Our Cancer

“Four fingers extended upward from the steering wheel, but may be modified to suit circumstances and locally accepted etiquette.” What is it? Why it’s the Urban Dictionary’s description of the “JEEP WAVE.” When Wrangler owners passed each other on the road or at an intersection, they’d exchange this wave.  I know this because there was […]

Took a walk down memory lane today at Hopkins.  Walked down the halls of infusion; chemo land to be specific. There are not many good things to remember about chemotherapy.  Hands-down the best part of that time was our friendship with our chemo nurse.  She was and still is a great pal.  She got us […]

A long time ago, when I was new to cancer world, the word HOPE had only one meaning and it mirrored what my little Webster’s dictionary also said: “trust that what is wanted will happen.”  Even the verb “want and expect” worked for me.  It took a few years and many highs and lows of […]

They huddle together at the lunch tables and it seems everyone talks at the same time.  It’s really hard to hear what they’re saying, but every few seconds you can catch a medical phrase or a word and you just know they are talking about what they saw in morning sessions as their first days […]

Grief, if you’ve ever felt it, is over-powering. What to do about it has been a source of discussion in grief counseling for years.  When Leroy died, I would experience waves of grief.  The sadness would come over me at the oddest times; I’d be sitting on the couch watching TV or driving in the […]

“I am a warrior and it is the way of a warrior to fight superior odds.”  Wildlife activist, Paul Watson said it and little did he know those words would apply to a major breakthrough that’s about to happen in cancer treatment. Gene therapy for certain cancers is about to receive FDA approval. The warriors […]

Some days, the news is GOOD in cancer world. To follow up on yesterday’s post, that ‘sigh’ you heard this afternoon came from deep inside the heart and mind of my friend who heard good words from her radiologist.  “Every thing looks good.  Unless something comes up, you are cleared from my service.” HOORAY!!!! How […]

She feels fine.  She’s back at the gym.  She’s a spinning fanatic and she’s back lifting light weights to regain the muscle tone she lost while she was in treatment.  Chemotherapy and radiation interrupt the normal pace of life and this cancer patient tried very hard to keep-up her gym routine, but there were days […]

Bad things should not happen to good people and tonight I am writing about one of the best who is facing hip replacement surgery.  I’m very aware that getting a new hip isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it hurts and it takes a while to rehab from it and this person shouldn’t […]

These are professional people giving back.  People who have worked hard to build a career and then decided they needed more; they needed to help others, not as savvy, build a life.  So they counsel, they guide, they offer life skills.  Sometimes, these people who need to start over, don’t even have the proper clothing to […]