Cancer survivors 2016

Supplement to the Tulsa World, Thursday, September 8, 2016

CANCER Survivors tulsaworld.com/cancersurvivors

Embracing hope, CELEBRATING LIFE. Bixby woman faces breast cancer with positive attitude

By Stefanie Forney, Special Sections Editor

ach person’s journey with cancer is as different as a snowflake.

Hearing the words “you have cancer” can be a chilling experience, and the very personal sojourn through treatment has many twists and turns.

Lisa Riley, 41, has long known she has a history of breast cancer in her family. Both her mother and grandmother have had breast cancer multiple times. This gives Riley an awareness that she is at a higher risk for breast cancer than the average person.

During Lisa’s routine annual checkup in 2014, her gynecologist noticed her family history of breast cancer and asked whether she had ever undergone genetic testing for gene mutations. She hadn’t, so they swabbed her cheek for the test.

A couple of weeks later, Riley received notification that she did, in fact, have the gene. That’s when her doctor encouraged her to see a geneticist and a breast surgeon.

“I thought ‘I’m not sick; I just have a higher risk than some people,’” she recalls. “But, at the same time, I wanted to be smart about it so I decided to see some doctors and find out what they would say.”

The first one told her she had a 94 percent chance of getting breast cancer in the next five years so she needed to do something about it.

“I asked him, ‘If I was your daughter sitting here, what would you tell me to do?’” recalls Riley. He told her that he would set up an appointment for a preventive double mastectomy immediately as well as a preventive hysterectomy.

The second doctor Riley visited looked at her information and asked if she had thought about getting a preventive double mastectomy.

Riley asked her the same question she had asked the first doctor, and this one didn’t bat an eye, saying if it was her daughter, she would be scheduling the surgery next week.

“That was really scary,” Riley says.

Later that day, Riley and her husband, Ben, discussed what to do. The Rileys, who own three Pinot’s Palette painting studios in the Tulsa area, were in the process of opening their last franchise so they decided to set up her double mastectomy appointment in six months.

After opening their studio, the time was drawing near for her mastectomy. However, Riley received her yearly mammogram and everything was normal so she contemplated putting off surgery a bit.

Her husband said, “No, let’s just get this done since we’re all prepared.”

Riley had the preventive double mastectomy. Her doctor was as surprised as she was to learn that Riley already had cancer even though it hadn’t shown up on her scans or during surgery. A lab technician noticed it while looking at a sample taken during surgery.

“I have triple negative, which is the really nasty, aggressive, deadly kind. We caught it very early,” Riley says.

After learning the diagnosis, Riley put the preventive hysterectomy on hold and did 21 weeks of chemo at Oklahoma Cancer Specialists and Research Institute.

“By the grace of God I’m here and healthy,” Riley says. “My story is

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unique because my double mastectomy ended up saving my life! I’m so thankful that my husband didn’t let me put it off.”

Riley makes a point to look for the positive in every experience, and she even shared her journey through treatment on Facebook and Instagram.

“I have an awesome, supportive family, friends and work family,” Riley says. “Every week when I went to chemo was a party. In fact, five to 15 people came to chemo with me each time. I didn’t want to be by myself — I wanted to celebrate life. We would laugh and tell stories. We’d bring cookies for all the patients on the chemo floor. I took every Monday off for chemo, but I was able to continue Last chemo “Jump for Joy!” working Tuesday through Friday.”

One of Riley’s biggest concerns was that she didn’t want her son to see her sick. He had just turned 4 years old when she was diagnosed.

“My oncologist told me how different treatment is now compared to just a few years ago when my mother had cancer,” Riley says. “He told me, ‘If you throw up even one time then I’m not doing my job. We can give you anti-nausea medications.’

“I never threw up even though I was on the gnarliest of chemos,” she adds.

“It’s nice to learn that the symptoms are much more manageable now.”

In sharing her journey online, Riley was honest, but she sought to find the good each day.

“One of the things I learned from my mom, who passed away seven years ago, is to find the good in everything and the grace,” Riley says. So she allowed herself to cry in the shower as she started the day to work through any negative emotions she was experiencing.

“I allowed myself to let out all the anger and negative thoughts, and then I could wash it off,” Riley says. “It was cathartic and symbolic. But when I turned the water off, I stopped the negativity. This is how I let the positive win. ” Riley was committed to making the best of everything. For instance, when she knew she was going to lose her hair, she died it purple. Once it started falling out, she shaved her head. She loved being bald so she never chose to wear a wig.

