Cancer Patients

A stranger approached a cluster of women laughing and chatting at an Annapolis coffee shop and politely inquired what type of group was having so much fun. "One that you don't want to join," answered 55-year-old Sally Ring, setting off another wave of giggles. Moments earlier, Ring had told the group her cancer had spread to her bones and she'd had another stint on a ventilator. Her colorful storytelling had the women doubled over. "My motto for through this whole thing is that somebody has it much worse," Ring said.

What does it require to get members of Congress to take action quickly and decisively on an issue of federal spending? Now we know. The possibility that they will be delayed in an airport terminal somewhere waiting for a flight out of town is apparently so abhorrent that the usual gridlock and party politics just don't apply. That's the take-away from last week's lightning-fast, lopsided bipartisan votes that transferred more than a quarter-billion dollars to the Federal Aviation Administration budget so that the agency would no longer have to furlough air traffic controllers.

Listings are accepted on a space-available basis. Deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday prior to date of publication at the latest. To submit volunteer items, mail to Volunteers, Patuxent Publishing Co. Editorial, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21278; email hccalendar@patuxent.com ; fax 410-332-6336; or call 410-332-6497. Historic Ellicott City - Seeking volunteers for the 27th annual Decorator Show House for the following positions: hostesses, preview party assistants, office help, parking assistants and individuals with computer skills.

A teen cancer patient at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center is set to be serenaded later today by Disney star Savannah Outen. According to the hospital, Outen is to fly in Monday and sing to cancer patient Bo Oliver, who's 16. She'll be singing a song she wrote in Bo's honor. The treat for Bo is the work of Music is Medicine's Donate a Song program.  Any profits from the tune called "Brave and True" will go to Johns Hopkins pediatric oncology research. Like Justin Bieber, Outen launched her career on YouTube.

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network applauds the work of the Maryland General Assembly in passing the Kathleen Mathias Oral Chemotherapy Act of 2012. The provisions of the bill went into effect Oct. 1, resulting in increased quality of life for many cancer patients. In addition to bringing the cost of oral chemotherapy into line with that of intravenous chemotherapy, patients who opt for oral chemotherapy will be able to save the time and travel costs associated with trips to a treatment center, which can go on for months for intravenous chemotherapy.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine has begun construction of a $200 million proton center that will bring the latest in cancer treatment to the region and double investment in the University of Maryland's growing BioPark in West Baltimore. University officials will join state and local officials, including Gov. Martin O'Malley, for an official groundbreaking Tuesday at the site of the 110,000-square-foot facility, which is expected to treat 2,000 cancer patients a year.

Just before the new year, a popular Inner Harbor restaurant spread holiday cheer by serving dinner to cancer patients and their families. Sullivan's Steakhouse took over the dining room for one evening at the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge, an inn that offers free accommodations to patients undergoing treatment at nearby hospitals. The restaurant staff arrived at the lodge Dec. 29 and played host, offering guests their best dishes, their chef and their wait staff. The chef prepared several entrees, and the wait staff served about 50 diners in a festively decorated room at the lodge on West Lexington Street.

Our lawmakers in Annapolis have an opportunity to eliminate a significant disparity in access to chemotherapy for the thousands of Marylanders treated for cancer each year. The access issue is one of cost and the difference in how much insurance companies require patients to pay for intravenous chemotherapy vs. oral chemotherapy. Simply put, when cancer patients are treated with intravenous chemotherapy drugs - which for years were virtually the only treatment option - their share of the costs under most insurance plans is limited to office visit co-pays, usually about $20 or $30 per session.

On land Viki Anders has some trouble getting around. She walks with aid of crutches, the result of foot injury and a subsequent condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. But in the water she swims like a dolphin. Early Sunday a few days shy of her 60th birthday, Anders eased herself into the pool at the McDonogh School and swam the butterfly for 1,500 meters, almost a mile. She did it to raise money for the Johns Hopkins Patient and Family Fund. It assists needy cancer patients and their families with expenses not covered by insurance during their treatment.

Acupuncture, the traditional Chinese medicine that uses needles for treatment, is increasingly being used with cancer patients. Dr. Ting Bao, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and faculty at Maryland's Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center and Center for Integrative Medicine, regularly used acupuncture to alleviate pain and treat side effects. Question : How common is it for cancer patients to seek relief using acupuncture? Answer : It is difficult for me to come up with a percentage because there have not been many studies performed to answer this question yet. What I can say is that based on my experience at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, more and more cancer patients are interested in integrating acupuncture into their cancer treatment.

