Patients with cancer RDH
By Dawn E. Kasper, RDH
“Cancer is a word, not a sentence.” John Diamond, a British broadcaster and journalist who passed away from throat cancer in March 2001, uttered those inspirational words. In his book “Because Cowards Get Cancer Too,” he wrote, “What can the chances be of any organ doing anything a billion and a half times and never making a mistake? Your 30 trillion or so cells have each replicated themselves a few thousand times: how could it possibly not be that a few of these cells would band together in that state of cytological anarchy that leads to cancer and death? Accidents happen but illness creeps up on you. Only in retrospect do you realize that you’d been ill all along.”
Cancer is one of the most significant fatal diseases around the world, although factually it’s a collection of about 100 similar diseases. Cancer can be cured, but the cure rate depends on which variety, a quick diagnosis, and the person’s health. Optimal management of the oncology patient involves an interdisciplinary approach that requires assessment, communication, and interaction among the health care team during all stages of cancer therapy.
