Finding New Definitions of Normal Before I got sick, I moved through each day without thinking much about it. I’d wake up, make coffee, go to the hospital for six hours of surgery, eat a quick lunch over a sink, answer emails, and head home. It all felt normal. Because life fills in that word…
Read moreCategory: Personal Essays on Living with life-threatening diseases
Why I Break One Small Rule Every Day
The Danger of Autopilot I’ve driven the same route to the grocery store for years. My hands move without much thought. Turn signal, brake, accelerate; my body knows the sequence so well my mind drifts. One Tuesday, a deer burst into the road from the right. I yanked the wheel left. Pure reflex. I made…
Read moreThe Job No One Offered to Hire You to Do
The Job No One Offered to Hire You to Do When I got my treatment plan from my oncologist, I understood every line. After 34 years as a surgeon, that part felt familiar. What I didn’t understand, what no one warned me about, was the second job that arrived with the diagnosis. There was no…
Read moreOvercoming the Obstacles of a Chronic Disease
The doctor’s words hung in the air. Then came the silence. When you first hear “chronic disease” tied to your name, something shifts inside you. Overcoming obstacles doesn’t mean my disease vanished. It doesn’t mean I beat it with grit and green smoothies. The obstacles are real, and they stay real. I didn’t choose them,…
Read moreMorning Routine: What Abilities You’re Taking For Granted (Post-Cancer Focus)
The alarm rings. I hush it without opening my eyes. My feet find the floor, steady and familiar. I stand, I walk, I flip a switch, light appears. I’ve done it so often that I barely notice. That fading is normal. It’s also a kind of forgetting. For many of us touched by cancer, courage…
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