The third option.
A fellow cancer fighter, the badass Kaylin Andres, wrote recently in the Huffington Post about her ongoing battle with cancer. Her perspective really resonated with me, now more than ever. She said, “…...
View ArticleMaking peace with cancer.
I recently came to the realization that I may have no choice but to join the ranks of hundreds of thousands of cancer patients on this planet who don’t fully beat cancer but don’t die from it either....
View ArticleTelling stories.
I often tell myself stories, and not the good kind. Stories with unhappy endings. Negative fantasies. Do you do that too? George Washington said, “Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow...
View ArticleNever too late.
I’ve always been a late bloomer. I sucked my thumb until age five. I played with Barbie dolls until junior high (which, in case you don’t know, is way longer than most girls). I was one of the last of...
View ArticleLetter to my daughter at 16 months.
I don’t know what it feels like to have a child and not have the dark cloud of cancer hanging over my head. I was diagnosed with Stage 3C widespread gynecologic cancer when my daughter was just five...
View ArticleAny port in a storm (or why I love my port).
So I’ve had my port-o-cath for a little over a year now. It’s literally a part of me. This little medical devise was implanted under my skin last spring to enable my medical team to obtain easier...
View ArticleAmputating body parts to stay alive.
I recently learned that I have the BRCA-1 genetic mutation. I made the subsequent decision to have my healthy breasts removed in hopes of preventing me from getting breast cancer. It seems that I have...
View ArticleFalse Evidence Appearing Real.
After I fell in love my now husband, I started experiencing an uncomfortable feeling: a low-level feeling of dread that something bad was going to happen that would take him away from me. I’d never...
View ArticleLet’s talk about sex …. and cancer.
Anyone who knows me knows I’m not shy about talking about much of anything, especially sex. Although I’m happily married and in a monogamous relationship (in which I plan to stay for the rest of my...
View ArticleWhat if you treated everyone like they might die tomorrow?
I’ve noticed something in the year and a half since my diagnosis with Stage IIIC cancer. People treat me differently. And I don’t just mean the way people reacted when they first learned I had cancer...
View ArticleWhat ‘National Cancer Survivor’s Day’ Means To Me As A Survivor And A Mom
A year ago I had never even heard of National Cancer Survivor’s Day, a celebration of life held around the world. This year, however, it’s an incredibly important day for me. What a difference a year...
View ArticleMe and Angelina: Why I Stand By My Decision to Have Preventative Cancer Surgery
What do I have in common with Angelina Jolie (besides oversized lips that are apparent even in our baby photos)? We’re both moms. We both discovered through DNA testing that we carry the BRCA1 genetic...
View ArticleMe and My Foobs: What It’s Really Like Post-Mastectomy
Before my surgery, I spoke openly about my decision to undergo a prophylactic bi-lateral mastectomy in the wake of a BRCA-1 diagnosis. I’m now about six weeks post-surgery, the (proud?) owner of two...
View ArticleCancer Is My Herpes: Living With Recurrent Disease
About a year ago, I learned about some “worrisome” spots that had shown up on my quarterly CT scan. This was about six months after my last of 24 chemotherapy infusions, and to say I was bummed upon...
View ArticleYour Cancer Is Not My Cancer: The Danger of Comparison
Teddy Roosevelt is quoted as saying “Comparison is the thief of joy.” I’ve found this to be particularly true in the area of my own personal journey with cancer. I learned the hard way that comparing...
View ArticleListen To Your Mother
So this is happening. In an effort to step out of my comfort zone, at the suggestion of a friend, I auditioned to be part of the first ever Nashville cast of Listen To Your Mother, a collaborative...
View ArticleBe Your Own Advocate (If You Don’t, Who Will?)
I always had difficulty asking for what I wanted or needed. I never wanted to be a bother, or cause anyone any trouble. Even when asked if I wanted something, or if someone could do something for me,...
View ArticleTaking My Vagina To Boot Camp
I just had sex with my husband and it hurt like hell. It’s not because of anything he did; we’ve always had great sex. It’s just that intercourse has been painful since my cancer surgery, which...
View ArticleThe Writing Process Blog Tour
Last year I was contacted by Betsy Barbour, a former co-worker whom I had not seen in over a decade. It turned out she was working with a good friend of my husband’s, and had been hearing about this...
View ArticleRight On Time
I wrote recently about having auditioned to participate in Nashville’s first production of Listen To Your Mother, a live staged reading of essays written by real people about motherhood. The event took...
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