Last Tuesday’s New York Times had a commentary, A Fighting Spirit Won’t Save Your Life caused me to pause and think. The author, Richard Sloan, who is a professor of behavioral medicine at the Columbia University Medical Center, is attempting to debunk the belief that getting sick is a punishment for being a bad person [...]
I am in Washington at the AACR conference so my blog posts might be irregular until next Thursday or Friday. I will try and share any interesting or important things I see or learn while at the conference. Joel T Nowak, MA, MSW
The doctors told me that I have recurrent prostate cancer, they stamped on my forehead a little sign that says “EXPIRES ??/??/20??. I have tried and tried to wash that stamp off my face. No matter what I do it still remains, setting me apart from everyone else. I am not ready to expire nor [...]
I don’t know if you have ever thought about it, but sometimes I think about who gets cancer and who doesn’t. It is hard not to think about this after having three different cancers. According to scientists, we know of some things that can cause cancer, such as certain environmental exposures. Exposure only means that [...]
You have been treated for prostate cancer and you find out that your PSA is rising. You are diagnosed with prostate cancer and the doctors tell you that the cancer has escaped the gland and moved on to other places in your body. You have advanced prostate cancer and there is no cure for you! [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
A man at one of my support groups asked if I could go back in time would I repeat my journey with cancer? I first thought was this a stupid question; of course, I would not. Why would I want to repeat this experience? Who in their right mind would elect to again walk on [...]
When I had my recurrence in December of 2005, my PSA made it’s way to 87.7 and I had a PSA doubling time of 4.2 months. Hormone deprivation therapy (ADT) caused the PSA to “drop like a rock” and within six to eight weeks my PSA was happily
One of those things that sometimes irk me is the lack of warmth I have encountered from medical professionals throughout my journey with cancer. No question, there have been exceptions, glimpses of compassion extended from a few people. More often than not there seems to be a general lack of empathy or sensitivity. It is [...]
