ARTICLE FEATURED IN AAMDSIF NEWSLETTER

AAMDS is an acronym for Aplastic Anemia and MDS foundation and can be accessed at AAMDS.org. This organization is a gem for information on Aplastic Anemia and MDS. To my utter surprise they featured one of my articles in their February 2019 Newsletter! And yes - they included this picture of......

WHAT NOBODY TOLD ME ABOUT CANCER

Cancer – “the big C.” Everyone dreads getting this disease, and all of us have lost loved ones from it. We know, instinctively, that if we are unfortunate enough to be diagnosed, life will never be the same. What I was unprepared for was how much cancer changed my life. I was......

MY CANCER FAMILY

One of the bonuses I never expected as a cancer survivor was to meet and find a whole new family. I am single and most of my family is scattered all over the country. However, I am fortunate to be a part of several other families, who are my support group. They......

DON’T LET YOUR OIL BURN OUT WHEN FIGHTING CANCER

One of the hardest things about having cancer and the resulting treatments is the constant fatigue. Most of us lead busy lives and are totally unprepared when the tiredness hits us like a ton of brick. The problem is learning to sort out what needs to be done now, and what can......

WITH CANCER THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE!

One of my favorite books is Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. This heart retching story is about a psychiatrist who was imprisoned in four terrible Nazi camps during the war. He used his time there to observe the other prisoners and what he found surprised him. As the world knows,......

MY SERVICE DOG’S JOURNEY WITH MY CANCER

I lead my hearing ear dog, Sita, back to the room where I get the chemo. A staff person greets me as I slip off the orange vest with the forbidding words, “Do not pet.” Sita follows the person down the hall with tail wagging and heads to the drawer that has......

THE INTERNET CAN BE YOUR BEST FRIEND IF YOU HAVE CANCER

After I was initially diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome, I did what many people do. I perused the Internet for hours. The more I read the more confused and depressed I became. There are between 5 – 7different types of MDS and the average life span ranges from living two months to 10......

A DOG’S (AND CANCER SURVIVOR’S) PURPOSE TOO!

I am sure many of you have either read the book or seen the movie “A Dog’s Purpose.” I find this story especially fascinating because I have a service dog whose purpose has been to be my ears for ten years. I truly believe that anyone – cancer survivor or not –......

HOW SOCIAL MEDIA CAN HELP PEOPLE WITH CANCER

Being on Medicare sometimes makes me feel like an old fogey. I have no idea how to use most of it, because Snap Chat, Tweeting and Twitter are mysteries to me. A good friend once remarked that a smart phone can make one feel so dumb. He is right. I am concerned......

WORRY ABOUT THE DAY, NOT THE YEAR, WITH CANCER

I was relaxing and wanted to do something mindless over the holidays. I decided to watch a children’s movie I had never seen called “Happy New Year, Charlie Brown.” I love this cartoon and the characters in it. They were a large part of my childhood. Let me digress a little bit......

ARE THERE ANY REAL COINCIDENCES???

I am one of those people who don’t just believe in coincidences. I think we meet certain people for a reason. An unknown author said the famous quote “Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever......

REACHING OUT – GOING THE EXTRA MILE

I have mentioned in several articles what an inspiration my service dog has been to me. One of my favorite stories is Sita and the tissue. I worked in a private practice for several years with people who were truly hurting. I counseled both children and adults who had been both physically......