Key Takeaways• Guilt often becomes a constant companion in cancer, touching caregiving, survival, emotions, genetics, lifestyle choices, and even relief.• Most cancer-related guilt punishes rather than protects; it drains energy from healing, relationships, and daily life.• Survivor guilt and “relief guilt” come from the search for fairness and control in an unfair universe, not from…
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The Questions I Hear Frequently
Some mornings I wake up to the sound of birds singing and the smell of coffee brewing. It’s a normal miracle that another day has begun. And before my feet hit the floor, the questions are already there. They live in the space between sleep and waking, in the time it takes me to check…
Read moreTactics for Tough Days: Practical Strategies for Managing Cancer Treatment Side Effects
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…
Read moreWhat I’ve Learned: The Forever Part Nobody Warns You About
When someone asks you “How are you?” I’ve discovered you can tell whether they’re simply looking for you to reply “okay” and move on, or if they’re looking for you to be honest, and to be able to listen to whatever your response may be.,Six years of radiation, surgery, Stem Cell Transplantation, CAR T cell…
Read moreWas It Worth It?
A few weeks ago, my palliative care physician asked me a simple question that nobody had ever asked me before – “Was all that worth it?” She knew I had been receiving treatment for my cancers for 6 years now – 6 years of chemotherapy; a stem-cell transplant that provided me with 6 months of…
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