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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The “How” of Grief
He holds up the object in front of him with a wide smile on his face. A cookie – seemingly innocent and yet it looked enough like a breast. The first Pinktober after my mastectomy and lymph node dissection, I stumbled into ‘a bake sale for breast cancer’ and “boob cookies” were being sold – sugar cookies frosted pink with nipples.
Read More...Letter to my Unborn Children
I always knew having you was a long shot, a thought, a wild dream / Yet night after night I prayed over my womb asking God to bless me with the gift of Life / I had dreams of feeling your every movement from within my womb / Hearing your heartbeat for the first time
Read More...Calling All White Allies to Find Their “Something”
Two weeks after my college graduation, I was thrilled to land a job working in cancer research at a prestigious cancer center in Cleveland. I was especially excited to be working to provide better access to clinical trials for blood cancer patients since a dear friend of mine is a childhood leukemia survivor. Little did I know as a young and healthy 22-year-old, that the same friend would be shuttling me to and from appointments at the same cancer center after my own cancer diagnosis.
Read More...Grief as an Oak Tree
When your mother is in the world, I liken it to standing under a great oak. The branches are a canopy of safety from the harsh elements; it has always been there and feels like it will always be there…
Read More...A Life Without Parents
Have you ever wondered what life would be like without parents? A harsh reality for many people out there. Yes, we are born from an egg and sperm, from a female and male. Yes, these are our biological parents, but are they the ones that make us who we are today?
Read More...When Cancer Stole My Voice, Mindset Helped Me Find It
Talking about mindset feels like a minefield when it comes to cancer survivorship, but I’m going to do it anyway. In a world where we as cancer patients and survivors are constantly bombarded with toxic positivity and sentiments such as “Just Stay Positive” or “Everything Happens for a Reason,” the one suggestion that felt somewhat helpful to me (relatively speaking) was to “Take Things One Day at a Time.”
Read More...Mindfulness Takes Center Stage
It’s raining right now, and you’d think this would be the perfect atmosphere to write this piece. I have soft, relaxing music playing, and I can hear the pitter patter of the rain outside. Despite all this, I find writing this to be extremely difficult. I’m not used to reading my own work aloud, and the idea of doing so makes me second guess each sentence I type out.
Read More...Unpacking Mindfulness
Mindfulness. Is it a state of being? Understanding? I’m not quite sure, but I think I have finally gotten there. By there I mean a state of mind where I’m not filled with fear or anxiety of what’s next, but rather comfortable with the decisions I have made so far.
Read More...Grief vs. Belief
Life-changing events have come and gone on several occasions in my 33 years; my dad’s dementia, Mum’s fractured pelvis, and my brother’s stage IV lymphoma. Some have come and not quite gone, too – my own brain tumor still hangs around like a (thankfully now small) reminder, and that’s what led me to Elephants and Tea!
Read More...Living My Best Ostomate Life
These days when someone gives the advice to “live your best life,” many might associate the phrase with celebrity journalist and talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, who began using it regularly on her show and in O Magazine beginning in 1998.
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