January, 18th 2025: Join us for food, drinks, dancing, and author sharing — all to support our mission. Learn more here!
AYA Cancer
Winter Memories
It was October of 2018 when I passed out at an emergency room. I had been suffering from a random headache that for some reason didn’t seem to go away.
Read More...If My Body Could Talk
I know we are in our 20s, but what the fuck are you thinking?! You cannot do this to me. I shall retaliate! You run around, going from one thing to the next. Rest is essential for me so I can heal and regenerate. You push your boundaries daily, and I am having a hard time keeping up. We need a hard reset.
Read More...From Grief to Gratitude: The Unexpected Emotions of a Cancer Journey
Facing cancer at 27 is something I never thought I would have to do. I was super healthy, worked out almost every day, and took care of myself. I have DSRCT sarcoma which is super rare and aggressive. Being diagnosed with cancer is one of the scariest feelings, especially when you’re faced with a cancer […]
Read More...My Unbreakable Spirit: A 2x Cancer Survivor’s Story
Hello, my name is Nicole Lehrer, and I am a 42-year-old two-time cancer survivor. My journey began in 2009, not with me, but with my beloved Golden Retriever, Bailey, who was diagnosed with cancer. To pay for his chemotherapy, I started working two jobs. It was just a month later that I found a lump myself.
Read More...Connections Made Through Cancer
Where to begin with this topic? Well, I will start by letting go off all my previous friendships. Unfortunately, upon hearing my diagnosis in 2018, I was very disturbed.
Read More...Surviving Life: A Story of Mental Health and Cancer Intertwined
There is never a good time to be diagnosed with cancer and there was something about my timeline that really threw salt on an open wound. Before cancer was not easy, which meant that after cancer came into my life everything was just that much harder.
Read More...How My Experience With Thyroid Cancer Affects My Emotions
I think there are mixed emotions when you have experienced thyroid cancer. After I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma 5 years ago, it really surprised me.
Read More...Dear Body, You’re Doing Okay
I am a marathoner. I had been a marathoner. I was marathon training. Being a runner had and has been such a big part of my identity since 2014.
Read More...How Am I Supposed to Handle This
I guess you could say my journey starts like they all do going to the doctor for one thing and coming out with a diagnosis that changed my life. I went to my gynecologist to discuss having a hysterectomy because I was not going to have children and my periods were becoming tough to get through.
Read More...My Breastie
Our eyes met in the waiting room, hers younger and bright and a smile that was small but ever present. I don’t recall who spoke first, but that August date in 2024 soon became a fast best friendship of two women battling breast cancer with genetic mutations as well.
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