Confident or Complacent? (Update #30)
As my journey extends and extends (Update #30: my last scans remained stable), I’m paying more attention to how my life as a long-hauler terminal patient evolves. The gravity of my original diagnosis triggered a huge amount of fear; fear…
Grief is Love (Update #29)
Traditional Chinese Medicine (“TCM”) associates the lungs with grief, so when too much grief is present, it can weaken the lungs. I don’t necessarily give this philosophy a ton of credence, but I nevertheless worry about how experiencing grief can…
Bracing for Life (Update #28)
I got braces a couple weeks ago. I still can’t quite wrap my head around it. I’ve known I needed them for years. I was in the midst of treatment for TMJ when I got diagnosed with lung cancer and…
Update 27: Dream Big
Oh, hi there. Long time, no chat. Sorry if I caused any one any concern. I know from following fellow cancer patient blogs that when they go silent, I start to worry. So I’ll cut to the chase, Update #27:…
Update 26: Envy (and an LCAM FUNdraiser announcement!)
There’s a thing that happened when I got diagnosed with cancer that I only recently stopped doing. I compared myself to other cancer patients. It was a way to grasp for straws when I was standing in quicksand. I didn’t…
NED – I’m Not That Into Him (Update #25)
A couple of weeks ago, I shared with a community of fellow cancer patients that I had another round of good scans (that makes an 8+ years since I was diagnosed). Amidst all the cheers and posts of support,…
Linnea Olson, Light Bearer: May her Memory be for a Blessing
My friend Linnea Olson died today. She had lived with a Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis for over 16 years. She never achieved the holy grail of “NED” (no evidence of disease). She lived every inch of those 16+ years…
Update #24: She Gets Around (aka Picking an Oncologist)
I had scans last week. Everything still looks good, with the caveat that there is a small amount of fluid in my lungs that wasn’t there last time. This could indicate cancer activity, but my oncologist feels it’s most likely…
Update #23: The Miracle of Exposure Therapy + Morning Buns
A couple of weeks ago, I had my regularly scheduled CT scans. (Update #23/Tldr; the scans were stable/good, knock wood.) I haven’t posted about it yet for two reasons. First, my editor rejected my original draft because I joked about…
A New ROS1der FUNdraiser: Intro to the Zentangle Method
Hello – long time, no blog/chat. Got a little distracted with … attempting to merge with my couch? I’ve been pondering a longer “deep thoughts” blog, but my pandemic brain is not cooperating with actual writing. In the meantime, I…
