Dr. Lenz

I wanted to share with you an amazing story which began a few weeks ago.  A 28 year old woman with metastatic colon cancer with intra-abdominal spread came for a second opinion. She is well-educated and knows what she wants. She already had two opinions from the National Institutes of Health and the University of California at San Diego, and was open to hear what we would suggest.

I love patients who are informed (although it does not necessarily mean they have all the statistics and data correct). The discussion can move more quickly to create a plan, and there is no need to spend much time on the basics. But sometimes the problem with having a lot of information, especially from the internet and all the good friends you have, is prioritizing it. You have to decide what is the most important, what is validated, and what is a scam. Read the rest of this entry »

Dr. Lenz

The short answer is YES, but obviously this depends on many factors. We usually recommend that patients complete one or two cycles of chemotherapy to see if there are many side effects or not. If patients tolerate the first two cycles well, usually there is no accumulating side effect expected except for neurotoxicity with oxaliplatin down the road.

Personally I think going back to work is important, because it gives the patient some normality and forces him or her to think about something else than the cancer. However this may not apply for everyone, so discussions with your doctor and family are critical. It is important to plan how you will continue to work while you get cancer treatment. I see patients on Mondays and Thursdays, so patients who want to continue to work or may have to continue to work to keep their insurance, usually get treatments on Thursdays, giving them the weekend to recover. Patients who want to spend the weekend with the family choose Monday treatments, giving them time to recover for the weekend. Here are some tips which might help you to better manage your time and work: Read the rest of this entry »

It is unbelievable how many patients in my practice suffer from insomnia and are taking sleeping medications. I thought I’d share with you some alternatives which may help you to get a restful sleep.

Many sleeping medications make you sleep but don’t allow you to really rest. They take away your dream/REM pattern which is necessary to get the feeling of rest. Those who fall asleep easily and sleep through the night are the lucky ones. Read the rest of this entry »