Articles

Rev. Isaac Dusenbury is a chaplain at Duke University Hospital. He completed his chaplain residency at Duke University Hospital’s Surgical and Intensive Care Unit and graduated from the Divinity School...

When you are in the throes of chemo, the real heart of cancer and its treatment, it consumes you. Mentally, physically and spiritually, all your energy is focused upon besting...

Back when I was running a lot, I often vowed to work on my neglected upper body strength. That meant recommitting myself to going to exercise classes, doing planks, or...

A cancer patient must be focused on healing and fighting their disease. However, due to spiraling medical expenses, especially drug costs, many cancer patients may worry about paying for expenses...

I once heard of a man who had cancer and was given only a short time to live. His family didn’t talk about it. Even he didn’t know what to...

Before every chemotherapy appointment, I packed a tote bag full of things that I found comforting or useful. Once I finished chemo, I started to make bags for other cancer...

Polycythemia vera is a type of blood cancer called myeloproliferative neoplasm, or MPN. In polycythemia vera, the bone marrow produces too many red blood cells. In many cases, people with...

Getting the right doctor is one of the most important things you could do for your health. Everyone suggests you get a second opinion, and while it is a pain...

Chemo: The gift that keeps on giving, am I right?! The “new normal” we experience with cancer is not just learning how to navigate our lives personally and socially, but...

My mother died from lung cancer, my daughter got Hodgkin lymphoma at 25, and I too am a cancer patient. I have and am living with stage four thyroid cancer...

When people hear that I had four bone marrow transplants, their reactions fall into three categories summarized like so: To back up, a few people have said that my first...

Marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) is a slow-growing type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), or blood cancer. Lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell in the immune system, has two types that...

A two-week break from treatment has started!!! Which is beyond amazing. I've needed this. The exhaustion has been beyond bearable. I have been at breaking point. I have been reminded why...

If you would have asked me to tell you about myself a few years ago, I would have probably started with my family. I would have told you stories about my...

A cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming for family and others in your life. It may be necessary to actively work to promote supportive relationships at this difficult time. The challenges...

When I was kid, I liked roller coasters. I wasn’t a roller coaster nut but I was a fan. What I didn’t like were the rides that spun you upside...

Well, it hasn’t been a great couple of weeks. After I wrote the post about still feeling good on a double dose, I noticed some things. And they aren’t great. My...

All my life I’ve been an introvert and a loner. Even in high school I didn’t belong to any clicks. I wasn’t a jock, or a nerd, or one of...

Let me share a letter I recently wrote to a cousin who told me he would be happy to help me with an issue I had with my multiple myeloma...

Essential thrombocythemia is a rare blood condition that affects platelets. Platelets are blood cells that control bleeding. Essential thrombocythemia is a type of myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN). In these blood cancers...