and tear on your body.
It’s very important you have a duplicate set of everything, in the event your records are
lost for any reason.
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
WHAT IS CHEMOTHERAPY?
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
WHAT IS MY PROGNOSIS?
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
HOW DO I READ MY LABS, AND OTHER TESTS TO KNOW WHAT LEVELS ARE NORMAL?
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
OTHER THAN MORE DRUGS, ARE THERE NATURAL WAYS TO CONTROL PAIN?
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
WHAT IS MY PROGNOSIS?
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
#2
Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center
Boston, MA
#3
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA
#4
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
#5
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Memphis, TN
#7
Texas Children's Hospital
Houston, TX
#8
Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Chicago, IL
#9
Children's Hospital Colorado
Aurora, CO
#10
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY
Mayo Clinic
www.mayoclinic.com
200 1st St SW # W4, Rochester, MN 55905 / (507) 255–512
Cleveland Clinic
my.clevelandclinic.org
2022 E 105th St, Cleveland, OH 44106 / (216) 444-2020
City of Hope
www.cityofhope.org
1500 E Duarte Rd. Duarte, CA 91010 / (626) 256-4673
http://health.usnews.com/
Love this site! Start Here!
www.blochcancer.org
Amazing Site, from an amazing Family.
www.intelihealth.com
Awesome resource
www.cancer.org
The American Cancer Society website
www.cancercare.org
Great Resource
www.cancer.net
http://www.langleybanack.com/attorneys/attorney.php?attorneyId=70
Jim Aycock –Woodward and White's Best Lawyers in America for Trusts and Estates,
and Thomson Reuter's Texas Super Lawyers in Estate Planning and Probate.
Top Estate Planning Attorney and amazing human being
Wills / Trust / Estates
CNN
www.cnn.com/health
Top Doctors / Blogs / Current Information
Curesearch
www.curesearch.org
Research / Advocacy / Care
Live Strong
www.livestrong.org
Survivor Care
Chemotherapy Care
www.chemocare.com
Information about chemotherapy / Before and After care
I could list 100 more sites, each specific to your needs. The best thing is do
google / bing / yahoo your area of need. If you’re pregnant with cancer, have
a child with cancer, a son/daughter of a sick parent, or a woman with no hair,
there are support groups, non profits, and agencies to serve your needs.
Don’t give up. Search until you find the answers you need.
Search… Learn… Empower yourself.
II. Be empathetic. The quality of understanding how another person feels and to be in “tune” with your
patients is extremely important and forms the basis for all contact with the patient and the family.
Temporary or partial identification with your patient will allow you to understand what he or she is feeling. Patients
feel better when you show them that you are aware of their emotional experiences.
III. Ask about consultations. Patients and their families should be asked about the use of additional
subspecialty consultations. This topic should be raised by the attending physician at any time during the terminal
stages, but it is especially important in the final stages. At this time, the patient and the family are most vulnerable
and dependent on the attending physician and may be reluctant to ask for additional professional help because
they do not wish to offend. Introduce the idea of medical, psychiatric, surgical or other sub-specialty consultation
early. Your willingness to assemble a team of caregivers will not be perceived as an indication of inadequacy, and
you will only gain respect from the patient and the family.
IV. Do not abandon. One of the most distressing situations for the patient or the family is for the primary physician to
“sign off” of the case, leaving the care to an unfamiliar physician, such as a hospice or a nursing home physician.
Even if the primary care physician is not directly involved with the treatment, he or she should spend time with the
patient and the family. It is especially important to be there during the bad times and be aware of the family's
needs, because this is indeed a family affair.5
V. Maintain a regular routine of hospital calls. Just as it is important not to abandon the patient to a
consultant, it is equally important to maintain regular visits to the patient who is terminally ill. The patient and the
family are acutely aware of the frequency and the duration of visits. Physicians have a tendency to change their
schedule and shorten their visits when patients enter the final stages of illness. One does not have to be a
psychiatrist to be aware of the impact of this behavior on the patient and the family. This distancing tactic is well
described. 6 Keeping up the frequency and duration of the visits will increase your understanding of the patient,
the family and yourself.
VII. Communicate with the patient's family. Family members can be a great source of information, supportive advocates
and decision makers for the patients. But, they can also oppose the wishes of the patient and the treatment team.
