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Hodgkin’s lymphoma
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...Desert Island
Living with you is like being stuck on a desert Island while watching boats, yachts, and ships pass you by. People see you on this island, wave, maybe offer you words of encouragement, but no one dares to step foot on this cancerous island, well, no one chooses to anyway.
Read More...From Ghost to Girl
Fight, flight, or freeze—they’re natural reactions to things that scare us. A tornado bearing down, a shadowy figure in the night, or, perhaps scariest of all, the thought of dying. For most people, death is just a passing thought, something far off in the future—until it’s not.
Read More...The Plan
You lie in a hospital bed. People in and out of your room, introductions, tests, bloodwork, scans, IVs, all a blur. This wasn’t part of the plan. You repeat your speech: name, date of birth, and why you’re here to all the hospital staff who enter all day and night. This wasn’t part of the plan.
Read More...A Conversation About Survivorship
The first time I rang the bell after my 6 months of hell, I felt nothing. I watched as my nurses rallied around me and celebrated my “success” but inside I knew my fight wasn’t done. I tried my hardest to fake my enthusiasm but in the end I knew that I was just beginning my fight.
Read More...Time Doesn’t Erase Memories
I happily chattered as I walked into a visitor center for a large company along with about 50 others in my similar profession. I knew we were visiting a company with a healthcare imaging division, but I also knew them for many other products.
Read More...Reality is…. Surviving Survival
Today’s the day! After all the tests, doctor’s appointments, biopsy, bloodwork, scans, treatment, hospital stays, and infusions, you get to ring the bell!! You are in remission!
Read More...The Waiting Room
I sit here in the hospital waiting room, pondering platitudes, since I have nothing better to do. Perhaps the best way to become friends with time is to decide it doesn’t exist.
Read More...Fake It Until You Make It
When you see cancer portrayed in the media, there are two common storylines. Either the patient is dying, or they are living their “best life” despite it all.
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