My non-small cell lung cancer story
During a physical exam in May 2013, my doctors did a chest X-ray and found a nodule on my left lung. I went to a pulmonologist for more tests, and after all the scans and the bronchoscopy I felt in my heart it was cancer. Maybe that’s why I was able to hold it together when the doctor told me that I had stage I non-small cell lung cancer. It wasn’t until I got outside that I broke down and cried.
Before getting a second opinion...
What to pack for your hospital stay
Packing for a hospital stay is never an easy task. Unless your family can bring items from home or make a run to the corner store, you need...
How a fatigue journal can help cancer patients
For cancer patients and survivors, fatigue doesn’t just mean feeling a little tired. This common cancer treatment side effect may be more...
Facing follow-up tests with a positive attitude
Having cancer is no fun. Chemotherapy, surgery, blood draws, scans and appointments, appointments and more appointments. It can seem like we cancer patients and our caregivers are not in control.
That can seem especially hard, though, during that period of time after a scan or blood test and the appointment with the doctor to review results. I call it the Longest Day, and I am not talking about the classic World War II movie, although...
Exercise to ease peripheral neuropathy symptoms
Simple exercises may help cancer survivors struggling with peripheral neuropathy, a common cancer treatment side effect that causes muscle...
Pregnant with inflammatory breast cancer
Before 2011, a typical six-month time span didn’t involve many life-altering situations or events for me. But that all changed when I hit...
My kidney cancer journey
Like most people, I was not prepared for a cancer diagnosis. Since my immediate family has no history of cancer and I don’t smoke or drink...
Li-Fraumeni syndrome survivor: 'Don’t let cancer define you'
I had adrenal cancer as an infant in 1985, so the word ‘survivor’ has been part of my vocabulary my whole life. Even though I was too...
Q&A: Eyelid cancer
You probably know that skin cancer can affect many different parts of your skin. But did you know skin cancer also can occur on your eyelid...
The perfect gift for your friend with cancer
My friends bought me paper plates for my 34th birthday, and it was the most perfect gift. The day before, I had been diagnosed with a rare...
Daily aspirin and colon cancer risk
Could a daily aspirin help lower your chances of developing colon cancer? A new study suggests it might.
Researchers looked at the...
Appendix cancer survivor: Take an active role in your treatment
Six years ago, I was diagnosed with appendix cancer, a very rare cancer diagnosed in less than 1,000 people in the U.S. each year.
...
Diet and your lung cancer risk
Could your diet be affecting your chances of developing lung cancer? A new study from MD Anderson shows a link between a diet with a high...
Confronting ocular melanoma
Some 23 years ago, I was 19 and getting ready to start college at Florida State University. But after experiencing blurry vision that could...