Stretch and Practice Yoga Right from Your Desk

Now here is a resource that just might prevent you from becoming a patient yourself! It is also a good resource to share with patients who may be returning to work or who could use some advice on how to sneak in some physical activity during their day. The Alberta (CA) Centre for Active Living has created two online videos called Stretch @ Your Desk and Yoga @ Your Desk. These videos are part of the Alberta Centre for Active Living in the Workplace website which contains a wealth of information and tools for remaining physically active on the job.

Available both in English and French, each stretching video takes about 10 minutes and is led by a certified fitness consultant and yoga instructor. As their website describes, "The exercises in these videos are designed to counter the effects of sitting at your desk by focusing on stretches for your back, neck and shoulders. The exercises come in stages so that you can work on different parts of your body. Most of the exercises can be done right in front of your computer monitor. No need for special clothes or equipment."

The Alberta Centre for Active Living is affiliated with the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation at the University of Alberta.

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

Rhode Island's Health Literacy Provider Toolkit

The Rhode Island Health Literacy Project has developed a Health Literacy Provider Toolkit to "support better communication between consumers and providers, resulting in higher treatment compliance, fewer medication errors, and better utilization of healthcare services". This toolkit is a dynamic resource. As new topics are developed they will be added to the toolkit; the first edition of the HLPT includes information on the following topics: health literacy, advance directives, and cultural competency.

The entire 224-page document is available in its entirety or available as individual topics. Downloadable individual documents include patient forms (durable power of attorney and living will templates for Massachusetts and Rhode Island), topics related to cultural competency such as tips for office staff to enhance communication between staff and patients, physician resources such as articles, quizzes and talking points, and resources for patients such as FAQs about durable power of attorney.

Opportunity to Test Pilot NCI's La Quimioterapia y Usted

Patient Educators in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area! Looking for an opportunity to assist NCI in a revision of their publication La Quimioterapia y Usted? Please see the announcement below from the National Cancer Institute.

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The National Cancer Institute is looking for volunteers to help pilot test La quimioterapia y usted, a Spanish revision to Chemotherapy and You. For this pilot test, NCI needs patient educators who treat and educate chemotherapy patients for whom Spanish is their native and preferred language. The pilot test will help NCI ensure that this new resource is a helpful educational tool for health professionals and meets the needs of Spanish-speaking patients.

The purpose of the pilot is to determine:
If the rewritten version of La quimioterapia y usted is a useful teaching tool
Your patients’ reactions to the content and presentation of the material
Your reactions to the usability of the book in patient education
Your patients’ ability to understand the terms, suggestions, and instructions that include English/Spanish vocabulary

If you or your colleagues are interested in participating in the pilot test of this book, please contact Karina Jimenez at ORC Macro, Project Manager, for detailed information at Karina.D.Jimenez(at)orcmacro.com or (301) 572-0303.