CORONAVIRUS AND CANCER SURVIVORS

Cancer is an insidious disease and all patients know this. We are aware that it was one little cell that went awry in our bodies, which caused the cancer to occur. It doesn’t matter which kind we are diagnosed with. Cancer is caused by changes (mutations) to the DNA within cells or......

INSOMNIA AND CANCER GO HAND IN HAND

Sleep – we all need it, want it and many of us do not get enough of it! A well-known philosopher, the Dalai Lama, states succinctly that “sleep is the best meditation.” However, when insomnia hits, sleep is no longer a relief because we dread going to bed. We anticipate we will......

THE FINGERPRINT OF CANCER

My wonderful pastor has a saying that I listen to over and over again. He says each of our faith journeys is a fingerprint of that person. No other person has the same experiences, beliefs or goals and is indeed unique. Our shape, the development of who we are, how we feel......

THE FATIGUE OF CANCER

Fatigue is something that everyone has experience with, but the fatigue of cancer is something unique that only patients and survivors understand and try to cope with. PUBLISHED MAY 15, 2020 The dictionary definition of fatigue is: “a feeling of tiredness and exhaustion both physically and mentally caused by exertion.” So, every......

GETTING TREATMENT DURING A PANDEMIC

I have incurable cancer, which means that I am continuously on one kind of treatment or another. The cancer center where I receive my treatments has been part of my life for ten years and is just like going to the grocery store or drugstore for me. My treatment regimen has changed......

THE GREAT EQUALIZER: COVID 19 AND CANCER

COVID-19 and cancer are very different in how they work in the body, but the psychosocial challenges they present are also very familiar. I remember as a young child saying to my parents that it was not fair when a child died of cancer. My father who was a school principal and......

HOW IS REMISSION SIMILAR TO COVID 19?

My cancer journey, like everyone else, has been unique and it seems to get weirder by the day. I received two wonderful pieces of news during the COVID 19 pandemic. The first was that I am in remission again! My blood counts are stable and I feel thrilled, humbled, excited, and scared......

A SIMPLE SCRATCH AND CANCER

Sometimes on the cancer journey, the side effects of treatment are not always the ones you expect. Most of us cancer survivors know the reality of “typical” (for lack of a better word) side effects of cancer and chemo. I am going to lump cancer and chemo together because we often are......

THE TEETER-TOTTER OF BLOOD DRAWS

Most of us never stop to think about how much information one little sample of blood can give us and our physicians. Since the pandemic, it has been a bit strange as I enter the hospital, have my temperature taken, and proceed to the Infusion wing of the hospital for my weekly......

WE ARE ALL TIRED

A cancer survivor reflects on how the COVID-19 pandemic can feel exhausting but notes that we can still persevere. I maintain every one of us in the United States, and around the world, is suffering from some form of PTSD from the pandemic. It seemingly hit us out of nowhere without any......

ONCOLOGY NURSES ARE A BLESSING

Before I became ill, I had wondered why anyone would want to work in a field where they knew people might die. But after meeting some incredible nurses during my cancer journey, I now know why. Like many people, I had the wrong stereotype about the entire field of medicine and oncology......

COVID 19 IS STEALING PRECIOUS TIME FROM CANCER SURVIVORS

Precious time, which we cancer survivors know is fleeting, is flying by and we all feel robbed. I think one of the hardest things for cancer survivors to realize about the coronavirus pandemic is that it is stealing precious time from us. My cancer is not curable, and I was given a......