Last week, I was digging through a stack of aging, faded newspaper articles I wrote as a free-lancer back in the late 1990’s, hoping to find a particular story I thought might be a good fit for the blog. Suddenly, I landed on a clipping which I didn’t write. It had been snail-mailed to me … More Saving Lissa
This is not a story about my hair; but it starts there. It had been eight months since my last chemotherapy session and my short hair was as curly as Little Orphan Annie though the color was far different. This phenomenon, often referred to as chemo curl, is common post-treatment because the chemicals damage the … More A Tale of Two Journeys
December 9th 2019. January 22, 2020. March 4, 2020. I remember these dates because they were all “action” days in my treatment plan for cancer. Blood draws every Tuesday. Radiation starting March 29. A stat scan and kidney flush over Memorial Day weekend. I suspect all this took root along my memory banks because of the … More Inside the C Folder -Things I’ve Learned
I had my sixth and final scheduled round of chemotherapy for uterine cancer almost two weeks ago. Treatment is never a straight path and mine was no exception. Over the past several months, I have chronicled those experiences, but I realized that I had missed something. In fact, I had missed an entire side of … More A Candid Conversation With My Cancer Caregiver Husband
A friend emailed me a few days ago. With everything happening in the world right now, she was both mad and worried that I had to be in the middle of cancer treatments at the same time. She said that she couldn’t imagine anything worse than going through chemo and radiation while a deadly virus … More The Wait
(This week’s post is part of my side series covering my cancer treatments.) On the third day after my third round of chemo, I pulled out my computer to attempt to write. (I’m a pretty determined girl.) And I sat there. I tried again the next day. Nothing. Granted, the chemo had successfully snuffed out … More My Cancer Treatments: Holding On
When I arrived for my first chemotherapy treatment, my pulse was 121. It probably went higher as I waited for my doctor to review my bloodwork. Soon, I was heading upstairs to the infusion suite. I walked into a room where I saw maybe 25 seafoam green reclining chairs with IV poles standing silently by, … More Infusing Hope
Readers who follow me have graciously been asking how I am doing. (For previous story click here.) The surgery went well and I was released after one night in the hospital. There were a few rough patches after returning home, but each day was better than the day before. I had the huge bonus of … More A New Year’s Update & the Joy of A Puzzle
I really don’t know how to start this post except to say, it’s a pretty far left turn from my weekly stories. I recently learned that I have endometrial cancer. In what felt like a nanosecond, I was saying goodbye to my doctor as she referred me over to a gynecologic oncologist. In that initial … More Walking Into (And Out Of) A Whole New World
Leaving The Door Open 