Living

In my thirty-some-odd years of medical adventures, I have met more than my share of characters. Any of you who have spent time in the hospital knows that nurses, doctors...

If you have had two kinds of cancer, you get to worry about two sets of signs that could be something bad. In the part of my mind that worries...

Having cancer taught me so many things about myself and caused me to feel emotions that I didn’t even know were possible. Obviously, there were many negative sides of being...

When I was a kid there was no doubt in my mind there were monsters in the closet, but every time I’d get my mom or dad to look, I’d...

Clinical trials are not as straight forward as people think. I currently don’t qualify for two reasons. First, my myeloma has become sneaky (oligo secretory) and hardly shows up in...

I got a haircut last week. I have so little hair at this point that my wife and kids haven’t even noticed it, two weeks later. Having so little hair...

The purpose of our body’s immune system is to protect us against disease and infection. It does this by defending us from foreign substances such as bacteria, viruses, allergens, and...

Do you ever find yourself lying in bed late at night, staring at the ceiling, and saying out loud, “WTF? I have leukemia?” (By the way, that stands for What...

One of the questions many ask when they are diagnosed with multiple myeloma or any blood cancer is if they are able to move about as they once did. Multiple...

Getting treated for acute myeloid leukemia is like being on a rollercoaster. You get a round of chemotherapy and your blood counts go down. You stay in the hospital while...

Clothes. No one thinks much about them, especially when you are told you have cancer. Why would you? The first thing that pops into your mind when a doctor says...

I’m not going to lie. I really enjoy talking about myself. I think it’s partly middle child syndrome and partly being human and inherently selfish and wanting to self-promote. And I am 100%...

It is National Nurses Week so I've been thinking about my experiences as an RN, Nurse Executive and RN Instructor, and now as a nurse cancer survivor. I also began...

In late 2009, I was trimming some trees in my backyard. A small branch fell over the wall into my neighbor’s yard.  I jumped over the wall to get the...

During my battle with lymphoma, my focus was on wellness. I could not think about anything else but getting well. I didn’t let myself plan for the future or months...

Sometimes, I have to remind myself exactly what is strength and why is it so important for our care and getting through the battles faced by so many. One thing...

You wouldn’t think a cancer survivor would get upset by being asked, “How are you feeling?” Or that they would be bothered by being told, “You look great.” None of...

The last 7 weeks have been amazing. I’m on my new drug and I am able to have a life! I’m not completely crippled by chronic fatigue. And it’s completely...

Receiving chemotherapy can be a frightening experience. Even as a nurse with many years of clinical practice, I really did not know what to expect. I thought it might be...

This journey has been so eye-opening to me in more ways than I can count. I've learned a lot about myself, but also a lot about the people around me...