Take Care of Yourself – Resources for Care Givers Being a caregiver for someone with a disability or chronic disease is a very important role. It usually involves a number of tasks that can be very time consuming, and can require a great deal of effort. If we do not learn to recognize that certain tasks and expectations can take their toll on us, we may find ourselves headed down the path of burnout. Burnout can be defined as exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation, usually as a result of prolonged stress. Community Health Charities has partnered with member charity The ALS Association to create a video podcast to provide tips, helpful hints and resources available to those who serve in a care giving role. Click here to view this important and informational podcast.
Works to encourage basic scientific research, proper rehabilitation, and medical care for persons with spinal cord injuries and provides related education.
Sharon Belvin was only 22 years old when she learned she had late-stage metastatic melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer. Despite undergoing a series of treatments that left her body ravaged and her spirit exhausted, her cancer kept coming back, each time worse than before.
Sharon Belvin was only 22 years old when she learned she had late-stage metastatic melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer. Despite undergoing a series of treatments that left her body ravaged and her spirit exhausted, her cancer kept coming back, each time worse than before. Just when she began to lose all hope, she met Cancer Research Institute clinical investigator and Scientific Advisory Council member Dr. Jedd Wolchok at New York’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He began treating her with an experimental immunotherapy called anti-CTLA-4, a monoclonal antibody created by CRI Scientific Advisory Council associate director James Allison. The therapy works by “taking the brakes off the immune system,” allowing the body’s natural defenses to target and destroy cancer without counterproductive restraint. The result: Sharon is cancer-free today, has since gone on to have a beautiful baby girl, Lillybeth, and—even more good news—is expecting her second child in early 2010.
The important research of Drs. Jedd Wolchok and James Allison is made possible in part through the generous support of donors who select the Cancer Research Institute (member #11999) through workplace giving programs like the Combined Federal Campaign and Community Health Charities. You can read more about Sharon’s victory over melanoma by visiting http://cancerresearch.org/RealStories/Patients/Sharon-Belvin.html
Being a caregiver for someone with a disability or chronic disease is a very important role. It usually involves a number of tasks that can be very time consuming, and can require a great deal of effort. If we do not learn to recognize that certain tasks and expectations can take their toll on us, we may find ourselves headed down the path of burnout. Burnout can be defined as exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation, usually as a result of prolonged stress. Community Health Charities has partnered with member charity 
Sharon Belvin was only 22 years old when she learned she had late-stage metastatic melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer. Despite undergoing a series of treatments that left her body ravaged and her spirit exhausted, her cancer kept coming back, each time worse than before. 