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Danger and opportunity — oh ya, and four years of remission …
Read more: Danger and opportunity — oh ya, and four years of remission …“More than a decade after writing At the Will of the Body, I still think of illness as a balance of danger and opportunity. The danger is that one can become lost in self-absorption from attending too long and too carefully to all that may be wrong in an ill body. The opportunity is in…
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Anxiety and oncology visits
Read more: Anxiety and oncology visitsMany cancer patients and survivors experience what we affectionately call scanxiety – that is anxiety around taking scans. I realized while swimming this afternoon that I experience anxiety around my oncology visits, but not just that. When I have an upcoming oncology visit I seem to focus on and think that every symptom I have…
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An escape to Indian Wells and the desert
Read more: An escape to Indian Wells and the desertWhen I found out that a friend from Ottawa was going to be in Indian Wells (near Palm Springs) for a conference, I seriously considered going to visit her. Then I looked into the conference more – the Literacy Research Association (LRA) annual conference. My academic supervisor suggested that I could benefit from attending. Going…
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Lots of updates – missing dates – Lori’s memorial – getting back to the gym
Read more: Lots of updates – missing dates – Lori’s memorial – getting back to the gymFor the first couple of years, every one of my treatment milestones was something I looked back on. I know the dates, but now I don’t necessarily recognize them. Had Facebook not shown me a menu from Stanford Hospital I would have forgotten that on November 19, 2014 I had my first cancer surgery. That…
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An afternoon off
Read more: An afternoon offThe fires up north are causing horrible air quality in the Bay Area. Today got worse, so now it is unhealthy for anyone to be outdoors. Fortunately, I have a couple of air cleaners inside the house that are keeping the indoor air quality pretty good. The smoke had me in a pretty sad mood,…
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Writing
Read more: WritingI realized today, while having a writing session with my academic supervisor, that I haven’t been writing lately. Not for this blog, but also not for any of my other blogs. It seems that one thing that happens to me when I am grieving is that I stop writing – or more, that I lose…
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Always an advocate and friend
Read more: Always an advocate and friendAs many of you know, my best friend Lori wasn’t doing well. She had a bad progression of Metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Last Saturday – a week ago today – she died. I didn’t announce it on my blog because I wanted to wait until the family had finished writing and announcing on social media.…
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Checkups and practicing grief
Read more: Checkups and practicing griefThis week I had my one year check-up with my surgeon. The timing was good, as I wanted to get checked out because of the new bought of lymphedema. As I always, I went into the appointment with a bit of trepidation. I always have a little worry, especially when something like a sudden onset…
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Powerful, tearful, and memorable weekend at Commonweal
Read more: Powerful, tearful, and memorable weekend at CommonwealWhen Lori mentioned to me that the MBC (Metastatic Breast Cancer) weekend at Commonweal – two and half day retreat for young (those diagnosed with breast cancer under 45) women with metastatic breast cancer – had space that was not going to be filled, I found myself wondering if they would accept me to join them even…
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We need to talk about ethics and social media: a conversation
Read more: We need to talk about ethics and social media: a conversationI had been told that the book release was imminent, but I didn’t really believe it. Then, earlier this week my Google Scholar alert popup […]
