Andrew Griffith's Blog, page 6

Year 1, Week 20: Happy New Year

In contrast to last year’s roller coaster, this year was relatively calm and stable, as I continued my recovery from my allo stem cell transplant and progressed to my ‘new normal. No hard decisions, just a few bumps in the road, and the ability to enjoy life with very few qualifications. I consider myself very [...]

Year 1, Week 19: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Starting to write this during a wonderful winter snowfall, just in time for a white Christmas, increasingly rare in recent years. I have a great deal to be thankful for this year, and watching the snow swirl in front of me reminds me of the beauty of life. Both our kids are home now, another [...]

Christmas Stress Relief: A Mindful Ten Day Guide | Psychology Today

Nice article with some good practical tips (and applicable to more than Christmas). Eat some chocolate Go for a short walk Take a three minute breathing space Do something pleasurable The intensely frustrating line meditation Set up a mindfulness bell The ten-finger gratitude exercise Do the sounds and thoughts meditation Reclaim your life Visit the [...]

Learn to celebrate Christmas: Lessons from hospice patients

Some reflections on the holidays and hospice care, and a reminder to live our holidays as they may be the last time together, and ‘celebrate the valuable relationships.’ The truth is, this time of year for many families with loved ones receiving hospice care is not sad at all. These kinds of moments may seem [...]

Dear patients: Thank you for teaching me

Nice piece by an intern on learning from patients that captures all too much of the patient experience. Quote: Thank you for your attempts at pushing my buttons, whether it be through questioning my technical knowledge, academic status, or medical specialty. Thank you for sneering at me. Thank you for calling me “doctor” when I [...]

Misdiagnoses still prevalent in lymphomas – Lymphoma Coalition

Not sure whether it is really as bad as this survey by the Lymphoma Coalition indicates (only 19 percent correct diagnosis based on initial symptoms), but given that we all experience some swelling on lymph nodes during colds and the like, perhaps not so surprising. And most lymphomas I believe are diagnosed at relatively late [...]

Blog of the Year 2012

Thanks to Rodposse, my blog has been nominated for one of the Blog of the Year 2012 awards. Thanks! My current round of favourite blogs are (no particular order): Arun with a View: Eclectic and informed mix of political analysis and movie reviews. The Franco-American Flophouse: An eclectic mix of expatriate life and cancer. Sunrise [...]

Survivors of the storm | Sunrise Rounds

Nice reminder of the importance of community in helping us live with cancer, drawing from Hurricane Sandy: The cancer diagnosis lays each of us bare. We feel frail and isolated, forced into a battle as primal as nature; the battle to survive. Even though we may be in the warmth of our own homes, the [...]

6 Parenting Fads That Are Ruining Your Kids | Online Psychology Degree Resource Guide

Not a bad list, keeping in mind one of the major goals is to raise self-reliant and strong kids: Over-documentation on Facebook etc. Helicopter parenting Gender neutrality Attachment parenting Nurture shock Homeschooling (I disagree with this one; some of our friends home schooled their kids and their kids are doing well). 6 Parenting Fads That [...]

Living With Cancer: Dancing With N.E.D. – NYTimes.com

Another piece by Susan Gubar, this time focusing on music and gynecological cancer awareness, and the group N.E.D. (No Evidence of Disease). Quote: And then there are people like me who are diagnosed later in life but can’t fill out an N.E.D. dance card because, unfortunately, we still have E.D. (evidence of disease). That said, [...]