Explore the archive of articles from Together
We Can, the official newsletter of the Joan Karnell
Cancer Center. Issues are listed in order by
date with the most recent editions being shown
at the top.
CyberKnife® at Pennsylvania Hospital: Targeted, Noninvasive Radiation Therapy |
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as PDF |
Fall 2011 - Radiation oncologists have more choices than ever before for treating patients with tumors or cancerous lesions. Penn Medicine offers the full spectrum of these treatment options, including proton therapy, Gamma Knife®, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). Now Penn has added CyberKnife® to its treatment options. |
The Benefits and Risks of Clinical Trials |
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as PDF |
Winter 2011 - Many people may have heard the term "clinical trial," but may not know what the term means or the impact of participating in a clinical trial could have on their health. For cancer patients, clinical trials are studies designed to show how particular treatment strategies can affect the people who receive it, particularly when compared to current, standard therapy. |
When "Normal" feels "New" |
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as PDF |
Fall 2010 - For some patients, the process of moving from cancer patient to survivor who has completed treatment requires some time to reflect and even grieve the way life was before they were diagnosed.
As part of its ongoing commitment to its patients from the moment of diagnosis to treatment and beyond, the Joan Karnell Cancer Center at Pennsylvania Hospital offers a number of programs and services to help survivors who face psychological, emotional, and medical issues. |
Radiation Oncology at Pennsylvania Hospital |
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as PDF |
Spring 2010 - "Radiation oncology is one of three ways to treat cancer and all three have different aims," says Dr. Kolker. "Surgery removes a very specific area, chemotherapy treats the cancer with drugs, and radiation can be used for different purposes. Sometimes, we use radiation to help the surgeon, to make the tumor smaller for surgery; sometimes it's a one-two punch with chemotherapy; or it may be radiation alone."
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Helping You Cope |
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as PDF |
Fall 2009 - As people, we are often reassured by the knowledge that our experiences don’t set us apart from others, that side effects or symptoms we are experiencing are not unusual, and, ultimately, that there are other people who can relate to us. In fact, this type of validation and the sharing of coping techniques are at the heart of the Joan Karnell Cancer Center’s Person-to-Person program.
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Cancer and Heart Health |
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as PDF |
Spring 2009 - Like all adults, cancer survivors are at risk for heart disease. “Heart health is one of many important aspects of survivorship,”says David Mintzer, MD, chief of thesection of hematology-oncology at
Pennsylvania Hospital. “More and more patients survive cancer and our goal is to make sure that people return to the best possible health after their treatment has ended.” Read more. |
Demystifying Healthy
Eating |
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as PDF |
Winter
2009 – If there's one thing
you, as a cancer survivor, have in
common with the patients down the hall
visiting their
cardiologists, it's diet—or at least,
it should be. A cancer
prevention diet is actually the same as
a heart healthy diet.
In fact, the number one cause of death
for breast cancer
survivors is heart disease, another excellent
reason to take a
closer look at the food you eat. Read
on... |
Care
For Life |
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as PDF |
Fall
2008 – If you are reading this, you
are most
likely a cancer survivor or know
someone who is. The Joan Karnell
Cancer Center at Pennsylvania Hospital
considers any patient diagnosed with
cancer—whether currently undergoing
or having completed treatment—to
be
a cancer survivor. Read
on... |
Are You Living Well? |
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as PDF |
Spring
2008 – Approximately 60 percent of
all cancers occur in patients older than
age 65. As the population continues to
age and we see increases in the number
of people over age 65 and over age 85,
the number of older adults receiving cancer
care is also expected to increase. Read
on...
Additional articles:
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Mammography... Making a Difference |
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as PDF |
Fall
2007 – In 1977, more than 160,000
women in Sweden were divided into two groups – those
that received mammograms every
two or three years and those that did not.
Seven years later, the physicians administering
the study looked at the results. Read
on...
Additional articles:
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Creating A Healthy Life |
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as PDF |
Spring 2007 –
Paying attention to your health is the single
most important thing you can do because
without it, there wouldn’t
be anything else. It’s the start of a new
year, when people of all ages and with all
types of medical histories make a pledge
to be healthier. But what does ‘being healthy’ mean? Read
on...
Additional articles:
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Delivering the Latest Advances in
Radiation Therapy |
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as PDF |
Fall
2006 – New technologies for radiation therapy are providing patients with certain types of cancer significant improvements in treatment options. More than half of all people diagnosed with cancer use radiation as part of their treatment plan, according to the National Cancer Institute, as high doses of radiation are capable of killing cancer cells. Read
on...
