Today the movie version of Maurice Sendak's 1963 children’s picture book, “Where the Wild Things Are” opens in theaters. When the book was first published, many people complained that it was too scary. Sendak’s response was simple, he said just don’t read it. Sometimes, whether you read a book or watch a movie is not [...]
I have experienced both hope and despair. In my life, they are inextricably intertwined with each other. I have come to understanding that I must celebrate both life’s low points as well as its high points. I have heard on four separate occasions, “Joel, you have cancer.” I have struggled through the impact of hearing [...]
There have been a number of articles that claim that older cancer patients report less distress than younger cancer patients report. However, this research has generally not sorted the differences among general distress, anxiety, and depression in older vs. younger survivors. Elson CJ, Weinberger MI, Balk E, Holland J, Breitbart W, Roth AJ. From the [...]
I often walk into the supermarket but I have never seen a blue ribbon on any products on the shelves. In fact, I have never seen a black ribbon (lung cancer), a green ribbon (kidney cancer) or any other colored ribbon on any product; however, the shelves are always overflowing with items embossed with a [...]
When I was first interviewing oncologists to decide whom to put on my team to help me deal with my prostate cancer recurrence, I remember leaving the office of the doctor I eventually selected and saying to my wife, “I can’t use him.” She asked why and I replied, “He is not going to be [...]