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…
Update #21 – Life’s Unpredictable Beauty and Tragedy
In 2014, when I was diagnosed, my son was in 5th grade and my ambitious goal was to live to see him graduate elementary school. Next year he is set to graduate high school (zoinks!). In the meantime, countless people…
