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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Preventative Measures
i could never eat as fast as my food could rot
milk goes sour
mold blooms on bread
even the oreos go stale
i stand each week at the counter
separating the good from the bad
Not An Easy Choice, My Odd Cancer
It all technically started at the time I was in rehab for one of those young strokes. They were concerned I wasn’t evacuating all the urine when I went so they wanted an ultrasound of my bladder.
Sure, why not. I didn’t mind at the time. The tech decided to peek lower just because we were there. They found an odd mass that I decided not to do anything with.
Read More...Orgasms After Cancer: Part II
Welcome to Part II of “Orgasms After Cancer!” In case you missed Part I, head back to the March 2022 issue of Elephants and Tea for a quick peek; it will be helpful as we move on to Part II. After all, the more you know about how things work, the more likely you are to discover what works for you. Sit tight, because things are about to get stimulating!
Read More...Cancer: A Poem
What can I say about this six-letter word?
My heart hurts every time I think about it
Am I living my worst nightmare?
Or is this my destiny?
Please tell me, I am desperate to know the truth.
Avoid Pregnancy as You Were Told
I was 36 when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Premenopausal. What some might describe as “childbearing age,” though I did not have children, nor did I have any intention of having them.
My cancer was hormone-positive, meaning that the tumor fed on the hormones produced by my reproductive organs, estrogen, and progesterone. This meant that, even more so than with most young cancer patients with a uterus, fertility was a part of the early conversations with my oncologist.
Read More...All We Need Is a Little Love and a Lot of Luck
I was 15 when I first noticed the tightness in my right leg. It was mild at first, but as the winter of 2005-06 progressed, the mild tightness grew into something worse. I began to wake every night because my leg was so tight. After weeks of this, my parents decided it was time to do something.
Read More...Being Diagnosed: My Stage 4 Journey
Remember the spring of 2020? When absolutely nothing major was going on in the world? While everyone else was dealing with the pandemic that shut everything down worldwide, just after my 38th birthday, I also was given the news that I had stage 4 metastatic melanoma. To make it more fun, I happened to be 24 weeks pregnant with my fourth child.
Read More...Heartbeats of Chemo
As I pulled into the parking lot in March 2020, I noticed how empty the clinic was. Only a few cars freckle the spaces, most in the employee section off to the right. At the door, I am greeted by a woman wearing a surgical mask and holding a thermometer.
Read More...The Pain I Feel
The pain I feel won’t go away
It lingers on day after day.
Treatment comes and goes
But the journey continues to have so many lows.
The Unspoken Truths About Life After Cancer
One of the best kept “secrets” of the cancer world is something that is no secret to many of us. What is this secret you may be asking? It’s simple: life “after” cancer really really sucks. If a cancer muggle read that they’d probably shout at me, “At least you’re alive! Be grateful!” Yes, I’m alive, but I often ask myself at what cost? Am I truly living?
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