One of her favorite photos during her journey is of her husband shaving her head.

“I wanted Ben to take me on a date on Valentine’s Day,” Riley says.

“Three-fourths of the way through of my chemo regimen, I got a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I was getting dressed, and I started crying. I didn’t realize that some random hairs were coming in on my bald head, so I asked him to shave my head. I took a selfie of him shaving my head as I leaned over the sink. These are the kinds of things people don’t think about that go on behind the scene. It was a very real moment.

“Attitude is everything,” Riley adds. “I had more people tell me that my attitude inspired them to rethink their journey. It made them feel much better about tackling it.”

Update: Riley had a checkup August 26 and “it was wonderful.”

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CANCER SURVIVORS

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Bartlesville boy fights childhood cancer

by Kevin Armstrong, special sections editor ichael and Casi Morris patients experience, Casi says. of Bartlesville had The first phase of treatment planned the perfect lasted 13 months. Ben started family vacation for their 3- and preschool after that time and 7-year-old sons, Ben and Ethan. then kindergarten at Wayside They were going to Walt Disney Elementary School in BartlesWorld. ville where his brother, Ethan, They booked their hotels and attends. bought airline tickets months Casi can’t say enough about ahead of their June 2013 deparhow supportive the school was ture. By March, though, all those to both her sons. “They wanted dreams shattered. to make sure that cancer didn’t It started innocently enough steal their education,” she says with Ben “feeling puny,” as Casi about the school. puts it, and not eating much. She Casi says Ben was shocked to called their pediatrician, Dr. Paul go to preschool and learn that McQuillen in Bartlesville. A few the other children didn’t have tests didn’t reveal much, then I.V. poles – the wheeled poles Ben began running a fever while where the I.V. drips hang for on an antibiotic. Dr. McQuillen cancer patients. Casi recalls that had a hunch and referred the Ben told her secretly he “felt family to The Children’s Hospital sorry” for them that the other at Saint Francis, an hour’s drive preschoolers didn’t have poles.” away in Tulsa.

Ben’s I.V. pole had been like Casi still recalls that day in his security blanket for several March 2013 when they arrived years of his early childhood and at the hospital. defined “normal” to him.

“I saw ‘ONCOLOGY’ and it hit Then there’s the support of me,” Casi says. “I had a moThe Children’s Hospital at Saint ment. I didn’t want to put the Francis. The third floor became visitor badge on because it had a second home to Casi and Ben. Photo by Shane Bevel ‘ONCOLOGY’ on it, so my mother “It’s a very cool place,” she says.

Michael (left), casi, ben and ethan Morris have learned so much through ben’s now 3-year-old wore two badges that day.”

“It’s calm, not chaotic.”

Little did any of the Morrises battle with leukemia. they live in bartlesville, and the third floor of the children’s hospital at saint They bonded with so many know that their lives were about Francis in tulsa (shown here) became a second home during ben’s 1,203 days of chemotherapy. other patients and families. to take a multi-year unplanned They enjoyed visits from the journey into the world of pediatric cancer and that The for their almost 4-year-old son, and now they were look- Easter Bunny and Santa Claus because they spent so Children’s Hospital at Saint Francis would become their ing to take that money and use it to fight cancer. many of the major holidays there. Casi says Ben’s favorite second home. Disney would have to wait.

“When your kid is that sick, the future is very scary,” was the therapy dogs that visited the pediatric cancer Dr. Gregory Kirkpatrick, known affectionately as “Dr. Casi says. “You have to consider the possibility of ‘what floor.

K,” became the lead on Ben’s three-member oncology does our life look like without Ben?’ That’s the hardest The view of the Fourth of July fireworks in downtown team of doctors. It took him 17 days from that first visit part.”

Tulsa was spectacular – “the best,” Casi says, recalling the to figure out what was wrong with Ben. The first step in Ben’s treatment: Surgically implanting vantage point Saint Francis has on the hillside at 61st Ben had precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leua port in his chest where the chemotherapy drugs could and Yale. kemia. Leukemia is often referred to as “cancer of the be injected. The chemo started flowing the next day, In all, Ben endured 1,203 days of chemotherapy. His blood.” Ben’s cancer cells, though, mostly resided in his March 22, 2013. last dose came July 11 of this summer. bone marrow, making his case more atypical.

That continued for eight hours each day for six days, “It was very bizarre,” Casi explains. “You just stop.”

