Some days, memory ambushes me without warning. I will be standing in the kitchen, reaching for a cup, and something, a slant of morning light, the smell of salt air drifting in from the coast, pulls me back. Not gently. Memory rarely works gently. It grabs you by the collar and drags you to another…
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Compassionate Voices articles are written for your education about cancer and other life-threatening diseases, inspiration, and information on living with cancer and other diseases.
When Memories Become Ghosts of the Past
Some days, memory ambushes me without warning. I will be standing in the kitchen, reaching for a cup, and something, a slant of morning light, the smell of salt air drifting in from the coast, pulls me back. Not gently. Memory rarely works gently. It grabs you by the collar and drags you to another…
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When the numbers start moving in the wrong direction
For years, I have remembered the moment the lab tests showed I was worse than the previous week. I was sitting in an examination room, listening to my oncologist discuss my results. Crinkling paper was the only noise in the room, and I could feel my heart beating faster. My oncologist’s expression did not give…
Read moreMaintenance Therapy, Explained in Plain English
Sometimes the most confusing part of navigating cancer treatment comes after the hardest stretch. Your scans look better, your initial therapy worked, and then your doctor says you still need more treatment. Wait, what? If you have heard the phrase maintenance therapy and felt your heart sink, you are not alone. When you are living…
Read moreBiomarker Testing Cancer, in Plain English
What if one small clue inside a tumor could change the treatment plan? That’s the promise of precision medicine behind biomarker testing. The name sounds technical, but the idea is simple: doctors look for specific traits in your cancer so they can choose cancer treatments with a better chance of helping. When you’re facing cancer…
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