The Elephant in the Room is Cancer. Tea is the Relief Conversation Provides.

Posts by Hail H. Quackenbush

Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma ALK+

Hail H. Quackenbush is an Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma ALK+ survivor and is currently in treatment (which is thankfully keeping him NED) on an outpatient, oral targeted therapy for a recurrence. He holds a degree in Natural History, and his field work during college took him to many different places, from excavating a dinosaur skeleton in Colorado to studying elephants, lions, and other wildlife in South Africa. Before his recurrence, he worked at an animal rescue farm and he has more recently begun working as an actor and singer in musical theatre. He also plays with his town’s Ukulele Society, volunteers with the local Nature Center; and among other things he enjoys reading, writing poetry, playing the guitar and piano, spending time outside, and spending time with family and friends.

(Not Trusting) My Body, (But Trusting) My Self

by Hail H. Quackenbush July 29, 2024

When I was a little kid, I trusted my body pretty well. I could count on it to run the fastest, land that ollie I was trying to do on my skateboard, send the soccer ball into the net for a goal, land feet-first into the water after flipping around in the air off the high-dive.

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Storm of Words

by Hail H. Quackenbush January 9, 2024

Woody Guthrie cried out
into the rising dust,
singing,
“I’ve heard a storm
of words in me” ––
A storm of words…

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Into the Woods

by Hail H. Quackenbush July 26, 2023

Cancer is one of those things in life that everyone understands is a tragic occurrence, but no one *really* understands what it’s like unless they’ve been through it, or are close to someone who has—which is one of the reasons, of course, why it can feel especially isolating to be an AYA cancer patient.

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