MCA Staff Writers

The Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance recently spoke to Dr. Richard McQuellon, the Director of the Psychosocial Oncology and Cancer Patient Support Programs at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, to hear his expert advice on how to be the most encouraging and empathetic caregiver. In part one of a two part piece, Dr. McQuellon explains why open communication and empathy can be some of a cancer patient's strongest medicine when it comes from their caregiver.

With the new year here, this month is filled with people making resolutions, some often too taxing to keep up throughout the year, but all with good intentions of bettering oneself. For a cancer patient, their life may feel too controlled by their diagnosis to make many changes or resolutions. There are many ways for cancer patients to make small, positive changes in their life that can help their health and outlook on their disease and life. The Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance spoke to a few members of the team at Cancer Treatment Centers of America who gave us 6 excellent ways for cancer patients to make 2013 a year of positive thoughts and actions!

Andra Brosh, Ph.D. is a licensed Clinical Psychologist in the Los Angeles area. She specializes in the human relationship, and helping individuals and couples with creating and sustaining fulfilling relationships in any context of life. Her focus is on pre-marital counseling, marriage, divorce and heartbreak. To learn more visit Dr. Brosh's website.

In the wake of a cancer diagnosis, feelings like fear, anger, and frustration are common. However, the patient is not the only one suddenly overwhelmed with these emotions. Cancer, it seems, is a disease diagnosed to everyone close to the patient, as well.

In difficult times, people tend to lean on their family and friends for support, care, and love. Receiving a cancer diagnosis is certainly a time when the support of loved ones is especially important. However, what if, instead of support, a patient received a narcissistic attitude from a loved one? Instead of care, a loved one retreated from the patient’s life? How should someone in a situation like this react to their loved one’s attention-seeking and negative attitudes and what explains the behavior?

Grief and coping are sometimes inevitable in life, especially when a loved one or a close friend loses the battle against cancer. Even experts aren’t 100 percent sure on how to properly cope with the loss of a loved one to cancer. They do, however, have their own takes on coping with death and moving forward-- keeping in mind there are no rules set in stone when coping with death.

With all the excitement surrounding this summer’s London 2012 Olympic games, MCA had the rare opportunity to interview America’s most decorated U.S. gymnast and ovarian cancer survivor, Shannon Miller, to ask her about the parallels between her battle for the Gold in '96 and the battle for her life a few years later.

Cancer disrupts the normalcy of a person’s life—simple tasks like renewing a driver's license, the safety of waking up healthy in the morning, or the routine of working 9-5 take on a new normal. Keeping employment becomes a top priority for people diagnosed with cancer. In addition to making new goals and reassessing what is and isn't important in life, finding and/or keeping steady employment is necessary for preventing other fallouts from occurring.

The medical costs of cancer, as we saw in the cases of Stacy Brooks and Molly MacDonald, can devastate a family. Ruined credit scores, outstanding bills, and foreclosed homes are only a few of the problems patients and their families can deal with when faced with the costs of surgery, treatment, medications, and other necessities.

The Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act today after a 5--4 split decision. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. delivered the decisive vote in favor of the law. The upholding of the "Obamacare" bill has implications for many groups around the nation, especially the cancer community.

We at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance are truly excited today to present St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital with a check for $21,841 as part of our summer-long 50k to Cancer Twitter campaign.