January, 18th 2025: Join us for food, drinks, dancing, and author sharing — all to support our mission. Learn more here!
AYA Cancer
Lifelines Through a Keyboard
Shock permeated my breast cancer diagnosis. I was too young and healthy for this disease, or so I thought. I was fooled by the longevity that ran in my family. Now chemotherapy ran through my veins, and radiation also took its toll on my body.
Read More...the timeless passages of my mind and soul
Every now and then I think about shaving my head again and
how maybe if I shave my head again,
flowers will start to grow out of my eyes, blinding me with the beauty
The Life You Save May Be Your Own
In elementary school, my teachers always told us it was important to understand math because “you won’t always have a calculator in your pocket.” That sentiment hasn’t aged well, given that my iPhone and Alexa are always within reach.
Read More...Becoming More Than Okay
“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.
Read More...The Give and Take of Cancer
I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 39 – a time in my life when everything finally felt steady. Life had a rhythm, a sense of peace I had worked so hard to build. I had a stable job I genuinely enjoyed, daily routines that grounded me, and a grown, independent daughter who had become her own beautiful person.
Read More...Choosing Hope
Cancer has taken so much. It’s hard to think of what it’s given. But I suppose it has put me in the here and now – forced me to be in the present. Required that I think of life as a gift where tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.
Read More...Thick is Beautiful
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
Read More...Overcoming Health Anxiety
For as long as I can remember, getting cancer has been one of my biggest fears. When I was a child, my parents had a medical encyclopedia with a symptom checker section I used to pore over, with every symptom eventually leading to an “Emergency! Get help now!” or “This could be a life threatening disease like cancer, go to the doctor!” box.
Read More...Your Worth
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.
Read More...Why Wouldn’t Cancer Radicalize You?
Walkers, wheelchairs, canes. Tattoos, skin grafts, port scars. Those just-growing-in chemo bobs and badass wigs. Jackets, handheld fans, water bottles.
Read More...