Cancer Care team builds a special relationship with a Veteran

For almost 20 years, Air Force Veteran Norman Blackwell has received his cancer care from VA. Now he goes to Ernest Childers VA Outpatient Clinic in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a part of Muskogee VA. He’s developed a special relationship with the staff, including RNs Julie Southern (L) and Melinda Wall.

“I feel very comfortable going there,” says Blackwell. “We laugh, we talk. They get the chemo in me and I’m gone again.”  Read more.

Video of the Day

The Facts About Lung Cancer Screening

The VHA’s National Oncology Program Office (NOP) is leading the future of cancer care and standing shoulder to shoulder with Veterans diagnosed with cancer.

Factoid of the Day

Lung cancer is more common among Veterans thatn the general population. Approximately 900,000 Veterans are at risk of getting lung cancer. Catching cancer early is critical to achieving the best results from treatment. 

Chats with the Chief

"Making the world more accessible for disabled Veterans," with Dr. Rory Cooper, founding director of the VA Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL).

Latest Messages from VHA Chief of Staff

VA Employee Resources

Worklife Programs
Employee Whole Health
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion News
Stand Up to Harassment Now
REBOOT Task Force
#VAGratitude

Link of the Day

Stand up to stop harassment —
take the White Ribbon pledge

“This is more than just a white ribbon. It is a symbol of a person’s commitment to uphold their White Ribbon VA pledge to be an active participant in ending sexual harassment and sexual assault in VA facilities and their communities at large,” said Lelia Jackson, director of the Veterans Health Administration’s Assault and Harassment Prevention Office.  Read here.

Today in History

563 Buddhists celebrate the commemoration of the birth of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.

1865 General Robert E. Lee requests to meet with General Ulysses Grant to discuss possible surrender (which happens the next day).

1879 A "Fire Escape Ladder" was patented by African American inventor J.R. Winters (No. 214,224).

1983 Magician David Copperfield makes the Statue of Liberty disappear.

1993 Astronaut Ellen Ochoa becomes the first Hispanic woman in space, aboard the space shuttle Discovery.

1994 Smoking is banned in the Pentagon and all U.S. military bases.

2009 Somali pirates hijack the Maersk Alabama cargo ship with an American crew—the basis for the 2013 film Captain Phillips, with Tom Hanks in the title role. The siege ended after a rescue effort by the U.S. Navy on April 12.

Joke (?) of the Day

You can't have everything. Where would you put it?
— Steven Wright