Survivorship

The stories and experiences are written by people after cancer treatments. These stories are written for those learning how to get back to work, college or just trying to be themselves again. Just getting past treatments isn’t enough, it is surviving and thriving that is key to being you again.

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Becoming More Than Okay

by Dillon Groover April 20, 2026

“No one will ever understand.” “Just pretend to fit in.” “Why can’t I just be normal?” And more hyperbolic, rhetorical questions to harass myself with over the years.

Thicker skin doesn’t suggest overweight, A bigger size doesn’t mean too big, The size of a waist doesn’t define beauty, Hair doesn’t define me though history is attached to it, Cancer made me believe that I had lost myself due to losing my hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes

Your Worth

by Chelsey Gomez April 6, 2026

I’ve had a complicated relationship with my body since I was a preteen; I was struggling with my body image alongside a turbulent childhood. This was the perfect storm for the development of an eating disorder, which I struggled with for two years.

Why Wouldn’t Cancer Radicalize You?

by Liddy Grantland

Walkers, wheelchairs, canes. Tattoos, skin grafts, port scars. Those just-growing-in chemo bobs and badass wigs. Jackets, handheld fans, water bottles.

Things I Wish My Doctor Knew

by Dr. Nikki Taylor, MD March 30, 2026

I do not write this to assign blame. I write it because I survived — and survival has given me clarity. There are things I wish my doctor knew. I wish my doctor knew how to calculate my breast cancer risk accurately.

Words Matter

by Perry Zimmerman

I wish my doctors knew how powerful their words can be. Whether it’s on a diagnosis day, during treatment, or after treatment, words matter. And they stay with us. “I’m not gonna lie, I’m worried,” my surgeon said after I got that dreaded x-ray of my shoulder in November 2018.

Five Lessons from a Survivor

by Natalie J

Sometimes I wish I could have said the things I was screaming in my head or cried about on the inside, fearful to say out loud. As a master-trained healthcare administrator, adult caregiver, advocate for health equity, and a patient with various conditions, I am no stranger to interacting with doctors.

The Emotions of Cancer

by Vikki Ramdass March 23, 2026

Let’s begin by listing the emotions that I have experienced since diagnosis. Before diagnosis, I was a quiet girl, never said much, kept to myself. Upon diagnosis, I became scared, fearful and disenchanted with life and everyone around me.

Rebuilding Myself, Rebuilding Others

by Ashley Rath March 16, 2026

There’s a line by Taylor Swift that has stuck with me: “Once we have spoken our saddest story, we can be free of it.” For me, that saddest story began in March of 2021, when a sudden pain in my right breast sent me to the doctor. I was 39, busy with work and raising two young girls, and my OBGYN thought it would be nothing more than a cyst.

Embracing Every Emotion: My Path as a Pediatric Survivor

by Mercades Fisher

A few weeks ago, I was talking to a cancer buddy, and he recommended I try to submit this article. I always felt like I couldn’t become friends with people from Elephants and Tea because I was so young with my cancer diagnosis.