It’s Gettin’ Real in the Canned Goods Aisle
People seemed to really respond to my last blog post. Which isn’t that huge of a surprise, since I basically just ripped off that famous quote, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about,”…
Mourning the Loss of Paul Kalanithi
When I was first diagnosed, it was quite a fire drill. My biopsy was supposed to be an easy outpatient procedure, an hour, maybe two, tops. Instead, I didn’t set foot outside of the hospital for a week. I woke…
Of Constipated Parrots and Brain MRIs
Last week I had an appointment with my oncologist. She reviewed my lab tests and we discussed my current side effects and symptoms. At each visit, she’s evaluating a variety of things, including my brain function and whether it warrants…
The Darkest Secret? — Musings on the Death of David Carr
What could be more shameful, more blameworthy, more deserving of secrecy than leaving your infant twins alone in a car for over an hour while you go score some drugs? Well, perhaps, lung cancer. David Carr died a few days…
Videos of Lisa and Eric Discussing Their Lung Cancer Experience
[by Eric] In August and October last year, Lisa and I recorded three video interviews with Terry Trumbull for the Breathe California show on local cable. It’s taken a while (and required the help of my star RA Addam), but…
“Every Last One of Us Can Do Better Than Give Up” (Following Up with Cheryl Strayed)
A couple weeks ago, I wrote a blog titled Where Have All the Lung Cancer Celebrities Gone? Someone tweeted the blog to Cheryl Strayed and asked “Why the change [from mentioning your mother’s lung cancer diagnosis in the book to…
Where Have All the Lung Cancer Celebrities Gone?
Last week Eric and I saw the movie Wild. Wild tells the story of Cheryl Strayed’s journey hiking the Pacific Crest Trail after losing her mother to lung cancer. Conspicuously (to me),…
2014. Of Bad Cheese Logs & Good Wine
Photo by Bob Shrader. I was diagnosed in January 2014. For the last 11 months, every event – holiday, birthday, school activity – triggered a memory and a thought. “The last time this happened, my world was still normal. I…
Look Snazzy While You Support Lung Cancer Research
In the winter of 2012, Dina saw a heart wrenching SPCA advertisement on TV and she decided she wanted to help the animals. After failing to earn much through her weekly chores, she asked if she could sell her art…
Go Ahead (and ask me if I smoked) … Make My Day
There’s a lot of talk amongst lung cancer survivors about the stigma of having lung cancer. Many lung cancer survivors resent it when people ask them, “Did you smoke?” But, I feel differently. Go ahead and ask me. Why? Because…
