Living

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...

Google defines the word dissociation as, “The disconnection or separation of something from something else or the state of being disconnected.” It’s no wonder that we as cancer patients and...

I recently read Surviving and Thriving with an Invisible Chronic Illness by Ilana Jacqueline. The author is a young woman who has suffered from several illnesses. I was diagnosed with myelodysplastic...

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...

Okay, I admit it, I’ve used my cancer card. For those not familiar with the term, it means using a cancer diagnosis as an excuse to get out of something...

I’ve been a leukemia patient since 2011 and it isn’t always easy to navigate this disease. It can be painful, disturbing, and confusing even on my best days. I think...

All the feels. Cancer, and especially blood cancer, is so dependent on feelings that I wouldn’t be surprised to see it sitting on the couch with a pint of ice...

We just finished up a bathroom remodel at our house. What a pain. During the work, we discovered that some needed plumbing work that we had done in the spring...

2022. A huge year for me in many ways. My first full year of not living in London since I moved there in 2009.  My first calendar year off chemo...

What would I, a retired teacher from Oklahoma, possibly have in common with well-known authors and screenplay writers Nora and Delia Ephron? Blood cancer? Left on Tenth, A Second Chance...

A fellow cancer survivor recently asked me about my cancer experience. She discussed her initial symptoms and was surprised that I had none. My diagnosis was an incidental finding. While...

Adopting a graceful attitude, when living with blood cancer like non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a way I am trying to peacefully deal with the many things the disease and the treatments...

As 2023 rolls in as a new year to a fresh start; it may feel like there are remnants of 2022 or the past attached. You may wonder how you...