Taste is part of the joy of eating. It’s also one of the quiet ways we feel at home in our bodies. When chemotherapy takes that away, it can sound small next to nausea, fatigue, or hair loss. But it can hit hard, day after day, meal after meal. I didn’t expect how sad it…
Read moreCategory: Articles on cancer and other life-threatening diseases
Immunotherapy Colitis Stool Changes: What to Eat, Meds That Help, and When to Go to the ER
Cancer treatment asks a lot of the body, and immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors can feel like a brave bargain. While these powerful cancer treatments make your immune system awake and watchful, strong enough to push your cancer back, maybe even into remission, sometimes that same immune fire spreads to places it shouldn’t, including the…
Read moreThe Loss of Taste Due to Cancer Treatment
The Loss of Taste Due to Cancer Treatment I’ve been a practicing maxillofacial trauma surgeon for over 30 years. Six years ago, I began my own journey through cancer treatment: chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, stem cell transplant, and CAR T-cell therapy. I write about the practical side effects that show up at home, not just on…
Read moreHow to Read a Cancer Pathology Report (and what “positive” really means)
If you’ve ever held a cancer pathology report in your hands, you know the feeling. The paper is quiet, but your mind isn’t. One word can sound like a sentence. One number can feel like a countdown. A cancer pathology report is not a prophecy. It’s a careful description (such as in a biopsy pathology…
Read moreBad Days Don’t Wipe Out Good Ones: Building a Sane View of Progress
BAD DAYS DON’T WIPE OUT GOOD ONES, BUILDING A SANE VIEW OF PROGRESS When Yesterday Makes You Feel Like You’ve Lost Everything Yesterday knocked me flat. The nausea I hadn’t felt in two weeks came roaring back, and by afternoon I was sure I’d made up any progress from the past few days. I’ve been…
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