An insider's view of brain tumors
Thank you for "Caring for an Adult with a Malignant Primary Brain Tumor" (June 2011). In 2004, my husband, then 35, experienced a grand mal seizure and was diagnosed with an anaplastic oligodendroglioma. Needless to say, our lives were forever changed.
That was over 7 years ago, and my husband is still with us. I'm not only his wife but his primary caregiver.
Learn as much as you can about patients' families and their social support networks. Living with a brain tumor is like living on a roller coaster, with many ups and downs and plateaus, but no opportunity to get off. Educate families and caregivers about how to find information and support that's accurate, relevant, and best practice, especially online.
Dealing with a malignant primary brain tumor diagnosis is challenging, not only for patients living with it, but also for families, caregivers, and healthcare teams. We're called to do as much as we can to make a difference in that one life for as long as that person is in our care.
-CORISSA D. DYCK, BN, RN
Morden, Manitoba
Exercising options
Kudos to Yvonne D'Arcy for "New Thinking About Fibromyalgia Pain" (Controlling Pain, February 2011)!!* As an RN and exercise physiologist, I'm excited to see disease management strategies that advocate more than remedies delivered in a prescription bottle. Exercise is an empowering aspect of the treatment plan for fibromyalgia that provides multiple physical as well as psychological benefits. Exercise, stress management, relaxation, and biofeedback techniques are pieces of the health puzzle that are too frequently overlooked by practitioners.
In a study of 398 NPs, about half of the NPs provided counseling about exercise for more than half of their patients. Most NPs participating in the survey "agreed that exercise counseling is as valuable an intervention as prescribed medication." Tompkins et al. conclude that exercise is a necessary part of preventive healthcare. They also found that, according to studies, "healthcare provider recommendations can be effective in helping patients increase their exercise and activity."1
-KRISTEN CLEARY-CAMPBELL, BS, RN
Sharon, Mass.