- Cancer Care, Men's Health, Women's Health, UncategorizedGeneral Page Tier 3BlogExcerpts from the Living Well with Cancer podcast interview with Rebecca Gondak, speech language pathologist at Anne Arundel Medical Center. Rebecca discusses therapy to treat cognitive impairment, chemo brain, that results from cancer treatment and AAMC’s Cancer Rehab Program. Listen to the entire interview here. What kind of symptoms would you notice in someone with chemo brain? People who come in with chemo brain often report problems with attention and multitasking, their processing speed, their word retrieval, their planning and organizational skills and their memory. How do you treat chemo brain or chemo fog? We start by educating the patients on what impairments they’re having difficulty with, then we teach them to apply compensatory strategies to manage those difficulties. That can include pacing of cognitive activities, preventing or minimizing distractions, using short-term memory strategies and word-finding strategies. Secondly, we teach them exercises to improve weaknesses, and we gradually increase the complexity of those exercises to encourage functional reorganization of the brain. Read the transcript of the interview or listen to the recording. For more information on AAMC’s cancer care services, visit www.askAAMC.org/cancer.
- Cancer Care, Men's Health, Women's HealthGeneral Page Tier 3BlogExcerpts from Living Well with Cancer podcast interview with Joanne Ebner, Supervisor of Anne Arundel Medical Center’s DeCesaris Cancer Institute’s cancer prevention program. Listen to the entire interview here. Why would someone want to get screened for cancer? It’s best to first of all prevent cancer but the second best is early detection and early detection is important because the treatment options are greater and they’re more effective and quality of life is much better. The important thing is to screen people before they have any symptoms of the disease and in this case cancer. Who makes the recommendation to get a screening? There are a number of organizations that make cancer screening recommendations and they don’t always agree. That’s why it’s important to have the conversation with your doctor to determine which screenings are best for you. Read the transcript of the interview or listen to the recording.
- Cancer Care, UncategorizedGeneral Page Tier 3BlogExcerpts from Living Well with Cancer podcast interview with Stephen Cattaneo, MD, thoracic surgeon at Anne Arundel Medical Center. Dr. Cattaneo discusses screening for lung cancer and Anne Arundel Medical Center’s Lung Cancer Screening Program. Listen to the entire interview here. Who should be screened for lung cancer? Those at the highest risk of lung cancer are the ones that we recommend be screened. What that means practically is folks between 55 and 80 who either are currently smoking or have stopped in the last 15 years. They also should have smoked at least 30 pack-years of cigarettes over their lifetime What that means is a pack a day for 30 years, two packs a day for 15 years, something like that to get to a multiple of 30 pack years. Is it just a one-time thing to get screened for lung cancer? No, that’s a great question. Absolutely not. In fact the important thing is not to just get the first screen but to keep getting subsequent lung cancer screenings once a year until you reach the age of 80 or until it’s been 15 years since you’ve stopped smoking. The goal of screening is to find lung cancers early, at a time when they’re treatable and we’ve learned that more cancers aren’t found on that initial scan but they’re actually found on later scans which is why it’s important to continue to follow-up and to have scans every year. Read more about a three-year, $1.25 million grant from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation to help us expand our Rapid Access Chest and Lung Assessment Program.
- Men's Health, Women's Health, WellnessGeneral Page Tier 3BlogIt’s not unusual to see Stephanie Hammons and Renee Franklin walking the halls of Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) at lunchtime. In fact, it’s very common to see these teammates from the Communications Department walking together on one of AAMC’s walking paths, logging steps every day on their lunch break. Stephanie and Renee share not only the demands of their busy jobs routing communications through AAMC’s entire network, but also a partnership to sustain healthy lifestyles. In the last year they have lost a combined total of 165 pounds and each credits their friendship for helping them be successful. “We help each other,” said Renee. “We share meals, recipes and we walk together on our work breaks. Stephanie helps me stay on track because I don’t want to disappoint her.” Stephanie agrees: “When we have difficulties we text each other for additional support, especially if we encounter road blocks. It’s a lot easier to do things with a friend—including losing weight.” Both Stephanie and Renee found the motivation to lose weight and get healthy in serving as role models for their children. “I was tired of the weight loss roller coaster,” said Stephanie. “I could lose weight but I would gain it back. I wanted to get healthy once and for all for my kids and myself. Best decision I ever made.” Renee’s motivations were similar: “I have a four year old son and I found it hard to keep up with his active lifestyle. I knew I had to make a change.” They both have built physical fitness and healthy eating into their family routine, and made a commitment to sticking to those routines. According to Stephanie, “I plan our family dinners ahead of time and stick to a routine each day. It’s the only way it works for me. After dinner my kids and I go to the gym together. My 14-year-old son works out with me and my 8-year-old daughter goes to the gym day care. We go to the gym five to six days a week.” In addition to walking during her breaks at work, Renee spends time in the evening running around and playing with her son. “Taking care of myself is easier since I plan out when and what I will eat,” she said. Both women say the most important part of a successful weight loss journey is do it for the right reasons and commit to making a total lifestyle change. “I have changed my mindset,” said Renee. “I have totally given up soda, fried and fatty foods, breads and pasta and I watch my sugar intake.” Stephanie agrees: “You have to make a lifestyle change not a ‘diet’ mindset. You will need to work out and eat healthy on a regular basis for life. So, do it for yourself and no one else.” And of course, finding a friend to do it with always helps, too.Finding a fitness buddy increases your chance of success creating a healthier lifestyle. Plus, AAMC offers classes, nutritional counseling and other resources through our Energize program.
- Behavioral Health, Women's Health, Uncategorized, Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogOne Friday, after a long day at work at Anne Arundel Medical Center, Christina Delfendahl decided she was done with cigarettes. She was literally tired of smoking after 16 years of the habit. A quick stop after work at the local pharmacy to pick up nicotine patches, and she was on her way to a new beginning. Christina was certain it would work this time. She tried to quit the year before, first cold turkey, then by using a prescription, then a few months later using specialized gum. She also attended free employee smoking cessation counseling at AAMC. The counseling provided support and resources, and the counselors developed a personal plan to help Christina cope with the ups and downs of quitting. Before she wasn’t quite ready to kick the habit, but now this pack-a-day smoker really wanted to do it. “I knew it would work this time because I was ready. I really wanted it. I knew it would be a few weeks with the patches and that made it easier to know there was an end not far away. It ended up taking four months with the patches before I was smoke-free,” says Christina. Christina adds that having a support system made a difference. “My co-workers had been encouraging me to stop smoking for long time and once I decided to do it, they were there to help me stick with it,” she says. It’s been almost one year since Christina quit and she feels great. Christina is doing CrossFit classes and enjoys having more energy, a better sense of smell and an overall healthy living lifestyle. As an added bonus, Christina set aside the money she would have spent on cigarettes, saving enough to buy a new bedroom set. Ready to quit? Learn more about smoking cessation programs at Anne Arundel Medical Center. Courses and individual counseling are free if you live, work or attend school in Anne Arundel County. If you live elsewhere in the region, our staff may be able to navigate you to free resources in your area so please call 443-481-5366. If you’re an employee, we have specific resources for you, too.
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