Bette Ghidotti had hoped to spend some time on the beach while at her Sarasota, Fla., vacation home, but fatigue from her cancer treatment was keeping her indoors. Though she could have brought up her symptoms with her doctor, her semimonthly appointments are focused on chemotherapy and prescriptions, she says, leaving little time for discussing anything else.
"My doctor, once in a while, will say it's depression, but I don't really feel depressed," says the 73-year-old retired nurse. And support groups, where others find information and solace, are of little interest to her.
But Ms. Ghidotti, who lives most of the year in Columbus, Ohio, has found help from a Houston nurse practitioner who recommended a mouthwash for her mouth soreness -- a common side effect of chemotherapy drugs -- and prompts her to discuss some of the gastrointestinal problems she wouldn't bother her busy oncologist with. She has never met the nurse, but reads and often responds to her message-board entries every day around 6:30 p.m.
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(Also appeared in Belleville [Ill.] News-Democrat, Napa [Calif.] Valley Register, Naples Daily News and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.)
