Articles

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...

Life as a survivor for most may still include a busy day with the exception of having cancer. There we go with that word, but so many are hung up...

What is a clinical trial? Does it impact the care of a cancer patient? These are the questions that puzzle many cancer patients. By participating in a clinical trial, a...

On Jan. 31st, 2009, I had my fourth bone marrow transplant. Do the easy math, and you’ll see that Jan 31st, 2019, marked 10 years from that momentous date. But...

Almost every single procedure or event related to my cancer experience was set to be emotional but this one was different. These emotions were not born from fear or anxiety...

Cancer is such a scary thing. No one wants to hear the words, "You have cancer”. Because of that, we sometimes put off going to the doctor. We feel whatever...

Cancer is such a monumental, life-altering experience that it can be difficult not only to get through it but to return to “normal” afterwards.  Normal.  It’s a word that takes...

A reader pointed out that in my post on going home after transplant, part two, I said I had a bad rash but never said what it was from and...

I recently came across a great hashtag on Twitter: #docsplaining. It comes from the word “mansplaining.” That word has been around for about 10 years now, and is used to...