Vim & Vigor - Winter 2012 - Gwinnett Medical Center - (Page 35)

w Q: hen you have cancer, there’s really no part of your life that’s left untouched. From your eating and exercise habits to your work life and treatment considerations, you might be the one steering the decisions, but it can feel as if the cancer is driving. Here, we explore the most pressing questions about how treatment can affect your world, and offer strategies to put the brakes on negative side effects and speed your healing—so you can get back in the driver’s seat. WHAT CAN I EXPECT DURING CANCER TREATMENT? Your cancer treatment experience will depend on many factors, but the stage of the cancer may be the most critical one, says Patrick Maguire, M.D., a radiation oncologist and author of When Cancer Hits Home: An Empowered Patient Is the Best Weapon Against Cancer. “If it’s stage IV and likely incurable, treatment is often less aggressive and focused on quality of life and keeping the patient as comfortable as possible,” he says. “If it’s a curative situation, you may be more willing to take some short-term hits to the quality of your life with chemotherapy, radiation or surgery, because you have a good chance of being well in the long term.” These short-term hits can include a wide range of side effects, such as hair loss, nausea, severe fatigue, mouth sores, anemia, digestive problems and memory loss. Your state of health is also a factor in how treatment affects your body. “Your physician will look at your overall health and ask, ‘Can this person tolerate what would be the best treatment?,’ and then choose the best path from there,” Maguire says. > Vim & Vigor · WI NTER 2012 35

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Winter 2012 - Gwinnett Medical Center

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2012 - Gwinnett Medical Center
Contents
Phil’s Feature
All in the Family
Good Sport
Because I Said So!
What’s Wrong with This Picture?
The Future Is Now
Everyday Hero
What Does 200 Calories Look Like?
JOHNNY BE GOOD
In the Driver’s Seat
We’ve Got Your Back
Bank on Your Health
Virtual Health
PrimeTime Health
Back on His Feet
Meet the Raineys
Out of the White
Transforming Healthcare

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2012 - Gwinnett Medical Center