As  a parent of a child with special needs, I know how a medical condition can impact a family. I often feel like, although my son has the diagnosis, our whole family has the disease. Maybe you are feeling that way too? I worry about the many ways that his childhood will be different from that of other kids, and I suspect that as my daughter grows older, her life will also be a little different as well. I think we all just want our kids to have a good childhood and have the chance to be free from the worries of the sometimes unfair world we live in.

In the past, I have promoted summer camps for cancer kids and their siblings as a way to have a great childhood experience, as well as an escape from the every day pressures that cancer places on a family.

More recently, I have learned of summer camps for kids whose parents have cancer. As any parent knows, children are like little sponges. Not only do they hear and see everything going on around them (often much to their parents' dismay!) they also feel the stress and anxiety in the home. Camp Kesem, one of the best known summer camps of this kind, provides those youngsters with the opportunity to have a week of fun, games, and just being a kid!

Camp Kesem has locations all across the United States. Learn about where and when your child can be involved!

More resources for parents with cancer:

• Talking with Your Children About Your Cancer
• Top Ten Ways to Help Your Children Adjust to Your Cancer

Being safe in the sun is an important aspect of summertime health. This may be even more true for those of you who have undergone treatment for a blood or marrow cancer such as leukemia or lymphoma. Chemo and radiation therapy make your skin even more susceptible to damage from the sun, so using proper sun protection is necessary.

Last summer, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released new guidelines for sunscreen labelling that would help consumers be more sun safe, but it will just have to wait.

New rules were supposed to go into effect this June that would force sunscreen companies to indicate whether or not their product was effective against UVB rays (the kind that cause more superficial skin  damage), UVA rays (causing deeper and more serious skin damage) or both. The new rules would also require companies to change their labelling from "sweat- or water- proof" to "sweat- or water- resistant" and indicate how often to reapply the sunscreen product. In short, the guidelines would make it easier for us to know exactly how much protection we are getting from any bottle of sunscreen.

However, in response to a number of sunscreen manufacturer's complaints that they were unable to meet the June 2012 deadline, the FDA has decided to allow them 6 more months to get their product up to snuff. So, you will just have to take your sun safety into your own hands this summer.

Here are some tips:

A new study that has come out today in The New England Journal of Medicine has shown positive results in the treatment of myeloma.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina set out to discover a way to prolong progression free survival in myeloma patients who have received an autologous stem cell transplant. Autologous stem cell transplant is a treatment option for many individuals with myeloma, and while it is an effective therapy, it is not curative. The disease will continue to progress over time.

The phase three clinical trial investigated the use of lenalidomide, an oral medication to help improve these outcomes. They discovered that lenalidomide following transplant increased the likelihood of surviving three years without disease progression to 59%. Very promising when compared to the placebo group in which only 35% could say the same.

Lenalidomide may be taken long term, for months or even years to help control myeloma. Taking it may increase the risk of developing a second cancer, but it is otherwise well tolerated.

May is Oncology Nurses Month, and the second week is Nurses Week- three cheers for nurses!

Nurses are probably the most visible and accessible members of your healthcare team. They are able to provide you with information, support, resources, advice, physical and emotional care, as well as †he day-to-day nursing tasks of dressing changes and chemo administration.

A nurse is a nurse, right? Well, maybe. But there are a lot of different types of nurses!

Nurses in Cancer Care

Nurses are a critical part of your cancer care. This May, give one a hug and help him or her celebrate being a nurse!!