Update #11- The Messy Middle (aka Screw the New Normal)

I’ve come to really hate the phrase, “my new normal.” It implies that this is a situation a person can adjust to, as if one can settle in and get comfortable with living with a Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis….

What I've Been Up to for LCAM 2016 & #Giving Tuesday

It’s Lung Cancer Awareness Month (LCAM) and I’m just getting here now to remind you about it (oops). Unfortunately, my blogging has been stalled out for a bit, but I’m still here! I hope you will consider contributing to my…

ROS1 Research Project FUNdraiser -- Painting for Pleasure and a Purpose!

I’m so thrilled to announce this fundraiser for the Addario Lung Cancer Foundation’s ROS1 Research Project. Accomplished artist and art instructor Tehila Eisenstat will be teaching an art class! Attendees will paint a picture, using acrylic paints, on a stretched canvas….

[This article was originally posted on Psychology Today. It was written by Theodora Ross, M.D., PhD. I worked with her on the article. It is Part 2 of a two part series. I posted Part 1 yesterday.] Lisa Goldman is 43 years…

[This article was originally posted on Psychology Today. It was written by Theodora Ross, M.D., PhD. I worked with her on the article. It is Part 1 of a two part series. I will post Part 2 tomorrow.] Earlier this…

Dear Doctors: Please Do Not Confuse Your Medical Degree with my Google Search

A friend posted this picture on Facebook: LOL, right? No. Not for me. That mug/meme may seem like a silly, harmless joke. But, the message, and the sentiment behind it, is offensive and detrimental to the doctor-patient relationship. My oncologist is an…

ROS1+ Cancer Research Survey Launched + FUNdraisers!

I have wonderful news! With the help of the phenomenal Addario Lung Cancer Foundation, we have just launched the ROS1+ Research Project. The first step of this research project is an online survey. If you have ROS1+ cancer (note: ROS1…

Is it Possible to Thrive After a Stage IV Lung Cancer Diagnosis?

Just a few weeks after my diagnosis, I learned my cancer had tested positive for a rearrangement of the ROS1 gene. Of course, the first thing I did was Google the crap out of the term “ROS1.” I didn’t understand…

Update #10: Shi(f)t Happens

I was struck by a quote that my friend Samantha posted on Facebook a few weeks ago: “You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one.” I’ve been building up to shifting my…

Cancer Has Made Me a Bigger (But Still Shallow) Person

There’s a book titled “Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person.” I haven’t read it, but the title made me laugh. Sometimes having cancer makes me have very deep thoughts about the purpose of life and what comes after, yada yada…