Tag: diagnosis

Anyone who has been given a cancer diagnosis makes an immediate recalibration of every previously held ambition. Friends and loved ones often don't understand how priorities held for a lifetime can change overnight when someone learns he or she has cancer. Reactions to a cancer diagnosis, regardless of the prognosis, will vary according to personality, but each person will experience an onslaught of fear, worry and uncertainty.

"Our two greatest challenges are figuring out better treatments for the 40,000 women who die of breast cancer every year, and at same time, figure out who, on the other end of the spectrum, is getting exposed to needless toxicity." ~ Dr. Eric Winer

The human breast is a beautiful adaptation, which is singular in the animal world. While other mammals only have enlarged breasts during nursing, humans have breasts that are large throughout life; they have become increasingly larger at increasingly younger ages.

Autism awareness has risen significantly across the past decade. In this day and age it’s challenging to find anyone who doesn't realize that autism significantly impacts youngsters and their families.

Unfortunately, most adults with autism lack the correct diagnosis. Robison (2019) estimates that only 3-10% of adults on the autism spectrum are accurately identified.

The good news is that autism awareness and diagnosis have improved by leaps and bounds over the last decade. Detection is now possible at a very early age. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics encourages screening for autistic features as early as 18 months.

The bad news is that autism recognition initiatives have almost exclusively focused on early childhood. Low diagnosis rates of autism in adults who missed early detection have created a significant gap in our ability to provide vital assistance throughout the lifespan.

I have seven adopted kids. Our family is a hodge-podge of culture, diversity, and challenge. Sometimes, I’m close to pulling my hair out, but if I’m honest, I love it.

One thing I don’t love, however. Cancer.

I work as a hospice chaplain and grief counselor. I interact with cancer in some way almost every day. Then one day, things got personal.

During a routine dental cleaning, our hygienist noticed a small abnormality in our 15 year-old son's palate. The dentist got involved, and then a periodontist. Less than a week later, we were in the oral surgeon's office having multiple biopsies.

Today, 5.7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s and related dementias. By 2050 the number is projected to grow to nearly 14 million. Bracing against the disease while standing alongside those diagnosed are family and friends wrapped in an intricate web of perplexing emotion.

Dementia plays out in stages. I think about the arc of my mother’s life as college sorority sister, to wife, mother and career, through my father’s passing, followed by her 18-year dementia journey and, ultimately, her death.