by drannekatz | May 7, 2018 | Uncategorized
I had never met the man but from a brief reading of the notes in his medical record, I knew that this was not going to be easy. Thirty years old with stage III kidney cancer, the notes showed a long history of missed appointments and late arrivals. I had been asked to...
by drannekatz | May 7, 2018 | Uncategorized
Sheila* is a vibrant woman in her late 50s with stage II gastric cancer. She is slight but energetic; her chart states that she has lost a considerable amount of weight since her diagnosis and treatment. She’s had chemotherapy and surgery and is now on continuous...
by drannekatz | May 7, 2018 | Uncategorized
The couples I see for counseling are not always perfect, not that any couples ever are. But when cancer enters the relationship, for some couples, things get ugly and get ugly fast. I believe that we like to think that cancer makes people “better”; that people rise to...
by drannekatz | May 7, 2018 | Uncategorized
Jamie* and Alex* are a young couple starting out their married life. They came to see me shortly after Jamie completed his treatment for testicular cancer about 2 years ago. He had banked sperm at the local fertility clinic before starting treatment and asked to see...
by drannekatz | May 7, 2018 | Uncategorized
One of the nurses knocked on my door on a quiet Monday morning. “Hey, can you see this patient? I guess it’s not urgent but he’s here now and I think what the doctor told him just threw him for a loop.” Of course I had time. In my role as clinical nurse specialist in...
