I can't tell you how often I hear the same story from friends, colleagues, or from readers here at Caring.com. It always follows the same outline: The oncologist, working as diligently as possible to come up with an effective treatment plan, tells a cancer patient and her family that a particular treatment is the best option. But the treatment is expensive, and the insurance company refuses to cover it.

Sometimes the reason given is that it's not the "standard of care," meaning someone at the company has looked at a list of treatment protocols and doesn't see this one listed. Sometimes the treatment is deemed "experimental," although doctors have plenty of evidence that it works. Sometimes the reasons behind the decision are even murkier, such as in this great "rant" (his term, not mine) by oncologist and blogger Doctor David, who describes a case in which the insurance company's wording was that "there was no evidence" the treatment he'd selected was "useful in this disease...  Read more

Image by WTL photos used under the creative commons attribution no derivs license.

With the President of the United States having proclaimed this month American Heart Month, it seems like a good time to focus on what we can do to keep ourselves and our older family members heart-healthy.

1. Watch for unusual symptoms.

Most men first realize they have heart problems when they experience pain or become short of breath. But for women, symptoms can be quite different, which is why heart disease is so often missed in women. A study of female heart attack survivors found that most remembered experiencing sleeplessness and unusual fatigue within the month before their heart attacks. And while it's not considered a classic risk factor, stress is now known to play a role in the onset of heart disease.

2. Schedule a physical and discuss any symptoms with your doctor.

Make sure you tell the doctor if your family has any history of heart disease, high blood pressure, heart attack, or stroke...  Read more

Image by kaibara87 used under the creative commons attribution license.

A couple of weeks ago I started the new year off with a post about anti-cancer new year's resolutions. I outlined 5 steps we can take this year to protect ourselves from cancer. A caring.com user commented to say that while my tips were valuable, I'd neglected to talk about reducing stress.

And I have to agree: Stress-reduction is an important effort we all need to embark on if we want to stay healthy. This year, researchers have unveiled studies showing that stress not only contributes to cancer and other illnesses but can also cause relapses and recurrences, as well.

So okay, great, stress is bad. But what can we do? Between work stress, money stress, and the stress of caring for our aging family members (not to mention children), we're pulled in a zillion directions already. How in the world are we going to reduce our stress? I get stressed just thinking about it!

So I asked some experts for easy, quick stress-reducers; things we can do for just a few minutes each day to bring some relaxation into our lives...  Read more

At Caring.com, we constantly hear stories of frustration and pain as our users try to help their aging parents, spouses, and other family members continue to live in health and safety. We also get many requests for information and assistance from users whose family members can't make ends meet.

One of the hardest issues to manage for older family members and caregivers is understanding and negotiating the maze of legal and financial issues around Medicare, Social Security, and other financial benefit systems.

Last week, we ran a news story that recounted how elderly people with diabetes can't pay for medications due to changes in the Medicare Part D drug benefit program. The article generated many comments from upset Caring.com members; they say seniors who take medication to control diabetes are falling through what's known as the "doughnut hole" in coverage. Without the aid, families are unable to pay for the drugs they need...  Read more

Researchers unveiled a new blood test this week that they say can detect colon cancer cells early and identify precancerous cells, as well. It's much simpler -- and more comfortable -- than a colonoscopy and will likely be inexpensive, as well. What's the rub? We're not there yet; it still needs more testing.

But the research was big news among colon cancer experts at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium this week. Those of us concerned about colorectal cancer risk need to pay close attention to the future availability of this test and others like it.

Why? Right now the problem with colorectal cancers is that they're silent killers; people usually don't know they have a tumor until they have blood in their stool, at which time they tell their doctor and a colonoscopy is performed. Blood that's present in the stool but isn't visible can be detected with a fecal occult blood test (FOBT)...  Read more

Image by hweiling used under the creative commons attribution license.

