Living

Chemo brain commonly involves cognitive changes including a reduction in short term memory, speed of information processing, and a limited ability to organize information. During my chemotherapy, I had noticed...

I didn’t realise I could get anxious, or that travel anxiety would become a part of my life. But it did. And I only realised it a couple of years...

I was your everyday high school student before being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in 2003. Going into my junior year at 15 years old, I spent the summer months...

When I learned I had leukemia, my first thought was to be treated close to home at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass. The local hematologist who diagnosed me said...

Prior to being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, I commuted to work by bike every day. It was a ten-mile ride each way. Where I live is flat, so it wasn’t...

If you were going to be in a room for a good period of time, you would want something more welcoming than a harsh overhead light and bare walls. In...

Several years ago, I attended a "Blood Cancer Day" co-sponsored by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the University of Pennsylvania. Survivorship was the topic of the keynote address. I...

Having a cancer diagnosis can be an overwhelming and fearful experience. I remember not wanting to talk about it to anyone. My husband was given strict orders to tell no...

Every year, National Cancer Survivors Day is celebrated on the first Sunday in June. I’ve been celebrating it for 10 years now, since I was first diagnosed with follicular lymphoma...

A diagnosis of cancer carries a psychosocial and physical impact for anyone, and for the youngest patients, there are added considerations. Because they are in the midst of development, children...

Two months before my stem cell transplant, I happened upon some medical students' posters in one of the many lobbies in MD Anderson. My mom and I were obviously very...

It is normal to be anxious, fearful, and angry when a cancer diagnosis is suspected. I can remember how scared I felt even as an experienced RN. I truly had...

I have someone, or rather something, with me at all times. It’s there when I wake up and when I lie in bed gearing up to get up. It’s there...

Someone once asked me what it was like to be an RN who has cancer. It made me think about the unique process of being both the patient and a...

When I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2011, I had never heard of this cancer and although I had been sick for a few months leading up to my...

I’m not sure I still understand how drastic and life-changing finding out I had blood cancer was when I was 25 years old. Well, wait, actually it took 2 months...

Leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma are each types of cancer that start in the blood cells. The cancer then spreads throughout the body by means of the bloodstream or lymphatic system...

Have you ever had a headache, pulsing right behind your eyes, and reaching straight through to the back of your head after a spinal procedure? Then you might have experienced...

Receiving a blood cancer diagnosis is an overwhelming and anxiety-ridden event. It can often present us with many questions, including if our doctor has made the correct diagnosis. Your doctor...

Navigating a new cancer diagnosis and treatment can be challenging and overwhelming. You may have a lot of questions that come up, some that you never imagined you’d be asking...