Cancer
Dear Cancer, Thank You for Helping Me Find Myself
Dear Breast Cancer,
Thank you.
Thank you for helping me find myself.
Thank you for releasing toxicity in my life.
Thank you for restoring my smile.
Thank you for forcing me to set boundaries.
Dear Cancer, I Never Expected You
Dear Cancer,
Before meeting you, I was so distracted. I lived such an unintentional life, carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. I didn’t know how to forgive. I was consumed with bitterness and annoyance at everything in me and around me.
Read More...Dear Cancer, You Inflict Pain
Dear Cancer,
I am writing to express my anger regarding the pain you have caused. You have taken many things from my life that I will never be able to get back.
My grievances began in 1993 at the age of five when you first arrived.
Read More...Dear Cancer, I Knew I Had to Survive
Dear Cancer,
I hate you. You took more from me than you will ever know. There I was, newly married, thirty years old, running half marathons, when you decided to invade my body and life. I had been sick for nine months, vomiting every day and seeing doctor after doctor, and no one could figure out what was wrong with me.
Read More...Dear Cancer, You Failed
Dear Stage 2 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma,
We met in 2020 during a pandemic. So, I guess you wanted to be memorable. I am not sure what else your agenda was, but If it was to defeat me, I am sorry that you failed at that mission.
Read More...Dear Cancer, This Has Not Been a Linear Journey
Dear Cancer,
Last year I wrote you a letter like this one, but now I am in a very different place, and I have a lot more to say. Last year when I wrote to you, I was a 23-year-old patient struggling with the effects of chemo. Now I am a 24-year-old survivor trying to heal and find my footing again.
Read More...No One is the Same
The survival rate of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia, assuming you make it through diagnosis and Induction (the first phase of treatment), is somewhere between 90-95% chance of full recovery. However, one study by the American Society of Hematology’s website Blood Journal, predicts “an early death rate of 5-10% within the first month of starting All Trans Retinoic Acid, mainly from intracranial bleeding.”
Read More...Losing Through Cancer
I remember the first-time cancer claimed the life of someone in my life. I was eight years old and in second grade.
My Great-Aunt Dorothy lived in New Jersey with her Italian-immigrant husband, my Great-Uncle Steve. She was my favorite family member because every time they came into town to visit, it was like a week-long party filled with Italian food and huge family gatherings.
Read More...Don’t Shut Your Feelings Out
Dear Younger Self,
I’m sorry I never took it seriously. You know, those hundreds of adults who told you that your fair-skinned complexion would never make you tan—no matter how much time in the sun is spent with no sunscreen in sight.
Read More...Finding Grace Through Grief
The first time I remember experiencing grief we were visiting my grandfather in hospice. I was ten, he had prostate cancer, and we were there to say goodbye. It was shocking to see how much he had changed.
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