New support for cancer patients
The cancer journey no longer has to be a lonely, confusing experience now that the Cumberland Health Authority has a cancer patient navigator in place. So runs the headline in the Amherst Daily… Continue reading
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
When Dottie Copeland was diagnosed with cancer 10 years ago, she left the room, found her husband waiting for her and said, “I got cancer. Let’s go get a hamburger, I’m hungry.” Copeland… Continue reading
Fear plays a major role in whether women decide to go for cancer screening or not, but healthcare providers underestimate how much women need to know and wrongly assume that they will ask… Continue reading
AN X-RAY and a bag of oranges, anyone? It makes perfect sense to Dr Preston Maring. In the lobby of Kaiser Permanente’s Oakland Medical Center, Dr Maring says, he’d regularly pass vendors selling… Continue reading
“We need to remember what we have learned in the past to engage with the present”, wrote Tony Bates in Mind Moves in the Irish Times yesterday. “Every experience has taught us something”… Continue reading
I came across this poem by Robert Fulghum recently and would like to share it with you. May you have a wonder-ful day today! Live a balanced life – learn some and think… Continue reading
When I underwent my treatment for breast cancer in 2004, I read many articles and books recommending this vitamin regimen, or that cleanse and detox programme, and like many others, ended up more… Continue reading