work therapy

work therapy

Etymology: AS, weorc + Gk, therapeia, treatment

a therapeutic approach in which the client performs a useful activity or learns an occupation, as in occupational therapy.

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Patient discussion about work therapy.

Q. Why is my anemia not responding to iron supplementation? I have had anemia for a long time, and my docs have always just told me to take iron supplements. However, there has never been a significant increase in my hemaglobin/hematocrit levels; there have been slight increases, but nothing that is permanent. Additionally, my RBCs are slightly microcytic.

A. Microcytic anemia is usually due to iron deficiency.
if you're Hb does not respond your doc should send you for further investigations to look for a non-obvious source of bleeding. Marked anemia can cause secondary cardiac chest pain but if this is the case you definitely need further investigation and treatment.

Q. Why this has happened and is the chemo treatment not working? Hi, I wanted to know about some complication arising for my friend, who recently had a breast cancer surgery. Just after the post surgery chemotherapy treatment, she is now having bacterial infection in the surgical wound. Why this has happened and is the chemo treatment not working?

A. This is a common complication of surgery because of bacteria getting into wound which is everywhere. Hospitals try to keep operating theatres sterile. Your doctors would have taken care by putting you on antibiotics to clear up the infection from the surgical wound. This wound infection have nothing to do with your chemotherapy. Chemotherapy increases your risk of infection because it kills off your white blood cells and these are your front line troops in fighting bacteria. But it usually takes about 10 days for your white blood count to drop down to its lowest point. Then it starts to come up again - until it's time for your next chemotherapy treatment. But your doctor would have looked over it and then would have prescribed for the chemo. Chemotherapy kills off cancer cells. And it will do that whether you've got an infection or not.