Health and Wellness Advancements
Jean Criss
Health & Wellness Advancements
While recently attending the Living Beyond Breast Cancer conference in Philadelphia this month I met with many vendors and attended informative sessions with sister survivors between our exhibition hours of operation. A few takeaways from companies who sponsored the event included some revolutionary new products that I know I’ve been searching for solutions for quite some time since undergoing my journey with breast cancer.
The first is a product called DispoxeRX by Deterra - solving the problem of drug disposal and a fabulous solution to fight our disastrous opioid crisis. Like many other patients - breast cancer patients and patients from all over the world today face the same challenges of where and how to best dispose of unused drugs post-operatively. It becomes a major household problem. We are told …. DO NOT DISPOSE in the trash. Place in a CAN OF DIRT or COFFEE GRAINS and hide them. Do NOT FLUSH down the toilet, etc. So what are we to do with the remaining unused pills from all the scripts we receive? It is quite time-consuming to crush them. Our local authorities, pharmacies and physicians have told us they don’t have a solution - so what now?
This non-toxic and effective solution for home drug disposal allows anyone to dispose your drugs in a clean effective way by dissolving a powder packet in warm tap water and discarding after 30 seconds. Deterra is available for purchase in 2 oz. to a variety of sizes up to 2.5 gal packets. The technology used with this product deactivates drugs, rendering them inert, unavailable for misuse and safe for the environment. By far, revolutionary!
Although the packet might look like a single serving of lime-ade in the green/white packaging, as sold in the supermarket, this new innovation is a chemical dissolving product which save lives! Go to DisposeRx.com for more information and how to obtain it in bulk or individually.
The next solution that I thought was amazing is one by abridge.com #YouRecordYourRecord - a free app available for download on iOS and Android products that allows you to record, review and share your health conversations and information with others.
This is so critical when you are diagnosed throughout your journey - as attending doctor’s visits can be an overwhelming time, from receiving the initial details about your diagnosis thru treatments and recovery. Being able to document your conversations in an efficient way to log your data and refer back by appointment, physician, location, symptom, etc. I created an excel sheet to document my long, dragged out four-year breast cancer recovery and journey which then was published in “My Pain Woke Me Up: BLISS!” the first in my trilogy series and that is how my survivor story began as I chronicled my conversations and stats. This app allows patients to take home your doctor’s advice and bridge the gap as it occurs and happens.
Each time, hearing “You’ve got cancer” or any other frightening medical news can be alarming and when these types of things escalate in your mind, to the point where we can’t think clearly, that’s when you need someone there with you to provide support and be the shoulder to lean on with a clear focused mind to listen to the medical news and conversation. That’s why I feel this type of app can play an important part in a patient’s recovery — to be able to record your conversation so you can later review and share it with your family. In the moment, you might not be able to coherently understand everything, but a family member, friend, or another care provider or doctor may be able to help you. You can learn more by contacting Abridge.com.
The third solution I’d like to share with you is about technology and education. A product called AlignRT by VisionRT.com - is a system which tracks a patient’s position before and during radiation therapy, to aid in setup and treatment accuracy. Using a proprietary 3D camera technology, AlignRT can automatically signal for the treatment delivery system to pause radiation if the patient moves out of the desired position, and there is no need for tattoos or additional radiation.
AlignRT is safe and non-invasive, and can be used for a wide range of conditions including breast, brain, lung, liver, sarcoma, head and neck and other cancers. It provides optimal patient positioning for targeted radiation, across many different cancer treatment sites, and a new study suggests AlignRT helps to reduce radiation heart damage when used with Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH) with left-breast cancer patients. AlignRT can help ensure sub-millimeter accuracy, reduce radiation exposure to your heart, enhances patient comfort, and eliminate the need for permanent tattoos or marks.
Even though my radiation treatment was short-lived (7 days left breast; 15 days right breast), I endured much anxiety going thru this treatment. I really wanted the 5-day balloon catheter radiation treatment called Mammosite following my bilateral lumpectomy but because my tumors were too close to my heart, I was not cleared. Then, after experiencing traditional radiation treatment and it was not successful as it burned my skin so very badly and was intolerable, we had to STOP and revisit our solutions. The end result was a bilateral mastectomy followed by reconstructive surgery and then, my journey did not end there. My tattoos are minimal and never the issue - I always wondered if the radiation treatment itself, was the originator to my ongoing health issues post-breast cancer (allergies, anxiety, auto-immune, breast cellulitis, etc). Anyway, I do believe providing safer, non-invasive procedures for patient treatment offer better outcomes.
US News & World Reports that 50 Best Hospitals for Cancer use AlignRT. Learn more at AlignRT.com
Don’t Let Cancer Get the Breast of You! That’s been one of my motto’s since being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 and since the innovation of the CRISSCROSSIntimates.com collection. For more information about advancements in breast health and wellness, please contact jean@crisscrossintimates.com and follow our blog at https://crisscrossintimates.com/blog.
Jean Criss is Author of Trilogy Series: My Pain Woke Me Up, Designer and Founder of CRISSCROSS Intimates and Founder of Jean Criss Media.
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