Susan Gonsalves

I heard that Blood-Cancer.com is celebrating its fifth birthday on May 3 and I definitely should mark that milestone on my calendar! Maybe I’ll even have ice cream. Although my...

I’ve shut myself away for the last several weeks and that can be a good thing—or not. My eight-year journey with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) took a turn last year...

As the year ends, I reflect back on what has been a tough time medically for me—and not just because of my chronic myeloid leukemia diagnosis. It has been eight...

If I’ve learned anything over the past eight years with chronic myeloid leukemia, it’s that we blood cancer patients are a resilient lot. It’s not as if we have a...

Recently, I was thinking about the question: How should a person speak to someone living with a blood cancer? The only answer I could come up with is “normally.” What...

People who have blood cancer often learn about it while undergoing routine blood tests or other procedures. Others find out by chance. I was such a person. But that is...

October is an important month for me and it has taken on more significance over the past eight years. Toward the middle of the month back in 2014, I received...

Since I first heard about it, I always thought it was very clever of someone to designate a day for chronic myeloid leukemia (or chronic myelogenous leukemia) on September 22...

In a previous article, I discussed how my chronic myeloid leukemia specialist decided I should stop treatment temporarily. Late last year, my feet became swollen, discolored, and cold for some...

Or...How I’m Rolling with Side Effects Does anyone else remember the movie, “Four Weddings and a Funeral?” Well, these days my life has become “Two Canes and a Wheelchair.” And...

Do you ever encounter someone who restores your faith in humanity? I did. But, in my case, he restored my lagging trust in the medical profession. Don’t get me wrong...

I heard from another person with chronic myeloid leukemia today that she was suffering from non-stop stomach ailments a year into her diagnosis. Her doctor was no help, and told...

Most people are familiar with the term "ghosting." It’s often used in a dating context when one person suddenly cuts ties with the other with no explanation. But are you...

Do you ever feel that, for every bit of progress you make in your blood cancer journey, something comes along to smack you down or push you a few steps...

I have been going through a difficult patch in my blood cancer journey for the past several months. After nearly a year of not seeing my oncologist/hematologist, I recently had...

This winter, here in Massachusetts, we awaited the arrival of a huge blizzard one weekend. Weather forecasts were blaring news of worsening conditions and predicting snowfalls of more than two...

Listening is so important especially when blood cancer is involved. I’ve had a few dicey incidents lately where someone not listening put me in a precarious medical position. I’m not...

I was first diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia seven years ago. My first visit with the CML specialist lasted for three hours. I remember some of what was said and...

It’s always difficult to know what you should and should not reveal about your blood cancer to prospective employers or even at the job where you’ve been for a while...