Quiet, Please
It’s that time of year. I fly to the other side of the state, make my way to the hospital from the airport, and step into the...
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Is It Time for a Shift
“Some moments in life take up a whole wall,” my friend said. “They’re like giant murals. They’re all we see, even if that moment happened...
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The Beauty, The Other, & Me
Three of us sat in the windowless room, clad in thin hospital robes, waiting for our turn to be radiated. Young One was a beauty, her...
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Cancer By the Numbers
1 Number of times a doctor told me, “best-case scenario, you’ll be stuck with a ‘frankenboob.’ ” 0 Odds he gave that I’d be able to...
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It's Enough
If you saw my friend in the check out line at the grocery store with an expensive bottle of wine, you might feel envious. Jan is a...
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How to Tell Your Kid You Have Cancer
The hardest part of cancer? That’s a loaded question, but telling my kid is at the top of that list. Lauren had just turned 10 when my...
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The Cheesiest Car on the Lot
When I was 27, I bought my first car, a used stick-shift, and I drove it until I got married. Later, I treated cancer with equal...
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I'll Know. But Until Then, I Won't
San Francisco blurred by. A guy was washing his hair next to a port-a-pottie in front of the Civic Venter. At the red light, I watched...
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Who Took My Shoes
A doctor came in with a needle in his hand. “This is going to hurt,” he said. He did little to hide the sadness he felt about the pain he...
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Girl Scout Gone Rougue
“We’ll wear tan pants,” the troop leader said. “And matching T-shirts.” Oh no. I thought. This is going to be a challenge. When my...
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