Living

A person you know and maybe even love has received the devastating news that she has blood cancer. In my case, it’s chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) or, the lingering kind...

A cancer diagnosis can overwhelm all aspects of your life. We experience different stages of grieving in our attempt to return to normalcy. One area of concern that might need...

I used to tell my third-grade students, "Thanksgiving is not about eating turkey and pumpkin pie. The purpose of Thanksgiving is to give thanks." We Americans think we know everything...

In case you missed it, check out Part 1 of this series! It had been five years of chronic myeloid leukemia. I started one TKI oral chemotherapy, then a chemo...

In Part 1, I wrote about how playing in a symphonic band presented challenges for me to overcome in the wake of my chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). In overcoming those...

I’m a chemo failure. It was 2012 when I was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. I soon found out that fighting leukemia is complicated. For me, this disease is always...

A runner with a long ponytail gave me a jolt of appreciation for what I was doing: running about four miles before it got hot. It was during an August...

When I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2011, I had never heard of it. On top of that, cancer wasn’t something that I had experienced in my family. My...

I had started my first job since treatment last November. I thought that everything would be fine. I had spent a month back home to recharge and though I was...

Are planning bucket lists fitting only for people going through cancer? Or can it be an eye-opener of living in this life span that can be open for everyone? What...

Guilt. It’s a feeling we all get from time to time. Maybe you forgot to feed the cats in the morning, or you slacked off instead of doing that work...

As I was talking with my friend currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer, it reminded me of a feeling I had during my treatments. She shared that she felt like...

"You're cool!" a third-grade boy said to me while doing cafeteria duty at lunchtime. "Thank you," I replied. A few days later, he said the same thing to me. This...

Stress is a common thing in our society. We feel it at work, in school, when visiting friends, and even with family. It’s hard to get away from it since...

I look at my calendar and I see a day to celebrate just about anything! I do have some favorites. January 1st is National Hangover Day for us Canadians -...

As cancer survivors, we have experienced emotional scars and challenges. I was looking for inspiration and thoughts other than my life with cancer. I discovered that volunteering could provide comfort...

Music has played a role in my life and holds an important place in my chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) journey as well. I started clarinet lessons at the age of...

I recently read the fiction book, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. The main character, thirty-five-year-old Nora, has become highly depressed. The poor lady carries a lot of guilt. What if she...

It’s funny, recently the subject of music came up and how I used it during cancer to relax on those days when nothing else worked. It’s also how I ended...

After I had been formally diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, my dermatologist at MD Anderson also wanted me to get a mole removed for a biopsy. I don’t even remember what...