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Nurses and child life specialists visit classrooms to share stories and calm fears

Tears came to my eyes as I thought of the brokenness of the many I visit with as a chaplain — as well as my own. The following are hard, yet strangely compelling words, thoughts, realities and invitations from Ann Voskamp in her book, “The Broken Way: A Daring Path into the Abundant Life.” These […]

This recipe feels like “comfort food" during cancer treatment side effects

Eating healthy to prevent cancer can be easy with some basic ingredients and just a little planning. It’s your overall diet that really makes a difference including how food is prepared: Tomatoes are a great source of lycopene, but to get the most benefit, cook the tomatoes for a few minutes and then add some […]

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Sanford Health recently launched a clinical trial using a genetically engineered virus that aims to destroy therapy-resistant tumors. The Phase I immunotherapy trial is for those ages 18 and older with metastatic solid tumors that have not responded to standard treatments. The treatment injects an oncolytic (cancer-destroying) virus — vesicular stomatitis […]

Eat your vegetables! Do you remember hearing that as a child? Yes, your mother was right. No single food or food component can protect you against cancer itself, but there is strong evidence that a diet filled with a variety of plant foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans helps lower risk for […]

Tips for patients being treated for head and neck cancers

Oncologists make decisions regarding the best treatment for your cancer based on scientific evidence. Still, you may wonder how these determinations about which drugs are best to treat your individual cancer were made. Does the oncologist go back to a drug used previously? One with a catchy name? What is the rationale for the decisions […]

The American Cancer Society recommends moving toward a plant based diet and I have discovered a new favorite food that fits right in. It’s called “Polenta.” Polenta dates back to the 1700’s when it was made popular in Italy. It was considered a peasant food because it was plentiful and cheap. Polenta is corn meal […]

Arts naturally lend themselves to the word “community” and phrase “community development.” What does that mean? To me, it means the arts bring us together. Whether it’s because we can all look at a visual art piece and take some personal meaning away from it; we can all listen to a piece of music and feel […]