Showing posts with label stress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stress. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

SGO Meeting Highlights via Twitter ~ Day Three, March 14, 2017

I am at home watching the snow fall and following Tweets from The Society of Gynecologic Oncology (@SGO_org) Annual Meeting using the hashtag #SGOmtg.

Here are some tweets fromTuesday, March 14,2017 ( Pi day!)

Other sources of Meeting coverage:
Endometrial Cancer
Ovarian cancer
GOG-3003 Compares pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) to PLD in combination with motolimod (a new type of investigational drug that stimulates the immune system)
     SOLO2 Trial studied LYNPARZA as maintenance treatment for women with BRCA-mutated metastatic ovarian cancer
GOG-212
Stress
Uterine Carcinosarcoma

Cervical Cancer
AXAL :Phase 2 study axalimogene filolisbac (AXAL), in patients with persistent or recurrent metastatic (squamous or non-squamous cell) carcinoma of the cervix 
General
So thankful for a glimpse via tweets of research that can change the future of women with gynecologic cancers.

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing!



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Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Natural Ways to Deal with Menopause and Hot Flashes Caused by Surgery for Ovarian Cancer - Guest Post by SHARE


I am pleased to provide my readers with this guest post by SHARE Cancer Support, a non-profit dedicated to providing support for those suffering from breast cancer or ovarian cancer.
Natural Ways to Deal with Menopause and Hot Flashes Caused by Surgery for Ovarian Cancer

There are many changes a woman’s body goes through during menopause; however, for those women who have just had surgery to treat ovarian cancer, the effects of instant menopause can be exacerbated. The most bothersome effect for many women is the onset of hot flashes. There are many treatments women can try to find some relief, and following are some of the most effective natural ones:


Keeping Cool
Exposure to cold can help relieve a hot flash – sipping cold beverages and maintaining a cool environment. Dressing in layers can help women shed clothing quickly to deal with temperature changes; this also applies to layering sheets and blankets at bedtime. Sleeping in the nude also helps women dealing with the hot flashes of menopause by dissipating the heat of night sweats. Using cooling pillows, fans and gel cooling packs can also help considerably.
Acupuncture
As a part of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture has been practiced for over 4,000 years, and is based on the idea that vital energy flows through the body along 20 pathways, or meridians. When a pathway is blocked, the body is thrown off balance. The goal of acupuncture is to remove blockages.
Many women have found relief from hot flashes with acupuncture, and many believe it can provide patients with significant relief from the side effects of cancer and treatment. Hot flashes are reported by many to decrease in frequency and in strength. One study among women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer showed that acupuncture had the equivalent effects of venlafaxine, an anti-depressant, and the effects of acupuncture lasted longer than those of the drug.
Change Your Diet
Many women find that dietary changes can help relieve hot flashes by limiting or avoiding foods that trigger them. Certain foods that can trigger hot flashes include caffeine, spicy foods, chocolate, and alcohol. Women can also try eating more plant-based foods that contain phytoestrogens to reduce hot flashes; these phytoestrogens resemble estrogen and are found in nuts, soy products, legumes, and oil seeds. While some women reported a decrease in the severity of hot flashes, some reported that the number of hot flashes did not decrease.
Managing Stress
Effectively managing and relieving stress can also be an effective way to deal with the hot flashes of menopause caused by surgery for ovarian cancer. Deep, paced breathing can reduce the frequency of hot flashes by 50%. Breath should come from deep inside the abdomen, at about six deep breaths per minute.
We’ve all heard of the “fight or flight” response – the term “relaxation response” is used to describe the opposite of the “fight or flight” response, and is characterized by a slower heart rate and measured breathing. Meditation, getting into a comfortable, relaxed position in a quiet room, and paced breathing are all effective at invoking this relaxation response, effectively decreasing the intensity and severity of hot flashes.
It’s important to keep in mind that just as every woman is unique, so too are her experiences with the methods used for coping with the symptoms of instant menopause after surgery for ovarian cancer. Your health care providers, your friends and family, support groups, and other support systems are excellent resources for learning more about the possibilities various treatments might be able to provide for you.
 
Thank you SHARE for these helpful tips! 
(Dee's Note: Please be sure to check with  your doctor before adding phytoestrogens / soy  to your diet.)


