I walked through the glass door with my heart in my throat. It is an automated response to this place. My pulse rate increases as I try to find an empty chair. Once a cancer patient, always a cancer patient. I am the only woman with hair today; thin though it is, it’s better than … Continue reading Oncologist
cancer
Teamwork!
There are three of us. We are a team. From the beginning, we rallied ourselves for the long haul that dementia would inviably bring. It has been every bit as difficult as we thought it would be. We are storm weathered, battered, and exhausted, but we still have each other and that makes all the … Continue reading Teamwork!
Pre-Sales!!
When Mom started having memory issues 7 years ago, she was concerned. She was having difficulty finding words. She was forgetting familiar faces at church. She couldn’t remember directions to places she was accustomed to driving. The doctor said it was likely age-related memory loss. She stopped using the computer. She stopped cooking. Dad helped … Continue reading Pre-Sales!!
1 in 10,000
There was a warm floral pattern on the walls. Ruffled curtains adorned the windows. Lovely pictures hung in conspicuous places. The neutral beige recliner looked oversized, but comfortable in the space. The room was designed as a homey environment, but the sterile white tile floors, shining in the overhead florescent lights, shattered the illusion. I … Continue reading 1 in 10,000
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
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
I Am in Remission!
Remission. In Cancerland, it is a wonderful word. A word which is coveted by every person in the chemo room, doctor’s office, hospital, or lab. It is every patient’s goal to hear that word, and every doctor’s desire to say it. It means the diminution of the disease…the cancellation of cancer. The origin of the … Continue reading I Am in Remission!
Beating the Odds
I have always hated math. It is no secret. Anyone who has known me for any length of time can tell you. I regularly communicate to my students that when I was a kid, I used to pray to God every night to take away multiplication. I distinctly remember this prayer, because it was one … Continue reading Beating the Odds
Me and My Friend Bev
I had a delightful afternoon with my childhood friend Beverly yesterday. We hadn’t seen each other face to face in many, many years. However, over the past few, we have bonded on Facebook through our shared Cancerland experiences. It was good to finally get to hug her neck long and hard, and to catch … Continue reading Me and My Friend Bev
Double Trouble
Ten years ago on this date, I heard some extremely scary words. “You have diabetes.” and then “You have Cancer.” The D word and the C word, said within one breath of each other. My world was turned upside down in that moment. Death came to taunt me and Fear took up residence in my … Continue reading Double Trouble
Michelle's Mosaic 