September 2008 Lately@MSKCC

Read the new issue of Bridges, Memorial Sloan-Kettering's newsletter for survivors written by survivors. The newsletter offers a forum where patients and their families can share stories of inspiration and hope, as well as the challenges that accompany the cancer survivor's journey. Survivors are invited to submit their story ideas. This issue features a story about a survivor who trained for a triathlon, a section on rehabilitation services, helpful tips about picking a doctor, and one man's reflections on treatment-related erectile dysfunction.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a malignancy that arises in white blood cells known as lymphocytes, which battle infectious agents throughout the body. In this section of our Web site, you can find up-to-date information about this form of leukemia and learn about Memorial Sloan-Kettering's expertise in caring for patients with this disease.

Squamous cell carcinomas arise from the upper levels of the epidermis, usually on places that have been exposed to the sun. This recently updated section of our Web site includes information about the prevention and early detection of squamous cell carcinoma, along with descriptions of its symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common cancer in humans worldwide and is most often found on the face, neck, hands, or other parts of the body that have been exposed to the sun. These newly revised pages include information about the prevention, detection, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of basal cell carcinoma.

Every person touched by cancer has a story. During the 2008 Annual Cancer Survivorship Celebration, two survivors expressed in their own words what survivorship means to them. Watch their videos.

Certain cancer treatments, such as surgery and radiation therapy, may affect a patient's ability to swallow, speak, or hear. For adult and pediatric patients coping with such issues, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's Speech, Hearing, and Rehabilitation Program provides a variety of services to help restore function and enhance quality of life.

At the ceremony for the 2008 Samuel and May Rudin Awards for Excellence in Nursing, five Memorial Sloan-Kettering nurses and a patient care technician were recognized for exemplary service in patient care in various categories.

Therapy dogs -- dogs trained to provide comfort to hospital patients and individuals in other care facilities -- and their handlers have been visiting patients in Memorial Hospital who have breast or gynecologic cancer as part of a program piloted by the Division of Social Work and the Department of Volunteer Resources. Based on the popularity of the pilot program, Caring Canines is expanding to include patients with gastrointestinal cancers and cancers of the pancreas, liver, and related organs.

On Tuesday, October 21, physicians from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center will discuss an overview of brain and spinal cord cancers (including risk factors, diagnosis, screening, etc.), treatment options, support and follow-up care during and after treatment, and more.

Watch a Web cast in which Memorial Sloan-Kettering experts Drs. Gary Deng and Kathleen Wesa present "An Update on Complementary Therapies, Herbs, and Other Botanicals in Cancer Care." This Web cast is also available in iTunes and can be found in the iTunes Store by searching CancerSmart.