CANCER AND LIFE ARE NOT LINEAR JOURNEYS

One of the hardest things to realize about cancer is that it rarely goes in a straight line. Did you believe when you were young that life went in a straight line? I sure did, and was very naïve. I had my life all mapped out for me. I would go to......

CANCER ‘SURVIVOR’:WHAT’S IN A WORD?

Isn’t everyone a survivor from the time of diagnosis to the end? One reader thinks so. By Jane Biehl PhD I never believed the old adage “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never break me.” I have been terribly hurt by words and have, unfortunately, uttered phrases I......

MAKE THE INTERNET YOUR FRIEND, NOT YOUR FOE!

I receive e-mails and questions from people all over the country because of my website and articles I write for CURE®. There are so many poignant questions and concerns: “What chemo are you on?” “What are the side effects?" “I am scared to death to start chemo after reading about the side effects......

CANCER SURVIVORSHIP AND THE ART OF LETTING GO

I have a daily calendar on my desk with very wise sayings. One that really stood out was by J.C.Watts. “It doesn’t take a lot of strength to hang on. It takes a lot of strength to let go.” I had to think about this for a minute. We have all seen......

WHAT IS REMISSION

My doctor explained I was in what was called “partial remission.”  What does this mean?  Web MD https://www.webmd.com/cancer/remission-what-does-it-mean explains “The cancer is still there, but your tumor has gotten smaller – or in cancers like leukemia, you have less cancer throughout your body.” Complete remission means all your cancer cells are gone......

CANCER IS TRYING TO TEACH ME PATIENCE

Impatience was my worst trait growing up. I was constantly reminded how low my patience level was. I remember my mother repeatedly telling me over and over again, “You need to be patient.” Now that she is gone, my older sister has reminded me a time or two about this. I laugh......

CANCER SURVIVORS: TAKE IT DAY BY DAY, KEEP PUTTING ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER

Sometimes all we can do it put one foot in front of the other to keep going. Recently I was lucky enough to be featured in a newspaper article highlighting my books and telling about my journey with first hearing loss, then cancer. The reporter, unknown to me, interviewed a wonderful friend......

HOW DO YOU REALLY FEEL? A QUESTION TO ASK CANCER SURVIVORS

I learned a long time ago whenever someone had a tragedy happen – such as a loss of a loved one – to say less rather than more. A platitude like “This is God’s will,” or “There is a reason for everything that happens,” is just not what the person needs to......

PARTIAL CANCER REMISSION: TAKING IT ONE DAY AT A TIME

When I have my “what if”moments I remember this: Try to take things one day at a time I am in a curious, coveted, yet uncertain period of my cancer journey. “Remission” or what my doctor calls “partial remission” is here! A blood cancer such as mine is not curable. I have......

CANCER CAN FEEL LIKE A TICKING TIME BOMB

How do we cope with the feeling that our body has somehow betrayed us and we have a ticking time bomb inside of us? When a person is first diagnosed with cancer, he or she is numb. We all know people who have this awful disease, but can’t believe it is actually......

CANCER SURVIVORS : DO IT NOW!!

We will all eventually run out of time to do things. But for cancer survivors this sense of urgency is even greater. Almost every single cancer survivor I have met says that the one gift from a terrible disease like cancer is we learn to appreciate every single day. It is sad......

LIVING ON BORROWED TIME WITH CANCER

One of the greatest things about being a writer is that I have the opportunity to correspond with people with cancer from all over the world. Unfortunately, cancer is a universal disease. I have learned so much and am grateful for that. I spoke with a woman named Georgia, who was initially......