Contact:
Elizabeth Allen, CTRC, 210-450-2020
SAN ANTONIO (October 30, 2012) – A cancer diagnosis can be life-changing, not only for patients, but also for their loved ones. These are the people who will provide emotional support to the patient while wrestling with their own feelings. They may devote significant time and energy to learning about conditions and treatment options, knowing that decisions are not ultimately theirs to make. They often help manage chores, finances, meals and more for the patient while trying to keep their own lives on track.
Managing those pressures is the focus of a free public lecture on Nov. 8 at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
“A caregiver may be in the position of having to funnel so much information between the patient and the doctor,” said Anand B. Karnad, M.D., “they are often key to helping the patient get the best quality care.”
Dr. Karnad, a professor of hematology and oncology in the School of Medicine at the UT Health Science Center, will be joined by Mary Jackson, director of Patient & Family Services at the CTRC, who can talk about practical help out there for caregivers.
“There are people you can talk to, people who can help clean your house, even websites that allow families to manage information on the loved one’s condition and provide access to other family members,” Jackson said.
Also on the panel will be T. Don and Holly Guthrie. They will speak about his cancer diagnosis and treatment, and their journey as a couple through that experience.
The lecture, which is open to the public and has a question-and-answer session, will be Thursday, November 8 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on the fourth floor of the CTRC’s Grossman Building, 7979 Wurzbach Rd., San Antonio.
For more information call (210) 450-1152. The lecture will be streamed live online at
www.CTRC.net/LIVE. It is sponsored by H-E-B and the Institute for the Integration of Medicine and Science at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio.
###For current news from the UT Health Science Center, please visit our
news release website or follow us on
Twitter.
###The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is one of the elite academic cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Designated Cancer Center, and is one of only four in Texas. A leader in developing new drugs to treat cancer, the CTRC Institute for Drug Development (IDD) conducts one of the largest oncology Phase I clinical drug programs in the world, and participates in development of cancer drugs approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. For more information, visit
www.ctrc.net.
