Here’s the deal, 75% of Adolescents and Adolescents & Young Adults (AYAs) will experience a chronic disease by the time they are 40 years old and about 50% of all long term survivors will experience moderate to severely diminished health. So, while it’s never too late to start exercising, the sooner the better.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
In Pursuit of Repressed Emotions: The Journey Back to My Authentic Self
I used to live life in a box. It was pretty from the outside. Well decorated. It might have looked like the kind of box others might like to live in. I went to lengthy measures to ensure it was well maintained. Inside of that box was all of my fears and on the edgesContinueContinue reading “In Pursuit of Repressed Emotions: The Journey Back to My Authentic Self”
You Want Me To Do WHAT During Treatment?
When you think of what cancer treatment might be like or even what you’ve witnessed in the past, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Sick people laying in a hospital bed? That’s what I thought of. It’s even an accurate depiction of what I had experienced up to the point I was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia. I’m happy to say, gone are the days of spending all day in a hospital bed during cancer treatment – at least the expectation of. I wore my own clothes in the hospital, cleaned my own body, made my own bed and even used the hospital kitchenette to heat up and eat the home cooked food that others brought for me. All that said, there is nothing that could have prepared me for the day my oncologist told me how much I should be exercising during treatment.
Looking for the Best Wine to Pair with Calculating Medical Expenses?
When I was diagnosed with cancer, the absolute furthest thing from my mind was income taxes. Unfortunately, the reality is, sick or not, you owe the government a tax return. Read more to learn about the implications of being sick and paying taxes, and some tips on how to get through it unscathed.
A Call to Action: Injecting Humanity Into Healthcare
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, my oncologist finished with, ‘the prognosis for survival is 90%…as long as you make it through the next 10 days’. What I had just learned was inconceivable no matter how hard I tried to process it. The only thing I could do to prevent myself from going off the deep end was take things one step at a time. Even if that meant one minute to the next. Based on the, ‘as long as you make it though the next 10 days’ part, it was very clear what my first goal would be; live through the next 10 days.
Cancer Made Me Feel Like a Failure To My Kids
I replied to my fiance, Marvin, last night when he said, ‘You haven’t written for a long time’, with, ‘I know I need to but I’ve been putting it off because I know I’m hard on myself as a parent and I’m not sure I can spin a positive note at the end of this article like I do for all the others’. I couldn’t even stop the tears from welling in my eyes as the words left my mouth. I knew in that moment that I was doing the best I could, despite a few trip and falls, and I felt like an utter disappointment and failure to my children at the same time.
What Does Remission Really Mean (To Me)?
I’ve met so many people over the last 3 years, since my diagnosis of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia. So many people with their own stories – whether they be as patients, survivors, caregivers, medical professionals – some of which are patients also. I’ve come to realize that everyone has their own way of celebrating their winsContinueContinue reading “What Does Remission Really Mean (To Me)?”
Our Sisters In Pink Fundraiser
If anyone had suggested, even two years ago, that one day I would stand on a stage talking to 500 women in a cat onesie about my cancer journey, I would have suggested they seek therapy! Yet, on January 18, 2019 that’s exactly what I did. I had the great privilege of guest speaking atContinueContinue reading “Our Sisters In Pink Fundraiser”
How Complacency Almost Cost Me My Life
As I mentioned in my last article, Cancerversary Turmoil, it’s been a very emotional couple of weeks for me…I’m realizing for my family, people who are very close to me and even some who aren’t always so close too. Christmas now takes on a very different meaning for us all. On Christmas day last year,ContinueContinue reading “How Complacency Almost Cost Me My Life”
Cancerversary Turmoil
According to an article written by the National Centre for Biotechnology Information, nearly 30% of people diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia die either prior to treatment beginning, within the first 3 days of treatment, proceeding the first 3 days of treatment or in the moderate to high risk group. What it boils down to is, the time from onset to mortality is very short and the symptoms of leukemia can be chalked up to anything from overexertion in day to day life to the flu. Before you know it, it has advanced beyond the point of a body’s ability to handle the treatment or protect itself anymore. I am within the high risk group and can’t help but wonder if my (former) family doctor had taken my concern seriously the first time I called how that would have changed what I had to go through to get well again. Highlighting the urgent need for us, as patients, to advocate for ourselves.
So You've Got Cancer 