Survivorship
Surviving Survivorship: The Big C
The big C. The big C represents cancer, but change should be considered (I see the word change and sing “cha cha changes” in my head every single time). Change is a spectrum and is inevitable. Change can be good or bad, or something in between. It can impact you a smidge or profoundly, or something borderline. Cancer changes almost everything, especially perspectives.
Read More...PTSD: The Missed Diagnosis
When the word PTSD comes to mind, for some reason, I think about soldiers who have fought in the army or someone who had rough traumas. Maybe the soldier is my first thought because my husband is an Army veteran who served in the Iraqi war just after September 11. PTSD is something that he has dealt with since returning to civilian life.
Read More...I Captured the Flag, Now What?
I wish I could pinpoint the exact moment I went from “cancer patient” to “cancer survivor.” It’d be nice to post an annual ribbon on Facebook with a triumphant, inspirational message. After all, survivors are done with all the yucky parts of cancer, right? Survivorship is the ultimate “good vibes only” party and I’d like to know when I was invited.
Read More...Silence
Cancer is full of silence, even before diagnosis. The healthy cells that should be loud and destroy cancer cells go silent, allowing cancer to slowly and quietly ravage the bodies. Silently becoming deadly.
Read More...The Invisible Battle
It all started when I was diagnosed with Graves disease and thyroid nodules in the summer of 2020. I was told I was a complex case but my endocrinologist never said the word cancer to me, so it never even crossed my mind. Being 33 years old and diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer is never something I could have imagined.
Read More...Intimate Issues with Marloe: Your Brain in the Bedroom
While it’s true that the physiological aspects of sexual functioning, like vaginal lubrication, erection, and orgasm, are impacted in part by both our hormones and the health of the blood vessels and nerves that supply our nether-regions, that’s not the whole story.
Read More...Saying Something: We Survivors Don’t Need Excuses, We Need Support.
There are definitely wrong things to say to people with cancer. Take, for example, the comment I received as a chemo patient from a stranger who insisted that I watch a YouTube video on her phone.
Read More...Welcome to Elephants and Tea: A Letter from a Mother
IMAGINE you are told your child has cancer. They survive. And then they get diagnosed a second time. And they survive.
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