If you ever needed proof that caring for an aging or ill family member can be bad for your health if you don't pay enough attention to YOU, here it is. Researchers at the University of South Florida studied close to 800 people caring for a sick spouse and found that those who reported caregiving as "stressful" were 23 percent more likely to also rate at high risk for stroke based on traditional risk factors.

The connection between stress and stroke was particularly strong for husbands caring for ailing wives, said psychologist William Haley, who led the research team and published the study in the journal Stroke.

The researchers measured each participant's stroke risk using the Framingham Stroke Risk Score, which assesses a series of risk factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, and age, and then delivers an overall stroke risk...  Read more

Image by ☯ AnA oMeLeTe ☯ used under the creative commons attribution share alike license.

Does someone in your life have trouble breathing as a result of chronic sinusitis?

You'd be surprised how common this is. Experts say between 16 and 18 percent of adults have chronic sinusitis -- now officially known as rhinosinusitis -- that makes them unable to breathe through their noses. The condition, which leads to repeated sinus infections, causes frequent coughing, sneezing, and headaches, and can lead to weakness and fatigue. Some head and neck experts say that chronic sinusitis can actually cause people to suffer more long-term problems than COPD.

Researchers at Oregon Health Sciences University have been shining a light on this little-discussed problem lately with a series of studies showing that simple surgery greatly increases the quality of life for those who undergo it.

The most recent study, published in this month's issue of Otolaryngology, found that 75 percent of those who had endoscopic sinus surgery reported that their quality of life afterward greatly improved...  Read more

Image by aloshbennett used under the creative commons attribution license.

If someone we love smokes, we want them to quit. But we may not feel there's anything we can do about it. If we smoke, we probably know we need to quit, but may not feel we have the willpower to do it right now. (Though chances are, quitting's one of our New Year's resolutions.)

According to statistics kept by the Centers for Disease Control, about 23 percent of U.S. adults -- or almost one in four -- still smoke cigarettes despite years of public health warnings not to smoke.

From the caregiver's perspective, what really matters to us is that our loved ones live as long as possible, in as good a state of health as possible. In that spirit, here are a few things to think about when it comes to smoking and cancer.

1. Smoking increases the risk of all types of cancer, not just lung and throat cancer. It's a common misperception that if the lungs and throat seem to be tumor-free, then everything's hunky dory...  Read more

Image by _heather_r_ used under the creative commons attribution no derivs license.

For many of us who are in the thick of caring for aging parents, spouses, or other family members, it's enough just to get through the week. Looking ahead and making future plans can be daunting. We just don't know what the picture will look like a month from now, let alone a year from now, or three years from now.

A recent post in the New York Times' New Old Age blog tackled the difficult subject of how hard it is for older folks and their families to look forward to the decline and frailty that almost inevitablys come with aging - unless sudden death intervenes.

Writer Paula Span pointed out that while many older people can talk about their wills or their funerals, they jump over the intervening years and the difficult subject of how the family should deal with their needs as their health and strength decline. Yet this is an important reality for us to try to face; most people are not, in fact, going to die suddenly of cancer or heart disease but will spend a number of years in an increasingly frail state of health as they move toward the end of their lives...  Read more

Image by katerha used under the creative commons attribution license.

We're just a few days into the new year, and everyone's rushing to make resolutions. But instead of promising to get organized or become bikini-beautiful, let's focus on what really matters: getting and staying healthy. Here, in no particular order of importance, are five resolutions to protect yourself from cancer in 2010.

