Lessons Learned with Lisa: Self Care

You are not alone if . . .

No one prepared you for how difficult survivorship would be
Cancer crosses your mind every single day, even years out of treatment
There are things, places, smells, and phrases that immediately trigger your anxiety
You are still figuring out how to incorporate self-care into your daily routine

Forty Thousand Feet

forty thousand feet.
a terrifying height.
at least it was,
it used to be.
every bump,
every shake would send me
over the edge.

Let Your Grief Help You Find the Light

“People talk about grief as emptiness, but it’s not empty. It’s full. Heavy. Not an absence to fill. A weight to pull. Your skin caught on hooks chained to rough boulders made of all the futures you thought you’d have.”

Dear Cancer: A Son’s Point of View

I remember when Mama’s phone started ringing. She went to the kitchen and started crying. Dada ran down the stairs and was holding Mama’s hand. I’ve never seen her cry like this before. I felt so scared. I didn’t know what was happening, so I just kept playing with my toys.

Cancer as a Catalyst for Change

We spend our whole adult lives trying to make healthy choices: eat this, not that…do this, not that… buy this, avoid that. I must admit, however, that it wasn’t until cancer became a part of my life and my everyday vocabulary that I truly took any of my daily choices seriously.

2020: What Fresh Start?

If I’m being completely honest, ‘survivor’ is still a term I struggle with. Something I often ask myself is: will I always feel this way? Is it hard for me to accept this term because the wounds are still so fresh?

Perspective Is Everything

You taught me the true meaning of perspective. Perspective is everything. You never know what someone else is going through. Before judging a situation or a person, stop and take a second to appreciate what you have and to do your best to understand where the person is coming from, what may be going on in their lives.