Casi will never forget the day the diagnosis came. then continued once a week, with chemo pills being That doesn’t mean, though, the journey is over. Ben’s Doctors originally suspected an autoimmune disorder, taken every day. “They start, and they hit you pretty port remains in his chest so doctors can more easily run not leukemia. Dr. Martina Hum, another member of Ben’s hard,” Casi says about the treatment. lab tests on him every month. medical team, called Casi with the news.

They hoped to hit “remission” by Day 29, but “we Leukemia patients can relapse. “We’re just in a win“We had an inch of water in the house,” Casi says. “The didn’t make it,” Casi says. “That was the hardest day. dow,” Casi says. “The highest chance of it coming back is hospital calls as Roto-Rooter was there dealing with It meant we were at high risk, and the rate of survival the next six months and then the first year.” flooding. I grabbed one of the boys’ colored pencils and dropped below 50 percent.”

It isn’t until the fifth year after patients go into remisfrantically wrote down (the name of the disease). I was a Ben’s remission finally came on Day 56 of his chemo sion that doctors declare them “survivors.” For Ben, that mess. treatments. That’s when the family began the drive back will be in June 2018.

“All I remember asking her was, ‘what’s the survival and forth between Bartlesville and south Tulsa multiple The Morrises, though, didn’t wait to celebrate. Ben rate?’ I was desperate for her to tell me a number. But, of times each week. Saint Francis operates one of only two and Ethan just entered first and fifth grades, respectively, course, she didn’t know that.” pediatric cancer clinics in Oklahoma; the other is OU at Wayside Elementary. But before they started their Dr. Hum told her: “You fight. Ben will fight. I’ll fight.

Medical Center in Oklahoma City. Saint Francis recently school year last month, the whole family went to Walt We’ll all fight.” became the eighth clinic nationwide to be affiliated Disney World.

Casi hung up and immediately called her husband. with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, They also visited Universal Studios and had a great Michael works as a tax accountant at Phillips 66 in giving them access to the latest research and drugs time, Casi says.

Bartlesville, where Casi also works in I.T. through a available for treatment of childhood cancer or blood More importantly, each member of their family has second-party company, Accenture. disorders. grown through the experience.

“He’s the yin to my yang,” Casi says of her husband.

Every time Ben would start to run a fever, even in “We are consistently seeking ways to ask ourselves, “He is very calm, very laid back. It’s very hard to get a rise the middle of the night, Casi would have to drive him ‘how can this make us better – as a family, as citizens as out of Michael Morris. ‘Come home,’ I said. ‘We’ll spend to Saint Francis. Every day, Ben also would have to take friends?’ It’s a conscious effort.” the weekend crying together and then go to the hospi- pills. Some weeks involved more chemo than others beHaving a child with cancer is “just as horrible as you tal Monday morning.’” cause the treatment calls for different cycles at different imagine – or worse,” Casi says. “We’re so lucky. Our kid Casi remembers that they had started a college fund times. It’s not like “rounds of chemo” that other cancer lived.”

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SCI-FI OR SILVER BULLET? Immunotherapy is revolutionizing cancer treatment (BPT) — Could the kind of cancer treatment credited with saving former President Jimmy Carter soon work for everyone? News coverage of Carter’s recovery and in-depth coverage by media giants such as Time magazine and “60 Minutes” could lead you to believe that immunotherapy will be the silver bullet that ends cancer for everyone. Like any promising treatment, immunotherapy needs more research, time and investment to achieve its full life-saving potential.

“New treatments that harness the body’s immune system to fight disease are changing how we view cancer treatment,” says Punit Dhillon, president and CEO of OncoSec Medical Incorporated, a company engaged in immunotherapy research. “And while immunotherapy has shown great promise in fighting cancer, cancers are unique to the individual and adaptable. Research has shown combination therapies may be even more effective in defeating cancer’s ability to adapt and survive in the body.” how immunotherapy works To understand how immunotherapy can work, it’s important to know how cancer operates in the body.

When cancer cells grow and spread, they develop the ability to evade the body’s immune system. If the body does not recognize cancer cells as a threat, they may be safe from an immune system attack. Cancer cells also adapt and can become resistant to traditional cancer treatments over time. While traditional treatments may shrink or eliminate tumors, if any cancer cells remain after treatment, they could adapt and begin growing again.