Dee 
Every Day is a Blessing!  
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Monday, February 16, 2015

Answering a Question is Not Always Easy

Last week I was busy co-moderating and participating in the #gyncsm  chat on Care Beyond Medical Care. In response to the topic questions "What things do you find helpful in reducing stress? " I tweeted :


 The tweets were coming at me pretty quick so it was not until I was reading through the transcript to put together the resources for the #gyncsm blog did I realized one of the participants had asked me what my mantra was.

I have been pondering whether or not to respond to the question on twitter or here in a post. I realize that many things that are shared on social media may be ridiculed, made fun of and insulted. I've seen enough of that in the years I have been blogging and tweeting. So I have hesitated sharing my mantra.

When discussing the tools patients use to get themselves through some pretty debilitating surgeries,  chemotherapy or radiations treatments that go along with a cancer diagnosis there is seldom a mention of faith or religion or prayer or even spirituality. There is some research on faith/ spirituality  and the role it might play in the life of a person diagnosed with cancer. See sources below.

When people ask me what got me through my diagnosis and treatment I respond " My family, faith, good medicine, and good doctors ". Usually the discussion will then lean toward the clinical trial I was on or where I was treated.Very few people have asked me what about my faith had helped me. After getting that question on Twitter I thought it may just be time to share some of my thoughts. 

Let's begin with my mantra which is:

"With God All Things Are Possible". 

I can't say how often I have repeated the phrase over the past 10 years but believe me I have used it very,very frequently.

My faith and prayer helped me get through two surgeries and 16 chemotherapy treatments. When I couldn't sleep at night and I was pacing the floor I would say the Rosary and meditate on the mysteries. By the time I was done I was calmer and ready to go to sleep. I carried a mini rosary with me to every chemo treatment. I prayed to Saint Pope John Paul II and still carry a rosary in my pocket book that was blessed by Saint Pope John Paul II when he came to NJ.

Most recently I used the phrase when I went for a CT scan. As I waited for the nurse to find a vein for the IV contrast, I repeated the phrase to myself over and over. Then again as my body entered the donut-shaped machine and the voice said" Take a deep breath and hold it" I said the phrase again.

So faith has played a role in my life and in my journey with cancer. Have others had their faith or spirituality help them get through the rough times?

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing!


Sources:

Importance of Faith on Medical Decisions Regarding Cancer Care : http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/21/7/1379.abstract 

In God and CAM we trust. Religious faith and use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in a nationwide cohort of women treated for early breast cancer

Spirituality in the cancer trajectory

 


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Thursday, July 26, 2012

Stress and Bone Metastasis

In the past I have written about stress and ovarian cancer. Once in "Stress and Ovarian Cancer - NCI Bulletin" and again in "Integrate Cancer into the Tapestry of Who You Are". 

Yesterday @RoswellPark tweeted about stress and metastatic breast cancer. Because of the genetic connection between ovarian and breast cancer I followed the link to this press release from Vanderbilt University Medical Center titled "Stress fuels breast cancer metastasis to bone"  . 

I don't usually write blog posts from press releases so I looked further and found the team of researchers also published in the PLOS/Biology and online peer reviewed journal in an article titled "Stimulation of Host Bone Marrow Stromal Cells by Sympathetic Nerves Promotes Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis in Mice." Feel free to read the entire article ( complete with graphs, photos and citations) online. 

In a nutshell, Vanderbilt Center for Bone Biology researchers using a mouse model for bone metastasis found through experimentation that making the sympathetic nervous system ( In humans stress and depression activate the system.) active in mice promoted breast cancer cell colonization in the bone marrow of the mice .  Their results showed that the stress activated RANKL ( a protein found in the bone that stimulates the break down of bone ) and helped to promote the cancer cell migration. They also showed that chronic stress in vivo can be blocked by introducing the beta-blocker Propranolol. Their conclusion was that the use of Beta blockers and drugs that interfere with the RANKL signaling like Denosumab, a drug approved to build bone mass could increase patient survival if used as adjuvant therapy. 

I am sure that human trials will be forthcoming since beta -blockers are generally safe and used by many for blood pressure control and migraines prevention. 

It is research like this that is so exciting to read about. 

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing. 

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