January, 18th 2025: Join us for food, drinks, dancing, and author sharing — all to support our mission. Learn more here!
AYA Cancer
Dear Body
This topic is touchy for me as I never spoke about my body to anyone before. Growing up in a close-knit society where your neighbors will report any indecent behavior on your part, I was always afraid to expose my body anywhere.
Read More...My Bones Ache
My bones ache, My muscles burn, An unusual hurt, Now, an ordinary burden. My brain zaps, My body weak, I can’t go onIt makes me weep.
Read More...When the Silence Got Loud
The day I was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer, everything got very quiet. Not in the room. The doctor kept talking. Words like “radiation,” “chemotherapy,” and “surgery” filled the space. But inside, something went still.
Read More...The Sweeping Sadness. Not Enough Time.
When you are told that you have an incurable disease, it doesn’t process. It doesn’t connect in your brain that you are going to die. You always knew you were going to die, but do we understand what that means, or do we sweep it away as an after thought.
Read More...Permission Slip
Immature. Iconic. Classic. If you grew up when I did, those three words easily describe Blink-182. And if you had told my younger self that Blink-182 would one day help me process cancer survivorship, I would have laughed in your face—because 1) that seemed incredibly unlikely, and 2) surely I’d be quite elderly if/when I got cancer.
Read More...Lessons and Love from a CEO
My name is Ashlee. Even though I have three kids, these days I am known mostly as “Michael’s mom”. Or just “Mom”. There are some people who call me “CEO”. Oh, not that kind. CEO meaning “Caregiver Extra Ordinaire”.
Read More...Beyond the Diagnosis: How Cancer Redefined My Work and Purpose
When I was diagnosed with breast cancer at 36, my world separated into a clear before and after. I had no family history, no known genetic mutations, and I was living a very active lifestyle, so the diagnosis came out of nowhere.
Read More...Roadside Bambi
Cancer did not teach me that life can end at 31 in a bar with a dancing jukebox. no no no no no, my sister taught me that 4 years ago.
Read More...Miracle Drug
The side effects sheet is so long, I could wrap it around me like a foreboding hug. The warning label is bright yellow and warns “CAUTION-HAZARDOUS DRUG.”
Read More...The Messy Middle
A PSA from someone the universe body slammed, who still refuses to give up the mic. Public Service Announcement: You have no control over your life. None. Zero. Zilch.
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