Articles

Long before the Cabbage Patch dolls, we baby boomer girls had Chatty Cathy! Santa Claus brought me one for Christmas in 1960. (My parents ordered her from the Montgomery Ward Catalog...

Being a part of a blood cancer community is not something I ever thought I would do. I actually stayed far away from support groups when I was in active...

It’s hard for me to say what makes my tennis game great on one day, good on another, and pretty bad on others. It has the same variability as many...

This year I turned 60 and on my birthday I made a pledge to try 60 new things. It has been 6 months and I have been very busy working...

Years ago, I helped my mother prepare for her Sunday School class meeting because it was her turn to host and serve a dessert. So we picked apples from a...

Recently, I came up with the idea of making a storyboard. I often go to Be The Match in-person bone marrow registry drives. I love doing in-person drives because people...

My life was turned upside down with my unexpected cancer diagnosis. It was initially difficult to plan for the future. I considered things I would miss or no longer enjoy...

When I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2011 (which, by the way, when I say this, I feel like I’m the old guy telling kids how we did things...

Well, believe it or not, this week is week 32 of pregnancy and I have hit the eighth month! I can’t really believe how quickly time has flown by. The...

“You don’t look sick!” I’ve been told over and over again. Most of my pain is not readily visible. My oncologist had told me that I had won the “cancer...

On July 31, 2007, Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. I was watching and paying attention. As I watched Robin, she...

Happy Valentine's Day!!! If you're new here or even if you have seen my face before, Hello! I am Amanda Panda! I love pandas! And today is Valentine's Day! I...

I want to preface this by saying I appreciate each and everything all of my caretakers did for me. Being sick was a new experience for me and those who...

In case you missed it, check out Part 1 of this series! The adage that “the customer is always right” may not always be true, but it is so much...

"Sometimes you have to buy flowers for yourself!" my friend said. So she does!  My friend, Lynn, frequently buys flowers to cheer up her office at work. Why not? I...

When you know something is not right with your body, do not accept pat answers from doctors. More so, if you are like my daughter who has Lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP)...

Every chronic and life-threatening condition comes with its own symptoms and challenges, and while each individual's experience is unique, there is wisdom to be found in learning how others have...

What a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive. Though this quote may not be exactly where I’m going, there is a tangled mess when we deal with...

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve written which is odd as I have some mega news and normally I’d be shouting about it all over the internet, but, this...

If you live in Massachusetts but not in Boston, you’re a Bostonian on Marathon Monday. That at least is how I, living 90 miles away in Western Massachusetts, feel. And...