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…
Read moreHow to Find Goodness in Every Day When Life Feels Hard
Every day may not be good, but there’s something good in every day. That line can sound too simple when you’re hurting. But it holds a steady kind of truth, like morning light through darkness, not loud, not flashy, just present. If you’re living with cancer (newly diagnosed, in treatment, or adjusting to remission), you…
Read more“lymphedema after cancer surgery”: Early Signs, Compression Basics, Safe Exercises, and When Swelling Is an Emergency
After cancer surgery, your body has already done something brave. It has endured loss, healing, and change to the lymphatic system, all at once. Then, sometimes, a new worry shows up quietly: swelling that doesn’t quite make sense. Lymphedema after surgery can feel like a second storyline you didn’t agree to. It can arrive weeks…
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