breast cancer
Why Would Anyone Worry About Cancer?
Why worry about cancer? Because, fucking cancer. It is natural if a friend or family member has been diagnosed with cancer for you to worry about getting it yourself. It is seriously going around, and is not as effective as a weight loss regime as you might think. Crossfit might be better. I get approached […]
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Stage 1 Tumor: Lima or Kidney? What about pinto?
Stage 1 Tumor Follow-up post-surgical appointment today with my Surgeon. Nodes negative. Stage 1 tumor was a total wimp and measured a measly one centimeter. It’s the embarrassing garbanzo bean of cancers. Like not weighing enough to enter the light weight division before a big high school wrestling meet. Could have been worse. It could have […]
MoreMy Lumpectomy: Peace Out
Everything is going very well. My friends have been phenomenal. My in-laws have really stepped up with the kids. The Morning of My Lumpectomy The day of the surgery we arrived at the hospital at 6:00 a.m. The first order of business was to go to the Nuclear Medicine department and let the Gamma Ray […]
MoreCancer: Say Yes to Drugs
Yes to Drugs Yes. Yes. Yes to Drugs. Everything went fine during my lumpectomy and I’m at home now resting comfortably. My bed is my sanctuary. We got to the hospital on time, just like we were supposed to. Nailed it. I changed into my hospital gown and I looked amazing. Well, as amazing as […]
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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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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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