Immunotherapy seeks to reverse this immune tolerance, to once again identify cancer cells as a threat and target them for elimination. A class of immunotherapies, called checkpoint inhibitors, have shown great promise by re-invigorating T-cells, which are the immune system’s fighter cells, so they can again recognize and attack cancer cells. This approach worked for former President Carter’s brain tumor treatment.

The benefits of immunotherapies are undeniable.

Successful immunotherapy attacks only cancerous cells, leaving healthy tissue undamaged. Using the body’s own defenses to fight cancer lacks some of the debilitating side effects associated with traditional treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation. Immunotherapy can also train the immune system to remember cancer cells. This “memory” could remain effective long after treatment ends.

new treatments that harness the body’s immune system to fight disease are changing how we view cancer therapies.

Another aspect of the challenge “While checkpoint inhibitors can be very effective, many cancer patients don’t have enough of a critical type of cell — called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) - for this type of therapy to be effective,” Dhillon notes. “Researchers are finding that only the minority of patients, about 30 to 40 percent, respond when treated with just this type of therapy alone.”

Scientists are looking to combine immunotherapies with other kinds of existing cancer treatments to realize the full potential immunotherapy has to offer.

OncoSec is currently developing a technology, ImmunoPulse, that aims to stimulate anti-tumor immune activity and drive essential TILs to the tumor area. The company is conducting research that shows this priming therapy will help increase patient response rates to checkpoint inhibitors by driving TILs. The aim is to develop a therapy that, when combined with other immunotherapies, will help the body’s im-

mune system operate even more effectively against cancer.

“To the public-at-large, immunotherapy is a relatively new concept that may seem like it borders on science fiction, but immuno-oncology researchers have made very real, positive progress,” Dhillon says.

“We’ve already learned we can leverage the body’s own defenses to combat cancer. Now, our goal is to better understand how to make different therapies work better together so patients have safer and more effective treatment options.”

About this section cancer survivors was produced by tulsa World’s Advertising Department.

For more information, call 918-581-8519.

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Tulsa man shares experience with non-Hodgkin lymphoma

By Stefanie Forney, Special Sections Editor hen Randy Adams received the diagnosis of stage IV non-Hodgkin lymphoma at the age of 50 in 2007, he said, “What in the world is

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that?”

The diagnosis, however, didn’t come entirely unannounced.

Previously, Adams had noticed some bumps on his neck.

An active participant at the local gym, he had tried to maintain his weight at a level that, by his own account, took some doing. Yet, during the holiday season that year he took a break from the gym and decided to eat whatever he wanted. After resuming at the gym, Adams noticed that his weight was lower than his target weight.

“I thought that just wasn’t right,” remembers Adams.

“And my wife had been telling me, ‘Your arms look like they are getting smaller.’ I told her she was crazy.”

Michelle was on to something, but Adams admits he was in total denial.

“I didn’t want to go to the doctor,” he says. “Typical man -- I thought I could handle it myself.”

During a visit to the doctor to address some other issues, Adams asked about the bumps on his neck.

“My doctor looked at me and said, ‘That’s not good,’” Adams recalls.

Two days later, he was in the hospital having biopsies taken from under his arm and his hip. When the test results came back, the doctor called and informed Adams that he had non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

This type of cancer begins in cells called lymphocytes, which are part of the body’s immune system.

Lymphocytes are in the lymph nodes and other lymphoid tissues, such as the spleen and bone marrow.

When a doctor acquaintance heard about the diagnosis, Adams recalls him saying, “If you have to get cancer, that’s the one to get.”

“The doctor explained that’s because it’s a real slow-moving cancer,” Adams says. “I probably had it for years and years. It takes a long time to show unlike Hodgkins, which progresses faster and you have to get on it quickly.”

Adams’ doctor talked with him about some places to

Courtesy photo

His chemo treatments are over, and Adams is back to enjoying his hobbies, which include golfing and gardening. Since undergoing treatment, he’s been able to watch his son graduate from college and get married. Adams says he’s ready for grandkids. start treatment, one of which was in Houston. But Michelle had seen TV commercials for Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Tulsa.

“Any of these places would have been fine,” Adams says, “but CTCA is right here. I had seen people who were going through chemo, and they didn’t look like they felt well at all, so I couldn’t imagine getting on an airplane or driving so long when you are going through chemo. We decided to go to CTCA, and it’s the best decision we made in the whole process. CTCA is an awesome place. The people who work there are incredible! They treat you like family.”

His treatment included oral chemotherapy for six months followed by two years of intravenous chemotherapy and 21 days of radiation.