Like the patient, they reveal a wide range of responses to the terminal illness of a family member that requires
understanding at critical junctures. 8 Appointing family members with whom to communicate regularly can be
helpful. When talking with the family, remember to use as little medical jargon as possible and expect that, as with
the patient, there will be anger, distrust, fear of the medical surroundings, depression, frustration, guilt and a great
deal of anxiety.9
VIII.Preserve the humanness of the patient. It is essential to maintain the idea that “quality of life” is an important
issue even for patients in whom a cure is no longer expected. This is true even for patients who are close to death.
10 Human values remain important. 11 Again, the physician's response can be one of distancing to preserve the
“powerful healer” image. Also, physicians can hide behind the machines, charts, bottles, tubes and mechanical
apparatus that overwhelm the family and dehumanize the patient. While all of these machines are necessary, we
should remind ourselves that a cure is not the objective, and our goal is to help the patient remain a human being
during the process of dying.
IX. Be concerned about where the patient dies. We assume that if the patient is in the hospital or in a hospice that
necessary care will be available. However, some patients and their families will want to spend this time in other
places, such as the home. Then, the availability of urgent care, financial help for the patient from local charities,
pain control and administration of adequate amounts of medication become real issues. Physicians must be aware
of what support is available in their communities.
X. Preserve hope. I leave this point to last because the preservation of hope should be the last to leave. When
physicians think, “No matter what I do, she (the patient) is going to die,” they may be unable to help their patients
preserve hope. Most patients, even the most realistic, leave some room for the possibility of a cure. It is this glimpse
of hope that sustains them. Here, as so often, humanity depends on honesty. Do not use false evaluations in the
response to the inevitable question of “How long do I have?” Usually what the patient wants is someone to listen
to them in an objective manner. Share the hope and do not paint the picture as completely hopeless or emotionally
abandon the patient with words such as “always” or “never.” 9 We should be aware of our own feelings such as
guilt, helplessness and inadequacy. We do not need to validate our competency as physicians by the survival of
every patient. When hope is preserved, the patient will show much confidence and appreciation.12
2. Thou shalt not judge thy neighbor’s treatment or reconstruction choices or attitude toward their diagnosis. I
honestly have not seen people in the breast cancer community judge each other’s treatment or reconstruction
choices, either online or offline. The real armchair quarterbacks are the people who have never been through it.
They need to be mindful of who’s actually on the playing field. Attitude gets a little trickier. No one has the right
to tell you how you should feel. Some people would have you think you should be able to overcome your fluffy
pink cancer by being all shiny and happy, or that you should be grateful for some life lesson. That’s a BIG fail. But
you may be the naturally optimistic type. You may actually be grateful. And we all need to remember that’s okay
too. We’re all wired differently. I always say that telling you how you should feel about your diagnosis is kind of
like saying you should be six feet tall or have brown eyes.
3. Thou shalt honor thy own feelings, whether shiny and happy or tired or angry or scared. And don’t be surprised
to feel all these things within the space of 15 minutes, several times a day.
4. Thou shalt love thyself as thy neighbor. Women are so darn hard on ourselves. Give yourself the same break you
would to a loved one going through a big diagnosis.
5. Thou shalt not beat thyself up. You don’t have breast cancer because you ate the wrong things or didn’t
breast-feed your kids or exercise enough or the right way. You have breast cancer, because.
6. Thou shalt allow others to help you. This is a tough one for many of us. But your family and friends want to be
able to do something for you; let them.
7. Thou shalt not bear false witness against science. You may or may not decide on a certain course of treatment.
(See Commandment 2.) You may or may not have a good experience. We can learn so much from each other’s
honest recounting of our experiences, but that doesn’t make us medical experts. Celebrities and politicians have
a special responsibility here.
8. Thou shalt ask thy doctors questions. Do not be afraid to ask, “What is the risk if I do A or B?” or “What does that
word mean?” or “Could you repeat that?” Good doctors welcome your questions and concerns. Not-so-good
ones need to be reminded there’s a person attached to the breast.
9. Thou shalt seize the day. There’s no doubt cancer is the elephant in the room. But sometimes you just have to
pat its big ugly flank and say, “Excuse me, elephant, but I’m going to the beach, or the movies, or the back yard
with my kids. I’ll catch you when I get back. Right now, I’m off to have some fun.”
10. Thou shalt remember you are more than your cancer. Cancer is all about cells run amok in your body. It will do
its best to claim your identity as well. You may be a woman with cancer, but you are also a wife, mom, sister,
daughter, employed person and friend. Let the extent to which cancer becomes part of your identity be your
choice, not its choice. -Jackie Fox / ©Jackie Fox 2011