Additional articles:
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Obtaining the Best Possible Treatment |
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as PDF |
Spring 2006 – If you or a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, ask your oncologist about the availability of clinical trials as part of your treatment process. You may be amazed at the benefits. Read
on...
Additional articles:
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Putting
Patients Back in the Center of their Care |
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as PDF |
Fall 2005 – The latest computer technology is being used at the Joan Karnell Cancer Center to help patients play a more active role in assessing and managing their symptoms. Read
on...
Also in this issue:
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A Nutritional Journey |
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as PDF |
Summer 2005 – Broccoli vs. brownies? Extra vitamins? Your dietary choices may not be as obvious as you may think. For some cancer patients, a diet that includes healthy food choices such as broccoli or whole grains may be part of the overall plan to help fight cancer. Read on...
Also in this issue:
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Bloodless Peripheral Stem Cell Transplant |
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as PDF |
Spring 2005 – In 1996, Patricia Ford, MD, a hematologist/oncologist at the Joan Karnell Cancer Center at Pennsylvania Hospital, became one of the first doctors in the country to perform a bloodless peripheral stem cell transplant. Read on...
Also in this issue:
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Living Well: A Program to Benefit Older Cancer Patients |
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as PDF |
Fall 2004 – Cancer can affect anyone, but cancer can also be survived by anyone, both young and old. Cancer survival stories involving the experiences and struggles of young adults often overshadow the reality that cancer does not only affect the younger population. Read on...
Also in this issue:
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Supportive Care Services |
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as PDF |
Summer 2004 – The Joan Karnell Cancer Center at Pennsylvania Hospital offers a variety of supportive care services to help patients and their families cope with the physical and emotional challenges of cancer diagnosis and treatment. Read on...
Also in this issue:
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Caregivers:
Giving/Getting the Care you Need |
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as PDF |
Spring
2004 – In the face of cancer, the
roles and needs of caregivers should not
be overlooked. Caregiving is one of life's
most difficult jobs. “It's
hard to be a caregiver sometimes,” says
Helen Grosky, social worker at the Joan
Karnell Cancer Center at Pennsylvania Hospital. Read
on...
Also in this issue:
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Advancements
in Treatment of Breast Cancer |
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as PDF |
Fall
2003 – Breast cancer is the most
common malignancy in North America and
Europe,with more than 200,000 cases of
breast cancer diagnosed in the United States
in 2001. Researchers and physicians are
pushing the forefront of science to discover
innovative ways and advancements in treating
breast cancer. Two of the latest surgical
technologies include lumpectomy with a
sentinel node biopsy and skin-sparing mastectomy. Read
on...
Also in this issue:
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Bloodless
Medicine |
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as PDF |
Summer
2003 – Once an obscure specialty,
bloodless medicine, a service that offers
alternatives to blood transfusions, is
quickly becoming the latest trend at many
hospitals and health systems around the
country. The worldwide blood shortage and
patients’ fears about the transfer
of diseases like AIDS, SARS and West Nile
virus have no doubt contributed to this
increased interest in bloodless medicine. Read
on...
Also in this issue:
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Our
Focus is on You |
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as PDF |
Spring
2003 – You’ve been diagnosed
with cancer. Does that mean life should
now completely revolve around medication
and medical treatment? Not according to
the Palliative Care Team at the Joan Karnell
Cancer Center at Pennsylvania Hospital. Read
on...
Also in this issue:
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Sarcoma
Researchers Search for Answers |
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as PDF |
Winter
2003 – How do tumors develop and
progress? That is the question researchers
at Pennsylvania Hospital are trying to
answer with the help of the GeneChip Microarray
Technology from Affymetrix. Purchased with
the help of hospital donors, the GeneChip
offers a way for researchers to read every
single known gene. Read
on...
Also in this issue:
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Living
Full Each Day |
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as PDF |
Fall
2002 – It is an honor and a blessing
to be here today – to share my experience,
strength and hope with you. It's great
to be alive! Besides, I love any gathering
where you get applause just for having
a disease! Read
on...
Also in this issue:
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With
Age, Comes Strength |
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as PDF |
Summer
2002 – Cancer: “the Big C.” At
one time, older patients who heard that
word interpreted it as a death sentence.
But not anymore. Research is finding that
older adults in some cases actual fare
better against the disease than their younger
counterparts. Read
on...
Also in this issue:
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Are Clinical Trials For You? |
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as PDF |
Winter
2002 – According to the American
Cancer Society, about 1,284,900 new
cancer cases will be diagnosed this year.
If you are one of these patients, you should
be aware of the various treatment options
available to you, including clinical
trials. Read
on...
Also in this issue:
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