We know that exercise is good for the body to prevent a whole host of health conditions. The American Cancer Society notes that it’s also helpful for people with cancer, both during and after treatment, both in improving physical health and emotional wellbeing.

They even suggest trying to get started (or maintaining activity) before treatment to get your body ready for what it’s about to endure.

Cancer experts Lisa Richardson, MD, MPH, director of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Zhen-Qiang (Marshall) Ma, MD, MPH, MS, division director of community epidemiology at the Pennsylvania Department of Health recently created a collection of articles for the journal Preventing Chronic Disease.

In an introduction to the collection, they note that cancer deaths have been on the decline, but incidence is rising and so are the costs for treatment. As a nation we are still burdened by cancer.

NCC offers a 4" x 9" rack card with a checklist of cancer screenings and other health checks patients can use to remember what they'd like to address with a provider during their visit. This item is great for placement in waiting rooms or clinical visit rooms, and is printed on matte paper that patients can write on.

Available bilingual English/Spanish. Posters are also available.

This month's pick for Thrive Book Club isn’t a specific book but speaks to the idea of reading about death and loss. Dark, we know.

In mid-April, the New York Times published an opinion from Margaret Renkl where she wrote about the books she fell into as a young reader. They were books about death, including one about Brian Piccolo’s death of cancer at age 26, John Gunther’s story of his teen son’s death from a brain tumor, and others.

Dr. Anu Thummala, medical oncologist with Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, discusses the long-term effects of chemotherapy for a multitude of different cancers. For each cancer, she goes over the best current practices and recommendations for their survivorship process. She then reviews how to coordinate care between rural providers and stay up to date with current recommendations for these patients. How to improve communication between health care providers and oncologists is then discussed. Her PowerPoint is then wrapped up by opening the panel up for questions.

Presented by Dr. Richard Baynosa, Chairman and Fellowship Director UNLV Department of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, the clinic examines the statistics of breast cancer survivors and shows the geographical barriers preventing the widespread utilization of reconstruction surgeries. Health policies have been put into place to improve these disparities but access and education are still lacking. Video shows that there are many options for breast reconstruction that will have a positive impact on survivors.

Dr. Joshua Goldman summarizes the first part of the series by going over the three main types of breast reconstruction surgeries. Patient satisfaction is then discussed for these surgeries. Lymphedema is then introduced by going over the basics and the stages of swelling that can occur. The panel then answers questions about reconstruction and Lymphedema, while Dr. Goldman goes over a post-op mastectomy of one of his patients.