U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings will host a public cancer awareness forum Tuesday at the East Baltimore Medical Center to provide information and resources to patients, supporters and survivors. The 10:30 a.m. forum, "From Survive to Thrive: Equipping Cancer Patients to Live Their Best Lives," will feature experts including Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Secretary Joshua Sharfstein and Dr. Michelle Gourdine, author and former deputy secretary for Public Health Services at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

After undergoing treatment for breast cancer , Lillie Shockney, the administrative director of the Johns Hopkins Breast Center, had nipple reconstruction - twice. Despite the many shades of patients' skin tone, "The color choices for doing it in the hospital setting were beige, dark brown and the most common color, called 'salmon,' " Shockney said. She chose salmon and the result, she said, "looked like two pancakes. " Then she saw the work of Vinnie Myers on one of her own patients and went to him. When the procedure was finished, she looked in the mirror and burst into tears.

As a caregiver, Richard DeCaro knows that a little kindness goes a long way. And now he has a local nonprofit organization to thank for making his life a little easier. The Dorsey's Search resident began taking care of his wife, Ellen, in 2008 after she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer at age 50. She had been teaching consumer science at Dunloggin Middle School in Ellicott City, the happy result of a late-in-life career switch, when she awoke from a nap one day and didn't know who she was, he says.

Editor: I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the volunteers and attendees of the CCA Breakfast with Santa and Mrs. Claus, held on Thanksgiving weekend at Applebee's in Bel Air. There was so much excitement for the children, knowing they were going to see Santa and to tell him their Christmas wishes. A very special thanks goes to Kevin and Kristien Foss and to Miss Maryland Collegiate, Brittanay Nicollette, who came as an elf, to the delight of the children. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the expertise of the staff at Applebee's, who worked so hard to ensure that everything ran smoothly for our charity event.

The International Cycling Union's announcement today that it was stripping superstar athlete Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles over charges of illegal doping effectively ended one of the most celebrated sports careers in recent memory. Mr. Armstrong's name is to be removed from the Tour's official record books, and he is banned for life from future competitions. It's likely the International Olympic Committee will move soon to strip him of his 2000 Olympic bronze medal as well, and corporate sponsors may demand he return millions of dollars in now-tainted winnings.

A stranger approached a cluster of women laughing and chatting at an Annapolis coffee shop and politely inquired what type of group was having so much fun. "One that you don't want to join," answered 55-year-old Sally Ring, setting off another wave of giggles. Moments earlier, Ring had told the group her cancer had spread to her bones and she'd had another stint on a ventilator. Her colorful storytelling had the women doubled over. "My motto for through this whole thing is that somebody has it much worse," Ring said.

It can be one of the nasty surprises for breast cancer patients. After the lump, the biopsy, the surgery, the radiation and the chemo, the wig and the mastectomy bathing suit — as if these things were not enough — suddenly one arm, or both, swells monstrously, painfully. It is lymphedema. And nobody warned you about it. "I never expected it. I never even heard of it," said Tia Neale, a breast cancer patient who lives in Owings Mills. She is resting on an examining table at Mercy Medical Center's Weinberg Center while therapist Maureen McBeth gently massages her chest, stomach, arm and hand, doing manually what Neale's lymphatic system isn't doing on its own anymore — urging the fluid the body makes ceaselessly into the circulatory system and out of the body.

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network applauds the work of the Maryland General Assembly in passing the Kathleen Mathias Oral Chemotherapy Act of 2012. The provisions of the bill went into effect Oct. 1, resulting in increased quality of life for many cancer patients. In addition to bringing the cost of oral chemotherapy into line with that of intravenous chemotherapy, patients who opt for oral chemotherapy will be able to save the time and travel costs associated with trips to a treatment center, which can go on for months for intravenous chemotherapy.

The day the United States Anti-Doping Agency announced it was stripping Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France victories and imposing a lifetime competition ban on him was a dramatic one in the world of sports and an even more dramatic one for cancer patients and survivors ("Armstrong backs off fight," Aug. 24). It may be impossible to know whether Mr. Armstrong is innocent or guilty. But the whole "erasure" process seems to be happening a little too quickly. Where have Mr. Armstrong's teammates on the U.S. Postal and Discovery Team who have agreed to testify against him been for the past eight years?