Cancer

On an Island Far Away From Home

I don’t think I can think of anything more isolating than having cancer and ongoing treatment in a foreign land away from home, friends, and family.

Diagnosis

Everyone’s journey with cancer is different. And yet, everyone’s begins the same. One minute, you’re a person. The next, you’re a patient. A cancer patient. 

Infertility Chose Me

I didn’t choose not to have children; my body decided for me. My heart and brain were left out of the decision. More than a decade later, this is my first time writing about this. My heart still hurts, and tears roll down my cheeks as I type this.

The Invisible Battle

It all started when I was diagnosed with Graves disease and thyroid nodules in the summer of 2020. I was told I was a complex case but my endocrinologist never said the word cancer to me, so it never even crossed my mind. Being 33 years old and diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer is never something I could have imagined. 

Dear Breast Cancer, I’m Celebrating the Wins

On August 24, 2022, at 40 years old I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was living blissfully unaware and taking “normal” for granted.

Cancer, you took what I thought defined my beauty: my breasts, my nipples, my hair and eyebrows, the brightness in my eyes. You put my body through the wringer with early menopause, sleepless nights filled with tears and anxiety, pains, diarrhea, 12 extra pounds, bloating, and depression.

Dear Cancer, It’s Time to Break Up

Dear Cancer,

When you first entered my life, I greeted you with my fists up, ready to fight. You were scary… but I knew giving up was scarier. You never failed to remind me day after day that you were there. You whispered in my ear, “Time is running out. Just give up. You’re never getting out of here alive.”

Dear Cancer, I Knew That Something Was Lurking

Dear Cancer,

I’m not really sure how to address you. You’re kind of like that mean girl who bullies just because she can or the mysterious stranger in the corner of the room—the kind that people are interested in but don’t want anything to do with.

Dude, Where’s My Erection? (Part II)

Welcome to Part II of a three-part conversation exploring the cancer and erection connection (turns out, there was so much good stuff to share that I had to extend the series!). As we dug into the nitty gritty of what erections actually are and how they work back in Part I, it became clear that there are several steps in the process that are vulnerable to the impacts of cancer and its treatments. Next on the agenda is what to do about it!

Dear Cancer, You Weren’t Invited

Dear Cancer,

You came into my life abruptly and invaded my body. The moment I heard your name you terrorized my soul until it was dust in the wind. You are soul-crushing. Every cancer patient would agree that we wish we would have never met you. But here we are. You make the strongest souls weak.

Dear Cancer, You Tried to Take My Life Away Twice

Dear Cancer,

On Feb 26, 2023, you surprised me when I was referred to a blood specialist. My blood count showed I was anemic and the numbers got very high. My doctors could not figure out why I was anemic or why my abdominal area felt hard around my belly.