MSI Press Blog

  This being Veterans Day, it seemed like a good research question to find out what resources exist for vets with cancer. Here is the answer: 1. VA National Oncology Program (NOP) The VA NOP provides comprehensive cancer care for veterans, including diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship support. They offer various services such as precision oncology, teleoncology, and clinical trials 2 . 2. CancerCare CancerCare offers support services for veterans, including financial assistance, counseling, and support groups. They also provide information on health care services and resources tailored for veterans 1 . 3. American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society provides resources specifically for veterans, including information on cancer risks, health care services, support groups, and financial assistance. They also offer a 24/7 helpline for cancer-related questions and support 3 . 4. Disabled American Veterans (DAV) DAV helps veterans connect with health care, disability, employmen...

Carl always fought obesity. He was at the very limit for body donation (his desire) when he died. A few months before being diagnosed with five kinds of cancer (aggregately known as cancer of unknown primary), Carl lost 50 pounds. As can be seen in the photo above, he was pretty proud of that. He always wished he could weigh less but was never willing to put in the effort to lose weight. Our daughter-in-law's antennae went up when she asked him what he had done to lose the weight, and he responded, "Nothing." That indeed should have tipped us off to a massive problem. But it was covid, and celebrating small things, like losing weight (even without effort) seemed a good thing, not a bad thing. Two months after that picture was taken, Carl fell, was taken to the hospital, and got the cancer diagnosis -- way too late to do anything about it. It is no surprise, then, that my doctor (Carl's former doctor) was concerned when between two visits (four months apart), I had los...

  Today would have been the 54th anniversary for Carl  and me. Last year, I spent it in the cemetery with Carl, as I did the year before. This year I cannot because I am in Bandung, Indonesia, but perhaps that is just as well.  On our 51st, he was alive, but not well. Three weeks earlier, he had fallen, been xrayed, and found to be in the advanced stage of cancer of unknown primary , with liver, lungs, bones, and stomach completely riddled with cancer cells, blood clots in his lungs, and his bones throwing off cells to create hypercalcemia, the reason he had fallen. It was a difficult time. We were just coming out of the covid months. We brought our CHARGE Syndrome son CB who had been living in group homes for 20 years home when they were not careful with protection from covid. At the same time, our spina bifida daughter, who lives about 30 miles to the south of us, independently, with a county-provided part-time aide lost her caregiver to surgery and no one wanted to tak...

  Carl died of Cancer of Unknown Primary -- never could find the original cancer; CUP is frustrating that way. Of the cancers that were known, stomach cancer was one of the five cancers that wracked his body. We did not know anything until it was too late. Carl lived only five months after his initial diagnosis. Had we known what to look for -- and even though to check out little aches and pains and oddities -- he might have fared much better.  For those still living with what may seem like little aches and pains and oddities, here are some  Stomach cancer: causes, warning signs, and treatment (msn.com) . For other Cancer Diary posts, click  HERE . Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting a web page,  Carl's Cancer Compendium , as a one-stop starting point for all things cancer, to make it easier for those with cancer to find answers to questions that can otherwise take hours to track down on th...

  I have raised two children who were not supposed to live because of the type of birth defects they have. Today, both are in their 40s. I know how to care for someone whom I honestly believe will -- and who does have a hope to -- get better. There was always the struggle of making sure they got the meds they needed, that they did the kinds of activities they needed to do, that their father, Carl, and I researched everything that was going on in medical research about their defects and brought it up to their doctors, and that we interacted actively with all specialists working with them, asking for clarification for us at time and for them at times, ensuring that they knew as much or more than we did. It was purposeful care that had an expected point of diminishing need, with the reins turned over to the children as time passed. Time, then, was a positive. It allowed us to build a brighter future than an initial diagnosis proposed. Things got better over time. The kids gained skill...

(Carl, returning from chemotherapy, getting out of car and onto chair lift)   An inescapable decision--and a potentially life-changing one--can be whether or not to provide chemotherapy at advanced stage 4 of cancer. Chemotherapy given when a cancer is incurable (and side effects are minimal, manageable, or acceptable) is called palliative chemotherapy .  As with nearly anything medical or existential, there are pros and cons.  On the PRO side are the intents (if actually realized) shrink the cancer reduce the symptoms (e.g., pain) improve quality of life prolong life On the CON side are the peripheral aspects uncomfortable and/or disconcerting side effects (the same that accompany any chemotherapy: nausea; neuropathy; in the case of some compounds, hair loss) "end of life" chemotherapy can feel like grasping at straws, especially when/if the intents are not all met or met at all (an emotional side effect of depressions, desperation, anger--it depends upon the person) dif...