The Assertive Cancer Patient

Cancer Patient Disaster Preparedness

Ever since Hurricane Katrina, I’ve been telling myself that I need to assemble a disaster preparedness kit.

Usually, when I think about assembling a kit, I end up lying down until the feeling goes away, because my next thought is how much work it would be to put this together.

Whenever I read a list of tips, like this one that I found online, I feel overwhelmed …

Take Tip No. 2, for example, “Know your treatments past and present.” My medical records swell to three or four volumes now, and are kept at four different cancer centers. Just getting copies of all of these would take me a week.

But, on the other hand, if a major earthquake hit Seattle, as a cancer patient, I would be among the more vulnerable of the victims.

So, time to stop whining. Time to get together a basic disaster kit.

Read more:

The Assertive Cancer Patient Basic Disaster Kit

The Cheeky Librarian Prepares for a Tornado

The American Cancer Society Links

@ Jeanne Sather 2008.

The Assertive Cancer Patient Basic Disaster Kit

This is what I have in my disaster preparedness kit:

• One week’s supply of all meds, in original labeled containers.
(This way, I have the dose for each drug, plus the contact information for the prescribing doctor and the pharmacy.)

• A list of my doctors, with phone numbers, and a copy of my health insurance card.

• Tooth brush and toothpaste.

• Soap, hand sanitizer, moist towelettes, towel.

• First aid kit.

• Spare pair of contacts with case and solution.

• Matches.

• Three liters of bottled water.

• Flashlight.

• Food: Granola bars, nuts, and dried fruit.

• Cash. (Credit and debit cards are likely to be useless in a disaster, if computers and phone lines are down or overloaded.)

• A change of clothes and a pair of comfortable shoes.

I packed all of the above into a small bag with a shoulder strap for easy carrying, and I’ve hung it on the back of my bedroom door.

If I have to leave my house in a hurry, say in a major earthquake, I’ll just grab this small bag and go. It has all the essentials.

Now I need to assemble two more kits: One for the dogs and cat, and a larger one of supplies and food that I’ll need in the event of a major storm or disaster that doesn’t require that I evacuate my house.

And I’ll take a copy of my medical records to my bank and put them in my safe deposit box.

@ Jeanne Sather 2008.

The Cheeky Librarian Prepares for a Tornado

The Cheeky Librarian, who lives in Nebraska, is way ahead of me on disaster preparedness.

She keeps a ziplock bag for liquid nutrition and pain meds close at hand, in case of "bad weather, a last-minute trip, the police knocking at the door saying the neighborhood is being evacuated due to a tanker accident... [or] a tornado warning."

Read Teri's post: Being Prepared

@ Jeanne Sather 2008.

The American Cancer Society Links

I didn't realize until I was doing the research to write these posts that the American Cancer Society mobilizes in the event of a disaster.

Good to know, and I've put the phone number in my evacuation kit: 1-800-ACS-2345.

Here are some links to information on the ACS site about Hurricane Katrina:

General information for cancer patients and survivors in the Katrina aftermath

Guide to Coping with Cancer in the Hurricane Aftermath
(I'm printing out this page to put in my disaster kit. It has lots of good information.)

Volunteer form

Stories from Katrina

Paul McGee, senior director of communications and marketing for the ACS, sent me these links.

"So all in all one good piece of advice I'd offer if you're a patient or survivor and--God forbid--caught up in some terrible event, the American Cancer Society will be involved with local support and relief," Paul writes in an e-mail. "If you can access a phone call our cancer information hotline at 1-800-ACS-2345."

@ Jeanne Sather 2008.