Articles

When you think of encouragement, you may think of giving someone support and reassurance. This is definitely true and is needed in many cases when you are helping someone you...

Fatigue. It is not “just being tired,” and it is an experience that individuals living with a chronic health condition know all too well. Fatigue can impact every aspect of...

Most of us know what a caregiver does, but not everyone fully understands what it is like to be a caregiver until they are in that role. To start a...

I’m probably not the only person who ever spaced out while driving. It happens when I’m intensely listening to the radio, or a podcast, or occasionally, though I don’t do...

When I retired from teaching in 2017, I had an exit plan. I recorded my students' grades, printed off a copy of my classroom's inventory, and left notes in my...

I grew up at a bay in Washington State. That’s probably why I find boating in Puget Sound so calming. It’s like I draw my peace from it. Out there...

During Invisible Illness Awareness Week, we want to recognize and shed light on all those affected by an illness that may go unnoticed despite the major impact your illness has...

The future is a wondrous place. Or so we’ve been told. The fact of the matter is that when you have cancer, the future isn’t quite as rosy a picture...

My middle child, my son, seemed to be the one around each time I had a fall. He had to rush some 90 miles when I landed in the hospital...

Each year, World Hospice and Palliative Care Day is observed in October. This year, October 10 will mark the day to celebrate and support hospice and palliative care around the...

Anytime you care for someone it’s hard. It’s hard for many reasons. Maybe it’s a time thing and now you have even more to do. Perhaps it’s a space thing...

Life with blood cancer can vary from person to person. Symptoms, treatment, side effects, progression, remission, and more are unique to each situation. For some, symptoms may be disabling and...

All I can say is that it has been interesting to undergo chemotherapy for the first time for blood cancer. As you might imagine, I approached my first treatment with...

At the newspaper where I was a reporter, if you read a too-long story or were making fun of yourself for writing one, you would say that it contained everything...

I am a survivor of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. During chemotherapy, my life was “on hold" while I focused on treatment. What would I do next in this new world post-cancer? Get...

Part of having cancer is facing the inevitable question, “is it terminal?” In some cases, it’s pretty clear from the jump what the prognosis is, but in other cases (aka...

There’s a corkboard at the front of my desk. I see it when I sit down to write, but I seldom notice the things pinned to it. Today though, one...

I quietly turned 50 at the end of May this year. I’ve never been too much into celebrating my yearly milestones. I did have a nice 50th birthday because I...

It’s Blood Cancer Awareness Month again. And once again, I have mixed feelings about it. I am pretty aware of my own blood cancer, thank you very much. I think...

September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month! During this time there are many fundraisers, walks, and information given out about the cancers. The problem is unless you have one of these...