Living

When I got home after my stem cell transplants, as soon as I felt a little better, I’d cautiously move around. First, it was walking around the house, then out...

I often think about weird things when I am drifting off instead of working. Things like “How does Superman shave?” and “Do dragons’ birthday cakes have candles they light instead...

Of all of the difficult things that cancer has forced me to do, telling my kids the news was the hardest. My kids were 6, 8, and 10 years old...

As a cancer survivor, I was focused on care for my blood cancer and its follow-up. I was personally tired of physician appointments, diagnostics, and treatment. This was doubly troublesome...

At some point, all of us start on this particular race of life. Some of us have trained beforehand and others were not ready at all! We all have one...

It’s already tough trying to function as a normal member of society when dealing with post-blood cancer side effects like nausea, anxiety, physical pain, etc. When you throw singing, dancing...

Do you remember the Friends television show when Chandler's job transferred him to Tulsa, Oklahoma? The characters acted like their friend was going to Siberia. I am a Tulsa native...

The definition of sacrifice means: to offer as a sacrifice. to suffer the loss of, give up, renounce, injure, or destroy especially for an ideal, belief, or end. 3. :...

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...

For us blood-cancer patients fatigue can hit pretty hard. It’s like a weight that gets heavier and heavier. I was diagnosed with leukemia in 2011. I’ve been fighting fatigue ever...

Saying goodbye is so hard. You are never really prepared for it. I learned this as a TYA (teenage young adult) with cancer. Suddenly, with blood cancer, you are thrown...

Well, it finally occurred. Despite everything – all the masking, all the cancellations, all the avoiding gatherings, all the admittedly annoying precautions taken, and warnings observed, it all came to...

It has been a while since I’ve submitted an article (same old story). I’ve been fortunate to be able to return to a job where the organization understands what I...

I just watched a video from Amanda Brunson, a Blood-Cancer.com contributor. She talks about working while not feeling good. It's a real challenge and a real balancing act. I feel...

How are you? It’s a polite question to ask. It's a friendly way to start a conversation. It can be a complicated question for a cancer patient though. It’s the...

A few weeks ago, I went for a long walk with my family. My son suggested a spot that he liked, a park on top of a very tall hill...

As someone living with a rare, chronic leukemia (diagnosed in 2007 with hairy cell leukemia), I have always had the question of how did I get it in the first...

Let’s see 79 years, 7 months, and 11 days ago as of this writing at exactly 12:45 PM on a bright sunny summer day I arrived alone on this planet...

A blood cancer survivor may experience a wide range of emotions. I experienced many emotions this past year intensified as a cancer survivor dealing with my husband’s cancer diagnosis, surgery...

When I told my kids how sad I was about Roger Federer’s retirement this September, at age 41, my son pointed out that the tennis star hadn’t been actively competing...