ON CANADIANS, THE COLD AND CANCER

I recently returned from a scenic and wonderful cruise to the eastern seaboard of Canada along the St. Lawrence Seaway. I visited several communities. In Canada, they do not call these population centers villages, cities or towns, but communities. Every sign on the road as you drive along says welcome to our......

DOES CANCER BECOME WHO WE ARE?

By Jane Biehl PhD Several of us bloggers have written about how cancer has impacted us. We fight to tell people “I am more than my cancer.” The slogan for Cure Today, which I love, is “I am more than a patient.” I certainly agree and there are many other aspects of......

HEALTH MONITORING AFTER CANCER-SHOULD WE LET STUFF GO?

I was receiving a stern and deserved lecture from my eye doctor. “It’s been too long since you have been here.” “Oh two years,” I replied. Since I waited five years before that appointment, I was actually proud of myself. “No- it has been three and a half years,” he corrected me.......

DON’T COMPLAIN ABOUT OLD AGE TO A CANCER SURVIVOR

My father used to have many wonderful expressions, and used them liberally at just the right time. The minister even mentioned them at his Memorial Service. Some of them I wouldn’t dare publish, but others are funny and I find myself repeating them. One of his favorites if someone was complaining about......

LIGHT SHINES THROUGH THE CRACKS OF CANCER

“Ring the bells that still may ring, Forget your perfect offering, There’s a crack in everything, That’s how the light gets in” I would not expect a crime mystery to have a verse like this which was written by Leonard Cohen. However, it is highlighted in the famous book, A Fatal Grace,......

STILL LIFE AND CANCER- TEACHINGS FROM A MYSTERY NOVEL

A favorite mystery author for many readers is Louise Penny and her featured detective, Armand Gamache. I have several friends and relatives who kept recommending these books. I decided to read the first one in the series when I visited Montreal, where the fictional characters live. It is titled Still Life, and......

WHY AM I ALWAYS SO TIRED – A LOOK INTO CANCER FATIGUE

Fatigue is an often-mentioned side effect from cancer and its various treatments. It is not the type of fatigue where a good night’s sleep will “cure” us. It just seems to go on and on. A standard dictionary definition of fatigue, according to Medicine, is, “extreme tiredness resulting from mental or physical exertion......

A CANCER LESSON FROM A TV SHOW

It is interesting to observe the lessons one can learn from a supposedly recreational television program. I was watching a new series this year called “New Amsterdam.” Surprisingly, the show features a medical director of the hospital who has cancer. He was talking to a Rabbi with cancer faced with what seemed......

CANCER SURVIVORS WAIT FOR THE OTHER SHOE TO DROP

“I am waiting for the other shoe to drop,” is a popular expression I have heard many times. I thought I understood this saying, but I truly didn’t until I was diagnosed with cancer. Cancer typically isn’t treated the way I originally thought, which was a straight line from diagnosis to treatment......

THE GIFT OF WINTER FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

I have a wonderful friend who does Reiki on me. She is very special, and a spiritual person. We were talking about winter coming up and I mentioned I was behind in my writing. “Winter is such a gift” She said. “People don’t realize they can stay inside and get things done......

CANCER CHANGES EVERYTHING – AND NOTHING

I was watching a television show I have mentioned in some other articles. The show “New Amsterdam” features a medical director of a hospital who has cancer. He talks honestly about his cancer journey. One of the statements he made to a colleague was, “Cancer changes everything – and nothing.” I stared......

INSOMNIA AND CANCER

I am a person who always was able to sleep and would generally be out before my head ever hit the pillow. Now I found myself tossing and turning for hours at a time. I would try reading, but then would just delay my sleep longer. Ironically, the cancer and chemo were......