When I received my cancer diagnosis, I discovered something that decades of surgical training hadn’t fully prepared me for: the profound impact our thoughts have on how we experience treatment and recovery. Through my own journey and in supporting countless others, I’ve witnessed a fundamental truth—the quality of your life after diagnosis depends largely on…
Read moreCategory: Compassionate Voices Articles and Blog
Compassionatevoices Articles and Blog
When Joy and Fear Occupy the Same Space
You now understand that joy and fear can coexist, and you have decided to feed joy. You feel this truth the most on a Tuesday morning in your oncologist’s office. Not only that, but you’re sitting there shaking in fear while you wait for test results. You feel terrible in your stomach. And then you…
Read moreYou Won’t See Time the Same After This (Cancer and the Gift of Now)
What if the calendar you trust is a mirage? Before cancer, I planned months ahead and counted on a long runway of tomorrows. Then a life changing situation struck. The ground under my feet moved, and with it, my sense of time. This is a story about courage in the everyday and the choice of…
Read moreLearn to See With Kindness
I will always remember the first day I met Sarah in the emergency department. A rear-end collision at a stoplight—nothing more than a fender bender. But the other driver was incensed, hurling insults at Sarah about being careless and incompetent, that she should have her license revoked. What that other driver didn’t know was that…
Read moreCreating Your Own Care Team
It’s crucial to keep in mind the emotional toll that health problems might take on you. The good news is that you don’t have to go through this alone; you have a full team of people behind you. Not only does treatment restore your body, but it also creates a startling sense of community by…
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