Never thought I'd want to be a breast cancer survivor
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The time has come to professionalize Peer-to-peer heathcare
Read more: The time has come to professionalize Peer-to-peer heathcareDo you think we should look at creating a professional ePatient role that is embedded within the healthcare system? What would skills and competencies would that person need to have?
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Back pain … what now
Read more: Back pain … what nowOnce I found out that my back pain was not caused by cancer, I had to figure out what to do next. The pain was unbearable and constant so there was no way I could continue with doing nothing. I first followed up with the physiatrist and booked another back injection. The injected helped temporarily.…
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I forgot … and that is a good thing
Read more: I forgot … and that is a good thingOn Wednesday, as I was signing a bunch of papers, I wrote the date down at least 6 times. June 12, 2019. It wasn’t until support group last night when I was introducing myself that I realized that Wednesday (the day before) was June 12. Five years ago on June 12 the radiologist told me…
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30 … uh … 10 things that make me smile
Read more: 30 … uh … 10 things that make me smileI have been struggling with writer’s block lately. I know I need to get back into a regular writing practice. I’m making progress with my dissertation, but it too needs me to just get comfortable with putting words on the page – getting past that block. Today I decided to search for writing prompts. At…
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June is hitting me hard
Read more: June is hitting me hardJune is a particularly pensive month for me. This year June is hitting me harder than it has hit me in previous years. June 12, 2014 was when I first heard the words ‘you have breast cancer‘. Last year, in June I had heard that mom’s cancer had progressed very quickly. It is hard to…
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Then the phone rang …
Read more: Then the phone rang …The phone rang and woke me up. It was the call I had been waiting for, but also dreading. When I talked to my oncologist the week before vacation, he told me that I’d get the results the day after the PET/CT. If the results were clear, then the would be released for my viewing…
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A day at Tassajara
Read more: A day at TassajaraFor our last full day of vacation, we decided we wanted to spoil ourselves. I really wanted to spend a day at a spa or something. We were driving up the California coast past Big Sur, so I looked up “hot springs”. The first one I looked up involved a 10-mile hike and was closed…
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Things I need to write
Read more: Things I need to writeI wrote this before I got the results of my PET/CT scan, which was all clear. I’m publishing this now (June 2023) because I think sharing the thoughts is important. I find that I need to write, and yet I’m not in a position to share this publicly – at least not yet. Something is…
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Patient health literacy
Read more: Patient health literacyFor my dissertation I’ve been working on the concept of patient health literacy, and what that has meant for me. Recently I’ve developed a passion for digital storytelling – and the idea of creating short 2-5 minute YouTube videos. When I was first introduced to this idea at Digital Pedagogy Lab, I had thought that…
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Is moving back to Canada and the improved quality of life worth living a shorter life?
Read more: Is moving back to Canada and the improved quality of life worth living a shorter life?This post crossed my stream today – ‘The face of health-care crisis’: Cancer patient calls out N.S. premier in viral video This is what scares me most about moving back to Canada … the lack of access to Family Doctors is a huge issue – especially when the system is setup with the Family Doctor as…
