Profiles in Lung Cancer -- Day 3: Bonnie Addario, "Lung Cancer patients are on my mind and in my heart every day"

Hi Readers! In honor of Lung Cancer Awareness Month, a group of lung cancer bloggers will be interviewing people in the lung cancer community and profiling a patient, caregiver, advocate or health care provider each day in November. I am…

Gift Ideas for Someone With Cancer

I’ve toyed with writing a blog post on the topic of gifts for a cancer patient for a long time, but haven’t because it’s a little tricky. It would be impossible to list everything I’ve received and yet, I’m terrified…

ROS1 People Unite -- Power to the Patients!

In my last blog post I mentioned how difficult I find it to live with the uncertainty, knowing that there’s no obvious post-Xalkori treatment available for me, yet. Predictably, I received several messages from others in the lung cancer community…

Update #9 -- It Never Ends

So. this is a weird place to be. I just had a PET scan and it was good. I mean, not perfect. Radiologists aren’t fond of unqualified perfect reports. They’re halfway to lawyer-ville with their CYA language. So while my…

I See You, Dad -- An Open Letter to My Dad on Father's Day

Here’s how I knew this lung cancer thing was real. I was in the hospital. I’d had my biopsy and diagnosis the day before. Upon hearing the news, my parents had flown up and had been in my room all…

On Psycho-Oncology Departments & Parachuting into Guerrilla Wars

A few months ago, when I was in the midst of a particularly difficult stretch, my oncologist referred me for a consult with the “psycho-oncology” department. When the doctor mentioned this, I was completely taken aback. “There’s such a thing…

The Lung Cancer Blame Game - How People Blame the Patients and Patients Blame Themselves

Lung cancer patients regularly bemoan the question that plagues us. The, “did you smoke?” question. There is simply no getting around it. It’s the number one thing people ask when you share your lung cancer diagnosis. (See here for more…

Gail Schlachter, My Mother-in-law, Remembered

A couple of weeks ago, my mother-in-law Gail Schlachter passed away. Our family, already burdened with my illness, has been reeling from this unexpected loss. The other day Jacob, who was particularly close with his Grandma Gail, caved under the…

This & That -- A Letter to My Mom Book, Team Lisa Update & Clinical Trial Innovation Contest

Here are a few odds and ends that don’t quite amount to their own blog posts, but I still want to share, so I’ve smushed them all together here: (1) A Letter to My Mom — This is the coolest…

Fractured Medical Care: A Rant Constructive Criticism from a Patient Who Cares

I am incredibly lucky to have good health insurance and live in an area that offers first-rate medical care. These are both privileges many do not share and I don’t take either for granted. But, it’s in my nature to…