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

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Posts by Karrah Teruya

3x Patient, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Dear Cancer, I Might Miss You

by Karrah Teruya July 11, 2024

Dear Cancer,

I have written this letter to you a thousand times in my head. Each time, I argued about how I felt about you. How could I be angry at something that takes such an impersonal form? You aren’t even real. You don’t have a soul.

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Dear Future Cancer Patient

by Karrah Teruya April 18, 2024

You may be thinking that this letter made its way to you late. I assure you it didn’t. What good would have been accomplished if I had warned you of the tragedy to befall you? Would you have wanted all of your present moments to be tainted with the anxiety of the arduous journey ahead? Worry will cost you twice if you let it, once in the present and again in the future.

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Coping in the Present

by Karrah Teruya March 5, 2024

As a young adult, you have your entire life ahead of you until a cancer diagnosis forces you to consider the harsh reality of your mortality. Like most AYA cancer patients, my first diagnosis was shocking, and my entire world stopped.

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Confined by the Present

by Karrah Teruya January 31, 2024

It will never be the same
There are people all around me
They show their love
They show support
But it can only go skin deep

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Coping with Cancer and Isolation

by Karrah Teruya January 11, 2024

Amidst the coloring books, fluffy blankets, and influx of letters that people provide to support you while facing cancer, it can still be incredibly isolating. While they’re incredibly kind and thoughtful, they do not possess the power to make you feel any less alone. You can be surrounded by a community of people who love and support you and still feel isolated.

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