December 2021

Holiday Season Caregiver Care

Holiday Hacks: Easy Solutions to Simplify the Most Wonderful/Stressful Time of the Year

by Keith Bradford

While the holidays are a joyous time to

spend with family and friends, they can

quickly become a hassle if you’re not

prepared. Holiday Hacks includes over 600

handy tips for everything holiday-related.

Travel Hacks: Any Procedures or Actions That Solve a Problem, Simplify a Task, Reduce Frustration, and Make your Next Trip As Awesome As Possible

by Keith Bradford

Including more than 600 handy tips for

everything from how to score discounts on

transportation to packing efficiently and

avoiding lines, delays, and crowds, Travel Hacks will make

every aspect of your travel experience hassle-free.

Happiness Hacks: 300+ Simple Ways to Get—and Stay—Happy

by Adams Media

In Happiness Hacks, you’ll find 300 quick

and easy ways to increase happiness in

every area of life, including improving

relationships, finding joy in your career and

workplace, and developing a supportive

community.

According to the American Cancer Society*, a cancer caregiver

is a “person who most often helps the person with cancer and is

not paid to do so.” They “serve as home health aides and

companions” and “may help feed, dress, and bathe the

patient...arrange schedules, manage insurance issues, and

provide transportation...are legal assistants, financial managers,

and housekeepers.” It’s no surprise that caregivers often end up

neglecting their own needs and wants in the course of their

caregiving activities. At MD Anderson, caregivers can utilize

social workers without needing a referral, and their services are

free. The social workers have a helpful article “Cancer

caregivers: 4 tips to reduce stress” at bit.ly/3EkfQxk_MDAnderson.

*www.cancer.org/treatment/caregivers/if-youre-about-to-

become-a-cancer-caregiver.html

The winter holiday season can be exciting and fun, and it can also be stressful and feel

burdensome. In 2021, COVID-19 and its variants are unfortunately still with us, making for a

more complicated holiday season. Fortunately, there are practical ways to mitigate the season’s

stressors. First, read the MD Anderson Cancerwise article “How to practice self-care this holiday

season.”* Next, check out some of the helpful resources that The Learning Center has to offer. We

recently purchased three new books that could make your holidays, travel days, and all your days

easier: Holiday Hacks and Travel Hacks, both by Keith Bradford, and Happiness Hacks.

*bit.ly/3cN3tO9_MDAnderson

TLC Connect Monthly updates from The Learning Center

Caregiving During the Holidays

CancerCare

How is it possible to balance the needs of

family and friends, when your loved one

may not be in the holiday spirit? How can

you express your own concerns without

being perceived as insensitive?

To manage these pressures while caring for

your loved one, use each letter in the words SUPPORT to

remind yourself of seven key coping strategies. Learn more in

this CancerCare fact sheet.

www.cancercare.org/publications/145-caregiving_during_the_holidays

Featured Resource Featured Books

Caregivers

Holiday Mocktails Featuring cookbooks available in The Learning Center

For many, the winter holidays are filled with a variety of parties where alcohol flows freely, and many partake in extra drinks as part of the “spirit of the season.” Studies have shown that higher alcohol consumption over longer time intervals and low levels of

drinking can increase an individual’s risk for cancer. Emerging evidence suggests that alcohol is associated with worse oncologic outcomes among patients already diagnosed with cancer*. Mocktails are the healthy alternative everyone can enjoy. A mocktail, also

called “zero proof,” is a cocktail-style beverage made without alcohol. Here are two suggested recipes for holiday mocktails from the cookbooks in our collection that are so festive and tasty, nobody will ever feel left out of the party.

*jnccn.org/view/journals/jnccn/18/1/article-p69.xml

Food has a way of bringing people together, especially during the holiday season. As we celebrate the

winter holidays we are surrounded by tasty treats and delicious foods in festive gatherings, so it is easy to

over-indulge. But have no worries, you can eating those tasty foods by practicing mindful eating.

The Learning Center has resources to help you consider mindful eating, including setting up your goals and

habits. Mindful Eating: A Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food by Jan

Chozen Bays, MD, will bring a greater awareness to the entire process of eating. This book helps you

transform your relationship with food by applying mindfulness concepts to eating and drinking. You will

learn how to bring your full attention to the whole process of eating—to all the taste, smells, thoughts, and

feeling that can arise during a meal.

www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/mindful-eating/

The Learning Center

Relaxing

“A Little Hollywood”

Inspired by the Shirley Temple, this less-

sugary version is a little bit Hollywood and

still fun to sip.

Festive

Upcoming Closure: In addition to upcoming institutional holiday closures, The Mays Clinic Learning Center will be closed

Monday, Dec. 27-Thursday, Dec. 30. During this time, please contact us via email or chat for assistance.

Learning Center Re-opening: The Main Building Learning Center will re-open on Monday, January 10, 2022.

Zero Proof Drinks and More: 100 Recipes

for Mocktails and Low-Alcohol Cocktails

by Maureen Petrosky (page 122)

Visit Us Contact Us

mdanderson.org/tlc

Phone: 713-563-8010

Email: asktlcstaff@mdanderson.org

Text: 281-501-7872

Chat: mdandersontlc.libguides.com/contactus

The Levit Family Learning Center

Mays Clinic, Floor 2, near Elevator T

(ACB2.1120)

Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Mindful Eating

Zero Proof : 90 Non Alcoholic Recipes for

Mindful Drinking by Elva Ramirez (page

218)

“Pulut Hitam”

Silky and creamy, this drink is a decadent

Asian-inspired eggnog.

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