Broadcast date: 4/30/2015
Receiving a medical diagnosis of a life limiting or debilitating illness is devastating. Local treatment options are available, but are they the best care possible? Finding the best medical care doesn’t happen passively. It could truly be a matter of life or death to move from being passive to proactive. By educating yourself and being a proactive consumer you can positively impact the quality of the health care you receive and possibly the future of your life. Becoming a self-advocate is not easy for everyone, but learning to speak up may not only provide better health outcomes, but can also return a feeling of strength and control during these difficult times.
How to know if you are getting the best care? How do you self-advocate? Where do I go to educate myself?
Join host Kris Kington-Barker as she speaks with guests, Frank Kalman and Pamela Shavaun Scott. Frank is a father whose daughter was diagnosed in 2001 with neuroblastoma that started his 12 year journey in seeking the best care possible for her. Frank is also Executive Director of Kids Cancer Research Foundation and recently wrote a booklet “Steps to Hope – A Practical Guide to Seeking the Best Possible Cancer Care” to help guide others with what he has learned. Pamela is a Marriage and Family Therapist in SLO and for the past 3 years has successfully faced challenges seeking the best care possible in her own treatment of thyroid cancer and a non-cancerous brain tumor.
Central Coast Voices is sponsored by ACTION for Healthy Communities in collaboration with KCBX and made possible through underwriting by Joan Gellert-Sargen.