Adams says his quality of life remained fairly good throughout his treatment. He calls his treatment “user friendly” as he didn’t lose his hair and was able to continue to work as an airplane mechanic. Aside from just after the first round of intravenous chemotherapy, he didn’t experience any nausea.

Adams’ wife, Michelle, provided the most support and had a tremendous impact throughout the process.

“From day one, when we walked into Cancer Treatment Center, through the evaluation process and every day that I went, she was there,” says Adams. “She took notes and asked questions. She shielded me from people who were saying negative things that she didn’t think I needed to hear. She kept things positive. She is an excellent caregiver.”

Now, at 58, Adams’ prognosis is very good. He goes for blood work and a CT scan every November to see how he’s doing.

“The past five years everything has been very good,” says Adams, who admits he has learned a lot through this experience.

“I’ve learned to be a little more patient with myself, with Michelle and with life in general,” he says. “You also learn to be more appreciative of things and the time you have with the people you love and the people around you. You learn who your good friends are. Really simple things mean a lot. Some friends did things for me that really blew me away.”

Yet he’ll be the first to tell you he still hates needles.

“I never have liked them, and I don’t like them any better now,” Adams says.

He doesn’t let his experience go to waste. In fact, he is involved in CTCA’s Cancer Fighters, giving him the chance to talk to people who are thinking about getting treatment at CTCA. “I tell them about my experience there and what it was like for me,” he says. “CTCA is a very, very good place to go. They design treatment plans for the individual and not just a broad spectrum of people who have this disease. They tailor make a plan just for you.”

Editor’s note: No case is typical. You should not expect to experience these results.

Did you know? Donating samples can help advance cancer research Many people may not be aware that they can donate samples, such as blood and tissue, for medical research. Samples (also called biospecimens) include materials from your body such as tissue, blood, skin, hair, saliva and urine.

Medical researchers use samples to find new and better treatments for patients with cancer and other health problems.

For instance, researchers studied thousands of breast cancer samples. This helped them: • Find out that one in four breast cancers carried extra copies of a certain gene.

• Create a test to identify breast cancers that carried the extra gene copies.

• Develop treatments that helped women with these types of breast cancers live longer.

This was only possible because thousands of women gave their samples for research.

There are two ways you can donate: • You may choose to donate samples that are collected during a medical procedure. Often parts of your samples remain after your doctor uses what he or she needs for medical tests.

These samples are usually destroyed. But if you give

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consent, samples that aren’t needed for your medical care can be used for research. You will not need an additional procedure for this type of donation.

• Or, you may choose to donate samples through a procedure that is not related to your medical care, such as a blood draw or saliva swab, for research purposes only.

Talk to your doctor or nurse to find out where you can donate your sample for medical research.

Samples are stored in a biobank until they are needed for research. There are thousands of biobanks in the United States.

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Kenneth and Carolina Brooks took a family vacation to Michigan right before Kenneth began his chemotherapy. Four of their five kids were able to go as well as their son’s wife, Donna. Their daughter, Samantha, was unable to make the trip. From left: (back row) Sara, Noelle, Kenneth and Susan; (front row) Carolina, Donna and Michael.

Broken Arrow man battling hairy cell leukemia

By Stefanie Forney, Special Sections Editor ighting for your life takes a different kind of focus. A cancer diagnosis brings a range of emotions, and it stops you in your tracks. Taking on the fight toward recovery requires a laser-sharp focus where all the other details of your life must dim in contrast.

Kenneth Brooks learned he has hairy cell leukemia in May, and it has turned his world upside down. His journey started with a visit to an outpatient clinic to have a boil on his body checked out. It ended up getting worse so he went to the emergency room, and it was removed.

“That’s when they found out my white blood cell count was really low, lower than most people,” says Brooks. “So they did a bone marrow test in my hip and sent it (to the lab). They learned I had cancer, which I didn’t know I had. I’ve been in pretty good health most of my life, and I’ve never even been in the hospital.”

Hairy cell leukemia is a rare, slow-growing cancer of the blood in which your bone marrow makes too many B cells, a type of white blood cell that fights infection. These excess cells are abnormal and look “hairy” under a microscope. As the number of leukemia cells increases, fewer healthy white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets are produced.

Some people, such as Brooks, have no symptoms, but a blood test for another condition inadvertently reveals the illness. Other people with hairy cell leukemia may experience symptoms common to other conditions, such as fatigue, easy bruising, recurring infections or unexplained weight loss.

