When It's a Bad DayMy mom has this quote she says whenever anyone in our family is just having a rotten, no good, awful day. “It's a bad day, not a bad life”. This is...reactions3comments
Planning for "The End"When I found out that I not only had cancer, but stage IV metastatic cancer, I knew that my life would not necessarily end grey-haired and old. Now, I have...reactions1comment
Accept. Adapt. Advocate.Many organizations and companies use this alliteration. But I remember hunting around for a cancer shirt on Etsy and I stumbled across a seller with this phrase on a shirt...reactions1comment
"It Runs In The Family"Not long after I had recovered from my radical cystectomy, the medical team at Emory University asked that I have a full genetic panel completed. My medical team was dumbfounded...reactions1comment
Navigating Year 2As we celebrated the start of a new year, I began looking ahead and trying to make a plan for year 2 of active cancer treatment. The routine of immunotherapy...reactions1comment
Fighting Cancer TogetherAlmost exactly a year before my diagnosis, my mom called me on Sunday afternoon and delivered the worst news imaginable. “They found cancer.” She had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer...reactions1comment
Let's Go SwimmingThis may be an odd topic as the temperatures are dropping in the northern hemisphere, but for me, the cold weather season is when I enjoy visiting my local indoor...reactions6comments
Prioritizing My Mental HealthFighting cancer is usually seen as a physical fight. Your body is being attacked and through medicine, surgery, and sometimes brute strength, you fight back against the disease. Medical teams...reactions1comment
It Wasn't Just Menstrual CrampsIn late spring of 2019, I knew something was up. I was experiencing what I thought were heavy periods and spotting along with fatigue and just constant discomfort that ranged...reactions5comments
The Worst Phone Call I Ever MadeSo many aspects of the initial part of my cancer journey are blurry. There was too much pain, too much confusion, and way too much medication to remember things fully...reactions2comments
Funny Ostomy QuestionsOstomies are strange things. I’ll admit when told I would be getting a urostomy, I had to immediately google what it was and I was dumbstruck. A piece of intestine...reactions3comments
Being Your Own AdvocatePatient advocacy is a cause near and dear to my heart. This task is most often handed to the patient’s caregiver, meaning their spouse, close family, or parents, sometimes even...reactions1comment
What Is It Like Being on Immunotherapy?Immunotherapy feels like the new kid on the block when it comes to cancer treatment. And in the world of medicine, it really is. Keytruda was approved for use in...reactionscomments
Weight Struggles With Bladder CancerMore often we tend to hear of people struggling to keep weight on while going through cancer treatment. Chemo and radiation can cause lack of appetite, nausea, and fatigue, all...reactionscomments
An Immunotherapy Clinical Trial as My First-line TreatmentIf you are familiar with my cancer story, you know that it has been ANYTHING but typical. From my age, stage of diagnosis, recovery story, even my treatment plan. Nothing...reactions1comment
Beating Brain FogYou may have heard of “chemo brain,” but cancer-related brain fog is not limited to those who have experienced chemotherapy. So, what do we mean when we cancer patients say...reactionscomments
One Year Later: Living with an Ostomy and Stoma Care TipsWell, it's official: I have had my life-saving stoma for an entire year now. Within 2 weeks of my diagnosis, my oncologists and surgeons knew I needed to have my...reactions2comments
The Youngest in the RoomAs I sit in the waiting room of my cancer center, I look around and see the chairs spaced a perfect six feet apart. There are no visitors, and everyone’s...reactions2comments
There Is Life with an OstomyContent warning: The following article mentions details surrounding the author’s experiences with pain, PTSD, and suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know is struggling, please know that there are...reactionscomments
Living with Chronic CancerI was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic bladder cancer. The cancer had invaded my bladder muscle wall, I had a grapefruit-sized tumor, and after pathology, we discovered 4 involved lymph...reactions1comment
