January 2nd is Mom’s Alive Day around my house. It’s been 16 years since my last chemo treatment; 16 years since I heard the beautiful words ‘cancer free’. In some ways it seems like eons ago, in others it seems like yesterday. Any little unexpected twinge or unexplained pain brings it all flooding back. Having … Continue reading Cancer Free for 16 Years
Cancer
Beautiful Schuylar
A light went out this week. She was 31 years old and brightened every room she entered. And while I know Schuyler is free from her cancerous body, I am saddened that when she was separated from it she was also separated from husband and son. Pardon me for saying so, but it isn’t fair. … Continue reading Beautiful Schuylar
Tribute to Topher
Some people light up a room when they walk into it but my friend Kris Jones wasn’t one of those people. She was more comfortable in the background…a woman of few words. Her light was just as bright but added to the space in a quiet way. Behind her shy demeanor was a wicked since … Continue reading Tribute to Topher
Cancer Free
Fifteen years ago, today, at the beginning of 2007, I sat in the chemo chair for the last time. It was my last 6 hours of treatment, which led to the beautiful words “cancer free.” I got to wear the elephant scarf (not sure why it was an elephant) and sign my name to the … Continue reading Cancer Free
For Bev
I don’t know when I first met my childhood friend Beverly Stripling. It seems like we have known each other forever, because we went to the same church for decades. Her death this week has me nostalgic. One of my first memories of her was fighting with her during our elementary years. One incident in … Continue reading For Bev
“You Have Cancer”
Fifteen years ago, today, I heard those terrible words. A fog descended immediately, kind of like when I was in transition during childbirth. In a room with my husband and doctors…yet all alone at the same time. Otherworldly. Trapped between before and after. Between healthy and sick. Between old and new realities. In case you … Continue reading “You Have Cancer”
Borrowed Time
It has been 12 years today since I was diagnosed with cancer. It was one of the hardest days of my life. This blog is something I wrote during that time and then edited to be the beginning of a book about my journey. I have never finished the book, but I did want to mark … Continue reading Borrowed Time
A Tribute to Tenacity
My friend Marcia died this weekend. My heart is broken. The last time I talked to her was in October when I went to the oncologist for my check up and she was in the chemo lab. She was her same spunky self, though a bit weaker than usual. It was most likely going to … Continue reading A Tribute to Tenacity
Spa Day
A lovely lady walked me down a short hallway. She handed me off to another lovely lady, whose hospitality was charming. We chitchatted as she walked me to the dressing room, where she handed me a warm robe. What a luxurious thing. Enveloped by warmth, I wondered why I didn’t have a robe warmer at … Continue reading Spa Day
11
It is somehow appropriate that tonight is a full moon, here at the beginning of a new year, and on this day specifically; January 2nd. Eleven years…cancer free. At this time all those years ago, I was finishing up my final 8-hour treatment and heading home for a celebration dinner Louise had prepared. It was … Continue reading 11
Michelle's Mosaic 