Local Resources
Here are some Waco area cancer resources:
- American Cancer Society
Waco Office
1700 Lake Success
Waco, TX 76710
Phone: 254-753-0806 - Community Cancer Association
Assists cancer patients who live in McLennan County with prescription costs, medical supplies, and travel related to a patient's cancer.
P.O. Box 5002
Waco, TX 76708
Phone: 254-202-8082 - Fentress Cancer Center
3000 Herring Avenue
P.O. box 5100
Waco, TX 76708-0100
Phone: 254-202-875 - Texas Oncology Cancer Care and Research Center
1700 West Highway 6
Waco, TX 76712
Phone: 254-399-0741
Information Resources
There are a lot of sites about Cancer on the web, many are of questionable accuracy. Here are a few with solid, reliable information. These are government, university, and medical society sponsored sites.
Books
Here is a small selection of books on Cancer. Links are to the book on Amazon.com (as are the pictures and book descriptions, which are used with permission), but don't forget that your your public library may have a copy.
Coping With Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy
New advances in treatment offer cancer patients more options than ever before. Coping with Chemotherapy and Radiation is an accessible, accurate guide to the latest developments in radiation therapy and chemotherapy. You will find important information on how chemotherapy and radiation treatments work; what to expect from treatments, how to alleviate common side effects, and more.
The Activist Cancer Patient: How to Take Charge of Your Treatment
Cancer survivor Beverly Zakarian knows firsthand that you can improve your odds of surviving cancer if you take an active role in your treatment. Now, you too can discover the benefits of taking charge. After all, you and your disease are unique, and so is your path to good health. Even the most caring of doctors needs your help to determine which treatment is best for you. With this inspiring, practical book, Beverly Zakarian gives you step-by-step guidelines that will empower you to work with your doctor and within the medical system to find the most effective treatment options.
Chemotherapy and Radiation For Dummies
Each year, more than 1 million people get treated for cancer, and most of these will undergo chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or both. This reassuring, optimistic guide helps people get a handle on treatment options and explains in plain English how chemotherapy and radiation therapy really work. It offers detailed advice on how to alleviate and cope with side effects-which range from hair loss to nausea to anemia-and describes how good nutrition, meditation, support groups, and other techniques and resources can help in the recovery process.
The Cancer Patient's Workbook: Everything You Need to Stay Organized and Informed
Balancing the serious work of survival with an upbeat tone, The Cancer Patient's Workbook maintains a positive outlook while avoiding pointless platitudes. As a survivor of Stage 4 lung cancer, author Joanie Willis is all too familiar with both the spiritual trials and the daily frustrations that cancer can bring. Her book is fundamentally pragmatic, but incorporates alternative healing, humor, and personal reflections. Divided into seven sections, the format is thoughtfully laid out with information broken down into easily digestible boxes.
Cancer: 50 Essential Things to Do
Informative and inspiring, Cancer: 50 Essential Things to Do goes hand-in-hand with the patient's medical treatment and is an invaluable roadmap to recovery. Filled with practical, healing "action steps" that have been used by thousands of cancer survivors, the revised edition also contains important new information--including recently approved medical treatment options, updated cancer research, and Internet resources--geared toward making sense of the fast-changing world of cancer treatment and recovery.
Diagnosis Cancer: Your Guide Through the First Few Months
Diagnosis: Cancer has established itself as the book every newly diagnosed cancer patient needs to have. In a question-and-answer format, Wendy Harpham--a doctor and cancer survivor--imparts all the learning she has gained, both medically and emotionally, to get a patient through the first few confusing and often scary months in the way that is best for them personally. In this revised and updated edition, Harpham discusses all the new developments in diagnosis and treatment, particularly new medications and formerly experimental methods that are now being used. Because of the growing number of people in managed care, she addresses how to work through the system to get full medical care, including when not to accept the limitations of one's health-care plan.
Dancing in Limbo: Making Sense of Life After Cancer
Dancing in Limbo is the intimate and inspiring account of authors Glenna Halvorson-Boyd and Lisa K. Hunter's real-life experiences of surviving cancer. They are straightforward about what life is like after the whirlwind of doctors' visits and radical treatments comes to an end. In the aftermath of this intensely focused period, survivors are often unprepared for their feelings of confusion and disorientation. Questions such as "If I am one of the lucky ones, why am I feeling so blue?" are surprisingly common. As this thoughtful book reveals, for those who survive cancer, life is never the same again.
Dancing in Limbo weaves the authors' stories with those of other survivors who tackle the difficult question of what it means to really live. To recreate lives of meaning and purpose, survivors face a myriad of emotional issues. The book shows how survivors deal with loss, fear, anger, hope, and grief.
Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul: 101 Healing Stories About Those Who Have Survived Cancer
More than 100 cancer survivors share their personal stories in this touching new collection of Chicken Soup. These heartwarming accounts of courageous people who found the power to battle cancer in their endless hope, unwavering faith and steadfast determination will inspire you to adopt a positive attitude, discover your faith and cherish every moment. Just what the doctor ordered for healing your body, mind and soul.
The Last Lecture
A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy? When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living. In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.
Questions and Answers on Death and Dying
On Death and Dying is one of the most important books ever written on the subject and is still considered the bench-mark in the care of the dying. It became an immediate bestseller, and Life magazine called it "a profound lesson for the living." This companion volume consists of the questions that are most frequently asked of Dr. Kübler-Ross and her compassionate answers. She discusses accepting the end of life, suicide, terminal illness, euthanasia, how to tell a patient he or she is critically ill, and how to deal with all the special difficulties surrounding death. Questions and Answers on Death and Dying is a vital resource for doctors, nurses, members of the clergy, social workers, and lay people dealing with death and dying.
One Bite at a Time: Nourishing Recipes for Cancer Survivors and Their Friends
For those whose appetites have been turned off by illness, Rebecca's ONE BITE AT A TIME is an instant turn-on to good, nourishing food. In this comprehensive cookbook, Rebecca shares delicious, immune-boosting recipes for people living with cancer, their caregivers, and the ever-growing number of cancer survivors. ONE BITE AT A TIME features more than 85 simple-to-prepare, sumptuous recipes. From little nibbles to satisfying entrees Rebecca's flexible approach is designed for both the individual and the entire family to enjoy. To accompany the recipes, Rebecca offers down-to-earth information and helpful advice for those dealing with the culinary ups and downs often experienced during treatment. Learn what friends and family can do to best pitch in; discover easy substitutes for "forbidden" foods; look up "nutrition-at-a-glance" information for each recipe; and see how to wake up taste buds in any dish by using just a few basic staples from the pantry.
Eating Well Through Cancer: Easy Recipes & Recommendations During & After Treatment
Diet and nutrition are at the top of the list for anyone with a newly diagnosed malignancy. Patients have problems with a loss of appetite and altered taste either before or during treatment. Dr. Gerald Miletello, a practicing medical oncologist, collaborated with cookbook author, Holly Clegg to create Eating Well Through Cancer, a collection of 200 easy recipes to help cancer patients tolerate treatment. As nutritional evaluation and recommendations are daily concerns, practicing oncologist, patients, and families can benefit from this publication. In Eating Well Through Cancer, the personal experience of its authors combine to produce a cookbook that serves as a guide for nutrition before, during and after cancer treatment. Besides the recipes themselves, the book features diabetic exchanges, menu planning, high calorie variations, Doctor's Notes and a section that cross-references recipes and side effects.
The Dysphagia Cookbook: Great Tasting and Nutritious Recipes for People With Swallowing Difficulties
The Dysphagia Cookbook is a specialty cookbook filled with nutritious, great-tasting recipes for those whose eating options are limited by chewing and swallowing difficulties. All of the recipes focus on enhancing flavor, presentation, texture, aroma, and color, for there are many other products that supply nutritious calories or liquids but give little attention to these quality-of-life concerns.
Cancer in Our Family
Tools to help your family cope with cancer. A diagnosis of cancer changes a family forever. Ordinary responsibilities become more demanding, and you sometimes need assistance balancing the specific needs of your children. Cancer in the Family outlines steps necessary to help your children understand what happens when a parent has been diagnosed with cancer. You can learn how to strengthen ties and express concern for each other, even when a parent is sick.
The Fearless Caregiver: How to Get the Best Care for Your Loved One and Still Have a Life of Your Own
While they are giving care, the nation's 25 million family caregivers rarely get a rest. Gone are the days when you could rely on others to do the work of caring for a loved one in your family. America's healthcare system throws many of the vital decisions, costs and burdens back on the family. This book clearly defines your vital role in developing your loved one's care plan. It teaches you to deal successfully with managed care organizations, home health services, and especially your loved one; and arms you with the knowledge and skills you need for deciding if your loved one's care is appropriate, if your doctor is the right one, if something more is needed. From wills and powers-of-attorney, to practical tips for dealing with disabilities, to long term care options, to battling stress and depression -- the "shared wisdom" in this book comes not only from the experienced editors of Today's Caregiver Magazine, but also from the inspiring personal stories of readers of the magazine who have learned to "stand up to the system when the system no longer stands up for your loved one."