ALL

Thank You Cancer for Showing Me How to Live

At 31, my life turned upside down in an instant. Being diagnosed with cancer was a shock that changed everything. Now, ten years later, I’m a three-time cancer survivor, and my perspective on life has dramatically shifted. Surviving something I thought would kill me has given me a new outlook.

I Am No Longer Safe

Cancer stripped away my armor, leaving me feeling exposed and vulnerable like the day I was born. The security I once took for granted vanished with my diagnoses not once, twice, but three times of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. My expectation of living a long and healthy life was shattered.

Dear Cancer, I Might Miss You

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.

Darkest Hours

A year away in California, a dream unfolding
Training, motivated, hungry for College
In the best shape of my life, smiling and at peace
Life crashes down, sickness strikes at twenty

Dear Future Cancer Patient

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.

Establishing Your New Normal

Establishing New Boundaries: From years of observing the interactions between my daughter, dad and their families, friends and medical team, I learned that it’s paramount for patients and/or their caregivers to establish personal boundaries around the way they are treated with both words and actions.

Ten Years Old

Ten years old, first day of fifth grade, I can tell this story countless times, and it will never fade. The mild leg pain as I awake for a new day, assuming it’s a growth spurt, telling myself it will go away.