| Wendy S. Harpham, M.D.
Doctor
Cancer Survivor
Author
Biography
Wendy S. Harpham, M.D. is a doctor of
internal medicine, best-selling and award-winning author, long-term cancer
survivor, and mother of three. Throughout her career as a practitioner, author,
lecturer and patient advocate, Dr. Harpham has fulfilled her mission, "To help
others through the synergy of science and caring."
After years of caring for patients in her solo practice of internal medicine,
in 1990 Dr. Harpham was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and has been in and
out of treatment ever since. Forced to redefine her career, Dr. Harpham turned
to writing as a way to continue to educate, comfort and inspire other survivors
and their families.
From her useful perspective as physician-patient, she has written six books
for patients and their families, covering the broad landscape of survivorship.
Her bookset—When a Parent has Cancer with the children’s book Becky and the
Worry Cup— was awarded 2006 Consumer Book of the Year by the American Journal of
Nursing. Unlike her first five books that are written for cancer survivors,
Happiness in a Storm helps people with any medical challenge get good care and
find happiness.
Dr. Harpham has written dozens of articles for professional and lay
audiences. She has her own regular column in Oncology Times, entitled View
>From the Other Side of the Stethoscope, which received the 2006 Silver Award
from the American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors for “Best Regular
Column: Contributed.”
In addition to her writing, Dr. Harpham has become a nationally recognized
speaker for professional and lay audiences. She has delivered medical Grand
Rounds and has keynoted at survivor events across America, blending information,
inspiration and humor. She has been interviewed repeatedly on major media,
including the Today Show, NBC Nightly News, CBS This Morning, Oprah Winfrey
Show, as well as the New York Times and numerous local papers.
Her work has been honored with numerous local and national awards, including
the 2006 “Tree of Life” award from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society which
“Honors an individual who has played a major or lasting role, with national
impact in improving the quality of life of patients and their families,” and the
2000 Governor’s award, for which she was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of
Fame.
Among the many aspects of survivorship she discusses are optimizing the
clinician-patient relationship, dealing with cancer-related fatigue, helping the
children—preschoolers, school-aged kids, teens, young adults—of cancer patients,
understanding clinical trials, finding hopefulness in difficult times, and
embracing life after cancer. She coined the term “post-cancer fatigue” and
introduced the “Harpham Decision Tool” to help patients make treatment
decisions.
Dr. Harpham devotes her energy to helping survivors directly through her
writing and speaking, and indirectly through her activities as a patient
advocate. Dr. Harpham lives in Texas with her husband and three grown children,
one of whom has graduated college and is on her own and two of whom are still in
college. Her hobbies include playing the violin and collecting commemorative
thimbles from the cities in which she does work in survivorship.
From 1983 through 1990, Dr. Harpham cared for patients in her solo practice
of internal medicine at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas. In 1990, Dr. Harpham
was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and has been in and out of treatment
ever since. Forced to redefine her career, she saw opportunities to use her
unique perspective as a physician-patient to help cancer patients and their
families. Dr. Harpham turned to writing as a way to continue to educate, comfort
and inspire others. Adapting the principles of her office and drawing upon her
own experiences as a patient, she has written award-winning books for newly
diagnosed patients and their families, survivors dealing with recovery and
long-term survivorship, and parents with cancer and their children.
Since her books are informational—and not autobiographical—each book begins
with a brief prologue in which she shares her personal story as it relates to
the topic of the book. Her first book, Diagnosis: Cancer. Your Guide Through the
First Few Months, was written during the months of her initial chemotherapy,
bringing to it a valuable combination: the mind-set of a newly diagnosed patient
and the experience of an internist. The third edition (June 2003) has a new
subtitle: Your Guide to the First Months of Healthy Survivorship. Her second
book, After Cancer, was begun during her first remission, but much of it was
written while she was undergoing various courses of treatment for her first few
recurrences of cancer. Her book for parents, When a Parent has Cancer, unlike
her first two books, includes personal vignettes throughout the text. Dr.
Harpham explains, "Dr. Harpham wrote my first two books. Mommy Harpham wrote
this one. I share my personal story not to teach people about me but to help
them think about, talk about and better understand what is happening to them. I
hope that others can learn from my successes and mistakes, and more easily find
what can work well for them."
Since December 2005, Dr. Harpham has been writing a regular column- View From
the Other Side of the Stethoscope- for the professional magazine, Oncology
Times. She addresses common challenges to the care of the cancer patient from
her vantage as physician-survivor. Dr. Harpham received the silver award from
American Society of Healthcare Publications in the category “Regular Column:
Contributed.”
In addition to her writing, Dr. Harpham has become a nationally recognized
speaker for professional and lay—general public, survivor groups—audiences. She
teaches people how to obtain sound knowledge, find and nourish hope, and act
effectively when dealing with illness. Among the many aspects of survivorship
she discusses are optimizing the clinician-patient relationship, dealing with
cancer-related fatigue, helping the children (preschoolers, school-aged kids,
teens) of cancer patients, understanding clinical trials, finding hopefulness in
difficult times, and embracing life after cancer.
Dr. Harpham devotes her energy to helping survivors directly through her
writing and speaking, and indirectly through her activities as a patient
advocate. Limited stamina prevents her from returning to clinical medicine at
this time. Dr. Harpham lives in Texas with her husband and three children, two
of whom are in college. Her hobbies include playing the violin and collecting
commemorative thimbles from the cities in which she does work in survivorship.
Speaking Topics
-
Happiness in a Storm: Embracing Life as a Healthy Survivor
- Healthy Survivorship through Knowledge, Hope and Action
-
Raising Healthy Children When a Parent has Cancer
-
The Healing Power of Clinical Trials
-
After Cancer Treatment Ends: Healthy Survivorship for Life
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