You never think it will be you. You go about your days making plans, imagining futures, dreaming ordinary dreams. Life feels steady, predictable. And then it isn’t. One phone call. One scan. One… Continue reading
In 1948, two French scientists noticed something unexpected in their lab samples: fragments of DNA drifting in blood plasma. At the time, the discovery seemed trivial, even puzzling. DNA, after all, was supposed… Continue reading
You’ve likely heard people talk about “chemo brain”—or maybe you’ve even felt it yourself. It’s that foggy sensation that can make it tough to find the right word, recall a friend’s name, or… Continue reading
So few grains of happiness measured against all the dark and still the scales balance. – Jane Hirshfield “The Weighing” I’ve been reflecting on these lines from Jane Hirshfield’s poem The Weighing and how its… Continue reading
In many cultures, greetings are often seen as polite and routine exchanges. However, in some Muslim cultures, there exists a profound dimension to these everyday interactions. When someone asks, “How are you?” in… Continue reading
I discovered that today, September 16th is ‘Tattoo Story Day’. While I am not sure if this is a day that’s universally marked, it gives me the prompt I need to tell the… Continue reading
Checking my August Awareness Day Calendar, I discovered that today, August 30th is designated as Grief Awareness Day. Sometimes I feel we are awash with grief in our community. Not just in our… Continue reading
Are you looking for a new job after cancer treatment? Perhaps you left your last employment after your diagnosis, or maybe you are still in your current job but want a fresh start… Continue reading
“In a society which is much more inclined to help you hide your pain rather than to grow through it, is necessary to make a very conscious effort to mourn.” – Henri Nouwen Grief… Continue reading
T for this week’s round-up of the best of the blog posts which I’ve read over the past week. These are the posts that have moved me, taught me something, inspired me, and which I’ve wanted to share with you. Don’t forget if you have written a post which you would like readers to see, just […]
The Thing Is to love life, to love it evenwhen you have no stomach for itand everything you’ve held dearcrumbles like burnt paper in your hands,your throat filled with the silt of it.When… Continue reading
The Butterfly Effect For Marie Ennis O’Connor So close and still Quietly far away From the company Who chose you The day you heard The word we all Heard. Echoes In a canyon… Continue reading
26 posts. 26 days. 26 letters of the alphabet, one blog post beginning with each letter. H is for Hair I started this blog a few years after my breast cancer diagnosis and… Continue reading
The cancer charity established by cycling champion Lance Armstrong is seeking volunteers to help out at a major conference on the disease in Dublin later this month. Up to 500 delegates, including health ministers from… Continue reading
I having been reading the following personal testimony by Tesha Urban, a young breast cancer survivor on the Living Beyond Breast Cancer website. It really resonated with me, and coverd so many issues, which I… Continue reading
Interesting article in the New York Times concerning clinical trials. You may remember that last month I wrote about the Love/Avon Army of Women partnership and this article for me highlights exactly why Dr… Continue reading
I have just finished reading Lance Armstrong’s Every Second Counts. While the book is primarily about his preparation for what would prove to be his second consecutive Tour de France victory in 2000,… Continue reading
Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow is the title of a book by Elizabeth Lesser. She opens the book with a quote from Anais Nin: ‘And the time came when… Continue reading
In his bestseller The End Of Over-Eating: Taking Control Of The Insatiable American Appetite, author and former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, David Kessler proposes that our western obesity crisis is due… Continue reading
Today’s Meat Free Monday recipe is an easy salad which makes a great light supper dish or a tasty lunch. Haloumi with Lentil Salad Ingredients (serves 4) 2 x 400g cans brown lentils, drained, rinsed 1… Continue reading
Ok, so the headline in tabloid sensationalist, but it did catch my attention today when I was buying my usual Sunday paper, splashed across the front page of the Sunday Express. It is a… Continue reading
When I was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, I was told, as all chemo patients, are to report any signs of colds or flu straight away, to avoid situations where you know germs… Continue reading
