Cancer
Night Vision
Some years are a dark tunnel / claustrophobic with exhaust / Some, an open field / the biggest sky and the slightest breeze / And I suspect some years / fall somewhere in between / But my memory lately / is of the extremes
Read More...The Who’s Who of Sexual Health in Survivorship
Building a Sexual Wellness Recovery Team. Changes in sex, intimacy, and relationships are common after cancer. But if you are experiencing an issue, it can feel pretty lonely, and you may not know who to ask for help. Your primary care or oncology care teams are always a good place to start.
Read More...Stop Calling Me a Warrior
I remember the day I was diagnosed with cancer, but it is all a bit of a blur. You know how sometimes videos are made of snap shots of split-second moments—they just flash up on the screen. Maybe a picture for each minute.
Read More...The “G” Word
If I said, “The ‘C’ word”, you would know exactly what I’m referring to. Cancer has earned many names and initials over the years. Yet there’s one word that we still can’t seem to find ways to discuss, we struggle to accept it, and we simply fear it.
Read More...A Horrible Nightmare
May 24th started like any other regular Sunday morning. I had just returned from a trip and was catching up with my dad, stepmom, and younger sister, telling stories while drinking a cup of coffee. Our light and giggly conversations about the weather and our dinner plans for that night quickly took a turn as I heard the words, “There is something we have to tell you.”
Read More...Supported and Surrounded
I sat on the crisp white sheets of my friend’s bed, scrolling through my phone. Suddenly, my face felt wet and my hand pulled away from my nose, covered in blood. I sprung from the bed so as not to sully the new sheets, dashed to the sink and stuffed paper towel after paper towel in my nose.
Read More...Let Your Grief Help You Find the Light
“People talk about grief as emptiness, but it’s not empty. It’s full. Heavy. Not an absence to fill. A weight to pull. Your skin caught on hooks chained to rough boulders made of all the futures you thought you’d have.”
Read More...Coping with Colon Cancer
In July 2021, my doctors declared me NED, which means no evidence of disease! Suck it, cancer. I feel super lucky to be joining a new group of warriors: cancer survivors. I am six months post-chemo and surgery after battling stage III colon cancer for nearly eight months.
Read More...Business As Unusual
It is hard to resume
business as usual
when you’ve watched the clock’s hand
move toward midnight
as flesh
Cancer and Surviving
The year was 2010; when I was 11 years old, I was diagnosed with cancer. I saw blood that was dark “wine-colored” red in my colostomy bag (which is basically a bag that has to drain the intestine), while I was waking up from my long night’s sleep in my hospital room.
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