DISCOVERY: Health & Stigma
I am a Hostile Witness to the barriers to treatment for mental, chronic, physical, and community health. If a trained advocate like me has this much trouble navigating the opaque system, the rest of you are fucked. Let’s unfuck the barriers together.
Patient Politics: Levels of Patient Misfortune
Patient Politics: They are Everywhere My parents forced me to be a candy striper at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oklahoma City when I was in ninth grade. They did so out of allegiance to my eccentric geriatric Great Aunt Exa who was a Pink Lady volunteer at the hospital. My job was to inventory the […]
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From Good to Better Luck
Good to Better Luck When my husband, Kevin, was offered the job he currently holds, as the lobbyist’s “body man” with a Juris Doctorate, I told Kevin that I kept thinking about that scene from “Titanic” before she leaves port where Leo DiCaprio’s character is playing a tense game of poker. It’s the moment the four men […]
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To Do List For Cancer
Confessions of an Obsessive List Maker I have an elaborate method of making lists which includes categories and subcategories. My friends have been mocking me my whole life, but they also recognize my uncanny efficiency. Like many of you, I am managing a house with five people who are all going different directions. Truthfully, I […]
MoreCancer patient: A day in the life
There is a lot of cancer in a cancer patient’s day at first. We’re thinking about surgery, contemplating mortality and lifting each other up.
MoreBreast Lumpectomy : Performance Anxiety
Next Up: Breast Lumpectomy Nothing new on the cancer front other than I have a surgery date. November 28th. I opted to wait until after the Thanksgiving holiday so I could enjoy friends. I’m not really that nervous about the surgery. I tend to get anxious when there is a performance component attached. For instance, […]
MoreCancer: Thoughts About Mortality
Thoughts About Mortality: First phone call after cancer diagnosis Before I confided in my husband, before I told a single soul, the first way I processed the news was to send an email to my estate attorney. I was obsessed with thoughts about mortality. I didn’t tell him I caught cancer but I did request that […]
MoreLiving With Cancer: You Look Good.
Living with cancer My friend, Wendi, picked me up when it was still dark to drive me to Barnes Jewish for my early morning PET scan and CT scan. As part of the PET scan, Marty injected me with sugar water and a radioactive component (F18). Cells that rapidly divide (like cancer) absorb more sugar. No sweet […]
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Cancer Diagnosis Response
Cancer Diagnosis Response of Family My 9 YO’s response to my cancer diagnosis was priceless. I DON’T WANT FISHSTICKS! Not the cancer diagnosis response I expected but one I will always remember. I have been trying to make the rounds with my friends, telling them what’s going on. I know everyone wants to help and […]
MoreFirst day cancer diagnosis: what goes through your mind
So, It Turns Out I Have Lady Cancer Each of us remembers our first day cancer diagnosis. By way of back story, I felt a lump in my breast two months ago. I did what conscientious women do and made an appointment with my gynecologist. She advised to wait until after my cycle to see if […]
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