Infections and Informed ConsentRecently a friend of mine and I were talking about how to navigate relationships. It’s a conversation that more and more people are having, but to cancer patients, it’s a...reactions21comments
The Emotional and Mental Impact of COVID-19The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everyone’s lives in 2020. However, recent evidence shows it may have effects beyond the inconveniences and interruptions to daily life. New research shows that the...reactions4comments
New Year Resolutions Can Bring Surprises (Part 1)Every year I make new year resolutions and typically, they don’t last. I am much better at making a plan anytime and then (usually) sticking with it. I make it...reactions6comments
A Review of Reuben Kincaid RememberedLike most teenage girls in the 1970s, I watched the television show, The Partridge Family. David Cassidy, who played the oldest son Keith, sure was cute! It turns out that...reactions10comments
The Fullness of LivingAs a boy, I was into biology. I used to collect butterflies and explored tide pools. I stuffed a jar inside one of my mother’s nylons and captured plankton by...reactions11comments
Positivity in the New YearThe power of positivity is mighty. While only science, sometimes aided with nutrition and homeopathic methods, can cure, there is something to be said for the glass half full mentality...reactions8comments
How Virtual Reality Changed My RealityMy friend bought me a virtual reality (VR) headset for Christmas. He ordered it before Black Friday and before I had the chance to decline it. It was a very...reactions15comments
What A YearWhat. A. Year. Who would have thought that it would have been like this?! In a weird way, it’s nice to have lived through something unprecedented that will be written about...reactions4comments
Two Years Seemed So Far Off When I Was Diagnosed...It’s almost here. That date that some cancer patients reach after their illness progresses past a certain point. The two-year cancerversary, the end of the beginning, the “OMG did I...reactions8comments
The Other D-wordAuthor’s Warning: the following article is about a bodily function some people are uncomfortable talking about; defecation. Actually, it will focus on the subset called diarrhea. If you are uncomfortable...reactions6comments
Speak Up (Kindly) If Something’s Not Right!This past year, while receiving treatments at my local cancer care center, I noticed that every time I went for another one, I was being cared for by a different...reactions4comments
Helping Cancer Patients Deal with Emotional IssuesThe emotional effects of a cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming. When first diagnosed, I felt anger and a tremendous feeling of loss of control. Expected reactions to this life-threatening illness...reactions13comments
Cancer, Mind Demons, & the Importance of DistractionsCancer, it’s scary, unpredictable, and exhausting. It drains your energy all the time and makes doing anything almost impossible, physically. There’s an entire second side to cancer and chemo, though...reactions10comments
Update On My JourneyAn update on my journey and battle with blood cancer continues. To date, four infusions of R-CHOP have been completed and the latest scans show that the cancer appears to...reactions14comments
Essential Thrombocythemia and JAK2 MutationEssential thrombocythemia (ET) is a rare disease. People who have it, though, on average, tend to have a normal life expectancy. People who have ET have an increased number of...reactionscomments
My Journey: Acute Myeloid Leukemia at 19 Years OldOn April 26th, 2019, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at the age of 19. At the time, I was a sophomore in college and a field hockey player...reactions5comments
Caregiver/Cancer Patient Interview (Part 2)My daughter was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma when she was 25. It’s been a few years since then, but I decided to interview her and hear her thoughts about that...reactions6comments
A Christmas CAR T MiracleOne of the best and worst parts of having cancer is the relationships with others who have the same disease. The highs of making lifelong friendships are sometimes trumped by...reactions18comments
Grieving Over CancerOn November 22, 1963, most baby boomers remember what happened that day. I was practicing my printing in a second-grade classroom at McKinley Elementary in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Our principal's voice...reactions20comments
From Emotional Regulation to Emotional AcceptanceI’ve been a cancer patient for at least eight years so far. That’s at least eight years of balancing symptoms, appointments, tests, treatments, and side effects. Being a cancer patient...reactions12comments