Doctors consider chemotherapy to be the first line

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of treatment for hairy cell leukemia. The majority of people experience complete or partial remission through the use of this treatment.

Brooks has finished a round of chemotherapy that lasted 21 days straight while in Hillcrest Medical Center. He currently is receiving shots to build up his immune system.

“Hillcrest has been wonderful to me,” Brooks says.

“They are absolutely great. Dion Sales is the nurse who helped me the most. He’s an oncology nurse, and he’s the most magnificent person I’ve met in my entire life. His love and care for patients is unreal.

When you are in so much pain, he holds your hand and makes sure the meds are right there even when you are so sick you can’t talk.”

Being unable to work and focusing on treatment is requiring some adjustment for Brooks. He and his wife, Carolina, own the business Totally Clean, a company that cleans businesses. Brooks is thankful that his wife and employees are keeping the business going while he is receiving treatment.

“I kid with my wife, calling her the warden because she won’t let me go anywhere or do anything because I can’t be exposed to people with my immune system being low. I’m blessed to have Carolina. She’s taking care of everything and doing all the work while I can’t do any of it. You can imagine how hard it would be to take care of me and take care of all the work to make sure we still have money coming in.

Learning to depend on others has been difficult for Brooks.

“I’m the kind of guy that if your car broke down on the highway, I’d pull over and help you,” Brooks says.

“One time a lady was stuck at a rest area. She had missed her Greyhound (bus) somehow so I drove her all the way to Chicago just to make sure she got there safe. I always believe in helping people and taking care of people. I try to be the kind of person that God would want us to be.”

Brooks has seen the kindness of many people throughout his battle against cancer, and he’s only part of the way through the fight. While he still faces an uncertain future, he has learned several things that might help others as well.

“The first thing I did when I realized I was this sick was to get my family together to do something special. We took a trip with as many of my kids as we could. It was wonderful.” Brooks has one son and four daughters.

“The second thing I’d tell people who are facing something like this is to have a plan for something to do when you get done with treatment,” Brooks says.

“You’ve got to have something to look forward to while you are sick or you’ll just give up. Mine is riding my motorcycle to Florida.”

Brooks also emphasizes the importance of having God in your life.

“If you don’t have Him as your savior, I don’t know how you’re going to make it,” he says. “I honestly couldn’t do it. I know that no matter what happens He loves me and He’s forgiven me. I’m thankful for so many things.”

Brooks will be the first to tell you that the key to life’s journey is to be grateful.

“If we could stop and do that, it would change a lot,” Brooks says.

Coping tips for managing side effects of your cancer treatment

Fatigue is one of the most common side effects of cancer treatment, but it is treatable.

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(MS) — Affecting people all around the world, cancer does not discriminate based on gender, age or ethnicity. A cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatments can be overwhelming. Medical teams work together with patients and families to choose the best treatment plans. But while treatments are often highly effective, coping with both the emotional and physical side effects of cancer treatments is a big part of winning the fight.

The National Cancer Institute says cancer treatments cause side effects because treatments not only affect cancerous cells, but also healthy tissues or organs.

Side effects vary from person to person, even among those who get the same treatment. Side effects are particularly common among recipients of chemotherapy.

According to The Mesothelioma Center, fatigue is the most frequently reported side effect of chemotherapy, affecting up to 96 percent of cancer patients. Nausea and vomiting also occur in 70 to 80 percent of chemo patients.

Nausea can occur during both radiation and chemo treatments. Patients undergoing treatments for cancers of the brain may also experience nausea, says

the American Cancer Society. Patients can discuss alternative treatment plans with their physicians if nausea becomes overwhelming. Furthermore, there are medications designed to staunch the feelings of nausea that may help alleviate vomiting spells.

Fatigue is another common concern.

MD Anderson Cancer Center says that fatigue is treatable, but many patients fail to discuss it with their doctors. Cancerrelated fatigue can have a trickle-down effect that leads to sleeping disorders; emotional distress, including depression; and added stress. A healthy lifestyle — including healthy eating and exercise — can help fight fatigue.

People experiencing fatigue should resist the urge to nap too frequently.

One 30-minute nap may be all you need to recharge.

Emotional effects of cancer treatment can be overwhelming. Seeking help for depression, anxiety, fears and any other feelings that cancer and its treatments can produce can make a world of difference. Trained therapists who specialize in helping cancer patients routinely work with individuals to assist them in coping.

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