Living

Life as a survivor for most may still include a busy day with the exception of having cancer. There we go with that word, but so many are hung up...

On Jan. 31st, 2009, I had my fourth bone marrow transplant. Do the easy math, and you’ll see that Jan 31st, 2019, marked 10 years from that momentous date. But...

Cancer is such a monumental, life-altering experience that it can be difficult not only to get through it but to return to “normal” afterwards.  Normal.  It’s a word that takes...

A reader pointed out that in my post on going home after transplant, part two, I said I had a bad rash but never said what it was from and...

I recently came across a great hashtag on Twitter: #docsplaining. It comes from the word “mansplaining.” That word has been around for about 10 years now, and is used to...

I feel tired again. My legs hurt. I’ve had to cancel something because I just don’t have the energy for it. I don’t want this to start happening. I was hoping that...

I recently posted a blog on my personal site, titled “Lessons Learned on the Way to Gili T”.  It is in 2 parts and can be found at effcancerblog.com. (Sorry...

The positive effects of practicing gratitude can quickly create a positive mindset and change how your brain works. Researchers found that when we think about someone or something we really...

In Part 1 of this story, I talked about my new job as a broadcast meteorologist. It was a morning news position which was the exact opposite of my previous...

One of the possible side effects of chemotherapy is hair loss. I prepared myself with a pre-chemo haircut. I cut my hair chin length from below the shoulders to ease...

I have been on a double dose for two weeks and I’m still feeling good. This has come as a bit of a surprise. Always wondering when the day is going to...

In 1976, I was 15 years old and that was my first real appreciation of the Olympics. It was the start of Edwin Moses’s domination of the 400-meter hurdles. He’s...

Editor's Note: It is recommended that you speak to your healthcare team before starting, stopping, or changing the dose of any medication. The drugs to treat neuropathy fall into two...

I’ve often thought my leukemia could be traced back to a seven-year period when I endured a chronic level of intense stress. I, of course, had no knowledge of actual...

I WENT RUNNING AGAIN AND IT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!! I haven’t been running in so long and I miss it and it was so amazing to be able to go! Also, as...

“I’d feel so much better if I didn’t have to wear clothes.”  This was my response to a new healthcare provider yesterday when asked me how I was doing. He looked at...

Summer is around the corner and so is the sun. I’m a winter baby but I do like some aspects of what summertime brings… well, all but one...the rays of...

In this series, we discuss causes of anxiety for those facing physical health conditions. Phrases in quotes are the words of our community members across various conditions on what it’s...

Over the last 11 and a half years, I have been on 5 different types of oral chemotherapy. Been back on one of them twice, and back on another 3...

Scanxiety.  It’s a term that entered my vernacular around the same time as anaplastic large cell lymphoma.  Its definition may seem obvious – the anxiety that comes along with the...