Caring for Cancer Caregivers

A new resource from the National Cancer Institute, "Caring for the Caregiver: Support for Cancer Caregivers," is now available for order from the Cancer Information Service. This booklet is an easy-to-read version of the existing booklet, "When Someone You Love Is Being Treated for Cancer". It provides the basics of practical and supportive information for cancer caregivers, and is written at the 4th-5th grade reading level.

"Chapters" include:
"Who is a caregiver?",
"Your feelings",
"Asking for help",
"Caring for yourself",
"Going with your loved one to medical visits", and
"Talking with others".

This document is available in html and/or .PDF format This booklet can also be ordered for free in print.

Updated Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy Booklets Now Available

It wasn't that long ago when the National Cancer Institute was looking for reviewers to help update their chemotherapy and radiation therapy brochures. The revised editions are now available and it is estimated
that nearly half a million copies of each will be distributed to Cancer Centers and health professionals annually.

The booklets focus on the most common treatment side effects and ways to manage them. Each side effect has its own section describing what it is, why it occurs, ways to manage and ways to obtain more information. the new formats are user-friendly. Written in plain language, they feature a larger font size and contain more white space for readability. They have also been resized for easier photocopying.

These documents can be viewed in html and/or downloaded in .PDF format.

Recipe Bookmarks Available from "The Cancer Project"

One of the goals of The Cancer Project, based in Washington DC, is to provide "comprehensive information about the role of dietary factors in keeping people healthy." The Cancer Project has announced the availability of an adorable pair of bookmarks, each containing a recipe that helps promote a diet "rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, low in fat, loaded with fiber, and full of cancer-fighting antioxidants" and encourages kids to try new foods. The two recipes featured are "Man’s Best Friend,” Broccoli Poodle: Cream of Broccoli Soup Recipe" and “All Aboard the Fiber Express,” Squash School Bus: Spaghetti Squash and Mushrooms Recipe. One set of child-friendly bookmarks may be ordered free of charge from The Cancer Project.

Bone Marrow Transplantation Audiovisuals

A number of bone marrow transplantation resources available on video and DVD are available from the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). And the best part? Single copies of these items can be ordered for free!

NMDP publications include:

"Forward! Living Life after Transplant"
"This educational magazine and DVD helps teens and young adults know what to expect before, during and after transplant. It features five young transplant recipients who share their journey and offer advice for dealing with physical and physiological changes, as well as relationships, school and self-image post transplant."

"The Paths to Progress"
"This bilingual audio CD uses easily understood language to explain the transplant process. It was created to reach people who learn by listening, Mandarin speakers and people who are English language learners."

"Discovery to Recovery: A Child's Guide to Bone Marrow Transplant"
"An award-winning educational, interactive DVD and booklet for children ages five to nine who will be undergoing a marrow or cord blood transplant. The DVD tells the transplant story through two engaging puppets and provides interviews from children and their families who have been through the transplant process. The accompanying booklet is designed as a supportive tool to promote transplant discussion within the family."

Handout on Thrombocytopenia in 10 Languages

Inova Fairfax Hospital's Life with Cancer program has developed a patient education handout entitled Thrombocytopenia: When Your Platelets are Low. This one-page handout is available in French, English, Spanish, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Farsi, Arabic, and Urdu. Thrombocytopenia is available free of charge and can be downloaded for use in .pdf format.

Resource for People with Cancer on Complementary and Alternative Medicine

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) has developed a publication to guide people with cancer to CAM resources.

This publication, entitled Thinking About Complementary and Alternative Medicine, features:

Basic descriptions of CAM modalities.
Guidance for evaluating CAM information.
A list of reliable CAM resources.
Tips for talking with traditional healthcare providers about CAM. Suggestions for finding certified CAM providers.

Free copies of "Thinking About Complementary and Alternative Medicine" are available online for viewing or downloading in .pdf format. This resource is available in English only.

Oncology Dietitians Needed to Review of NCI's "Eating Hints for Cancer Patients"

The National Cancer Institute is revising its publication "Eating Hints for Cancer Patients"and is seeking oncology dietitians to review and provide feedback on the existing book.

NCI will use the comments to identify information that needs to be updated, changed, or eliminated from the new version.

If you are interested in reviewing this resource and can do so by July 6, please contact Lorna Patrick at PatrickL (at) mail.nih.gov

Cancer Survivor Resource in Chinese, English and Spanish

The Cancer Survival Toolbox is a free, self-learning audio program, developed by the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, to help people better meet and understand the challenges of their illness.

The Toolbox includes ten modules. Modules 1 through 6 cover six basic skills:

Communicating/Comunicación
Finding Information/Búsqueda de información
Making Decisions/Toma de decisiones
Solving Problems/Solución a los problemas
Negotiating/Negociación, and
Standing Up for Your Rights/Defensa de sus derechos

Modules 7, 8, 9 and 10 build on the skills learned in the first six modules and relate them to specific aspects of cancer survivorship. These three modules cover:

Topics for Older Persons/Temas para la tercera edad
Finding Ways to Pay for Care/Búsquedas de alternativas para pagar los cuidados
Caring for the Caregiver/Cuidados para el encargado del paciente, and
Living Beyond Cancer/Vida después del cáncer

The public can listen to the 10 modules in Spanish or English directly from the website, can download them as MP3 or Real Audio files, or can order the modules on CD at no cost.

Cancer Resources in Urdu

Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and one of the 23 official languages of India. It is estimated that over 100 million people speak Urdu worldwide. Cancerbackup, a British organization whose mission is "to give cancer patients and their families the up-to-date information, practical advice and support they need to reduce the fear and uncertainty of cancer" has produced four cancer-related fact sheets in English and Urdu. The four fact sheets, available in .pdf format, are "Breast Cancer", "Chemotherapy", "Radiotherapy", and "Surgery".