1. Avoid too much sun exposure. By this, I really do mean too much -- it's actually a good thing to get your 15 minutes' worth of rays to build up vitamin D. But if you're going to be out longer than 15 minutes, be sure to lather up the sunscreen, put on a hat, and cover up with long sleeves. Melanoma is much more serious than many people realize; it's actually the fastest growing type of cancer in the U.S. right now. If you saw a movie over the holidays, you may have had your awareness about melanoma raised; rock singer Bruce Springsteen recently released a public service announcement about the dangers of melanoma after beloved E Street Band member Danny Federici died of the deadly cancer in 2008 at the relatively young age of 58...  Read more

This holiday season, I'm hearing the same story from friend after friend who's been visiting aging parents. Sometimes it's mom, sometimes it's dad, sometimes it's a retired spouse, but the general outline is always the same: Health problems, dementia, hearing loss, the loss of a spouse -- for various reasons an older family member has become depressed and is becoming more and more isolated. Their friendships and interests are fewer and fewer, their time hanging more and more heavily on their hands. Suddenly it's all up to the adult child or spouse who's providing care: Include mom or dad or hubby in your social plans or they'll sit home alone.

"I can't leave the house without my mom getting really upset, asking where I'm going and when I'll be back," says Karen, who's mother moved in with her a few years ago. "I end up feeling so guilty it doesn't seem worth it, so I don't see my friends...  Read more

Image by half alive♦ used under the creative commons attribution no derivs license.

Cancer patients who have dementia die much sooner from their disease than those who have cancer without dementia, researchers from Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, announced this week. After controlling for other factors like age, tumor type, and tumor stage, the research team, led by assistant professor Claire Robb, compared cancer patients with no dementia, mild dementia, and moderate to severe dementia.

The difference was quite dramatic: Cancer patients without dementia lived an average of four and a half years; those with moderate to severe dementia died after an average of eight months. The study was published in the early online edition of the journal Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology.

The results are important to talk about, Robb said: “As the population ages and as treatments improve, we’re going to see more patients with both dementia and cancer...  Read more

Image by mysza831 used under the creative commons attribution license.

When you're caring for someone, or several someones, it can easily feel like you're stuck on a one-way street. I can't tell you how many holiday seasons I've spent running around trying to make everyone happy, and feeling a little hollow at the core. A little voice echoes in my head, saying, "I sure wish someone cared whether I have a good holiday too...."

And let's be honest, that feeling that no one's looking out for you can give the holidays an undercurrent of sadness and resentment, even as you try your darndest to make everything merry and bright.

What you need, of course, is a little acknowledgement. Someone to notice your hard work and reward it with attention, affection, maybe a pampering gift or two. The problem is, trying to get others to reciprocate your caring is likely to lead to disappointment as well. Demanding acknowledgement tends to sap the moment of any satisfaction...  Read more

Image by digital_image_fan used under the creative commons attribution license.

When you're caring for an older adult, falls are a constant fear. And we also know from hard experience that falling is an enormous risk for older adults. A fall -- especially if it results in a fracture -- can put in motion a chain of events and health issues that compromises an older person's ability to live independently and can even result in disability or death.

So here from the experts at Caring.com are some of the best ways to prevent winter falls:

1. Choose footwear carefully. Because snow, ice, and rain-slicked pavement are slippery, traction is what you need. For traction, you need tread -- a surface with bumps and hollows. Think about basketball shoes, with plenty of tread to grip polished gym floors, or hiking boots with lugged soles for mud. Many "comfort" shoes, popular with seniors, have rubber soles but they're smooth - you need something with grooves where the water and ice can go...  Read more

Image by ogimogi used under the creative commons attribution license.

Breast cancer that's HER2-positive can be particularly aggressive, and HER2-positive breast cancer tends to strike women at younger ages and be diagnosed at later stages, making for some sad stories. This is the type of cancer I've been helping a close friend go through treatment for, so I know just how scary the diagnosis can be.

Happily, the targeted therapy Herceptin has made treatment for the approximately 30 percent of patients whose cancer is HER2-positive much more effective than in years past. But there are women for whom Herceptin -- along with a whole host of other treatment regimens -- either doesn't work or stops working. These tend to be tough cases, and patients run out of options.

But this week there was big news for HER2-positive women: a dramatic announcement about T-DM1, an experimental drug that's been in clinical trials since January...  Read more