Some days stretch longer than you ever thought possible. You do your best, yet a wave of nausea or a heavy fog in your mind pulls you under. If you’re undergoing cancer treatment, or love someone who is, you know this truth already. Side effects don’t come with an instruction manual. They show up when…
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How We Experience Challenges
For some reason, I never expected to learn something new after having bone marrow cancer for six years – but I did. Most of the “enormous” challenges I experienced did not last anywhere near as long as I thought they would. We usually don’t expect to hear something like that when we’re in the midst…
Read moreOne Gentle Step at a Time: Small Advances in Cancer Treatment That Truly Count
What if the best measure of progress is as simple as getting out of bed without stopping to gather yourself first? During cancer treatment, the pressure to hit big milestones can feel heavy. The truth is quieter. Some of the most meaningful wins fit inside a single morning. This post is a companion for that…
Read moreYou May Never Get an Answer to “Why Me?”
It is okay that you do not have an answer. We are searching for answers about our lives, retracing steps and examining choices in hopes of finding the reason, explanation, or thing that makes sense out of this senseless diagnosis. The “why” we desperately seek isn’t found by looking backward. It is discovered by looking…
Read moreBrothers and Sisters in Battle: The Unexpected Gift of Connection
The Man in the Waiting Room
He was sitting there when I walked in, just another person in a hospital gown waiting for his name to be called. We exchanged the casual “hello” that strangers offer each other in shared spaces. But there was something different about this hello. It carried weight. Recognition. An unspoken understanding that we were both members of a club nobody volunteers to join.
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