HERMISTON, Ore. – No-shave November has been more than a chance for people to raise awareness and money for cancer this year according to one Hermiston doctor.
Doctor Stephen Iacoboni said the impact cancer has on a patient’s mental and physical health is a big challenge when it comes to recovery.
“A lot of women lose their hair when they’re getting chemotherapy for breast cancer and that’s maybe not terribly physically painful, but it is emotionally difficult,” Dr. Iacoboni said.
He said showing support through different events like cancer runs and No Shave November helps patients stay more confident.
A Registered Nurse who works with Dr. Iacoboni said he and the patients he works with find solidarity when he doesn’t shave.
“You see the struggle people have when they lose their hair,” RN Ian Murray said. “As Doctor Iacoboni mentioned it’s not necessarily a life-threatening aspect, but it plays a big role in emotional health recovery.”
No Shave November is also a chance to remind people about prevention efforts for some of the most prevalent and deadly cancers according to Dr. Iacoboni. He said those cancers are lung cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer.
“If you catch a cancer of any of those three near the early stage it’s 90%-95%curable,” he said.
In years past when he participated in No Shave November, it was about showing patients, that he’s with them actively in the process of their recovery.
Now he said he’s living by a quote from a movie he thought was “coo-coo” as a younger doctor: Patch Adams.
“But actually, now I live by his famous quote which is, you treat a disease you win sometimes you lose sometimes. If you treat a whole patient, you win every time,” he said.